A View from the Bridge. By Arthur Miller Essay

A View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play is set in 1950s America, in an Italian American neighborhood called Red Hook near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. The main character of the play is Eddie Carbone, an Italian American longshoreman, who lives with his wife, Beatrice and an orphaned niece named Catherine. Eddie is Catherine’s uncle, but they are not blood-related. Eddie is very over-protective of Catherine and that he is almost possessive of her. He gets jealous very easily when other men look at Catherine. Eddie’s feelings for Catherine are very strong and he may also have sexual feelings for her. At the beginning of the play, Eddie and Catherine have a very intimate and happy relationship. Eddie has given her the best life he can afford, and in return Catherine loves and trusts him completely. However, their situation changes quite rapidly once Beatrice’s cousins arrive from Italy. After their arrival, a gap seems to form between Eddie and Catherine. Eddie gradually becomes obsessed with trying to stop destiny from changing his life. This obsession soon leads to the violation of every moral he has ever believed in. In Act I of the play, we see that Catherine has a desire to be noticed by Eddie. Her excitement when he arrives home is almost childlike. Catherine also has a desperate requirement of approval she seeks from her uncle. â€Å"You like it? I fixed it different. † Her thirst to be accepted by him seems unnatural. On the contrary Eddie seems to enjoy Catherine in need of his attention, as he continuously draws the topic of conversation back to her. The conversation turns from â€Å"†¦ He’s here B.! † from Catherine, to â€Å"Beautiful†¦Lemme see in the back† from Eddie. It is also that at this very early point in the play we might get suspicious of Eddie’s true feelings for Catherine. This is a result of his constant comments on her physical appearance. While Eddie’s references to her short skirt and her ‘ walkin’ wavy’, could just be a protective father’s worries about the attention she is getting from other men, his intentions are still questionable. When Catherine tells Eddie that she got offered a job, Eddied asks questions and becomes very over-protective, ‘Near the Navy Yard plenty can happen in a block and a half. And the plumbin’ company! That’s one step over the water front. They’re practically longshoremen. ’ Eddie knows that men are going to be looking at Catherine because longshoremen and sailors would be walking up the wards. He does not like the idea of her working in a place where there would be men, who he knows from his own experiences, could take advantage of his pure and innocent Catherine. Eddie shows that this is how he thinks of her, when he calls her ‘a Madonna’. The way in which Miller uses the word ‘Madonna’ is symbolic as just like the Virgin Mary, who most Catholics worship, in his own way Eddie does almost idolize and worship Catherine. When Eddie finally allows her to accept the job, Catherine’s reaction is very childlike in the way she does not control her emotions. She runs up to Eddie and hugs him. This shows the intensity of Catherine’s love and respect for Eddie. This is not only because of her reply to Eddie when he jokes about her leaving him, but because of the way she ‘grasps’ onto his arms, as she shouts out ‘no please! ‘ The very idea of going away from Eddie hurts her. The next scene is the arrival of Beatrice’s cousins, Marco and Rodolfo, who have entered the country illegally, hoping to leave behind hunger and unemployment for a better life in America. Marco is an exceptionally strong man, said by Eddie’s friends to be ‘a regular bull. ‘ He also has a starving family in Italy (a wife, and 3 sons, one with tuberculosis). Rodolfo is in his late 20’s, fair skinned, blond, and unmarried. After their arrival, Catherine starts showing interest in Rodolfo which makes Eddie jealous. Eddie notices this fascination and tries to pre-occupy Catherine with making coffee and other tasks. Later in the conversation when Rodolfo begins to sing ‘paper doll’, Eddie realizes that Catherine is impressed in him and decides that he has to stop him. He makes up the excuse, ‘Look, kid; you don’t want to be picked up, do ya? ’ Eddie says that if Rodolfo sings, people might hear him and he might get ‘picked up’ by the Immigration Bureau. This is just an excuse because Eddie does not want Rodolfo to be impressing Catherine. As the play progresses towards the end of the first act, Catherine and Rodolfo start to go out. As a result Eddie discusses with Catherine about her feelings towards Rodolfo to which she replies by saying, ‘Yeah. I like him’. Eddie is amazed by Catherine’s straightforwardness and as he dislikes Rodolfo, he poisons Catherine’s mind against Rodolfo and tried to turn her against him, by coming up with excuses such as, ‘He don’t respect you’. He says that Rodolfo did not ask him for permission to go out and is disrespecting him. When Catherine denies this, Eddie makes up yet, another excuse, ‘Katie, he’s only bowin’ to his passport’ which means that. Rodolfo is only going to marry her just so that he can become an American citizen, which deeply hurts Catherine and almost poisons her mind against Rodolfo. Towards the end of Act One, Eddie cleverly introduces the subject of boxing, which is fittingly a masculine activity for Eddie, and while pretending to teach Rodolfo how to box, he hits him in the mouth. Eddie believes that he can prove himself right to Catherine by fighting Rodolfo. For Eddie, this demonstrates to Catherine that Rodolfo is weak and feminine while he is the stronger and masculine one. When Rodolfo falls down, Catherine rushes to Rodolfo’s side which horrifies Eddie as he clearly sees where Catherine’s loyalties lie as she shouts ‘Eddie’, which displays her anger. Eddie was trying to put Rodolfo out of picture as he was ‘stealing’ Catherine away from him. Eddie then tells Rodolfo, ‘I’ll teach him again. ’ which could have a double meaning as it could mean another lesson in boxing, or a lesson not to go near Catherine again. This also shows that as the play is progressing, Eddie’s actions are becoming more aggressive. In conclusion, at the end of Act One, Eddie’s love for Catherine has become aggression towards Rodolfo. Eddie’s anger and stress is building up which is told to us by the stage direction of Eddie ‘unconsciously twisting the newspaper’. Here, Eddie is transferring his feeling of anger and frustration to the newspaper. He twists the paper into a tight roll and then bends it which suddenly tears in two. The newspaper represents Rodolfo and he is therefore tearing Rodolfo and getting rid off him. This is what Eddie actually wants to do to Rodolfo.

Music; the Savior of Life

Jacob Cheslock Ms. Smith World Literature, Hour 6 30 November 2012 Music: The Savior of Life One good thing about music, when it hits you, you have no pain—â€Å"Bob Marley. † No matter what kind of music you listen to, there seems to be something about it that soothes, calms, or sparks the creative side of the mind. Ishmael Beah, a victim child of war, is very connected to music, using it to lose himself in it, forget about the war, and focus again on life just as many of us, including myself, do when life gets tough.Beah, like many of the children in his generation, is very connected to the rap genre of music but for reasons other than because it is what is popular around him. Beah and his friends are first influenced by rap music when they see it on television at a neighboring village of Mobimbi. They are amazed at how good the black people could speak English so fast and to the beat of the music. This ends up becoming a way of life for the boys as they form their ow n dance team and end up carrying notebooks and cassettes with the music of their favorite artists to always work on music together.They use this to express themselves and who they really are. After the war Beah ends up in a rehabilitation center called the Benin Home. The rehab process is a very long, hard, and painful process for not only Beah, but as well as all of the boys affected by this war. Beah however ends up finding his true self through the use of his music. It helps him to focus his mind and heal up from the damages of war. Thinking about the lyrics helps him to avoid the flashbacks and bad memories of the war, while opening up to the possibilities of life again.Beah has had a super touch life, especially being a child and music for him seems to be not only a tool to help him, but something that he needs. He explains what it feels like to be one of the victims of war, which is what the music was used to cure, in this quote by him in his book â€Å"A Long Way Gone† , â€Å"One of the unsettling thing about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally was that I wasn’t sure when or where it was going to end. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I felt that I was starting over and over again† (Beah 69).This is the main reason why music becomes such an important aspect in Ismael Beah’s life just as it has become in my own. Music for me has always been something that I loved. It has helped me through many times where I felt alone or when something was making life tough. I also music because by writing my own songs and lyrics it is a good way for me to express myself and who I really am. Whether I am listening to, playing, or writing music it seems like it flows through me like the blood in my veins. It can determine my mood or influence the mood I am in.Music always makes me feel like I have a place in this world even when nothing else can and sometimes when no one else will†¦it is my best friend . Music lives within me, around me, and is what I can always fall back on. Being a child victim of war, Ishmael Beah connects himself to music to help cure himself to the damages of war and to help him focus on returning to a normal life, as I have even done a few times. Music is an aspect of life that anyone can use to get through life†¦no matter what has happened in your life, even if you have been to end and back. â€Å"Music IS the ultimate savior and friend of life. †Ã¢â‚¬â€Jake â€Å"ChEz†

