Fluent Essays

Typed-double spaced, 3 pages per topic write your thoughts, analysis, pros, cons, research, examples, thinking and conclusion on each one of the topics. Also, include a Resources Page at the end of your Paper    Topics and references 1- Does the Media have a Liberal Bias? References  Lee, Tien-Tsung. “The Liberal Media Myth Revisited: An Examination of Factors Influencing Perceptions of Media Bias.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 49, no. 1, Mar. 2005, pp. 43–64. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1207/s15506878jobem4901_4.  Jansen, David‐Jan, and Matthias Neuenkirch. “Does the Media Help the General Public in Understanding Inflation?” Oxford Bulletin of Economics & Statistics, vol. 80, no. 6, Dec. 2018, pp. 1185–1212. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/obes.12252. 2- Is America Becoming More Unequal? References Bozeman, Barry. “PUBLIC VALUE SCIENCE: In an Increasingly Unequal Society, America’s Science Policies Are a Regressive Force. They Need to Be Refocused on Creating Benefits for All People.(SCIENCE, THE ENDLESS FRONTIER AT 75).” Issues in Science and Technology, vol. 36, no. 4, June 2020, p. 34. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=edsric&AN=edsric.A632367575&site=eds-live. Briles, Stephen. “Marcia J. Carlson and Paula England: Social Class and Changing Families in an Unequal America.” Journal of Youth & Adolescence, vol. 43, no. 2, Feb. 2014, pp. 314–317. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10964-013-0065-8.  3- What Are The Two Most Important Topics in The USA Today. COVID-19 and Economic References Simak, S., et al. “Comprehensive Assessment of the Economic Consequences of the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Scientific Bulletin of National Mining University, no. 6, Dec. 2020, pp. 168–173. EBSCOhost, doi:10.33271/nvngu/2020-6/168. Arshad, Ali. “The Impact of Covid-19 on the Economy of New Mexico: Three Scenarios.” International Journal of Business & Economics Perspectives, vol. 15, no. 1, Fall 2020, pp. 62–75. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=bth&AN=148444452&site=eds-live. 4- Should the Economic Embargo of Cuba be Lifted? Reference LeoGrande, William M. “A Policy Long Past Its Expiration Date: US Economic Sanctions Against Cuba.” Social Research, vol. 82, no. 4, Winter 2015, pp. 939–966. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=ssf&AN=115775894&site=eds-live.62 International Journal of Business and Economics Perspectives, Volume 15, Number 1, Fall 2020 THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE ECONOMY OF NEW MEXICO: THREE SCENARIOS Ali Arshad New Mexico Highlands University ABSTRACT This study estimates the potential impact of another rise in COVID-19 on the economy of New Mexico. Tracing changes in final demands in 220 key sectors, the consequences are assessed based on three scenarios: low, medium, and high contractions representing the equivalent of one, three, and six months contractions in output due to a resurgent COVID-19 induced shutdown of non-essential businesses. Using the IMPLAN (economic impact assessment software system) input-output technique and the New Mexico inflation-adjusted economic data for 2017, the direct, indirect, and induced impacts on employment, labor income, output demand, and tax revenues have been calculated. The estimates show that the 2020 pandemic poses a grave danger to the State’s economy. The contractions in the economy have the potential of increasing the unemployment rate throughout New Mexico. Keywords: COVID 19, economy, New Mexico economic impact assessment software system INTRODUCTION The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that is presumed to have originated in 2019 has affected people worldwide. As of October 21, 2020, the Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center reported that more than 41 million people had been impacted by this disease worldwide, resulting in over 1.1 million deaths. The United States leads the world on both counts, with 8.3 million cases and 221,500 deaths for the same period (Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, 2020). In New Mexico, 37,896 people have tested positive, resulting in 942 deaths, as of October 21, 2020 (Coronavirus Disease 2019 in New Mexico, 2020). According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 94 percent of all the countries have had some shutdown. In comparison, in the upper-middle-income countries, about 70 percent of workers had faced a complete shutdown. The work stoppage has unsettled the global labor market resulting in a loss of working hours by 17.3 percent or a full-time equivalent of 495 million jobs in the second quarter of 2020. The developing countries have been hit the hardest by this pandemic (International Labor Organization, 2020). From February to September 2020, New Mexico experienced 64,300 job losses, an equivalent of a 7.4 percent decrease (Ettlinger, 2020). