Miles Davis and Steve Reich free essay sample

Though I am not particularly fond of Jazz (especially of the elevator music type), it is obvious that there was thought, time and talent put in every moment of what Vive heard of Davis. There seems to be plenty of melody and Just enough improvisation to keep things interesting, but not get dry or tiresome. Steve Reich was a composer of the minimalist style of music. He used many types of media to create his music. The class textbook describes Reich as the acknowledged old master of the minimalist style and having little experience with this type of music cannot agree or disagree with this statement- however, I can offer my opinion.I read through the text and Steve Reich website, listened to the Music for 18 Musicians and found that I disliked the sounds that I heard. So I watched all of the videos and listened to the required MPH four more times. We will write a custom essay sample on Miles Davis and Steve Reich or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page While I find the sound In most of his compositions as what I would gladly use as an alarm ring tone on my cell phone, I appreciate what he is trying to accomplish by audibly breaking down what could be melodies or patterns.If I approach each composer with the qualifications I need met to be an incredible piece of music, I do not think that Steve Reich would be qualified as a Classical composer Insofar as I am not transported to a place of contentment. Or emotionally moved by his works. I am mostly irritated, though (and this in itself is a event of emotion), so if I am playing devils advocate-Just because I dont like the way it sounds, does not mean that Reich is not an actual Classical composer.The manipulation of sound, the digression of a simple melody Is kind of what made Gregorian chanting into Western music, after all, and Classic Rock became the product of all the music before it. (Maybe I really owe Steve Reich a very large thank you. ) One of Steve Reeces pieces, Music for 18 Musicians, was an early classic for the minimalist style. Reich was heavily Influenced by the gametal orchestras and was hinging of orchestration and harmony when he wrote this piece. He was vehement 1 OFF middle register by starting with a series of chords.I believe that there are a few (very few) number of similarities between Steve Reich and Miles Davis. Artistically, there are similarities in the structure of the music and the way simple harmonies or chords are broken down and expounded upon. Apart from this, I cannot hear many similarities. While Miles Davis makes me feel comforted and relaxed with his melodies and wondering music, Steve Reich makes me wonder what exactly is going on in this bad science fiction movie Im watching.

Jack Kerouac and the beat movement essays

Jack Kerouac and the beat movement essays World War II marked a wide dividing line between the old and the new in American society and the nations literature(The World Book Encyclopedia 427) . When world War II ended there was a pent up desire that had been postponed due to the war. Post war America brought about a time when it seemed that every young man was doing the same thing, getting a job, settling down and starting a family. America was becoming a nation of consumers. One group that was against conforming to this dull American lifestyle was referred to as Beatniks. The Beats or Beatniks condemned middle class American life as morally bankrupt. They praised individualism as the highest human goal(The World Book Encyclopedia 428). This perspective was present in poetry and literature through out the beat movement. One of the most important works produced during the beat movement was Jack Kerouacs On The Road. In the novel Jack Kerouacs alter ego Sal Paradise represents the American man who realizes he doesnt want to conform to societies pressures but still hasnt realized what it is exactly he wants to do. He is a man who has very little direction and is very much lost in the world as he knows it. Kerouac seems to be constantly trying to escape. In examining the novel one might wonder what is Kerouac escaping and by what means does he do so? Kerouac used two means of escape through out the novel and through out his life. His first means of escape was his constant travel. He traveled from east to west, New York to San Francisco and stopped everywhere in between. He made this trip over and over, constantly on the road. The simple title of the novel exemplifies Kerouacs ongoing need to travel. When he and his friends got tried of traveling east to west they traveled north to south, driving all the way down to Mexico City. His travels gave him the opportunity to be an outsider with no worries. He ...