IT and Economic Performance: Evidence From Micro Studies

CHAPTER V: IT AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM MICRO DATA STUDIES By B. K. Atrostic and Ron Jarmin* Micro data—that is, data on individual businesses that underlie key economic indicators—allow us to go behind published statistics and ask how IT affects businesses’ economic performance. Years ago, analyses indicated a positive relationship between IT and productivity, even when official aggregate statistics still pointed towards a â€Å"productivity paradox. Now, such analyses shed light on how varied that relationship is across businesses, and how IT makes its impacts. This chapter focuses on research about businesses based on micro data collected by the U. S. Census Bureau. We highlight the kinds of questions about the use and impact of IT that only micro data allow us to address. Micro data studies in the United States and in other OECD countries show that IT affects the productivity and growth of individual economic units. Specific estimates of the si ze of the effect vary among studies. Researchers comparing manufacturing plants in the United States and Germany, for example, find that in each country investing heavily in IT yields a productivity premium, but that the premium is higher in the United States than it is in Germany. They also find that the productivity premium varies much more for U. S. manufacturers. This greater variability is consistent with the view that the U. S. policy and institutional environments may be more conducive to experimentation by U. S. businesses. What kind of IT investments do U. S. businesses make? Census Bureau data on U. S. manufacturing establishments show that they invest in both computer networks and the kind of complex software that coordinates multiple business processes within and among establishments. About 50 percent of these plants have networks, while fewer than 10 percent have invested in this complex software. Such a wide difference between the presence of networks and * Ms Atrostic (barbara. kathryn. [email  protected] gov) is Senior Economist, and Mr. Jarmin (ron. s. [email  protected] gov) is Acting Director, Center for Economic Studies, U. S. Census Bureau. 61 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 complex software in manufacturing, and equally wide-ranging differences in their presence among detailed manufacturing industries, highlight the diversity of IT use among businesses. Plants with networks have higher productivity, even after controlling for many of the plant’s economic characteristics in the current and prior periods. Similar results are found in other OECD countries. Some studies suggest that businesses need to make parallel investments in worker training and revised workplace practices before IT investments yield productivity gains. Careful micro data research shows that the relationship between IT and economic performance is complex. â€Å"IT† emerges as a suite of alternatives from which businesses make different choices. Estimates of the size of the effect, and how IT makes its impact, remain hard to pinpoint. Data gaps make it hard to conduct careful analyses on the effect of IT. Continuing efforts by researchers and statistical organizations are filling some of the data gaps, but the gaps remain largest for the sectors outside manufacturing—the sectors that are the most IT-intensive. More definitive research requires that statistical agencies make producing micro data a priority. What Are Micro Data? Micro data generally contain information about many characteristics of the economic unit, such as plant employment, years in business, share of IT in costs, ways it uses IT, and its economic performance. Micro data exist for both businesses and individuals, and can be developed by private and public organizations. This chapter focuses on research using micro data about businesses that are collected by the U. S. Bureau of the Census. BENEFITS OF MICRO DATA RESEARCH Standard analyses of productivity and similar economic phenomena frequently assume that businesses are identical, at least within an industry, and therefore also respond similarly to changes in economic circumstances. However, it is easy to challenge this assumption simply by observing the variety of businesses in any industry, no matter how narrowly the industry is defined, and how diverse their responses appear to be. Case studies in specific industries repeatedly bear out this observation. Micro data allow us to assess the diversity of businesses and track behaviors such as their entry and exit into an industry. They also allow us to document changes in businesses’ performance, such as employment, sales, and productivity, and see whether those changes are uniform among industries, within industries, or among businesses of given ages, sizes, and so forth. Two decades of research using micro data reveal tremendous variety in the economic characteristics and performance of businesses at any time, and over time. 1 An excellent summary is E. Barltesman and M. Doms, â€Å"Understanding Productivity: Lessons from Longitudinal Microdata,† Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 38 (September 2000). It reviews research conducted at the U. S. Census Bureau and gives references for reviews of micro data research conducted elsewhere. A detailed report on initial micro data research on productivity is provided in M. Baily, C. Hulten, and D. Campbell, â€Å"Productivity Dynamics in Manufacturing Plants,† Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics 1992. 1 62 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Micro data can paint a clearer picture of how aggregate economic statistics change. They also allow researchers to apply econometric techniques that take account of the kinds of complex relationships that simply cannot be presented in tables or other aggregated formats. Comparing findings from research studies using different data sets allows us to see which estimates appear to be robust, and which ones seem to depend on the specific data we use, and on the specific equations we estimate. RESEARCH REQUIRES GOOD MICRO DATA Micro data research takes advantage of the high-quality information about individual businesses that underlies major economic indicators. The micro data sets typically are large and nationally representative, making it more likely that they capture the tremendous diversity among businesses. 2 Researchers often are able to link data at the micro level across surveys and over time. For example, consider the new information on whether businesses have computer networks, and how they use those networks that was collected in the Computer Network Use Supplement (CNUS) to the 1999 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM). The plant-level micro data about computer networks collected in the CNUS can be linked to information about employment, shipments, use of other inputs, etc. , collected about the same plants in the 1999 ASM and to ASMs for other years, and to data that was collected about the same plants in the 1997 Economic Census. Such exact linkages yield much richer information bases than any single supplement, survey, or census alone. When micro data can be linked, researchers also can use econometric techniques to control fo r unobserved characteristics that are specific to an individual plant or business. These techniques allow researchers to have more confidence that findings, such as the effect of IT actually are due to IT and not to related but unmeasured characteristics, such as good management or a skilled work force. The Role of Information Technologies in Business Performance Recent research using micro data generally concludes that IT and productivity are related. Indeed, micro data analyses indicated a positive relationship between IT and productivity when official aggregate statistics still pointed towards a â€Å"productivity paradox. Two recent reviews of plant- or firm-level empirical studies of information technology (including but not limited to computers) and economic performance conclude that the literature shows positive relationships between information technology and productivity. However, specific estimates of the size of the effect vary widely among studies. How IT makes its impact also remains hard to pinpoint. While micro data provide raw material for importan t analyses, they are not a panacea. Researchers must address significant challenges when using existing micro data to analyze questions about the economic performance of businesses. See Z. Griliches, â€Å"Productivity, R&D, and the Data Constraint,† American Economic Review, Vol. 84 No. 1 (March 1994); and Z. Griliches, and J. Mairesse, â€Å"Production functions: The Search for Identification,† NBER Working Paper 5067 (March 1995). 3 2 More information on these surveys is available at http://www. census. gov/eos/www/ebusiness614. htm. 63 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 THE ROLE OF IT IN PRODUCTIVITY—A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE Many recent studies use micro data to document and describe the productivity of different kinds of businesses, and to examine its sources. The simple model that suggests productivity growth occurs among all existing plants simply does not fit with what the micro data show. Instead, the micro data show that much of aggregate productivity growth comes about through a much more diversified and dynamic process. Less productive plants go out of business, relatively productive plants continue, and the new entrants that survive are more productive than either. Micro data research on the effect of IT explores how IT fits into this complex picture of business behavior. Dozens of research papers over the last decade examine various facets of the relationship between IT and productivity. Two recent reviews summarizing the current literature on IT and productivity conclude that there is an impact, although there is much variation among studies in the estimated magnitudes of that effect (Dedrick, J. , Gurbaxani, V. , and K. Kraemer, 2003, â€Å"Information Technology and Economic Performance: A Critical Review of the Empirical Evidence,† ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 35, No. 1, March and Stiroh, K. J. 2002, â€Å"Reassessing the Impact of IT in the Production Function: A Meta-Analysis,† Federal Reserve Band of New York, November). 4 Dedrick et al. (2003) review over 50 articles published between 1985 and 2002, many of which are firm-level studies with productivity as the performance measure. They conclude that firmlevel studies show positive relationships, and that gross returns to information technology investments exceed returns to other investments. They warn against concluding that higher gross returns mean that plants are under-investing in information technology. Most studies do not adjust for the high obsolescence rate of information technology capital, which lowers net returns. Also, total investment in information technology may be understated because most studies measure only computer hardware, but not related labor or software, or costs of coinvention, such as re-engineering business processes to take advantage of the new information technology. Stiroh (2002) reviews twenty recent empirical studies of the relationship between information technology and output and productivity. The studies generally find a positive effect of information technology on output. However, the estimates differ across studies, and the studies differ in many dimensions, including time periods covered and specific estimation techniques used. Stiroh looks for predictable effects of differences in characteristics of the studies, such as time periods, level of aggregation (e. g. , industry, sector, or entire economy), and estimation techniques. He finds that much of the variation across studies in the estimates of the effect of information technology probably reflects differences in characteristics of the studies. 4 Many of those studies, including many studies discussed in this chapter, were conducted at the Center for Economic Studies (CES) at the U. S. Census Bureau. Appendix 5. A describes both CES, a research unit that conducts research and supports the needs of researchers and decision makers throughout government, academia, and business, and some of the major data sources available there for micro data research on the impact of IT. 64 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Stiroh also reports the findings of additional research he conducts using a single industry-level database to estimate many of the different equations used in the studies he reviewed. His research finds that information technology matters, but that even within a single database, estimates of the magnitude of that effect depend on the particular equation that is estimated. Finally, Stiroh notes a potential for publication bias. Because theory predicts a positive relationship between IT and productivity, researchers may tend to report, and editors may tend to accept for publication, only those papers with the â€Å"right† results on the impact of IT. However, as his research demonstrates, estimates are sensitive to both the data used and the particular equation that is estimated. He concludes that information technology matters, but the wide variation in empirical estimates means that much â€Å"depends on the details of the estimation† and â€Å"one must be careful about putting too much weight on any given estimates. † The conclusion that recent studies show a positive effect of information technology stands in contrast to earlier studies, many of which found no relationship. Both Dedrick (2003) and Stiroh (2002) note that the best data available to early researchers suffered from small sample sizes, few or no small firms or plants, and lack of data on information technology investment. These data gaps may be why early micro data studies failed to find a relationship between IT and performance. CAUSE AND EFFECT: DOES USING IT MAKE BUSINESSES MORE PRODUCTIVE? The literature so far yields mixed findings on cause and effect between IT and plant-level economic performance. Early research is limited to manufacturing. The first findings in this area were that more productive plants may be more likely to adopt best practices, including new technologies, and that they are able to afford to do so. However, later research suggests that less productive plants may invest in those technologies, perhaps trying to boost their productivity. 6 Recent research expands the scope of analysis of the effect of IT in the retail sector. It examines the relationship between investments in information technology and two performance measures for retail firms, productivity and growth in the number of establishments. The research finds that, in retail, IT is closely related to productivity grow th, but not to growth in the number of establishments that retail firms operate. 5 R. H. McGuckin, M. L. Streitwieser, and M. E. Doms, â€Å"The Effect of Technology Use on Productivity Growth,† Economic Innovation and New Technology Journal, 7 (October 1998). 6 Stolarick Kevin M. , â€Å"Are Some Firms Better at IT? Differing Relationships between Productivity and IT Spending,† Center for Economic Studies Working Paper CES-WP-99-13, U. S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (1999); and B. K. Atrostic, and S. Nguyen, â€Å"IT and Productivity in U. S. Manufacturing: Do Computer Networks Matter,† Center for Economic Studies Working Paper CES-02-01, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC (2002). M. Doms, R. Jarmin, and S. Klimek, â€Å"IT Investment and Firm Performance in U. S. Retail Trade,† Center for Economic Studies Working Paper CES-WP-02-14, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC (2002). 7 65 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Does the Business Environment Matter? —International Comparisons Although researchers have found evidence of the effect of IT on productivity at the micro level across many countries, the effect on aggregate productivity and economic growth has varied across countries. This is true even though IT is universally available. While the United States and a few other economies enjoyed the boom of the late 90s, many European economies experienced sluggish growth. Several explanations have been put forward including differences in the policy and institutional settings across countries, measurement issues, and time lags (micro data research showed positive effects of IT in the United States before aggregate statistics). Some have hypothesized that the U. S. economy was able to make more effective use of the new general-purpose technology of IT because its regulatory and institutional environment permits firms to experiment more. An important component of the U. S. bility in this regard is the efficient reallocation of resources away from firms whose experiments in the marketplace fail, to those whose experiments succeed. The OECD’s Growth Project (Box 5. 1) study found evidence that the Schumpeterian processes of churning and creative destruction (or market selection) yield greater economic effects in t he United States than in other OECD countries. These processes affect aggregate productivity growth as lower productivity firms shrink and exit and higher productivity firms enter and grow. Is it the case that IT has had a greater impact on business performance in the United States because the U. S. policy and institutional environment is more conducive to market selection and learning? Box 5. 1. OECD International Micro Data Initiative No single country has the resources and technical expertise to independently resolve all the measurement issues and fill all the information gaps associated with measuring the impact of IT. The OECD Growth Project provided a comprehensive analysis of the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on productivity and economic growth in several OECD countries, using aggregate, industry-level, and plant-level data. Based on that project’s success, U. S. Commerce Secretary Evans requested additional micro data research, and provided the OECD with seed money. This new project seeks to build on efforts already under way in several OECD member countries. One facet of the OECD micro data project on ICT is a series of multi-national collaborations, with a small number of countries involved in each collaboration. Each group is developing its own way of reconciling the differences in each country’s existing micro data that are important to comparative studies, such as the sectors covered, the scope of businesses included in each sector, and the specific questions asked. The OECD project also seeks explicitly to foster coordination and collaboration on e-business issues between data producers and data users in each country. Project members are from both the OECD’s Statistical Working Party of the Committee on Industry and Business Environment (largely data users focused on productivity and growth statistics) and the new Working Party on Indicators on the Information Society (largely producers of statistical indicators). 66 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Recent research using micro data from the United States and Germany attempts to address this question. 8 The analysis first compares the differences between various groups (e. g. , young vs. old, or those that invest heavily in IT vs. those that do not) of manufacturing establishments within each country. These differences are then compared across the two countries. This allows the researchers to contrast the impact of IT on economic performance between the two countries. The results suggest that U. S. anufacturing establishments benefit more from investing in IT and are more likely to experiment with different ways of conducting business than their German counterparts even after controlling for several plant specific factors such as industry, age, size, and so on. Figure 5. 