Financial Accounting and Corporate Governance Research Proposal

Financial Accounting and Corporate Governance - Research Proposal Example Chief among these participants are the board of directors and management. There are aspects of the corporate governance regime that have an impact on the relationship between shareholders and the company† (Jacques du Plessis & Et. Al., 2010). The regulators and legislators in the United States have realised that transparency is essential to inspire trust and confidence in the business. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in 2002 by the United States Congress to protect the interest of the investors by making corporate disclosures more accurate and reliable (Hoffman & Rowe, n.d.). Corporate governance helps in integrating the choices and the actions of the managers with the shareholders’ interests. Financial accounting plays an important role in this integration process. Corporate governance can be thought of in terms of the outsider’s perspective or the shareholder’s perspective. The organisation consists of a hierarchy which includes shareholders, board of d irectors and managers. Responsibility is delegated to the various entities in the hierarchy. Corporate governance simply involves alignment of interest of all these entities. Two kinds of agency problems arise whereby the alignment of interest may occur between managers and the board but not the shareholders and alignment between the board and the shareholders but not the managers. The financial accounting system resolves these agency problems. They provide useful information to directors and shareholders (Armstrong, 2009). Corporate governance plays an important role in promoting transparency in an organisation. There are various approaches to corporate governance which result in various theories. The objectives of the organisation are set by the owners or the directors in the agency theory. Managers have the responsibility of execution of the objectives. Structures and processes are designed to enable control of management. The theory holds that individuals are rational and egoist s and thus managers cannot remain faithful to the owners. The managers can resort to diversion of corporate resources to fulfil their selfish needs unless an external control is placed on them. The owners or directors can be considered as the principle in the agency theory. The action is originated by the principle and he bears the responsibility for the action. The principle does not always execute the objective himself. He may employ an agent to act on his behalf. The managers are the agent and should behave ethically and should avoid conflict of interests. Compliance with rules is essential and a minimum threshold exists for the acceptable behaviour. According to the stockholder theory the organisation is merely a property of stockholders. Stockholders take an egoistic view. The owners channelize the members of the organisation towards the achievement of their interest. The owners expect a return from the investments they have made in the organisation. Managers have the duty to f unction in a manner in order that return is maximised. Strategies are implemented to ensure faithfulness on the part of the managers. The stakeholder theory focuses on all the stakeholders of the organisation. All the stakeholders function in a manner to maximise their self interests. The managers have the responsibility to balance out the conflicting interests of various stakeholders. The managers are faithful agents of all the stakehold

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Criminology - Essay Example This makes the Crown Court the higher court of prime instance in criminal cases. Nevertheless, for some purposes, the Crown Court remains hierarchically ancillary to the High Court and Divisional Courts which fall under the High Court, on one hand. On the other hand, the Magistrates’ Court stands and operates as a lower court where all proceedings of criminal trials start from. Civil matters, particularly, family proceedings may also start at the Magistrates’ Court. The Magistrates’ Court have been streamlined and modified to help in fast and cheap delivery of justice. In England and Wales alone, there are 360 Magistrates’ Courts. The foregoing clearly shows that there are similarities and differences in the manner in which magistrates’ Courts and Crown Courts operate and the different roles they dispense. Also known as Justices of the Peace, magistrates serve as unpaid trained members of the local community. This is because magistrates are local pe ople who volunteer their services to the community. According to Macnair (2007, 678-679), although magistrates will not require formal legal qualifications, yet they are required to undertake a training programme including prison and court visits, in order to help magistrates acquire necessary skills. Magistrates are given procedural and legal advice by qualified clerks. On the converse, District and Crown Court judges are strictly qualified, full-time professionals on payroll and usually, are based in larger cities. Again, unlike magistrates’ court judges, District and Crown Court judges attend to more sensitive and complex court cases. Presently, there are about 30,000 magistrates, 150 district judges and 170 deputy district judges who operate in the approximately 330 magistrates’ courts in Wales and England. Given that magistrates do not need legal qualifications to discharge their duties, they are advised and helped in court on legal procedures and matters of law a nd legal practice by Justices’ Clerks. Assistant Justices’ Clerks also partake in this responsibility (Bell and Dadomo, 2006, 339). Unlike Crown Court judges, magistrates preside over less serious criminal cases such as motoring offences, the failure to pay council tax, TV licenses and vehicle excise license and