Prehistoric Life During the Neogene Period

Prehistoric Life During the Neogene Period During the course of the Neogene period, life on earth adapted to new ecological niches opened up by global coolingand some mammals, birds, and reptiles evolved to truly impressive sizes in the process. The Neogene is the second period of the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present), preceded by the Paleogene period (65-23 million years ago) and succeeded by the Quaternary period-and is itself comprised of the Miocene (23-5 million years ago) and Pliocene (5-2.6 million years ago) epochs. Climate and Geography Like the preceding Paleogene, the Neogene period witnessed a trend toward global cooling, especially at higher latitudes (it was immediately after the end of the Neogene, during the Pleistocene epoch, that the earth underwent a series of ice ages interspersed with warmer interglacials). Geographically, the Neogene was important for the land bridges that opened up between various continents: it was during the late Neogene that North and South America became connected by the Central American Isthmus, Africa was in direct contact with southern Europe via the dry Mediterranean Sea basin, and eastern Eurasia and western North America were joined by the Siberian land bridge. Elsewhere, the slow impact of the Indian subcontinent with the underbelly of Asia produced the Himalayan mountains. Terrestrial Life During the Neogene Period Mammals. Global climate trends, combined with the spread of newly evolved grasses, made the Neogene period the golden age of open prairies and savannahs. These extensive grasslands spurred the evolution of even- and odd-toed ungulates, including prehistoric horses and camels (which originated in North America), as well as deer, pigs, and rhinoceroses. During the later Neogene, the interconnections between Eurasia, Africa, and North and South America set the stage for a confusing network of species interchanges, resulting (for example) in the near extinction of South Americas Australia-like marsupial megafauna. From a human perspective, the most important development of the Neogene period was the continuing evolution of apes and hominids. During the Miocene epoch, a huge number of hominid species inhabited Africa and Eurasia; during the ensuing Pliocene, most of these hominids (among them the direct ancestors of modern humans) were clustered in Africa. It was immediately after the Neogene period, during the Pleistocene epoch, that the first human beings (genus Homo) appeared on the planet. Birds. While birds never quite matched the size of their distant mammalian cousins, some of the flying and flightless species of the Neogene period were truly enormous (for example, the airborne Argentavis and Osteodontornis both exceeded 50 pounds.) The end of the Neogene marked the extinction of most of the flightless, predatory terror birds of South America and Australia, the last dregs being wiped out in the ensuing Pleistocene. Otherwise, bird evolution continued apace, with most modern orders well- represented by the close of the Neogene. Reptiles. A large chunk of the Neogene period was dominated by gigantic crocodiles, which still never quite managed to match the size of their Cretaceous forebears. This 20-million-year span also witnessed the continuing evolution of prehistoric snakes and (especially) prehistoric turtles, the latter group of which began to reach truly impressive proportions by the start of the Pleistocene epoch. Marine Life Although prehistoric whales had started to evolve in the preceding Paleogene period, they didnt become exclusively marine creatures until the Neogene, which also witnessed the continuing evolution of the first pinnipeds (the mammalian family that includes seals and walruses) as well as prehistoric dolphins, to which whales are closely related. Prehistoric sharks maintained their status at the top of the marine food chain; Megalodon, for example, had already appeared at the end of the Paleogene and continued its dominance throughout the Neogene as well. Plant Life There were two major trends in plant life during the Neogene period. First, plunging global temperatures spurred the rise of massive deciduous forests, which replaced jungles and rainforests in high northern and southern latitudes. Second, the worldwide spread of grasses went hand-in-hand with the evolution of mammalian herbivores, culminating in todays familiar horses, cows, sheep, deer, and other grazing and ruminant animals.