1 summarizes results from an analysis of the impact of changing technologies on productivity outcomes. For the analysis, businesses undergoing an episode of high investment are assumed to be actively changing the ir technology. Manufacturers in both countries were grouped according to investment intensity as defined by investment per worker. The researchers examined investment in both general and IT-specific equipment. The core comparison group had no investment. The other two groups—with investment in any equipment, and investment in IT equipment—were split into â€Å"high† and â€Å"low† investment groups at the 75th percentile of the investment intensity distributions. Plants with â€Å"high† investment intensities were those with intensities exceeding at least 75 percent of all other investing plants. These computations were done for both overall investment in equipment (excluding structures) and for IT equipment, giving a combined seven investment intensity categories. Businesses undergoing an episode of high investment intensity can be thought of as actively changing their technologies. The market will reward some of these and punish others. The crux of the analysis summarized in Figure 5. 1 is to first compare the performance of plants across the various investment intensity groups to a baseline of firms with no investment within each country (i. e. , the bars for the listed investment intensity categories in the figure represent the percent difference from the omitted zero investment category for each country). Then the researchers compared the within country differences across the United States and Germany to see in which country the reward for experimentation (as measured by high investment episodes) is highest. Panel A shows that U. S. businesses that invest heavily, both overall and in IT, are much more productive than those that invest little or none at all. The same holds true for Germany, but the productivity premium is much higher in the United States. Panel B shows that U. S. businesses that invest heavily (i. e. are experimenting with new technologies) have more varied productivity outcomes as measured by the standard deviation than do firms that invest little or not at all. This is not the case in Germany. In fact, the German data show that firms that invest intensively have less varied productivity outcomes. This is consistent with the notion that the U. S. policy and institutional environment is more conducive to market experimentation. These results should be viewed with cauti on as they relate to only two countries and there are many factors the researchers do not control for. 8 J. Haltiwanger, R. Jarmin, and T. Schank, â€Å"Productivity, Investment in ICT and Market Experimentation: Micro Evidence from Germany and the U. S. ,† Center for Economic Studies Working Paper CES-03-06, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC (2003). 67 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Figure 5. 1. Differences in Productivity Outcomes between Germany and the United States Panel A: U. S. Firms Investing Heavily in IT and Other Capital Have Higher Productivity Premiums 100% % Difference in Mean Productivity Relative to Group with No Investment U. S. 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Low / 0 Germany High / 0 Low / Low Low / High High / Low High / High Investment Intensity (Equipment / IT) Panel B: U. S. Firms Investing Heavily in IT and Other Capital Experience More Varied Productivity Outcomes 50% U. S. % Difference in Standard Deviation of Productivity Relative to Group with No Investment Germany 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% -10% -20% -30% -40% Low / 0 High / 0 Low / Low Low / High High / Low High / High Investment Intensity (Equipment / IT) Note: Differences are in logs and are shown relative to a reference group of firm with zero total investment. Source: Haltiwanger, Jarmin and Schank 2003. DOES IT MATTER HOW IT IS USED? Businesses in the United States have used IT for fifty years. Originally, firms that used IT may have had advantage over competitors who did not. But today, simply investing in IT may no longer be enough. The question for economic performance is no longer whether IT is used, but how it is used. 68 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Figure 5. 2. Computer Networks Were Common in U. S. Manufacturing Industries in 1999, But Sophisticated Network Software Was Not 100 90 80 70 60 Plants with Networks Employment at Plants with Networks Plants with Fully Integrated Enterprise Resource Planning Software Percent 50 40 30 20 10 0 G ts ts s s s s s o t es ry ts s al em ic d ru bb er pr od l ts ill re ts uc rie ou en al ill ts ts rie uc te pe uc cc ts N ne uc uc RI iti pm od ne ba tm od st pa uc uc et TU od od Pa la st od tiv hi od od du du pr re lla ac til uc pr to Ap pr ui – ac pr pr od m e FA C od in ce an Te x ar eq al od M W oo 32 al d an d im is al c d s 5 Ch pr in pr d – d d 2 pr y uc m uc ts d s r pr lie ni Fo er te od 31 U et te – n od M co an d – t, tio tro e Pr AN in la m al la 3 e go en go 33 til m re ra rta 31 – ec ed M m Te x le 31 ve nd 1 9 1 1 d lic el 33 e d re 32 Pl as tic s – – 3 – 32 po ra 33 ab an an bl AL nd qu ns ra ur he et br re g du ra le Tr a itu 31 m tin at D on Le ca te on rn 31 – in pu tri N 6 Fu 2 Pr N – Pe – tro Fa 2 le – 4 um Be al ic – ec 33 m 33 6 – – – 31 – Co El 7 3 4 32 4 33 33 5 33 – NAICS 3-Digit Industry Source: Atrostic, B. K. and J. Gates, 2001, â€Å"U. S. Productivity and Electronic Business Processes in Manufacturing,† CES-WP-01-11, Center for Economic Studies, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC. New data from the 1999 Computer Network Use Supplement (CNUS) to the 1999 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM) are beginning to be used to model how manufacturing plants use computer networks in the United States. Respondents’ answers to questions about processes can be linked to the information the same respondents reported on regular ASM survey forms, such as the value of shipments, employment, and product class shipments. Figure 5. 2 presents researchers’ estimates of the diffusion of computer networks. The research finds that computer networks are widely diffused within manufacturing, with networks at about half of all plants. The share of employment at plants with networks is almost identical in durable and non-durable manufacturing. Use of networks varies a great deal within those sub-sectors; the share of plants with networks ranges from lows of about 30 percent to highs of about 70 percent. The CNUS also provides new information about some aspects of how plants use computer networks. Figure 5. 2 reports estimates of the diffusion of fully integrated enterprise resource planning software (FIERP); that is, the kind of software that links different kinds of applications (such as inventory, tracking, and payroll) within and across businesses. Plants in all manufacturing industries use this complex software. However, FEIRP software remains relatively rare compared to computer networks. While about half of all manufacturing plants have networks, fewer than 10 percent have this kind of software. 69 32 32 – 32 7 6 – an at ip L 5 – s DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Initial research finds that computer networks have a positive and significant effect on plant’s labor productivity. After accounting for multiple factors of production and plant characteristics, productivity is about five percent higher in plants with networks. When economic characteristics in prior periods and investment in computers are also accounted for, there continues to be a positive and statistically significant relationship between computer networks and U. S. manufacturing plant productivity. 10 These initial findings for the United States are consistent with findings for other countries. Recent research for Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, for example, all find positive relationships between using computer networks and productivity. 11 Research for Japan finds that computer expenditures and computer networks both affected productivity between 1990 and 2001. In more recent years, the effects are larger, but they also vary much more among industries. 12 Some micro data research for the United States during the 1990s suggests that IT needs to be used together with worker training and revised workplace practices to yield productivity gains. These findings are based on data containing detailed information about the use of computers in the workplace. They also contain information rarely available in other sources on the employers’ management and worker training policies. 3 Research for Australia and Canada, previously cited, also finds that returns to IT are intertwined with the use of R&D, innovation, and changes in workplace practices and organization. This line of research suggests that IT is important, but that it makes its impact when accompanied by changes in other factors and practices. IS THE IMPACT OF IT THE SAME FOR ALL KINDS OF IT, EVERYWHERE? —EVIDENCE FROM STUDIES OF MARKET STRUCTURE IT was widely expected to alter the structure of markets. The direction, however, was unclear. Lower information costs might make it easier for smaller businesses to collect, analyze, and use information and so allow them to enter distant markets or compete more effectively with larger firms. At the same time, the lower information costs might make it easier for larger businesses 9 Atrostic and Nguyen (2002). 10 Atrostic and Nguyen, â€Å"The Impact Of Computer Investment And Computer Network Use On Productivity,† paper presented NBER-CRIW Conference on â€Å"Hard-to-Measure Goods and Services: Essays in Memory of Zvi Griliches,† Washington, DC (September 2003). J. Baldwin, and D. Sabourin, â€Å"Impact of the Adoption of Advanced Information and Communication Technologies on Firm Performance in the Canadian Manufacturing Sector,† Research Paper Series, 174, Analytical Studies Branch, Statistics Canada (October 2001) present findings for Canada. E. Bartlesman, G. van Leeuwen, and H. R. Nieuwenhuijsen, â€Å"Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Firm Performance in the Netherlands,† Netherlands Official Statistics, Vol. 11 (Autumn 1996) present findings for the Netherlands. C. Criscuolo and K. Waldron, â€Å"e-Commerce use and firm productivity,† Economic Trends (November 2003) present findings for the United Kingdom. K. Motohashi, â€Å"Firm level analysis of information network use and productivity in Japan,† presented at the conference on Comparative Analysis of Enterprise (micro) Data, London (September 2003). S. Black, and L. Lynch, â€Å"How to Compete: The Impact of Workplace Practices and Information Technology on Productivity,† Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 83 No. 3 (August 2001); and D. Neumark and P. Cappelli, â€Å"Do ‘High Performance’ Work Practices Improve Establishment-Level Outcomes? † Industrial and Labor Relations Review (July 2001). 13 12 11 70 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 to retain a competitive advantage. Similarly, use of the Internet might make it easier for consumers to compare prices, and so lead to a reduction in prices for products sold on-line or in â€Å"bricks and mortar† establishments. At the same time, a firm building an on-line sales-based business may incur costs that brick and mortar businesses might not, such as cost associated with having inventories available for immediate delivery anywhere in the United States (or the world). The issues are scarcely settled. In this section, selected examples from micro data research illustrate IT’s multifaceted nature and complex economic effects. Trucking A series of studies make use of public-use truck-level data from the Census’ Vehicle Inventory and Use Surveys to examine how IT has affected the trucking industry. Each of these studies indicates the importance of knowing not just that IT is used, but also the details of the IT and how it is used. These studies examine the impact of two classes of on-board computers (OBCs). Standard OBCs function as trucks’ â€Å"black boxes,† recording how drivers operate the trucks. These enable dispatchers to verify how truck drivers drive. Advanced OBCs also contain capabilities that, among other things, allow dispatchers to determine where trucks are in real time and communicate schedule changes to drivers while drivers are out on the road. These advanced capabilities help dispatchers make and implement better scheduling decisions, and help them avoid situations where trucks and drivers are idle, awaiting their next haul. One of these studies assesses OBCs’ impact on productivity by estimating how much they have increased individual trucks’ utilization rate, as measured by their loaded miles during the time they are in service. 4 It finds that advanced OBCs have increased truck utilization by 13 percent among trucks that adopt them; overall, this effect implies a three percent increase in capacity utilization industry-wide, which translates to about $16 billion in annual benefits. The vast majority of this increase comes from trucks in the for-hire, long-haul segment of the industry, and most of these re turns only began to accrue years after trucking firms first began to adopt OBCs. In contrast, the study finds no evidence that standard OBCs have led to increased truck utilization. Combined, these results indicate not just the magnitude of IT’s impact on productivity in the industry but also its nature and timing. IT adoption has led to large productivity gains due to advanced OBCs’ real-time communication capabilities, which enable trucking firms to ensure that trucks operating far from their base are on the road and loaded. These gains, however, appear to have lagged adoption by several years. The other two studies examine how OBCs have affected how the industry is organized. One study investigates how OBCs affect whether shippers use internal fleets or for-hire carriers to ship goods. 5 This study finds that the different classes of OBCs have different effects on this T. Hubbard, 2003, â€Å"Information, Decisions, and Productivity: On-Board Computers and Capacity Utilization in Trucking,† American Economic Review, September. G. Baker and T. Hubbard, â€Å"Make Versus Buy in Trucking: Asset Ownership, Job Design, and Information,† American Economic Review, Vol. 93 No. 3 (June 2003). 15 14 71 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 decision. The diffusion of standard OBCs has tended to increase shippers’ use of internal fleets, but the diffusion of advanced OBCs has tended to increase their use of for-hire fleets. This implies that IT-enabled improvements in monitoring drivers have led shippers to integrate more into trucking, but IT-enabled improvements in scheduling capabilities have led to more contracting-out of trucking. This systematic difference indicates that whether IT tends to lead to larger, more integrated firms or to smaller, more focused firms depends critically on the new capabilities the IT provides. The second of the two organizational studies is similar: it investigates how OBCs have affected whether drivers own the trucks they operate. 6 Traditionally, â€Å"owner-operators† have been an important part of the industry. An advantage associated with owner-operators is that they have strong incentives to drive in ways that preserve their trucks’ value; these incentives have traditionally been far weaker for â€Å"company drivers,† who do not own their trucks. This study shows that OBC diffusion has diminished the use of owner-operators. By allowing firms to monitor how drivers drive, OBCs have eliminated an important incentive advantage of owneroperators, and have led trucking firms to subcontract fewer hauls out to such individuals. Residential Real Estate The Internet vastly increases the amount of information on housing vacancies that is readily available to consumers. Previous research had shown that high costs of information and lack of access to information limited housing searches. The best information available to consumers tended to be for properties near their current location. In addition, research found that information intermediaries such as real estate agents influenced the options that consumers considered. The increased information that the Internet makes available to consumers potentially reduces or eliminates those limits. Consumers can readily learn about properties far from their current locations, and can do so relatively directly (there still may be some influence exerted in how web sites are set up, for example, and consumers may not immediately, or ever, get to the best web site for their needs). Two recent studies use micro data to assess the effect of using the Internet to search for housing. In these cases, micro data from the public-use Current Population Survey provide basic information on what kinds of consumers use the Internet to search for housing. However, the CPS does not have information about the homes that Internet users purchased. To address questions about the kinds of homes purchased, the researchers surveyed a sample of recent home purchasers in a county in North Carolina. Characteristics of buyers who used the Internet as a source of information about housing vacancies were generally similar to those of buyers who only used conventional information sources, except that Internet users were younger. The researchers conclude that using the Internet to shop for housing does not seem to effect geographic search patterns, or to lead consumers to pay lower prices for comparable homes. Although using the Internet might be expected to decrease the number of homes buyers visited, because they would have more information about the houses and neighborhoods, the studies G. Baker and T. Hubbard, â€Å"Contractibility and Asset Ownership: On-Board Computers and governance in U. S. Trucking,† http://gsbwww. uchicago. edu/fac/thomas. hubbard/research/papers/paper_424. pdf (April 2003). 16 72 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 instead find that homebuyers who use the Internet as an information source make personal visits to more houses. 7 The Impact of IT on Wages Do â€Å"knowledge workers† receive wage premiums because they use computers? Does the use of IT increase the demand for more-educated workers? Does the growing use of computers by workers in some sectors of the economy explain shifts in the distribution of wages? Initial micro data research answered the first question with a resounding â€Å"yes. † One early study, for example, found that the pay of workers who used computers was 10 to 15 percent higher than the pay of similar workers who did not. 8 However, more recent studies that make use of more detailed information about workers and jobs over multiple periods find that the answer is more nuanced. IT potentially affects many aspects of the performance of businesses. It also may affect the wages, and other characteristics of jobs. Asking how IT affects wages is actually asking two questions. The first question is whether jobs where workers use computers pay higher wages. If the answer is yes, the second question is why. As with IT use in businesses, determining cause and effect of IT use on wages is hard. The jobs might pay higher wages because they require high skill levels. Some IT-using jobs, such as computer programmers and systems analysts, clearly require high skill levels, as do jobs such as architects who use computer-assisted design programs. However, computers appear throughout many workplaces. Workers may use computerized diagnostic equipment and programmable logic controllers, for example, in production applications. Office and service workers may use word processors and spreadsheets, e-mail, computerized billing systems, and so forth. Such jobs might pay higher wages if using a computer makes a worker with a given skill level more productive, but they generally do not require the workers to know much about principles of programming, or system or network design. Finally, the use of IT may allow computers to substitute for low-skilled workers performing repetitive tasks. Micro data studies in the United States, Europe, and Canada all find that workers using computers at work have much higher wages than workers who do not. The difference typically is on the order of 10 to 20 percent. However, these studies all used data from a single period, and many of them lack information about other aspects of the job, the worker, and the employer. This makes it hard to determine whether the workers have higher wages because they use a computer, or because important unobserved characteristics of the employer (is it highly productive regardless of the use of computers? ) or the worker (is the worker already highly skilled before using a computer? ) may affect managers’ decisions on investing in computers and R. Palm and M. Danis, â€Å"Residential Mobility: The Impacts of Web-Based Information on the Search Process and Spatial Housing Choice Patterns,† Urban Geography, Vol. 22, No. 7 (2001); and R. Palm and M. Danis, â€Å"The Internet and Home Purchase,† Journal of Economic and Social Geography, Vol. 93, No. 5 (2002). A. Krueger, â€Å"How Computers Have Changed the Wage Structure: Evidence from Microdata, 1984–1989,† Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 108 No. 1 (February 1993). 