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the New Mexico unemployment rate that stood at 4.8 percent in February 2020 jumped to 11.9 percent in April. It began to seesaw with the opening and closing of businesses, and by September, it dropped to 9.4 percent, after reaching a high of 12.4 percent in June (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). In New Mexico, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a Public Health Emergency on March 24The Liberal Media Myth Revisited: An Examination of Factors Influencing Perceptions of Media Bias Tien-Tsung Lee Despite research to the contrary, the general public and a significant number of politicians are convinced the U.S. news media have a liberal and pro-Democratic bias. To understand why many people believe the media have such biases, this study tested whether such a perception is re- lated to an observer’s own partisan and ideological positions. Findings based on two large national surveys suggest that audiences’ ideologies and partisanships affect how they view the media. Strong conservatives and Republicans are more likely to distrust the news media, whereas the best predictor of a media bias perception is political cynicism. Whether the news media have a liberal bias has interested politicians, journalists, scholars, and the public. Many seem to believe that a political bias exists. According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2002), 47\% of those who answered a question on media bias believed news organizations in general are politically biased in their reporting. In comparison, 35\% of respondents disagreed. Conservative critics believe that most journalists are liberal and Democrats and that news coverage reflects reporters’ political leanings (Corry, 1996; Goldberg, 2001; R. Lichter, Rothman, & Lichter, 1986; Limbaugh, 1993; Maddoux, 1990; Maitre, 1994; Olasky, 1988; Rusher, 1988; Sowell, 1992). According to these observers, the news media and reporters are pro abortion, racial quotas, and gay rights, and they are anti business, capitalism, the military, Christianity, and the Republican party. A different group of critics argues the opposite. In their eyes, conservative voices dominate the mainstream media, and news organizations—most of which they see as controlled by the government and large corporations—are “agents of power” that promote and maintain the conservative status quo (Alterman, 2003; Altschull, 1995, 1996; Bagdikian, 1997; Cohen, 1990; Cohen & Solomon, 1993; Croteau & Hoynes, © 2005 Broadcast Education Association Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 49(1), 2005, pp. 43–64 43 Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media/March 2005 Tien-Tsung Lee (Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an Assistant Professor in the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University. His research interests include values, ideologies, and atti- tudes in the context of mass and political communication. The Life Style surveys are proprietary and commercially sensitive, and the author thanks DDB Worldwide for sharing its 1997 data set. The interpretations, opinions, and conclusions drawn from the Life Style and the Na- tional Election Studies surveys are solely the author’s. The author also thanks Joe Ayres of Washington State University and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. 1994; Croteau, Hoynes, & Carragee, 1996; Gitlin, 1980; Hanson, 1992; Herman168 ISSN 2071-2227, E-ISSN 2223-2362, Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoho Hirnychoho Universytetu, 2020, № 6 © Simak S., Davydiuk Yu., Burdeina N., Budiaiev M., Taran O., Ingram K., 2020 UDC 338.14:616­036.21 https://doi.org/10.33271/nvngu/2020­6/168 S. Simak1, orcid.org/0000-0003-1251-7288, Yu. Davydiuk2, orcid.org/0000-0003-4179-9675, n. Burdeina3, orcid.org/0000-0002-3070-1866, m. Budiaiev4, orcid.org/0000-0003-3783-5020, O. taran5, orcid.org/0000-0001-6226-4907, K. ingram6 1 – V. I. Vernadsky Taurida National University, Kyiv, Ukraine, e­mail: [email protected] 2 – Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine 3 – Odesa Military Academy, Odesa, Ukraine 4 – Kyiv national economic university named after Vadym Hetman, Kyiv, Ukraine 5 – Kharkiv National Agrarian University named after V. V. Dokuchaev, Kharkiv, Ukraine 6 – Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania cOmprehenSiVe ASSeSSment Of the ecOnOmic cOnSequenceS Of the cOViD-19 pAnDemic purpose. To analyse and summarize some aspects of the negative impact of coronavirus infection Covid­19 and to provide a comprehensive assessment of the consequences of the pandemic on the world economy and the economy of Ukraine in particular. methodology. The study used a comprehensive analytical assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the world economy, based on reports and prognostic assessments of well­known scientists and experts, international financial and credit rating organi­ zations, as well as personal observations of the authors. findings. The obtained results testify the aggravation of the economic situation in the world and in Ukraine in particular. In a short time (six months), world GDP decreased by almost 4 \%, and in such major countries as the United States – by 9.1 \%, the EU – by 14.4 \%, Ukraine – by 11.4 \%. This is evidenced by declining industrial production, declining productivity, bankruptcy and liquidation of small, micro and individual entrepreneur enterprises, declining household incomes and rising unemployment. There is a situation when governments do not focus on the development of the internal market, but increase the amount of credit resources taken to cover the balance sheet deficit. Incentives implemented in most countries around the world to support the busi­ ness environment and the population show that this level reaches 10–25 \% of GDP. At the same time, the current fund in Ukraine was only 1.5 \%, which is clearly insufficient. The introduction of strict restrictions in Ukraine in 5 stages has led to the closure of many small businesses and individual entrepreneurs, which reduces revenues to budgets at various levels. Thus, the spheres most affected by quarantine measures were arts, sports, entertainment and recreation (almost 80 \% drop in income), research and de­ velopment (73 \%) forestry and logging (67 \%), the least affected – financial and insurance activities (only 5.4 \%). Thus, the projec­ tions developed by leading international social research Vol. 82 : No. 4 : Winter 2015 939 William M. LeoGrande A Policy Long Past Its Expiration Date: US Economic Sanctions Against Cuba “in cuba, we are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date,” President Barack Obama declared in his 2015 State of the Union address. “When what you’re doing doesn’t work for fifty years, it’s time to try something new.” Obama was referring to his dramatic announcement on December 17, 2014, that he intended to normalize relations with Cuba and seek an end to the US economic embargo. The embargo against Cuba—or, as the Cubans call it, el bloqueo (the blockade)—is the oldest and most comprehensive US economic sanctions regime against any country in the world. It comprises a complex patchwork of laws and presidential determinations imposed over half a century that Fidel Castro once called “a tangled ball of yarn” (LeoGrande and Kornbluh 2014, 203). Presidents have tightened or relaxed it to suit their own strategies—some seeking to overthrow or punish the Cuban regime with economic pressure, others seeking to improve relations by resorting to soft power rather than hard. The impact of US sanctions has also varied, at times inflicting serious harm on the Cuban economy and at other times being merely an expensive annoyance. But the embargo has never been effective at achieving its principal purpose: forcing Cuba’s revolutionary regime out of power or bending it to Washington’s will. The embargo’s lack of success and its rising diplomatic cost to the United States convinced President 940 social research Obama that it, and the policy of unremitting hostility of which it formed the backbone had outlived their usefulness (Obama 2014). Origins of the Embargo The embargo began during President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s admin- istration as US-Cuban relations deteriorated during the first two years after the Cuban revolution. Fidel Castro’s anti-American rhetoric and his nationalization of US property convinced US officials that the Castro regime was incompatible with US interests (“Current Basic US Policy” 1959). In the fall of 1959, the CIA began supporting Castro’s opponents, and the following March, Eisenhower approved planning for the Bay of Pigs invasion (“A Program of Covert Action Against the Castro Regime” 1960). Concerned that hostility toward Cuba would damage US rela- tions with the rest of Latin America, Washington kept its efforts to oust Castro covert at first, precluding the use of economic sanctions (“Memorandum of a Conference with the President, March 17, 1960”). However, as relations became ever more acrimonious, some US of- ficials advocated using Cuba’s economic dependence on the United States as a weapon against Castro. Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Thomas C. Mann argued that Washington should cut Cuba’s sugar quota. By law, Cuba was allowed t1185 © 2018 The Department of Economics, University of Oxford and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS, 80, 6 (2018) 0305–9049 doi: 10.1111/obes.12252 Does the Media Help the General Public in Understanding Inflation?* David-Jan Jansen† and Matthias Neuenkirch‡,§ †De Nederlandsche Bank, Financial Stability Division, 1000 AB Amsterdam, The Netherlands (e-mail: [email protected]) ‡Faculty IV – Economics, University of Trier, 54296 Trier, Germany §CESifo, Munich, Germany Abstract This paper studies whether media information helps the general public in understanding inflation. We combine detailed Dutch household survey data on media usage, inflation perceptions, and inflation expectations. We find no evidence that more-often informed members of the general public do better in understanding inflation. In fact, more frequent readership of popular newspapers is associated with slightly less accurate inflation per- ceptions. There is also no evidence that usage of non-print media leads to more accurate of views on inflation. One implication of these results is that central banks might need to consider more direct ways of engaging with the general public. I. Introduction This paper asks whether media usage helps members of the general public in understanding inflation. Since the seminal work by Jonung (1981), it is well known that inflation percep- tions and expectations vary across sociodemographic clusters. One of his findings was that expected rates declined with age, which could be explained by different inflation experi- ences of cohorts over their lifetime. Recently, similar evidence is provided by Malmendier and Nagel (2016), who analyse over 50 years of data from the Reuters/Michigan Survey of Consumers. The list of relevant background factors is extensive and includes, in addition to age, variables such as gender, income, and education. The relevance of sociodemographic backgrounds for views on inflation has been affirmed in many studies, including Bryan and Venkatu (2001), Souleles (2004), Bruine de Bruin et al. (2010), and Ehrmann, Pfajfar and Santoro (2017). JEL Classification numbers: D1, D8, E3, E5. *We thank Mark Boukes, Wändi Bruine de Bruin, Carin van der Cruijsen, Lena Dräger, Michael Ehrmann, Jakob de Haan, Bernd Hayo, Richhild Moessner, Edith Neuenkirch, Florian Neumeier, Sanne Peeters, Ricardo Reis, Kalle Rinne, Maarten van Rooij, Stefania Rossi, Francesco Zanetti (the Editor), three anonymous referees and participants of the 2016 European Public Choice Conference, the 2016 World Finance Conference, the Workshop Household Surveys in Macroeconomics in Hamburg, the 2017 ESCB Research Conference at the Banco de España, and the 2018 Luxembourg Workshop on Household Finance and Consumption for useful comments and suggestions. 