Legalizing Mariuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Legalizing Mariuana - Essay Example Within every culture there are differences however. In every part of the world religion was used as a tool to explain things that science could not, and religion's view on mind-altering substances like marijuana, alcohol and mushrooms has traditional been negative. Early western religious leaders looked skeptically on people in an inebriated state, perhaps thinking that they were possessed. This might explain the inherent distrust of any mind-altering substance; early science was too primitive to explain the inebriated state so religious leader's denounced users as demon possessed. In the west especially, where religion was not so much of a spiritual nature but a kind of penance were substances seen as evil. Unlike other, more primitive religions of the world, where its practitioners wanted to elevate the soul to communicate with God, western Christianity seemed to want to make every person live as plainly as possible. It taught that suffering was a good thing and if the common perso n questioned why they were told by their religious leaders that it was because that was how God wanted it to be. It's easy to see now how the modern western world developed its bias against substances. Today in the United States and most parts of the western world (like Britain, Canada, and France) marijuana is illegal to possess or distribute (although in Canada possession has been decriminalized). Penalties in the United States for possessing marijuana differ from state to state but are generally severe: a hefty fine at the least to several months or even years in prison, depending on the amount of marijuana found. (Schwartz 2000) Some states have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes: relief of chronic pain and post-traumatic stress. It has been shown in every study that the large majority of the American population (around 70 percent always) agrees with marijuana use for medicinal purposes. However, federal law in many cases clashes with state law when government officials do raids on houses of known medicinal marijuana users that have been sanctioned by the state. In every case federal law supersedes that of the state law and the patient is fined or imprisoned and the ma rijuana, usually no more than a few plants for personal use, is taken from the patient. (Grinspoon and Bakalar 2002) Arguments abound over the legality of this. Should federal law supersede state law Those true to the founding fathers ideals of the sovereign state say no, while federalists say yes, that the government should have the power to restrict state laws. The arguments on both sides are long and equally compelling. Marijuana has been discovered to be very useful in the field of medicine. Effects of marijuana have been known to cause pain relief. Marijuana was used as an anesthetic in many countries. Marijuana smokers reported that marijuana ad relieved pain while smoking and a much higher tolerance to pain after smoking. In particular, marijuana helps relieve the tension in a headache because of it effect on the brain. (Doblin and Kleiman 2003) It also helps with anxiety because it can be used as a sedative. Studies have shown that marijuana can also be used as a Bronchodilator. It can help relieve feelings of suffocation during an asthma attack. Many

Write a statement about what the correct decision should have been and Essay

Write a statement about what the correct decision should have been and why - Essay Example By approving the production of the Pintos, the top-level managers acted only to satisfy their personal interests. The decision to produce Pintos was wrong because there were serious wrangles and disagreements among the top managers. Before the production of the car was commenced, the top manager should have ensured that all grievances that were being raised were addressed effectively. The consequences of poor communication strategies were interdepartmental conflicts and lack of coordination between different sectors, an aspect that led to errors in the production units. The decision to compare the lives of people in monetary value and the cost of remodeling the fuel tank was wrong. Even if it’s possible to compensate people who lose their friends and family members through accidents, it is more costly to mend the damage that the accidents will have to the reputation of the business in the market. Therefore, the decision should have taken into consideration the long-term strategy of the

Personal Skills Audit And Preferred Learning Style Education Essay

Personal Skills Audit And Preferred Learning Style Education Essay The further management development starts from the responsibilities of manager towards achieving his task. In this fast changing and competitive environment managers need modifications in order to make new ways and strategies to cope up with the diversity occur in the organization. Responsibilities for achieving the task include the clear vision for the group that perfectly defines the direction and segregate work to keep in view the workers skills and flexibility. Determine which resources, processes, and systems are used. Develop the strategy to achieve the task, tactics, time, measurements and by understanding and delegation. Setting the benchmark is to restrict your subordinates to achieve the level that is up to the mark and gain maximum results. Entertain properly the control and maintaining activities and monitor overall performance against plan. Responsibilities as a manager for a group includes the standards and ethics to be performed in the workplace, define a proper organizational culture so your subordinates will be feeling