18 17 73 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 assigning them to which employees. A new study reviewing recent research on the impact of IT on employment, skills, and wages concludes that the story is complex. 9 Studies find that having information on plant characteristics and work practices matters. For example, a study finding that workers using computers in Germany had higher wages than workers who did not also found that a similar wage differential accrued to workers using telephones or pencils, or who worked sitting down. 20 The implication is that the wage differential really reflected the fact that workers using computers, telephones, or pencils, or who work sitting down, receive higher wages because they have higher skills. This research suggests that IT is associated with substantial wage differentials, but does not cause them. Studies for France and Canada find similar wage differentials. 21 Researchers using French and Canadian micro data also have matched sets of data on employers and workers in those countries, and have two or more years of data. Studies using these matched data all find that substantial cross-section returns to computer use fall sharply when they make use of information about changes in both the worker and employer characteristics. Estimates differ by country and study, but the final differentials are modest, 1 to 4 percent. 22 These studies also find that the relatively modest wage differential associated with computer use varies markedly across occupations and among workers with different levels of education. For example, a study for Canada finds that more highly educated workers, white-collar workers, and those adopting the computer for scientific applications receive higher than average wage premiums, while other workers do not receive wage premiums when they start using computers on the job. The reasons for such differences remain unresolved. It may be more costly to teach some groups of workers to use computers, or groups may differ in the proportion of computer training costs that they share with the employer (with lower employer shares resulting in higher wages). The researchers find that controlling for training increases the small or zero wage premiums they otherwise find for many low-skilled groups. They speculate that, if appropriate data were available to test for long-run effects, controlling for training and other worker characteristics might show positive wage differentials for most workers using computers. 3 Some detailed case studies (studies of specific businesses, usually anonymous) suggest another reason for differences in the wage differential associated with using computers at work. One M. Handel, â€Å"Implications of Information Technology for Employment, Skills, and Wages: A Review of Recent Research,† SRI International, SRI Project Number P10168, Final Report (July 2003). J. DiNardo and J. Pis chke, â€Å"The Returns to Computer Use Revisited: Have Pencils Changed the Wage Structure Too? † The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 112 No. 1 (February 1997). H. Entorf, M. Gollac, and F. Kramarz, â€Å"New Technologies, Wages, and Worker Selection. † Journal of Labor Economics (1999), and H. Entorf, and F. Kramarz, â€Å"Does Unmeasured Ability Explain the Higher Wages of New Technology Workers? † European Economic Review, Vol. 41 (1997); and C. Zoghi and S. Pabilonia, â€Å"Which Workers Gain from Computer Use? † Paper presented at NBER Summer Meetings (July 2003). 22 23 21 20 19 E. g. , Entorf and Kramarz 1997. C. Zoghi and S. Pabilonia 2003. 74 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 case study examined the effect of introducing computers into the operations of a financial organization. For some occupations, the case study found that computers substitute for the routine work that individuals previously performed, reducing the need for such workers. In other occupations, however, computers appear to take on routine tasks and free workers to perform more complex, higher skilled, problem-solving activities. 24 If IT also allows the business to alter the way it works and organize itself more productively, it may raise the skill requirements for all workers in the business, even if they do not directly use computers. Insights from the International Micro Data Initiative A wave of new literature in plant- or firm-level research on the effects of IT has been conducted in countries participating in the OECD. 25 (See box 5. 1. ) As with research using U. S. micro data, the micro data research conducted in other countries also find links between IT and productivity. Where information on computer networks is available, or other measures of how computers are used, the research again suggests that it is not just having IT, but how IT is used that effects economic performance measures such as productivity. Two kinds of studies are being undertaken. Some studies base their research on new data on IT for a single country. They make use of as much information as they can, and choose empirical techniques best suited to their data. Studies such as these contribute important insights, particularly when one country has information that other countries do not, or researchers are able to use techniques that help ensure that the measured effects indeed are due to IT. However, this strength also makes it hard to compare such estimates across countries. Studies from individual OECD countries find that IT has an impact on productivity and economic performance. Significant effects of IT on productivity are found in the service sector in Germany. 26 Recent research for France finds that one specific kind of network, the Internet, is associated with productivity gains, but other kinds of networks, which have been in use much longer, are not. 27 Canadian research finds that adopting IT is associated with growth in both productivity and market share. 8 Use of computers in Australia also is associated with productivity growth, with effects that vary across industries and are intertwined with other factors, such as the skill of a business’ work force, its organization and re-organization, and its innovativeness. 29 24 D. Autor, F. Levy and R. Murnane, â€Å"Upstairs, Downstairs: Computer-Skill Complementarity and Computer-Labor Substitution on Two Floors of a Large Bank,† Industrial & Labor Relations Review 55(3) (2002). Resea rch to date is summarized in D. Pilat, ICT and Economic Growth: Evidence from OECD Countries, Industries, and Firms (Paris: OECD, 2003). T. Hempell, â€Å"What’s Spurious, What’s Real? Measuring the Productivity Impacts of ICT at the Firm-Level,† Discussion Paper 02-42, Centre for European Economic Research (Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH; ZEW, 2002), ftp://ftp. zew. de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp0242. pdf. B. Crepon, T. Heckel, and N. Riedinger, http://www. nber. org/CRIW/papers/crepon. pdf, Paper presented at â€Å"R&D, Education, and Productivity,† NBER CRIW conference in honor of Zvi Griliches (Paris: August 2003). 8 29 27 26 25 J. Baldwin and D. Sabourin 2001. G. Gretton, J. Gali, and D. Parham, â€Å"Uptake and impacts of ICTs in the Australian economy,† paper presented at OECD, Paris, December 2002. 75 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Another group of studies tries to use as many variables and analytical techniques as possible that are similar to those used by researchers in a few other countries. 30 This approach may exclude some variables and some analytical techniques, if researchers in several countries cannot use them. On the other hand, this kind of coordination makes it more likely that similar empirical findings are actually due to IT, and that differences in empirical findings are due to differences in economic conditions and other factors among countries. An example is a group of researchers conducting parallel analyses for the United States, Denmark, and Japan. 31 Preliminary findings are that IT is positively related to productivity in all three countries, but that the relationship depends on the type of IT used, the sector, and time period. Early results for Denmark show a significant correlation between several measures of the firm’s performance and use of the Internet, but not for other uses of IT. For Japan, productivity levels are consistently higher for firms using IT networks. However, growth in labor productivity varies by type of network and how the network is used, and the effect of Internet use is higher for retail trade firms than for manufacturing firms. For U. S. manufacturing plants, there is a strong relationship between use of computer networks and labor productivity. Better Micro Data Research Requires Better Micro Data Because the micro data are typically collected for other purposes, such as constructing key economic indicators, we almost always find that they lack some (often, much) of the information needed to address questions such those about the pervasiveness of IT and its effect. These gaps simply do not allow us to draw firm conclusions about the effect of IT. For example, research exploring the micro-level link between IT and economic performance may not always be able to separate the role of IT from other related but unobserved characteristics of the plant. Well-managed plants may use IT as one of many tools to achieve performance goals. If we have information about IT, but not about management practices, the research may attribute performance effects to IT that really are due to good management. Estimating plant-level relationships among computers, computer networks, and productivity also is hard to do with existing data because many of the most important concepts—what a business produces (output), and all the factors it uses to make its product (such as labor, capital, energy, etc. known as â€Å"inputs†), as well as IT itself—are difficult to define, and data based on these concepts are hard to collect. 32 Continuing research on these concepts leads to improve- For example, researchers in several countries are using the approach taken by U. S. researchers (Atrostic and Nguyen 2002), and using its findings as the benchmark against which they are comparing research findings using their own countries’ data. B . K. Atrostic, P. Boegh-Nielsen, K. Motohashi, and S. Nguyen, â€Å"Information Technology, Productivity, and Growth in Enterprises: Evidence from New International Micro Data,† L’acutalite economique (forthcoming 2004). A large literature lays out major data gaps in estimating the impact of information technology on economic performance. For example, conferences conducted by the NBER Conference on Research in Income and Wealth (CRIW) addressing capital and labor measurement over the last 20 years include D. Usher, The Measurement of Capital (NBER CRIW Volume 45 (Chicago University Press, 1980)); J. Triplett, The Measurement of Labor Cost (NBER CRIW Volume 48 (Chicago University Press, 1983)); and C. Corrado, J. Haltiwanger, and D. Sichel, Measuring Capital in the New 32 31 0 76 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 ments in what statistical agencies collect, but a dynamic and evolving economy continually presents new challenges. Even when concepts are well defined, it is costly for statistical agencies to collect data and for respondents to provide the requested information. As a result, some key information needed for analysis may not be collected often or at all. Examples include information such as the number of computers and computer networks that businesses have, how they use them, and how much businesses invest in computers and other IT. The divergent findings in the resulting empirical literature on the effects of IT are likely related to these data gaps, and to differences in the techniques researchers use to try to deal with them. 33 One way to improve the micro data available for research would be by better integrating aggregate economic indicators and their underlying micro data. It currently is not always easy to reconcile movements in the aggregate statistics with changes observed in the micro data. Aggregate indicators often are constructed from multiple micro data sources, and different sources of data for any concept (such as employment or payroll) may disagree. Collecting more of the data underlying aggregate statistics in ways that enrich their value as micro data, such as using common sampling frames and keeping information that allows linkage of same economic unit over time and across surveys, would improve both the micro data and our ability to understand changes in the aggregate economic indicators. Conclusion Micro data research conducted in the United States and in OECD countries shows that IT is related to economic performance and productivity. Careful research also shows that the relationships are complex. IT emerges as a multifaceted factor. The kind of IT that is used and how it is used appear to matter in many (but not all) settings, including the ownership structure of trucking markets, the relative dynamism of retailing, and the relative risk taking and innovativeness of manufacturing sectors across countries. At the same time, the use of IT alone does not appear to be enough to affect economic performance. When researchers have information about the characteristics of businesses, workers, jobs, and markets, they find that IT appears to work instead in tandem with those factors. Economy (NBER CRIW Volume 65 (Chicago University Press, forthcoming)). A series of meetings of international experts, known as the â€Å"Canberra Group,† addressed capital measurement issues during the late 1990s (http:// unstats. un. org/unsd/methods/citygroup/capitalstock. htm). An excellent manual describing how to calculate productivity devoted considerable text to issues in measuring capital can be found in P. Schreyer, Measuring Productivity: Measurement of Aggregate and Industry-Level Productivity Growth—OECD Manual (Paris: OECD 2001). Measuring intangible capital, potentially important in both IT and non-IT capital, received much attention recently (see for example B. Lev, Intangibles: Management, Measurement, and Reporting (Brookings Institution Press: 2001)). 33 See, for example, Dedrick et al. (2003); D. Pilat, 2003; B. K. Atrostic, J. Gates, and R. Jarmin, 2000, â€Å"Measuring the Electronic Economy: Current Status and Next Steps,† Working Paper CES-WP-00-10, Center for Economic Studies, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington DC; and J. Haltiwanger, and R. Jarmin (2000), â€Å"Measuring the Digital Economy,† in E. Byrnjolfsson and B. Kahin (eds. ), Understanding the Digital Economy (MIT Press 2000). 77 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Separating out the effect of IT remains difficult because the analysis requires detailed information, and requires it for multiple periods. However, such detailed and repeated information is rare. Most business micro data contain only the information needed to calculate important economic indicators. The micro data are most sparse for the sectors outside manufacturing—the most IT-intensive sectors. More definitive research on the impact of IT requires that producing micro data sets becomes a statistical agency priority. 78 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Appendix 5. A. Conducting Micro Data Research on the Impact of IT THE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC STUDIES, U. S. CENSUS BUREAU The Center for Economic Studies (CES) is a research unit of the Office of the Chief Economist, U. S. Bureau of the Census, established to encourage and support the analytic needs of researchers and decision makers throughout government, academia, and business. CES currently operates eight Research Data Centers (RDCs) throughout the United States. RDCs offer qualified researchers restricted access to confidential economic data collected by the Census Bureau in its surveys and censuses. CES and the RDCs conduct, facilitate, and support research using micro data to increase the utility and quality of Census Bureau data products. The best way for the Census Bureau to assess the quality of the data it collects, edits, and tabulates is for knowledgeable researchers to use micro records in rigorous analyses. Each micro record results from dozens of decisions about definitions, classifications, coding rocedures, processing rules, editing rules, disclosure rules, and so on. Analyses test the validity of all these decisions and uncover the data’s strengths and weaknesses. Research projects at CES and its RDCs are examining how facets of the electronic economy affect productivity, growth, business organization, and other aspects of business performance using both new data collected specifically to provide new information about IT , and existing data. Projects using existing Census Bureau micro data on businesses include McGuckin et al. 998; Dunne, Foster, Haltiwanger and Troske, 2000; Stolarick 1999; and Doms, Jarmin, and Klimek, 2002). Research making use of the new 1999 supplement to the Annual Survey of Manufactures linked to existing Census Bureau micro data include Atrostic and Gates 2001; Atrostic and Nguyen 2002; Haltiwanger, Jarmin, and Schank 2002; and Bartelsman et al. 2002. Research findings from many of these projects are discussed in this chapter. The research also helps the Census Bureau assess what current data collections can say about the electronic economy so that we can more efficiently allocate resources to any new measurement activities. More information about CES, RDCs, requirements for access to data, and examples of research produced at the RDCs is at http://www. ces. census. gov/ces. php/home. DATA SOURCES AT CES Researchers at CES and the RDCs built, and use, a longitudinal data set linking manufacturing plants over time. The data are based on surveys and economic censuses, and contain detailed data on shipments and factors used to produce them, such as materials and labor, as well as characteristics of the plant, such as whether it exports. Recent CES research broadens the range of available micro data beyond manufacturing. A new micro data set, the Longitudinal Business Database, currently contains the universe of all U. S. business establishments with paid employees from 1976 to present. It allows researchers to examine entry and exit, gross job flows, and changes in the structure of the U. S. economy. The LBD can be used alone or in conjunction with other Census Bureau surveys at the establishment 79 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 and firm level. In addition, micro data from surveys and censuses of the retail, wholesale, and some service sectors is now becoming available. The National Employer Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau for the National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce, collects detailed information about work practices, worker training, and the use of computers. Restricted access to confidential data from the survey is available to qualified researchers through the RDCs. Information about the National Employer Survey can be found at http://www. census. gov/econ/overview/mu2400. html. PUBLIC-USE DATA This chapter also refers to research conducted using two other sets of micro data collected by the Census Bureau. The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a survey of households that is collected by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPS periodically collects information about people’s use of computers at work and at home. More information can be found at http://www. census. gov/population/www/socdemo/computer. html. The Truck Inventory and Use Surveys collect information about on-board trip computers and electronic vehicle management systems as part of the Census of Transportation. Information about the Census of Transportation can be found at http://www. census. gov/econ/www/tasmenu. html. 80