misdemeanor. Magistrates may therefore commit to Crown Courts, more serious cases such as murder, rape and manslaughter. The same judges may deal with lighter legal duties such as enforcement of court fines, search warrants, court fines and right of entry applications. According to Carlen (1975, 378), cases may be brought to magistrates’ courts by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). In the event that a defendant has pleaded not guilty, a trial may be held, with the magistrates listening to, viewing and analyzing the evidence that has been adduced before the court of law, deciding on agreed facts and facts [which are] in dispute and considering whether t he case has been proven beyond reasonable doubt. In case a suspect has been found guilty or the suspect has entered a guilty plea, the magistrates may proceed to issue a court sentence by using sentencing guidelines and structured decision making processes which define the expected penalty for typical offences. The magistrate judges will also take note of case law and practice directions from higher courts and are also given advice in court by a legally qualified and competent adviser (Riddle and Jones, 2013, 750). In the event th

The Canadian Legal System vs. The United States Legal System Research Paper

The Canadian Legal System vs. The United States Legal System - Research Paper Example The abortion law was found to violate the rights of women when it comes to their â€Å"freedom of conscience† and â€Å"liberty†. Women’s rights are protected in the Canadian constitution that’s the reason why the government is reluctant to touch the topic regarding the unborn since it would be a violation of the women’s constitutional rights to do so. In Canada, women are given the power of choice. The government funds abortion through the Canadian Medicare except for two provinces which refuses to grant it full funding even if it is required by law. This refusal is because of two reasons; one is because of politically motivated anti-choice biases and the discrimination of private clinics which are operating outside of the Canadian healthcare system. Most of the abortion procedures are done in public hospitals but most of the hospitals do not perform the surgery. Having access to the procedure is a major problem for women in major places. This predicament leads women to travel distances (Arthur, 2011). In America, the abortion law has lots of restrictions even if it is legal. The American court ruled a â€Å"trimester framework† for abortion. On the first trimester, the law allows doctors to perform the procedure regardless of reason disregarding the right of the woman to choose. On the second trimester, a state could regulate the abortion only if it is for the woman’s health. In the third trimester, which is after viability, states could protect the unborn life except if it is necessary to protect the well-being of the mother (Monahan, 2006). Parental consent is needed for teenagers seeking an abortion. In contrast to Canada allowing the use of public funds, the use of public funds and facilities for abortion in America is not allowed. Viability tests are also required after 20 weeks. And women are forced to have a waiting period and visit the clinic at least two times. Monahan, Michael ( 2006). Planned

Do Ethical Theories Help Journalists do Their Job Essay

Do Ethical Theories Help Journalists do Their Job - Essay Example 101). In the conduct of their profession, journalists are practically confronted with various ethical dilemmas that it would be better for them to be armed with ethical theories than not. Furthermore, ethical theory becomes more important to journalists given the impact they can create to their readership (public opinion) and the society (public values) as a whole – which according to Iggers (1998, p. 15) makes journalism ethics unique – especially in this era of corporate journalism wherein the interest of capital often clashes with that of the public, putting in jeopardy journalism’s long-held principles as defined by the Society of Professional Journalists (1973): â€Å"Seek truth and report it; minimize harm; act independently; and be accountable† (Friend & Singer 2007, p. xix; Boeyink & Sandra 2010, p. 17; Black & Roberts 2011, p. 51). Hanlin (1992, p. 28) is perfectly understandable to say that â€Å"many critics might agree with the suggestion that any man rich enough to buy a newspaper should not be allowed to own one.† This statement simply illustrates how the situation and the organisation in which journalists perform their profession today make journalism ethically challenging. It is easy to criticise journalists in fulfilling their profession. But the very condition in which journalists perform their profession oftentimes puts them in situations that test their ethical principles. For example, while journalists are committed to reporting the truth – which is believed to be the core of journalism – finding the truth, especially the dangerous ones, is actually something not easy to achieve in legal and even ethical ways. So, what course of action should journalists take if the only way to find the truth is either by stealing the information or by using deceptive strategies? (Jackson 1992, p. 69) Would it be unethical to go into stealing, lying and deceiving in the name of truth? But what would happen wi th journalism if it defaults in finding out and reporting the truth? The answer to this question will surely vary depending on the ethical theory that journalists hold onto. For example, one may find the task to bring out the truth by any means more important than observing the law. Anyway, it is often argued that not all that is legal is ethical and not all that is ethical may be legal. It may also be argued that the end justify the means. Added to this ethical dilemma is the issue of confidentiality in journalism. The News Manual defines the