comfortable in the environment and able to work efficiently and easily cope up with the situations. Manager should develop a team slogan to encourage his team towards the task and make them believe that they will be given their best to the task and will achieve the target. Threats which violated the organizations morale, try to turn these threats in to opportunities thats what many good managers with excellent communication skills does. The most important action plan which helps managers to manage the department includes the understanding of individual, their personalities, skills, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and capabilities and assists them in such a way that you can support individuals-plans, conflicts, and challenges they face by them. Classify every individuals objectives, and give appraisals in order to encourage them towards their tasks. Arrange career development programs to train them further because employees may need some new talent and in order to give them information about new technologies. The good leaders always have command over these main areas. First a leader believes to do the entire task no matter whatever the circumstances are, he keeps the right balance according to the situation, gets results, and strengthen the morale, quality, and develops strategies to attain maximum satisfaction. The most important function in leadership development includes planning keeping in view the appropriate information and elaborates the tasks in order to meet the standards. Commence the action and allocate the tasks with setting its standards. A good leader is proactive that supports individual and encourage team spirit and informing the tasks, plans, and schedule properly and give his feedback. Develop feasibility of plan to enable the assessment of the planned task. These all actions help leader in leading, and also includes strong emphasis by applying these techniques through training. Explain the impact of learning styles on personal development. Everyone has different learning style that is unique to the person and the way which seems interesting to him. Analyze your personal learning style by which you can give your best to the task and improve your personal life, which improves the time management also manage studies and, find new strategies to learn more. SELF-AWARENESS AND MOTIVATION Start realizing your thoughts, and be aware of your thoughts and decisions you take in order to make your life peaceful. Think position and develop healing pattern which encourage your thoughts and decision power in the position way. The more you know about yourself the better decision you will be taken. Self awareness also helps in spiritual growth when you have clear upstanding of your religion and believe you will start living accordingly. CREATE PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS In order to progress in your field you must learn how to make solutions of the problems occur, and must be able to describe or investigate the problem. Diagnose the causes of the problem that affects in your personal life, develop strategies and make alternates to resolve the problem, and analyze your weak areas where you are not able to make proper decisions. And at last implement your own strategy and assess the effective and efficiency of the decision. COMMUNICATION SKILLS Convey your message in such a way that people understand them clearly and having perfect idea what are you conveying. If your conveying method is not effective you will receive ambiguous feedback that other person perceived wrong. Find new ways to learn more about communication style that you can deal effective with people around you and build a trust through your good communication and make a good relationship. PAIRED AND GROUP STYLE OF LEARING The paired and group learning style is the most effective way to learn because a person will find a new ways from other people and learn from their experience to improve their personal life. Group learning style provides you the regularity and you will get better results. The paired and group style of learning also helps you in building your confidence and overwhelm shy factor. The group discussion will not only increase your knowledge but also helps in you progressing in personal growth. The advantages of group learning are numerous which provides an opportunity to compare results and helps in making accurate interpretation regarding to the personal life and career. Assignment 2 Personal Development Planning Purpose The purpose of this assignment is to provide a framework within which the learner can: Prepare and implement a personal development plan . Scenario Your tutor has asked you to provide evidence of your own personal and professional development throughout the course of your studies for this learning programme. As professional development is an ongoing process, this assignment will not be completed until the end of the learning programme. Task 1 Produce an ongoing personal development plan and reflective record of management experience which sets out: This provides evidence for 3a Task 2 Compile a portfolio of evidence which demonstrates how you have implemented the actions in Task 1 above over a period of at least six months, and includes records of: training and/or development needs from a recent appraisal or job review action planning, diaries, learning journal feedback from a variety of sources (eg manager, colleagues, customers) This provides evidence for 3a Task 3 Write a report of between 1000-1500 words which evaluates how well the main themes of the learning programme have impacted (or could in the future) on your work role and chosen career path. You should include an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses both at the start and end of the programme, and explain the importance of self review and how this informs future professional development This provides evidence for 3b Your objectives for career and life planning. The actions you plan to take to meet these goals. Your short/medium/long term goals and objectives. The resources and support needed and available to meet objectives target dates for monitoring and review. >>>> Manager Personal Skill and Professional Skill Introduction: Developing effective management skills to deal with specific challenges and problems of each organization is the urgent needs of many businesses and organizations in the global competitive environment, rapid changing of technology and environment. The new tendency of training and development of successful organizations over the world today is developing effective skills in dealing with specific challenge of their own organization to reach their own mission and objectives in the new organization that characterized by networked, flat, flexible, diverse, global organization. Based on the research in the world and in Vietnam, and from the success of previous workshops, the Center for Excellence in Management Development (CEMD) continuously offers the workshop on Effective Management Skills to help people and organization improving their own effectiveness and efficiency. Through this workshop, participants are not only developed specific competencies in the schedule, but also improved learning skills, facilitating skills, and teamwork skills very important skills in the 21th century organizations. Participants: Managers of businesses, organizations, and people who want to develop competencies in creative problem solving, communications, conflict management, negotiation, and improving self-management and individual effectiveness to improve organizations effectiveness and efficiency. Objectives and Contents: 1. Creative Problem Solving Skills: (1) Describing and analyzing a problem, (2) Identifying causes of a problem, (3) Developing creative options and choosing the best course of action, and (4) Implementing and evaluating effective and efficiency of the decision. 2. Communication Skills: (1) Listening skills, (2) Presentation skills, (3) Feedback Skills, (4) Report witting skills. 3. Conflict Management Skills: (1) Identifying sources of conflict functional and dysfunctional conflicts, (2) Understanding personal style of conflict resolution, (3) Choosing the best strategy for dealing with a conflict, and (4) Developing skills in promoting constructive conflicts in organization and teams. 4. Negotiation Skills: (1) Distinguishing distributive and integrative negotiations, position and principled negotiation, (2) Identifying common mistakes in negotiation and ways to avoid them, (3) Developing rational thinking in negotiation, and (4) Developing effective skills in negotiation that benefits all parties involved. 5. Self-Awareness and Improvement: (1) Understanding the concept of self-management, (2) Evaluate the effectiveness of self management, (3) Developing creative and holistic thinking, (4) Understanding the importance of emotions in works as well in self-development, (5) Understand of self-motivation, and (6) Effectively managing self-learning and change. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Personal Learning Style PERSONAL LEARNING STYLE Who would have ever thought taking a college course would require one to learn how to learn?    It is a good concept we normally undergo at a very young age.    At the pre-school age one will find children learning their strength and weakness through their playtime.    As adults we almost forget we have to learn how to learn to continue growth in our workplace, school, and in life.    In our second week of online classes I learned strengths and weakness in my learning style with the aid of learning assessments, personality spectrums, and time management logs.    In this paper, I intend to describe the various components of my learning style and outline a plan to improve my time management and study skills. A big component of my learning style is hands-on experience; learning while doing.    This usually involved someone with more experience instructing me as I performed the task.    Through the hands-on approach, I picked-up the knowledge and gained proficiency >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Assignment Task 1 1 Introduction This task is about analyzing personal development plan and make strategy for development of PDP. Personal development plan (PDP) shows an evaluation of current skills and knowledge that includes individual strengths and weaknesses. As per scenario, Finance 4 U is finance and accounting based company. Managing director has lot of plans in ensuring that companys staffs fully participates in improving personal and professional skills as the company has problem with staff morale and motivation. Personal development plans needs to be discussed in this task. As Finance 4 U urgently needed a personal development plan in terms of professional and career development and assists the company in progression. 