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Equal pay act of 1963 - Research Paper Example The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits â€Å"discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce†. In other words, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was designed to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees on account of gender. In many instances, the development and implementation of such Act was an urgent response to the existing labor conditions in America and the growing dissatisfaction of women with their inferior job position. Since the end of the WWII, wage differentials between men and women plagued the development of labor relations in America and called for major improvements. However, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was not the first attempt to curb wage disparities based on gender in American economy: during the WWII, the equal pay for women policy was declared and several federal governments proposed that legislation be implemented to reduce and, finally, eliminate wage discrimination b ased on gender (Fogel, 1984). Actually, Congress took the difficult decision to pass the Equal Pay Act, fearing that the existing wage discrimination would negatively influence the balance of labor supply and demand and would, simultaneously, burden courts with unnecessary paperwork as they are fighting to prove women’s rights for equal pay (Fogel, 1984). In many instances, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 became the turning point in the development of equal labor opportunities in America. Whether the Equal Pay Act of 1963 has far-reaching implications for HR and produces significant impacts on HR practices is difficult to define. On the one hand, the act sets the stage for developing equal wage opportunities for women and men in similar professions and those, who fulfill similar obligations and tasks. Alternatively, it is clear that the Equal Pay Act of 1963 did not produce the desired effects on the state of labor relations in the U.S.: the change in wage discrimination is meager compared to