centrality of confidentiality of sources in the ethics of journalism on the basis of trust. Meaning, journalists may divulge information given in confidence, but must protect the identity of their sources not unless the sources permit journalists to name them. Any breach on this agreement might jeopardize the whole profession, because in the future sources may no longer give sensitive information in confidence. (Ingram & Henshall, 2008) In rel ation to acquiring information through illegal means, journalists can deny it by opting to invoke this confidentiality clause. But to resort to such trick only worsens the ethical dilemma because aside from lying, this clause that is meant to protect sources is maliciously used. Though the confidentiality clause can be misused by journalists to get away with the law, this same clause can also put journalists into an extremely difficult situation. In

World Civilizations 2 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

World Civilizations 2 - Term Paper Example the modern era, in the circumstance that inquisition to the traditional authority in the west and discovery that gave way to the possibilities of renaissance in Europe and Asia. The enlightenment has been the result of scientific revolution, where the intellectuals have been highly impressed with the deed of scientific revolution and the philosophers influenced by the revolutionary thinkers of the 17th century in the ambience of intellectual darkness of the middle age. During the 18th century there was so many developments in all fields around the world. Great civilizations emerged in America, Europe, Asia and Africa. â€Å"The Enlightenment was the product of a vast set of cultural and intellectual changes in Europe during the  1500s and  1600s—changes that in turn produced the social values that permitted the Enlightenment to sweep through Europe in the late  1600s and  1700s† (The Enlightenment (1650-1800) par. 10). On account of this, Europeans gave up the antique scientific beliefs. As a result of expedition and enlargement of overseas empires, there was so many political and cultural changes. Another important feature of the 17th century was negligence to the loyalty of traditional religious authority. The concept of monarchy was abandoned in this period after thirty years of war, which occurred in Germany. Also, so many philosophical thoughts have emerged such as Individualism, Relativism and Rationalism – these three concepts proclaim the idea which spread the enlightenment. Overall, such unique ideas and philosophies have been responsible for man’s growth in all levels. There were so many great individuals who contributed to the cause of enlightenment. Most prominent among them were Gallilio Gallili, Johannes Kepler, Francis Bacon, Renà © Descartes, Isaac Newton, Baruch Spinoza, John Comenius and Hugo Grotius. Gallili was an Italian astronomuor, who supported the sun-centerd Copernican model of the solar system and displeased the Catholic Church.

History of Gaming Essay Example for Free

History of Gaming Essay Gaming has been around since the late 1960’s far later than I had thought, for me I had always thought that the Atari 2600 was the first gaming system known to mankind, and after starting my research I found out how wrong I was. In this part of the teams paper I will discuss the different types of this technology thought it history. In 1967 the first gaming console ever was created and was named the â€Å"Brown Box.† A German born television engineer Ralph Baer and his colleagues created the Brown Box which worked on your basic standard television set. Working with a firm called Sanders Associates, Baer along with co-workers drew up schematics for a game which was called the chase game, and they built a vacuum tube circuit that connected to the television. Two players controlled two squares that basically chased each other on the screen, at that point in time gaming was born. Baer and his associates later added a light fun and developed a total of 12 games for the Brown Box. Fast forward five years after Baer and his associates created the Brown Box, Magnavox began production of the Magnavox Odyssey. The Odyssey was called the first commercial video-game console and was marketed in Magnavox TV dealerships. The Odyssey used six cartridges to play up to twelve games. The Odyssey downfall is that many TV dealers didn’t see any potential in it and along with the false rumor that it only worked in Magnavox televisions hurt the popularity of the gaming systems. In 1972 Nolan Bushnell founded Atari and three years later in 1975, they had their first smash hit with an arcade game called Pong. Atari sold a home version of the game Pong through Sears under the Sears Tele-games label. What made Pong unique was that it produced an on-screen score and sound all by single chip. With his first system Nolan Bushnell and Atari shot to the top of household gaming. Knowing that some of not anything last forever especially a single game system popularity, Nolan Bushnell and Atari started working on a cartridge based system, one that could play multiple games. In 1976 Bushnell Sold Atari to Warner Communications, and Warner immediately backed the Atari project, and the Atari VCS later renamed the Atari 2600 was introduced. The Atari was a big hit and had multiple game hits to go along with it, hits like the ever popular Spaced Invaders, Breakout, Missile Command, and Combat just to name a few. Atari was the first ever massed produced home video gaming system, selling 400,000 systems and hitting sales figures of $120 million dollars during the first Christmas season in 1977. In 1980 Mattel released Intellivision, and was the first to take a run at Atari’s gamming thrown. This sparked what some would like to call a console war between Atari and Mattel. Intellivision featured better game graphics and synthesized voices