2 Objectives The objectives of this task are to identify strategy for developing a personal development plan, its importance and how plan can improve daily professional life? Characteristics of plan must also be explained such as à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Objectives and goals (both short term and long term)       à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Dates and time scale       à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Resources       à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Milestones and checkpoints (where performance should be reviewed) 3 Personal Development Plan its Importance Personal Development Planning is a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development. The primary objective for PDP is to improve the capacity of individuals to understand what and how they are learning, and to review, plan and take responsibility for their own learning. http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/pdp.htm Personal development is a field of practice and research. As a field of practice PDP includes personal development methods, assessment systems, learning programs, tools and techniques. As a field of research, personal development topics increasingly appear in higher education reviews, scientific journals, >>>> Skill Audit SKILLS AUDIT GRID We would encourage you to review this regularly and particularly before tutorials |Generic Engineering Skills:                      |Good    |Average|Poor    |Academic Study                                  |Work Experience                                  |Extra-Curricular Activity                   |Action Planning                                  | |Analysis                                                 |          |          |          |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       | |Modelling                                                 |          |          |          |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       | |IT                                                          |          |          |          |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       | |Problem solving       |Project implementation                            |          |          |                                                       |                                                    |Appropriate use of laboratory and             |          |                                                       |workshop equipment                                  |                                                       |                                                       |                                     |Design                                                 >>>>>> ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ABSTRACT          Well as I begin I would like to remember you one point that no one can withstand in the market of an organization when the people lack certain skills and knowledge. In order to ensure for proper skills and knowledge a proper idea about the development of their skills are briefed in this report. Keeping in mind, the four skills developed in this report were time management, stress management, running meeting, and group discussion. Not only the skills but also the learning styles were discussed. What are the techniques and objectives to meet the desired characteristics? How to improve the management skills for the effective leadership? The main concept of learning is mentioned clearly in this report which may be useful in the future requirements for an organization to be effective and imaginative. CONTENTS       à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ ABSTRACT       à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ OUTCOME 1 TASK 1: METHODS TO IMPROVE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS    1. (a) EVALUATION OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS TASK 2:    1. (b) IMPROVIZATION OF SUCCESSFUL MANAGER SKILLS       à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ OUTCOME 2 TASK 3: PERSONAL SKILLS AUDITS 1.2 (a) PREFERRED LEARNING STYLE FOCUSSING ON THE SKILLS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP       à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ OUTCOME 3 TASK 4: PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1.3 (a) DETAILED PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN TASK 5: 1.3 (b) MONITORING FEEDBACKS AND ADJUSTMENTS TASK 6: 1.3 (c) IMPACTS OF LEARNING AND UTILIZING IN THE FUTURE       à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ CONCLUSION       à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ BIBLIOGRAPHY OUTCOME 1 TASK 1: METHODS TO IMPROVE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS       à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Communication, communication, communicationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦!!! This is an important method to improve both personal and professional skills. This is the first factor required to develop in any organization.       à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Developing the necessary business ethics and corporate social responsibility. This development of the workshop helps in understanding the ethical behavior and participants >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Personal Learning Styles Personal Learning Style Byron Taylor University of Phoenix Gen/101 Skills for Lifelong Learning Group ID #ONO61CS04 Daigre Victorine, Phd May 11, 2006 In the course of writing this paper I have learned a great deal about the styles of learning and how to incorporate personality traits into effectual learning principles. This paper will consist of an analogy of the components of my learning style to the facets of my personality. This will aid in strategically creating a plan to use in improving my time management and study skills. Components of learning style       I believe that my personal learning style, as do most people, encompasses many traits that extend far beyond categories and agree that these are tools to assist an individual in understanding capabilities, rather than give a definition of what type of person learns under different situations.    