Tort Law Ph.D. Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tort Law Ph.D. - Case Study Example Prior to the regulations on electronic music equipment, which were introduced in 1990's the present music equipment was very sensitive to electro-magnetic interference. After 1990's it has to comply with specific standards that make it more immune to this sort of interference, that the problem experienced by Mr Morris would not be encountered with guitars produced according to these regulations. The interference is due to the sensitiveness of the recording equipment the foreseeing of nuisance by the Railways does not arise. It would arise if the interference were caused because of the sensitivity of the TI 21. "Railtrack could not reasonably have foreseen that these track circuits could have caused problems of electromagnetic interference at a distance of 60 to 70 meters." The court believed that playing the guitar with sensitive electric and electronic music instrument such as an amplifier is not an abnormal but an ordinary enjoyment of property, it is feature of modern life and it is material for many younger generation's pleasure and also a vital part of the modern music generation. The trial court believed the fact that electromagnetic interference was caused not only to the complaint alone but it caused to other users of such instrument also well before the track circuit was installed within that vicinity. And therefore concluded the second issue that nuisance of electromagnetic interference to the complainant was foreseeable. (Graham Sinclair (2005), Neighbors and the Law (Chapter 5.10) Findings of the Court of Appeal The court of appeal recognized the issue as a sensitive and since there is no settled law adjudicating the electromagnetic interference as nuisance. Therefore the court has elaborately discussed the issues taking the settled law nearest to issues in this case. The court has made the following findings: The court of appeal felt that only interference to the comforts of standard average man is actionable. Interference to abnormal and sensitive enjoyments of his property does not come within the ambit of the actionable nuisance. In this regard the court also felt that no

Biographies of the Justices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biographies of the Justices - Essay Example He stands out as a judge with a moderate judicial temperament who has equally pleased and disappointed both conservatives and liberals. Appointed by a Republican president, Souter had been expected by some to be a solid conservative on the court. Nevertheless, his Oyez biography notes that he has shored up the "moderate camp" of the Court and has been instrumental in preventing it from shifting too far to the right. This propensity to avoid extremes is, to me, a desirable characteristic in a person who wields tremendous influence over the lives of so many people The justice whom I like the least is Antonin Scalia (http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/legal_entity/103/). Here is a justice who has ruffled feathers both on the Court and off. He has a confrontational and abrasive style that has led to consternation among his associates and his opponents, while usually pleasing extreme conservatives. He takes a very dogmatic and red-line view of the law that leaves little room for nuance. Unfortunately, the complexity of many issues that can come before the Court often requires a more nuanced approach in order to reach the optimal decision. Scalia is also the justice who surprised me the most. I had always considered him to be an unabashed conservative in the political sense of the word.

The Value of Education in Todays Society Research Paper

The Value of Education in Todays Society - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that today’s economy has become more global and Americans are being asked to gain more global knowledge. As the economy and political policies continue to change, the needs for competition and understanding have changed. Many businesses are requiring employees to have knowledge of more than one language so that they negotiate contracts easier. Globalization also brings with it the need for computer knowledge that includes an understanding of virtual working teams, and they must be able to take in knowledge quickly. This project makes a conclusion that education is important to society on many levels. Education drives a society and can help it transition to a stronger community. Education is important to enhance a society and to make it stronger. When someone is gaining education, he or she learns how to help others achieve as they take the role of leadership. Education is important to the economy because educated people spend more and they pay more taxes. They also pay taxes. Both situations bring people together and help the society grow. Most organizations are working with a diverse work group which means that training should be involved with them to understand more about cultures and about what culture looks like. In a global world, it is important is to be culturally sensitive to the needs of all workers and this come with education and training. There is no doubt that education is important to society. There are a variety of ways that educated people help the economy.

Unit 3&4 Micro Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 3 Micro - Assignment Example The lowest sales tax in the US is 4.5% in Hawaii and Portland, Oregon, while Anchorage in Alaska does not have any kind of sales tax. What this shows is the rest of the country could pay between 4.5 and 10% showing that sales tax is only part the overall tax structure where, for example, states such as Washington has a sales tax, but it does not have income tax. The table in the appendix shows what kind of sales tax Americans living in the various states are paying showing that the average tax rate could approach 8% and could be considered high (Tax Foundation, 2012). Another indicator to look at might be the US had $558 billion trade deficit with the outside world in 2011 showing that the nation is importing more than it is exporting that reveals there could be foreign made goods flooding the US market. The deficit with China alone accused of flooding the US market with goods made using cheap labor was at $295.5 billion in 1911. Other sign that Americans are buying more foreign made goods is the manufacturing jobs in the US are disappearing where in 10 years alone 5 million manufacturing jobs might have disappeared. The trade imbalance the US had that was 7 times more than any other nation shows that the American consumers are buying foreign goods more than any other nation. Buying foreign goods hits hard on the local manufacturing where in the US alone, on average 15 manufacturing facilities were closing everyday for the last ten years showing that imported goods had replaced goods produced by such manufacturers. The outcome of heavily relying on foreign made goods had been that at least more than 41% of working age Americans do not have decent jobs, while the majority of new created jobs are low-tech and low-paying. When looking at figures like this it is possible to say that there are many imported goods in the US economy, to the point