in video games. Both systems brought on other game developers like Coleco and Activision, but with so many of the games being unlicensed games and no household system lead to gaming industry crash in 1983-84 cause in many companies to file bankruptcy. Nintendo, a Japanese based company became part of the gaming industry in 1985 with its release of the Nintendo Entertainment System. With some of the most popular titles ever like Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and Legend of Zelda and that of third party games like Tecmo Bowl and RBI baseball, the NES turned the non-believers that didn’t think it was a good idea to get into gaming after a crash, into believers. In 1987 Sega released its gaming system which dwarfed the capabilities that its predecessor, the NES, had offered. It was called the MasterSystem but it didn’t make the splash that many in the Sega camp had thought it would make, due to its lack of third-party games and other things it was the demise of the MasterSystem and the first failing of Sega. Sega went directly back to the drawing board and soon after released its first hit the Sega Genesis in 1989. Backed by many game developers like Electronic Arts, the Sega Genesis opened the door for the first ever battle for supremacy for gaming dominance. Four years after the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo released its second smash hit, with the Gameboy. Gameboy was dubbed the as the first ever handheld gaming console and had a black and white screen. Tetris one of the most popular Gameboy games ran the Gameboy sales through the roof. With many make-overs throughout the course of history Gameboy continued to stay relevant in gaming. 1990 was the release of SNK’s Neo-Geo a 24 bit home gaming system that was said to be many years ahead of its competitors and its time. The Neo-Geo had one problem, it wasn’t 2-D graphics those were great, it wasn’t its arcade level quality that was what everyone wanted, it was neither of those two things that helped the Neo-Geo fail it was its $650.00 price tag and its $200.00 games that took the Neo-Geo from great innovation to under achiever. In 1991 Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Beaten to the punch by Sega with its gaming system the Sega Genesis, the 16 bit SNES had some catching up to do. It wasn’t long before the SNES thanks to its technological superiority, had overtaken the Sega Genesis thanks to its big name games like Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and Zelda. By the end of the 90’s Sega Genesis was no more than an afterthought for SNES who had taken over the 16 bit era and the gaming industry. It wasn’t till the year 1995 that Nintendo again was challenged for its gaming dominance. Sony introduced the Sony PlayStation a 32 bit CD-ROM based technology and has been said to be the most popular gaming system ever. The games had three dimensional gameplay much better than the 2-D of the past. What was the most attraction to any gamer was the price of the games which dramatically dropped compared to those of cartridge based games. It was also in 1995 the second day of September that the Sega franchise basically started its demise. This day marked the release of the Sega Saturn, which was dubbed the best worst system, according to many. Because it was pushed up to get out ahead of the newly announced PlayStation 2, it gave the Sony corporation time to sit back and polish the upcoming PlayStation 2 and learn from the mistakes that the Sega Saturn was making. In 1996 the Nintendo franchise countered the PlayStation with the Nintendo64, the last cartridge based system. Although the cartridges loaded faster than the CD-ROMS of PlayStation the Nintendo64 couldn’t even keep up with the amount of games that were released for the PlayStation, leaving the PlayStation on top of the gaming for the time being. It was in 1998 when Sega made its final push as a contender in the world of gaming with its release of the CD-based system Dreamcast, which incorporated a 128-bit processing system. The Dreamcast was the first system that had a modem which allowed for internet connectivity that brought on the ability to play online, download extra content and updated to the system itself. This would be the last time that anyone would here from the Sega franchise in the console industry. In 2001 Sega discontinued the Dreamcast and announced that it would be leaving the console market for good and taking its Sonic franchise with them. Four years after the release of the Nintendo64 and five years after the first initial PlayStation, Sony releases its second version of the PlayStation 2. The first 128 bit system featured backwards compatibility allowing the PS2 to play the older PlayStations games, and also could be used as a DVD player. Not only was the PS2 named most popular 128 bit system but with its release it marked the rise of console popularity played over the internet. 2001 was the introduction of the old guy with a new system and the new kid on the block in gaming. Nintendo hit the gaming market again going away from its usual cartridge based systems and introducing its first ever CD based system. The GameCube was marketed more for the younger demographics and is said to be what made the system flop and sell short. Along with the inability to connect to the internet it was called a one trick pony and was behind in the gaming world and home entertainment systems. The now new kid on the block Microsoft introduced its own gaming system the X-box. The PC giant used PC technology when building the X-Box which allowed for greater performance. Although the X-Box’s technology proved greater performance when compared to that of the 128 bit PS2 it still remained behind the number of sales that the PS2 had leaving Sony alone at that top of the gaming world. In 2002 Nintendo stepped back in with the Gameboy Advance and again in 2004 with the Nintendo DS. Some would argue and go as far as to say that all Nintendo did was step on its on toes with how they released the two versions so closely together. By doing so experts say that they made the Gameboy obsolete by releasing the DS so soon. Playstation soon joined Nintendo in the hand held gaming evolution, challenging Nintendo’s dominance. The PlayStation Portable like the Gameboy and DS featured wireless capability, high graphics and non-gaming functions mimicking PC-based devices. 