1186 Bulletin The manner in which the media reports on economic developments could be one factor that explains heterogeneity in views on inflation, as media consumption 34 ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Why should the United States government support science? That question was apparently settled 75 years ago by Vannevar Bush in Science, the Endless Frontier: “Since health, well-being, and security are proper concerns of Government, scientific progress is, and must be, of vital interest to Government. Without scientific progress the national health would deteriorate; without scientific progress we could not hope for improvement in our standard of living or for an increased number of jobs for our citizens; and without scientific progress we could not have maintained our liberties against tyranny.” Having dispensed with the question of why, all that remained was for policy-makers to decide, how much? Even at the dawn of modern science policy, costs and funding needs were at the center of deliberations. Though rarely discussed anymore, Endless Frontier did give specific attention to the question of how much. The proposed amounts seem, by today’s standards, modest: “It is estimated that an adequate program for Federal support of basic research in the colleges, universities, and research institutes and for financing important applied research in the public interest, will cost about 10 million dollars at the outset and may rise to about 50 million dollars annually when fully underway at the end of perhaps 5 years.” In an increasingly unequal society, America’s science policies are a regressive force. They need to be refocused on creating benefits for all people. In today’s dollars, $50 million translates to about $535 million, or less than 2\% of what the federal government actually spent for basic research in 2018. One way to look at the legacy of Endless Frontier is that by answering the why question so convincingly, it logically followed that the how much question could always be answered simply by “more.” In practice, however, the why question continues to seem so self-evident because it fails to consider a third question, who? As in, who benefits from this massive federal investment in research, and who does not? The question of who was also seemingly answered by Endless Frontier, which not only offered full employment as a major goal for expanded research but also embraced “the sound democratic principle that there should be no favored classes or special privilege.” But I argue that this principle has now been soundly falsified. In an economic environment characterized by growth but also by extreme inequality, science and technology not only reinforce inequality but also, in some instances, help widen the gap. Science and technology can be a regressive factor in the economy. Thus, it is time to rethink the economic equation justifying government support for science not just in terms of why and how much, but also in terms of who. BARRY BOZEMAN SCIENCE, THE ENDLESS FRONTIER AT 75 PUBLIC VALUE SCIENCESCIENCE SUMMER 2020 35 publ ic va lues What logic suB O O K R E V I E W Marcia J. Carlson and Paula England: Social Class and Changing Families in an Unequal America Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 2011, 230 pp, ISBN: 978-0-8047-7088-0 Stephen Briles Received: 10 November 2013 / Accepted: 13 November 2013 / Published online: 21 November 2013 � Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 Marcia J. Carlson and Paula England have compiled and edited a number of important chapters that explore changing family patterns and how they adapt to a more unequal America in their book Social Class and Changing Families in an Unequal America. Each chapter addresses a different aspect in the changing formation or behavior of families within the United States. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, families have undergone a diverse and complex change that has led to a larger socioeconomic divide than ever before. Inequalities continue to be rec- ognized most notably in education, social class, and in the financial health of families. Carlson and England have chosen topics on how family life has changed and adapted in light of the socioeconomic divide that infects the United States. Some changes are a product of the growing inequalities in education or the difficulties of social mobility, while other changing family patterns seem to have contributed to the growing divide. Not surprisingly, Carlson and England have concluded that family life in the United States remains unequal, and the chapters in their book highlight how family patterns have adapted in light of those inequalities. In the first chapter, ‘‘Birth Control Use and Early, Unintended Births,’’ the authors begin their discussion by acknowledging the changes that have occurred between the current generation and generations past. While young adults traditionally married early and had their first birth shortly after, this trajectory has changed drastically, caus- ing unanticipated consequences. More than anything the change has been due to what the authors term the ‘‘retreat from marriage,’’ which has occurred at all socioeconomic levels, but has hit the poor or less privileged classes hardest. Many young adults are getting married later, no matter their socioeconomic status, but those adults coming from middle or upper class families tend to have less unplanned births prior to their marriages. Furthermore, the authors go on to state that youths from higher socioeco- nomic backgrounds are waiting longer before their first time having sex as well as having greater access to birth control, which only further contributes to the difference between youths born into wealthier backgrounds compared to youths born into less privileged homes in terms of unplanned pregnancies. Also of note is the impact a par- ent’s education and social status has on whether a youth will engage in sex or even whether a youth will have an unintended birth. Those youths who have parents with a college educatio