The Omnivore Versus the Forest Essay Example for Free

The Omnivore Versus the Forest Essay The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan describes the everyday struggle between the omnivore and its food choices. The omnivore’s dilemma comes about every time the omnivore becomes hungry. There is the question of â€Å"What do I want to eat? † for each meal. Pollan believes that the omnivore has three main food chains: the industrial (corn), the pastoral (grass), and the personal (forest). I chose Part III Personal of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. The personal food chain is where the hunter-gatherer finds their food within the forest. I will be reviewing chapters 15 through 17, The Forager, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and The Ethics of Eating Animals. The Omnivore’s Dilemma offers an interesting insight of the omnivore overall however, does it meet my common expectations of readability, storyline development, and maintaining interest. The way a book reads in terms of words and language used is readability. When an author uses uncommon or unknown words throughout, it affects the way the book reads. When I am constantly looking up words that are unfamiliar or I cannot determine from the context, I lose interest. The constant stopping distracts from how it reads. There were a few words I did not know such as chanterelle and surfeit. Chanterelle turns out to be a species of mushroom, which I was able to determine from the context of the paragraph. I had to stop to look up surfeit, which means an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something. Overall chapters 15 through 17 have great readability. Storyline development is another important aspect of a book. The story must gradually build onto itself without becoming stagnant. A storyline that builds to climax fast and leaves the rest of the story with nothing or a storyline that takes forever to develop will ensure that I will stop reading. Chapters 15 through 17 add to the storyline of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Chapter 15 starts with the gatherer or forager. Pollan begins with his gathering experience of helping his mother collect clams, berries, and beach plums during childhood. He then adds to the storyline with his adulthood experience gathering in the forest for mushrooms to getting his hunting license. Chapter 16 builds into how the omnivore’s dilemma applies to the hunter-gatherer. Pollan explains how the omnivore overcomes the defenses of plants and animals and thus creates the dilemma. Chapter 17 then adds in the how the omnivore feels about eating animals, how the vegetarian chooses how to eat, how animals suffer (both being hunted and farm animals), the happiness of farm animals, the extreme vegetarian – the vegan, and the clean kill. The last aspect of a book is maintaining interest. I will only read a book if my interest is peaked and maintained throughout. Maintaining my interest is the culmination of the other two aspects: readability and storyline. The first three chapters of Part III have some interesting parts however, my interest went in waves. Chapter 15 was the most interesting of the three chapters. Pollan held my interest by providing some background and telling his story of the first attempts at foraging. Chapters 16 and 17 did not hold my interest at all. I had to force myself to keep reading. The Omnivore’s Dilemma met two of the three common expectations I have for reading books. Unfortunately, the book was not able to hold my attention as expected. A book can read well and have a good developed storyline but if it fails to keep me interested, I will never finish the book. The interesting insight The Omnivore’s Dilemma provides is not enough for me to keep reading.

Collection of Reflective Statements

Collection of Reflective Statements Amruth Ganesh One of the famous Australian cricketer the world has seen is Ricky Thomas Ponting. He was captain of Australian cricket team. He captained test cricket between 2004 and 2011 and One day international cricket between the period 2002 and 2011. He is famous for his batting skills and is a right handed batsman. He is the 42nd Test captain of the country (http://www.espncricinfo.com Ricky Ponting). Under his captainship Australia won world cups in 2003 and 2007. He was also the part of 1999 world cup match. Ponting started playing cricket from an early age and made his debut in 1992 for Tasmania. In 1995 made his debut in one day international match. It is not only batting skills he is famous for but also fielding and his aggressive captaincy. He is the only person who showed eagerness to lead the team when Australia was in search of replacement for the legendary captain Steve Waugh in 1994. He is famous for his series of achievements. He has won Allan Border Medal four times (http://www.edubilla.com Ricky Ponting). He is one of the four players who have scored 13000 test runs in the history. He is the only cricketer who has bagged most test victories (48 out of 77 tests) and world cup as a captain. His Concentration on the game was amazing and never used to get distracted. Though his temperament was high during the matches, he was successful in managing his team. In 2012, Ponting announced his retirement from test cricket one day before the test against South Africa. He played his last one day international match on February 2012 and his last test cricket on December 2012. He will always be remembered as the most successful captain of all the time. References: Ricky Ponting Available at: [Accessed 04 Mar. 2017] List of Ricky Pontings achievements and statistics Available at: http://www.gutenberg.us/articles/list_of_ricky_pontings_achievements_and_statistics [Accessed 04 Mar. 2017] Most successful captain, but not much love for Ponting Available at: [Accessed 04 Mar. 2017] Reflection Essay 2: Workplace Culture I am from India. I have worked in India for about 3 years after graduation before coming to Australia for post graduation. I can now make out some of the noticeable changes comparing both countries in terms of workplace culture. In Australia more preference is given to balanced work life irrespective of the jobs. The average working hours per week varies around 40 hours (http://www.abs.gov.au Trends in hours worked). While in India we work for minimum 48 hours per week and sometimes it will go up to till 55 hours. Hierarchy structure in India varies from job to job and is pretty high when compared to Australia. Staying back late in the office is common in India. In Australia they maintain strict timings and usually people wont make it late to the office and rarely they stay back late in the evenings (https://www.canstar.com.au What is Australias working culture like?). The breaks given during office hours are less in Australia when compared to India where we get more break timings. The main policy which fascinated me the more is about dignity of labor here in Australia. No work is less; no work is more, is the motto here. All occupations are treated equally here where whereas in India prominence is not given that much to the dignity of labor. This is one of the main barrier that is hindering the work productivity. Usually people are respected based on type of occupation and sometimes people think twice before doing the jobs like drivers, waiters and house help. On the whole, both countries have their own set of workplace culture. Changing the work style of a country and adapting to it takes time. These work policies should be reviewed from time to time to ensure smooth work life balance. References: Available at: Australia culture in the workplace Available at: [Accessed 04 Mar. 2017] Cultural Differences between India and Australia Available at: [Accessed 04 Mar. 2017] Reflection essay 3: The evolution of social media channels Social media is mainly a public platform to interact and connect with people through web-based technology. Social media channels contribute majorly in exchange of ideas between the people. Some of the examples are Facebook, Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube and so on. Today LinkedIn has more than 297 million members (http://www.digitaltrends.com The history of social networking). Communication between the people has become more convenient nowadays through these channels when compared to earlier times. Earlier it was more tedious process to connect with people more often. The evolution of social media has made a significant impact in the recent days. It has changed the way the people communicate with each other. These channels has become boon to marketing people. Marketing in these channels are free and reaches more people globally when compared to old traditional methods. Movie promotions go viral on these channels.   Its a good platform for new talents to showcase their skills. One of major benefit of these channels are exposure to more job opportunities and searching job has been made easier through these channels. The Sensis Social media report shows that 50 percent of users are accessing social media every day (http://www.shortpress.com How the evolution of social media has changed Australian small business). On the other hand there is significant number of drawbacks for these channels. Cyber bullying in the recent times have been increased and adults are more likely to get affected by this. More addiction to this social media will likely cause depression among people. Trolling and harassment cases have also been increasing. Hacking has become another major problem these days. There is considerable amount of threat if these channels are not used properly. Social media has become part of our life now. This has both advantages disadvantages. We always should be looking forward to make best out of this. We should not get addicted to this and should make proper use of these channels. References: 5 Social-Media Opportunities Businesses Mostly Overlook Available at:    [Accessed 04 Mar. 2017] Social media best practice for business Available at: [Accessed 04 Mar. 2017] 7 Social Media Challenges And Business Opportunities For Social Media Managers Available at: [Accessed 04 Mar. 2017] Reflection essay (Workshop 2) In Week 2 class professor explained about the importance of communication skill. I learnt how useful communication is, in exchanging ideas and information from one another which helps us to grow personally and also professionally. I also learnt about three different types of communication that is verbal, nonverbal and graphic communication. There are two types of communication in the workplace namely formal and Informal way of communication. Also I learnt when and where to use this particular type of communication.   During this, one guy in the class raised a question that whether gender needs to considered as a part of communication, later which professor clarified by saying it needs to be considered. Professor also taught about types of nonverbal messages and classification of nonverbal communication. Main pillars of the constructive and effective communication are Ask, Look and Listen. One more important thing I learnt is listening is more important than speaking because we receive information when we listen. Professor stressed more on Active listening which is necessary to become an effective communicator and it also encourages the person on the other side. Also came to know about the listening funnel, forms of questioning and also types of questions. Professor made us understand the importance of seven elements of communication process and different causes for communication barriers. Social networking platforms play an important role in communication. I understood the need of behaving ethically while business communication. Overall the session was more interacting one and professor encouraged each and everyone to actively participate in the learning and discussion. Also professor allowed us to discuss on case studies and guided us about assignments. Case Study 1: 1.  Bernie has to apologize to Nicola for not appreciating the work she has done. He must assure her this wont be repeated again in the future and should convince her to continue working. He should ask here to be bold enough in raising her questions and clarifying them, so that it will be easy to resolve the conflicts. 2.  I would suggest Bernie to have more frequent interaction with Nicola and should try to understand her concerns regarding the work. He should avoid thanking her when she is alone instead he should appreciate her work in front of everyone and should also contribute by helping her in the work, which makes Nicola more confident and will be happy to continue work with him. 3.  Nicola should first listen with open mind while she is being instructed and should ask whatever doubts she has and must clarify at the end before starting up the work. She should stop talking to herself and start raising concerns if she is feeling something is not going right. This way she can work with clear mind and will be more confident. Q2: 1. Maintain eye contact with speaker Ensure correct posture Be attentive and dont get distracted Keep an open mind Respond appropriately Dont interrupt or suggest in the middle Use mirroring of some facial expression of the speaker Ask relevant questions Try to feel what speaker is feeling Summarize back to the speaker Give feedback to the speaker 2. Verbal signals Nonverbal signals Remembering Eye contact Question and answer Handshake Giving feedback Gestures Summarizing in the end Dressing Being attentive Facial expression 3.  In a workplace my active listening skill will show that I am a good listener and it also shows my interest towards the work. It makes an impression that I am respecting my co-workers and also helps me in gaining their trust. It also helps in solving the conflicts between one another by encouraging them to speak openly. It gives better insight in understanding the problems and thus enabling me to provide best and suitable solutions to it. It helps me in noting down few points regarding what happened in meeting and thus helps me gain better understanding and remember them, so that feedback can be given and questions can be raised at the end of the meeting.