2005 also marked the release of the Microsoft X-Box 360. The processing power of the X-Box 360 was said to be unrivaled, and all came with an internal hard drive, played DVDs and had the ability to connect four controllers at one time wirelessly, as well as connecting to the internet. The Nintendo Wii was released in 2006 and featured a built in WiFi for online game play, wireless controllers and Bluetooth. The wireless controllers weren’t new to gaming but what Nintendo did bring to the table with their wireless controllers was the motion sensor technology, allowing the game to mimic the performance of the actual player. 2006 is also when the Sony franchise again exerted its dominance and rivaled back against Microsoft X-Box 360 with the PlayStation 3. The PS3 came with an internal hard drive as well and the ability not only to play DVD’s but also Blue Ray DVD, along with its ability to connect to the internet wirelessly and connect multiple controllers wirelessly, it is said to be still atop the gaming industry, but again that’s all in who you ask. These two systems, PlayStation 3 and X-Box 360, along with the Nintendo Wii brings us to where we are now with gaming in what is called the 8th Generation of gaming. Every year the three gaming giants Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo continue to wow us with different and greater gaming innovation that keeps the rivalry for gaming dominance going on and going strong. In the last few years the X-Box 360 stepped up the gaming war and has released technology that gets rid of the hand held controllers all together! The Kinect from Microsoft has really stepped up its technology and has gotten rid of the controller period. The Kinect set the Guinness Book of World Record for the fastest gaming system ever and comes highly recommended by many consumers and game developers. Recently it was reported that Microsoft X-Box 360 is looking to compete with cable television providers announcing that its consoles will allow the gamer to watch television through it. All of the consoles allow you to watch things like Net Flicks and get on the internet and surf the net, but rivaling cable providers that’s a big step. I look for Sony and Nintendo to sit back and wait to see where this goes before they follow in the footsteps of Microsoft, as they have previously done, but I don’t think they will jump right on board with this because of fear of failure and losing money. If you are a gamer a hardcore gamer you have to be excited for the future of gaming, from a standpoint it looks bright and exciting. With rumors of Sony releasing the Playstation 4 and the system having touch screen technology; it has all the gamers grinning from ear to ear about what the future of gaming actually may be. Gaming has already developed full 3D gaming technology and 3D moti on sensors and powerful graphics and they look to continue to improve upon these technologies. Many have argued that consoles in the future will eventually fall by the wayside making way for hand held portable gaming to be the dominate gaming systems in the future. Of course this upsets many hardcore gamers because they don’t see that as being a plus since many like to play their games on a larger scaled screen. With that being said many say the IPhone 8 will probably be the future of gaming and going as far as to say it although it is a hand held device it will be able to plug into a television set or even connect wirelessly to continue to give that big game experience. Many say that the future of gaming is mobile, digital, and cloud gaming. The better gaming system is said to be one that you can take anywhere and everywhere. Most of the time even of if home many gamers are even using mobile gaming at home, some experts say up to 47% of gamers are mobile gaming even at home. Mobile gaming is not just the casual gaming it used to be and has changed the way all gamers vi ew games. Spending approximately 16 hours a week compared to that of the 18 hours of traditional gaming some say digital is the way of the future and hardware doesn’t matter anymore. The type of hardware you use never really ever did matter, it has always been about the software. Hardware will be less and less relevant in the future and it will be more about the software. With cloud gaming it is becoming more and more of a reality and with two client services already launched it is coming along full circle. The angle of cloud gaming is to offer high definition gaming on any television or device that can receive a broadband signal with even high-end games that can be played on devices that get low power. In a CNNTech report back in September of 2008 had reported that a future release of the Emotiv EPOC headset. The Emotiv EPOC headset is said to be the first Brain Computer Interface and would be able to pick up on over 30 different expressions all by processing real time brain activity. With this technology many enthusiast say that this type of technology makes movies like The Matrix and the Star Trek Holodeck more of a reality in the future. Me personally I am kind of skeptical about that type of technology, and even though experts say that being able to control a computer with your mind is the ultimate quest of human to machine interaction, I still don’t feel any better. In those movies, well all except Star Trek, the machine had a way