For instance, according to my scores in The Pathways to Learning Assessment, I am highly developed in Musical and Interpersonal learning and underdeveloped in the concepts of the Visual-Spatial and Naturalistic learner.    The fact is while I am very musically inclined, I have never created rhythms out of words, beat out rhythms with my hand, written a rap, changed materials to songs I already know, or used music while studying.    On the other hand, I realize that using some components of the Musical-Rhythmic learner I might be able to develop an additional style of studying, by evaluating the effectiveness of those components.       The components of an Interpersonal learner are traits that seem aligned with how I believe I would best learn.    When I was in sigh school, I thrived in the classes which were interactive in nature, as opposed to lecture driven.    I rarely understood the need for slide shows or other visual aids and often felt they had little bearing on the subject even though some of my classmates seemed to believe they helped them immensely. So if a category that fit most of what >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Personal Learning Styles Personal Learning Styles University of Phoenix Everyone learns differently.    This is something that we all discover at a young age.    Some of us absorb information from a Professors lecture very easily, while others will need to go back and read or recite this same information.    Everyone has a learning style that is unique to them, developed over time by their own learning experiences.    By examining our personal learning style, we are able to gain valuable insight on how we learn best, which allows us then to convert study material from its offered format into one that is more palatable for us as individuals.    After a thorough assessment, I have developed a detailed understanding of my own learning style and personality, as well as a strategic plan to improve my time management and study skills. Especially as children, we all have our favorite subjects in school.    Typically, we simply choose subjects we have a natural aptitude for as our favorites we enjoy things better when they come easy to us.    My favorite subjects in school were always math and science related; subjects where everything made logical sense.    I learn best when I can bring logical order to the information presented to me.    Not surprisingly, I also learn best when working on my own, so that I am able to organize my thoughts in a logical manner. After completing the Pathways to Learning1 assessment, I discovered, somewhat unsurprisingly, that I am most strongly developed in the Logical-Mathematical and Intrapersonal intelligences.    I then completed the Personality Spectrum1 and learned that my personality type is that of a Thinker. The results I received from these two assessments complement each other well.    I discovered that while I learn best through problem solving, my best study practices are to study in a quiet place, organize material logically (when possible writing outlines or developing charts and graphs), read text and highlight important points, write or rewrite >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> My Personal Learning Styles Like most people, I can definitely say there have been times in my life when learning was a chore. I can remember looking at the clock on the wall watching the second hand tick away while feverishly tried to grasp the material before me. On the other hand, I can clearly recall times when I was eager to learn. I looked forward to the experience, almost counting the hours until my next opportunity to dive into the scheduled material. As the years have passed from my early days of learning until now, I have realized there is a key word that defines my learning style: scheduled. I am a schedule person. From as far back as I can remember, I have always envied the organized person. The one who had a schedule for everything. The one who knew everything and knew where to go to get what they did not readily possess. I have studied temperament types and learning styles in great detail, primarily trying to find new ways of understanding others and myself. At one point, I took the Strong Interest Inventory Test to try to find out my personal learning style. In an interpretive report following the testing, Allen Hammer and Judith Grutter explained: Your score on the Learning Environment scale suggests that you are interested in applied or practical problems. You may be most interested in short-term training that can teach you practical skills that will help you prepare for a particular job. You probably learn best in settings where you can learn by experience, not through books or lectures (11). The Skills for Professional Development textbook provided four distinct tests to help me define my learning style even further. Test 1: Peak and Valley Learning Times (University of Phoenix 74), confirmed to me that I learn best in the early morning hours. Early morning is definitely a peak learning time for me. I can frequently be found early in the morning with a book and a cup of coffee. I wake up and my brain seems to be already engaged. Saturday mornings afford me the Criteria reference To achieve the criteria the evidence must show that the learner is able to: Task No Page numbers 1 evaluate the personal and professional skills required to meet both organisational and own goals and objectives evaluate more effective ways to learn in the future 2 undertake a personal skills audit, identifying preferred learning style, which focuses on the skills required for effective management and leadership 3 produce a detailed personal development plan evaluate and review the effectiveness and impact of your learning