George Eastman Inventor Of Kodak Camera Film Studies Essay

George Eastman Inventor Of Kodak Camera Film Studies Essay Over the years photography has helped us share memories and moments with the people we love. Photography sets a mood and gives us a way of remembering our pasts. There is always that one question though. Where did it come from? Reading on will help you understand who, where, and when this invention all began. The word photography comes from the Greek language. The two words, photo, meaning light, and grapho, meaning writing, evolved its name, photography. Writing with light interested Greek and Chinese scholars to start experimenting with light. Using reflections from different objects, they can produce images. It took hundreds of years for anyone to figure this out which made the discovery more exciting. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 6-8) Giovanni Battista del la Porta presented the first image in front of an Italian audience. The people were amazed to see how the upside-down picture flipped and came alive on the wall. The audience didnt know about the pinhole in the wall where projected light was passing through. This is called Camera Obscura. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 8-10) Cameras started off being a big, heavy, wooden box. Arab scientist studied the sun using a camera obscura. Camera obscura means dark box or dark room in Latin, using sunlight which entered a hole in the box and displayed an image on the screen. By the 16th century, the hole became lens. (Franklin Watts, pg. 7-9, Tolmachev, Ivan.) Many artists started coming up with their own ways of using Camera Obscura including Johann Schulze who later helped the journey of photography. In 1760, a frenchman named Tiphaigne de la Roche made history with his famous prediction. He proposed using a sticky substance on the canvas would help with the images appearance. De la Roches prediction came true a few decades after his death. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 10-11) In the 19th century, pictures could be kept by using a sheet of material inside the box. This allowed people to see places they may never visit. They could see how other countries dressed, how the rich and poor lived, and for the first time, how war was. With Daguerres new invention, the Daguerreotype photography was created. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 9-12) This reduced light exposure time from eight hours to just a half hour. The daguerreotype was made famous and was bought over by the French government within a few months. Daguerres instruction manual was translated into a dozen languages all over the world. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 13) Scientists then started putting together light and chemicals knowing this could become something big known as the birth of photography. Thomas Wedgwood was the first to capture a silhouette temporarily using a chemical called silver nitrate. No one knew how to keep it permanent until 1826 when Nicephore Niepce successfully produced a permanent image. He la ter became partners with Louis Daguerre who continued experimenting even after his death. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 12, Wikipedia.) Scientists started putting light and chemicals together knowing this could become something big known as the birth of photography. Thomas Wedgwood was the first to capture a silhouette temporarily using a chemical called silver nitrate. No one knew how to keep it permanent until 1826 when Nicà ©phore Nià ©pce successfully produced a permanent image. He later became partners with Louis Daguerre who continued experimenting even after his death. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 12) Americans were very excited about the Daguerreotype. Daguerre and Samuel Morse, a painter inventor, exchanged ideas about the Daguerreotype giving the U.S. an advantage on photography. Morse and his partner, John Draper, came up with their own version two months before the actual release. The Daguerreotype became very popular but had limitations such as its small size, weight of the metal, they were very fragile as to any marking could ruin the image, and there was no negative to make copies of any kind. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 1618) In 1843, an entire photo industry developed in the United States. People were now able to afford their own portraits no matter how wealthy they were. Portrait studios and big-city galleries opened all over the United States and newspapers started being printed with pictures. Publishers began printing books with pictures of the world and magazines started publishing with images of farms, churches, people, and nature. By 1851, pictures only needed two to th ree seconds of exposure time and grew even more. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 18-19) George Eastman, inventor of Kodak camera, made photography available to everyone. He was born in New York on July 12th, 1854 during the Daguerreotypes appearance. Eastmans interest in photography developed while planning a vacation to take pictures. He never did go, but continued his liking towards photography. This is when he created his own process that could take multiple pictures. In 1880, he opened his own business called the Eastman Company. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 22-23) Eastmans goal was to make the camera as convenient as a pencil. His first accomplishment was loading photographic paper onto a roll holder allowing people to take pictures and develop later instead of one after another. In 1885, Eastman created film that had the ability to hold multiple pictures. This film fit dozens of photos and provided a clearer image than paper would. Surprisingly, only a few people used his new invention. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 24) Eastman was particularly fond of the letter K. Therefore, he created a name that both started and ended with the letter. The first Kodak products were advertised in newspapers and magazines written by himself. In 1888, he created Kodaks slogan, You press the button, and we do the rest. Kodak was a big step in the continuation of photography and eliminated the hassle of big photography equipment. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 26-27) When film is struck by light, its coating of chemicals changes, known as the emulsion. Color film has three light sensitive layers, each sensitive to either red, green, or blue. When the film is treated with chemicals, three colors each form on top of each other. The paper inside is also treated with chemicals which finishes the final print. (Franklin Watts, pg. 18) Eastman believed that photo taking should be available to all people no matter what you could afford. By 1896, the Eastman Company had produced 100,000 Kodak cameras and manufactured about 400 miles of film per month. Kodak cameras cost five dollars but Eastman wasnt satisfied so he reduced it to only one dollar. In 1900, he created a small camera called the Brownie. By doing all of this, he gave the world the ability to take pictures by doing nothing more than pressing a button. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 27, Wikipedia.) The word photography comes from the two Greek words, phos and graphos. This means to write with light. Good lighting is very important for great quality. By combining certain lights, photographers can create certain moods or atmospheres. Professionals use an instant camera to check if everything is perfect before using normal film. (Franklin Watts, pg. 24) Film now has to be sent to a processing laboratory to be developed. An instant camera can use a special type of film that develops by itself. Each picture slides out as soon as its taken. It is fully developed within a minute. As it leaves the camera, it is coated with photographic chemicals. (Franklin Watts, pg. 20) In order for the picture to be perfect, there must be the correct amount of light. There are two ways of adjusting it. Changing the shutter speed varies the length of time the shutter is open. Changing the aperture alters the size of the hole that allows light in. Most cameras nowadays can do that automatically. (Frank lin Watts, pg. 16) Having a picture taken in a professional studio was a special moment for people. Therefore, they wore their best clothes in order to look good. In Victorian pictures, people often look stiff. This was because of the duration of the picture capture which made it difficult to look relaxed. It was also hard to smile for a long time so they often had a blank expression. Victorian photos often had a brown tint called sepia made from the liquid squirted out by a cuttlefish. (Franklin Watts, pg.1214) When filming a scene, a tape machine and a camera are started. A clapstick is snapped in front of the camera and Action! is yelled by the director. Later, the sound is put into each scene. This makes sure that each picture is exact with each sound. The lighting, sound, camera, and equipment are all put together by a filming crew. (Franklin Watts, pg. 31) The scenes are then joined together with a splicing machine. Some scenes might not even be used at all. Some movies put in the Deleted Scenes to show you how the movie could have been different. (Franklin Watts, pg. 32) Photography then started merging into the computer age. This major change in the United States had amazed many throughout the 1990s. The major movie Snow White was restored in 1993 using digital codes. Computers transferred microscopic pixels and displayed the image on the screen. Nowadays, we have the capability to add artistic effects, textures, and designs to a picture within seconds. Photos can be sent through the internet in color around the world. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 30) Photography is used to see things that are not able to be seen. Cameras are carried by spy planes and satellites to take pictures from the sky. X-rays produce images of people and objects on the inside. The camera can get through muscle and skin but not bone. These pictures allow doctors to see problems occurring not seen from the outside. (Franklin Watts, pg. 26) In the 1830s, people created toys that made a series of pictures on a spinning disc. Each picture looked a little different than before. When shown quickly, they create a moving picture. Photographs were then placed on long strips of film. This became known as the cinema industry. (Franklin Watts, pg. 28) By the middle of the 20th century, the camera became a common item with multiple uses. People everywhere were now taking portraits of whatever they pleased at such little cost. Scientists came up with the idea of x-rays creating a huge breakthrough in medicine. Thomas Edison came out with the motion picture camera for news coverage and entertainment. The creation of microfilm allowed banks and libraries to copy and store info. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 28) Newspapers and television newsrooms now receive pictures within a few seconds after they are taken. Hospitals can send medical images to other hospitals when needed. Many people create online photo albums and share them with others. Many social networks have the ability to post pictures such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and others. Cell phones now have the ability to take pictures and send them to friends. The photographic world changes rapidly all starting off with a reflection on a wall. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 28, Sullivan, Connor R.) Inventions such as home movie cameras, photocopiers, underwater cameras and space cameras all developed during the 20th century. In 1962, John Glenn was first to orbit the earth using a special camera to film the whole journey. In 1969, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong used another camera to film the first step on the moon. Photographs of the moon were brought back studied. These pictures amazed many as it was the first time theyve seen what they have been curious about for centuries. (Sue Vander Hook, pg. 28-29) A camera has many parts to it. The hole in the front with the lens called the aperture allows light to pass through and fall onto the film inside. When the camera isnt in use, a shutter keeps the film in total darkness. By pressing the button, the shutter opens and light enters the lens producing a clear image on the film. The shutter is closed again and is wound on, ready for the next photograph. (Franklin Watts, pg. 14) There are several different cameras. The most popular are compact cameras and the single lens reflex (SLR) cameras. A compact camera can fit easily into your pocket while a SLR camera gives more control over the shutter speed, aperture, and focus. The SLR uses multiple types of lenses. Also, the disposable camera which is used once, developed, and then thrown away. (Franklin Watts, pg. 22) Special effects help set a mood for the audience. Some create places that dont exist or events that never happened even though they appear real when on the screen. Tiny models can be made to look as if they were huge in real life. Even dinosaurs and monsters are brought to life on the cinema screen. (Franklin Watts, pg. 36) Animated films also bring things to life. Events that can barely be seen can be slowed or stopped. The secret is the time reveal between photographs. Speeding up the camera makes things appear in slow motion while the film is being shown while slowing it down speeds it up. With animated characters, the actors voice can be made to match the characters face. This is all possible through photographic evolution. (Franklin Watts, pg. 35) The camera has influenced many by capturing a life and putting it onto paper. It makes sure those special moments dont go to waste and can be relived. Photography has influenced me not just because of my love for editing and taking pictures, but also for the feelings and emotions it can bring to a persons face. Photography doesnt just forever hold memories on a strip of film, but gives you your life in review at the click of a button.