to take over. So all I see is me playing the video game and the machine taking over my mind and it controlling me and then the earth being run by machines. Well that is how it works in the movies hopefully this won’t be the case. The goal of this though is for the interactions of machines to mimic the way interaction with humans and they say it will ultimately bring communities closer together, so I guess that is one thing we will have to wait to see in the future. So with that being said there is no clear cut way to know which way the future of gaming is actually going, but seeing how far it has come since the Brown Box it is very interesting to sit back and see what the technology produces. At one point in time it was all about transistors and diodes and now it’s about multiple processors, internal memory, and real life graphics. What’s more gaming consoles are no longer just gaming consoles they are now the full true definition of Home Entertainment, with internet connection, streaming music and video and HDD, it is truly a new age for gaming. Social media and social networks has become a big part of many of our lives, well I really should say all of our lives. With that gaming has also being a part of that as it is being input into the Social Medias like Facebook. Many game makers look to theses Social Medias to see exactly what the gamers are taking to and what they are not taking to. World of Warcraft is one of those who uses social media to help them develop more of what they think users want to see and how they want the game to operate and it is actually one of the largest virtual game worlds due to just that along with Second Life which heralds itself as a virtual social world. Social Medias focus on building blocks, identity, conversation, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups, and many gaming systems that can connect to the World Wide Web can do just that. These gaming technologies give you the opportunity to engage with others from around the world no matter where they may be. Facebook has gaming that lets you connect with others and build a farm or a city and share with each other and allows you to help keep up someone else’s farm, building relationships with people anywhere anytime. No matter what you think about gaming and the gaming technology it has come a long way from where it started and there is no telling where it will go. It is a mainstay in the lives of many of people and I am sure that the technology will only get better or more interesting from here into the future. I do myself wonder what is next will the whole computer to brain interaction ever come full circle or is it just a past thought. Will Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo continue to stay on top or will a unknown company come along and knock all of them off the throne. I guess all we can do is sit back watch wait and see what that next big technology is and who will be the first to come out with it. Right now it’s more or less of a waiting game, the Kinect was a big jump and gaming technology and, I love to sit and watch my kids play on it, I have even been known to play on it myself, gaming technology is what keeps many of us known and connected so there is nothing wrong with that. Works Cited Admin. (2012). The History of Video Game Consoles. computergameoffer.com. Bellis, M. (n.d.). Computer and Video Game History. About.com. Edwards, B. (2009). 30 Years of Handheld Game Systems. PC World. Johnson, J. (2008). From Atari Joy Board to Wii fit. BBG. Melanson, D. (2006). A Brief History of Handheld Video games. engadget.

Why Do Cities Develop at Different Rates?

Why Do Cities Develop at Different Rates? Why do cities and regions develop at different rates and with different trajectories, and  how can planning and development policy address issues of uneven development? â€Å"Development trajectories are not straight forward for local governments to solve† (Hall and Hesse, 2013), there are many reasons why cities and regions develop at different rates and trajectories. This essay aims to explore some of the theories behind uneven development trajectories such as is the world becoming flat and time – space compression or alternatively the fact uneven development does occur with competitiveness and knowledge industry. Secondly this essay will then explain some possible planning strategies and policies that address the issues of uneven development such as land ownership, zoning and bottom up governance. Uneven development occurs across the world and there are many different reasons for different rates growth. some theorists however believe development is relatively even, Friedman (2005) describes the world as becoming flat, this is due to the technological advancements which have resulted in a globalised economy and â€Å"the development of a common global culture† (Held, 2004:88). The location of a company is no longer important; you can be successful anywhere in the world without having to move this is due to the ‘Borderless economy created by technological improvements’ (Sander, 2005). Friedman describes this by stating ‘when the world is flat you can innovate without having to emigrate’ (Friedman, 2005). Friedman’s view has been shared by other economists who describe the levelling effect on the economy to be even in many ways (Florida, 2005:48). Even though borderless economies can improve regions and cities across the world Mander and Ba rker (2002) question whether this development positively affects everyone by stating that â€Å"Economic globalisation makes things worse for poor people not better† (Mander and Baker, 2002:2). Harvey (1989) also shared similar views to Friedman through the idea of time-space compression as a cause to the flattening of the world. Time space Compression is described by Harvey as time and space forced to alter due to technological advancements and capitalism which has â€Å"sped up the pace of life† (Harvey, 1989:240). It creates â€Å"a significant acceleration of social, particularly capitalist, dynamics due to a new global communications network† (Stalder, 2006), Time-space compression simply referrers to the â€Å"Increased velocity of the circulation of goods, people and information† (Thrift and May, 2001:106). It overcomes spatial barriers and opens up new markets through high speed communication, something that Leamer (2007) explains as being an important factor to creating even development. Good communication and technologies enables good knowledge transfer and therefore no need for agglomeration resulting in development that is spread equally. Opposing the above arguments there is the argument that development occurs at uneven trajectories. Florida (2005) describes how there has been explosive growth in population numbers within cities, â€Å"now in some advanced countries three out of four people live in urban areas† (Florida, 2005:48). He explains that this has caused development across the world to be ‘spikey’ due to the world being †full of clusters where location matters, most notably in cities† (Feiock et al., 2008). Florida describes the idea of a ‘creative class’ as a reason why many people migrate to cities as increasing development is seen in these areas. Florida (2002) describes successful regions and cities as attracting the ‘creative class’, these people consist of â€Å"young, upwardly and geographically mobile professionals†. And many are often associated as being ‘bohemians’ and creative people (Stolarick and Florida, 2006), this is described by Millander et al. (2014) as a â€Å"creative milieu†. These people are attracted to the idea of community, the â€Å"attraction and retention of these individuals becomes a centrepiece of economic growth† (Feiock et al., 2008). The clustering of creative classes in cities and areas of technological advancement leaves uneven distribution of knowledge across a nation (Mellander et al., 2014) which often leads to regions having different development trajectories. Nagle (1995:14) Cited from Myrdal (1955) explains the concept of cumulative causation through a core- periphery model, this presents the â€Å"unfolding of events as a consequence of the multiplier effect† (Mayhew, 2009) Regional advantages attract investment creating a core region of development, â€Å"Skilled workers investment, new technology and developments gravitate from periphery regions to the core† (Nagle 1995:14. Demand for goods comes from the periphery areas creating the backwash effect. Finally knowledge overflow and increased demand may create growth in periphery areas; this is known as the spread effect. A Perfect example of this is the silicon valley in California, here a business cluster of innovation and knowledge has resulted in enhanced competition and clustering, creating a core development region and at the same time has periphery regions. The rate of development of a nation often refers to the nation as a whole; this is arguably out dated as â€Å"nations-states were created to meet the needs of a much earlier historical period† (Hashimoto, 2013). Due to a the borderless economy that has been created as a result of globalisation it’s now suggested that nations states should be converted to regional-states, â€Å"regional-states are natural economic zones which are drawn by the deft invisible hand of the global market† (Ohmea, 1995) High levels of innovation create clusters of technology industries forcing greater competitiveness. Porter (2008) describes the importance of competitiveness in determining development trajectories of a certain region as Competitiveness is global as well as regional. â€Å"Competiveness of a region or nation has been a primary focus for governments wishing to seek investment and create jobs† (Porter, 2008), this is due to the potential development it can attract. Porter’s ‘competitive advantage diamond model’ displays the economic benefits clustering can bring to regions through a range of factors contributing to competitiveness (porter, 1990). The model is used to analyse the competiveness through four factors, for example customer characteristics etc. (Walker, 2004:177). â€Å"Improving competitiveness is central to raising the underlying rate of growth of the economy and enhancing living standards† (Shafaeddin, 2012), this therefore suggests that regions and cities which experience more competitiveness are likely to have greater development trajectories. Huggins and Izushi (2011) explain how Porters model can be used to create a competitive advantage; it is this advantage that arguably creates different rates of development in cities and regions. Competitiveness is vital for economic growth however Prasnikar (2006:325) explains it can sometimes lead to unsustainable development and therefore companies must maintain corporate social responsibility. Huggins and Thompson (2010) development index is a way of measuring competitiveness, â€Å"competitiveness involves the upgrading and economic development of all places together, rather than the improvement of one place at the expense of another† (Huggins and Thompson, 2010:4). This can be used by governments to monitor and assess the development of regions. Development rates can differ due to the amount of inward investment a region attracts. Opposing Harvey and Friedman, globalization has arguably been a main cause of uneven development as it â€Å"has been governed in ways that are undemocratic and have been disadvantageous to developing countries† (Stigltz, 2002). It is therefore vital that correct planning and development policies are put in place to ensure cities and regions can develop as one sustainably. It’s important to note that countries promoting the best policies in addressing uneven development use a â€Å"wide range of actors, key participants and influences†¦ which are in almost all cases built upon public – private partnership† (Huggins and Izushi, 2007:118). There are several specific development policies that can be put into place in order to address issues associated with uneven development. â€Å"Good development policy is context specific† (World Bank, 2003:9), this means a policies effectiveness may vary between regions and cities and therefore policies chosen must address specific issues of the region. Globalisation has given way to multinational corporations having large amounts of power due to their size and global reach, â€Å"multinationals and governments competing for control over operations during market expansion† (Luo, 2002:73). As a result many multinationals can gain leverage over governments. As rates of development vary due to context, development should therefore be controlled regionally resulting in differing policy and development plans. The use of governments â€Å"top-down, Centralising, ‘one size fits all’† (Bradbury, 2008:132) polices contradicts the importance of context specif ic initiatives as policy are likely to prove ineffective in some regions. It is therefore suggested that bottom-up planning is introduced; this is more effective as it offers bespoke polies relevant to the characteristics of a region. Das (2005) Explains this will devolve power to regions and cities increasing democracy, as a result this should enhance conditions for sustainable development. A great example where Bottom up planning is being put into action is in England where the introduction of neighbourhood plans though the localism act of 2011 has made way for planning that is more deliverable and realistic in achieving sustainable development (Chetwyn, 2013). Land ownership within development planning is also vital for sustainable development, it’s important that correct development and planning policy is created to ensure arbitrate land use conflicts between social, economic, and spatial use are dealt with (Linchfield, 1980:8). This is specifically important in developing counties where often land rights are distributed unfairly and leave land owners sceptical as to whether or not they will be able to retain their land. By granting Land ownership this creates enterprise, motivation and promotes innovation (Lipton, 2009:2), the uncertainty of land rights can often stall development as investment is reduced which Fatas and Mihov (2009:7) described as one of 4 factors contributing to the economic development of regions. Government intervention plays an important role in the creation of successful development policies; another way of improving the rate of development across a region sustainably is to introduce taxes on land. Shirazi a nd Shah (1991:140) suggest that this will provide additional revenues to central governments allowing them to invest in infrastructure which would attract investment, â€Å"good infrastructure attracts investment by connecting firms to their customers and suppliers† (OECD, 2006:59). In Tanzania and many African nations have seen success form land ownership, it has â€Å"spurred economic growth and improved shared prosperity for the countrys population† (All Africa, 2013) The use of successful development plans is essential in addressing uneven development. There are several aspects such and bottom-up planning already discussed that can contribute to reducing uneven development. Land use zoning is another strategy that is efficient in addressing uneven development. Zoning plans are designed by the government and decide â€Å"what kind of buildings can be built and where in the community they can be built† (Euchner and McGovern, 2003:155). The use of zoning separates different land uses that could perhaps conflict such as â€Å"residential, business and industrial uses† (Soule, 2006:30). It controls new sustainable development that doesn’t affect any existing development. Zoning is able to create even development as it regulates where certain types of development can take place, this can replace previous systems where â€Å"restrictive land use policies have discouraged new companies and new job creation (Baily and Kirkegaard, 200 4:8). By using a zoning scheme â€Å"specific beneficial incentives can be offered in return for specific contributions by the developer† (Silberstein and Maser, 2000:35). This would attract investment to areas of a region as well as improving infrastructure and creating jobs, encourage the creative classes to locate to these areas resulting in more even development. The United States of America has seen â€Å"Great success of Euclidean zoning† (Soule, 2007:27), zoning can be found as the foundation of many American development plans such as Chicago. With population numbers rising and a globalising economy; development is set to increase, it therefor vital sustainable planning policies are operating. This essay has displayed some possible reasons for why cities and regions might develop at different rates though theorist such as Florida (2005) and porter (2008), they suggest that Creative classes and competitiveness create uneven development. Friedman (2005) and Harvey (1989) argue against this idea of development being ‘spikey’ and suggest due to globalisation and a borderless economy; location is not important allowing development to take place at the same rate. Planning and development policy can play an influential role in addressing uneven development as well as maintaining sustainable development. This essay has displayed several effective policy schemes such as Bottom-up governance, land rights, taxation and land use zoning that have proved effective in tackling uneven development. In conclusion uneven develop ment is occurring; it is possible to tackle uneven development though successful policy however it must be remembered that many regions develop at different rates. 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