Quiz Essay Questions Economics

CHAPTER 12 Fiscal Policy A. Short-Answer, Essays, and Problems 1. Give a brief definition of fiscal policy? What are its economic goals? 2. What is the Council of Economic Advisers? 3. â€Å"The Employment Act of 1946 is no more than a vague and ill-defined commitment by the Federal government to assist in the achievement of full employment. † Do you agree? Explain. 4. Explain the effect of a discretionary cut in taxes of $40 billion on the economy when the economy’s marginal propensity to consume is . 75.By how much is output likely to expand if the economy is operating in the horizontal range of its aggregate supply curve and there are no complications to this fiscal policy? How does this discretionary fiscal policy differ from a discretionary increase in government spending of $40 billion? 5. Explain the effect of a discretionary increase in government spending of $50 billion on the economy when the economy’s marginal propensity to consume is . 75. By how much is output likely to expand if the economy is operating in the horizontal range of its aggregate supply curve and there are no complications to this fiscal policy? . Explain the aspects of expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy. During which phases of the business cycle would each be appropriate? 7. Differentiate between discretionary fiscal policy and nondiscretionary or built-in stabilization policy. 8. Describe two ways the Federal government can finance a deficit and explain which would have the more expansionary effect. 9. Describe two ways the Federal government could retire debt in the event of a budget surplus and explain which would have the most contractionary impact. 10. What is the anti-inflationary or contractionary effect of a budget surplus? 11.Explain how a small budget surplus could actually be somewhat expansionary rather than contractionary. 197 Chapter 12 New 12. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Increasing government spending is preferred to a cut in taxes when the U. S. government seeks to fight a recession. † 13. Explain what is meant by a built-in stabilizer and give two examples. 14. â€Å"The more progressive a tax system, the greater is the economy’s built-in stability. † Explain this statement for both recessionary and peak phases of the business cycle. 15. Explain how the below graph illustrates the built-in stability of a progressive tax structure. 6. In Year 1, the full-employment budget showed a deficit of about $100 billion and the actual budget showed a deficit of $150 billion one year. In Year 2, the full employment budget showed a deficit of about $125 billion and the actual budget showed a deficit of $150 billion. Based on these data, what can be concluded about the direction of fiscal policy? 17. What is the difference between the actual deficit, the full-employment deficit, and the cyclical deficit? 18. What does the â€Å"full-employment budget† measure and of what significance is this co ncept? 19.Complete the table below by stating whether the direction of discretionary fiscal policy was contractionary (C), expansionary (E), or neither (N), given the hypothetical budget data for an economy. 198 Fiscal Policy (2) (3) Actual budget deficit (–) or Full-employment budget Yearsurplus (+)deficit (–) or surplus (+) fiscal policy 1 2 3 4 5 6 – 3. 9% – 4. 5 – 4. 7 – 3. 9 – 2. 9 – 2. 2 – 2. 1% – 2. 6 – 3. 0 – 2. 6 – 2. 0 – 1. 9 (1) (4) Direction of _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 20. In what fundamental way do the spending-taxation decisions of government differ from the consumption-saving plans of households?Why is this difference significant? New 21. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Discretionary fiscal policy offers an ideal approach to dealing with the nation’s economic problems. It is without problems, criticisms, or complications. † New 22. Explain the six probl ems, criticisms, or complications that arise in the implementation of fiscal policy. New 23. Explain the problems giving rise to this statement: â€Å"You would think the government would want to do something to improve economic conditions when the economy is in trouble, but the government is slow to act. New 24. How do expectations about the future by households and businesses affect the effectiveness of fiscal policy? Cite examples. 25. â€Å"If economic forecasting was a more exact science, the business cycle could be entirely corrected by fiscal measures. † Do you agree? 26. Explain the crowding-out effect. 27. Using the below graph, illustrate the possible impact of a crowding-out effect of a fiscal policy by drawing in the relevant aggregate demand shifts. Label and explain any shifts in the demand curve shown. 199 Chapter 12 28.Explain how the net-export effect would reduce the effectiveness of fiscal policy. New 29. What fiscal policy is most likely to be invoked dur ing a period of recession and high unemployment? A period of rapid inflation? What political, investment, and international problems might the U. S. Congress encounter in enacting these policies and putting them into effect? 30. (Last Word) What is the purpose of the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators? 31. (Last Word) Why is the index of leading economic indicators a composite index of ten economic statistics and not just one? 00 Fiscal Policy B. Answers to Short-Answer, Essays, and Problems 1. Give a brief definition of fiscal policy? What are its economic goals? Fiscal policy is the use of the federal budget to achieve full employment, control inflation, and stimulate economic growth. The changes to the federal budget can be made through increases or decreases in government spending or through increases or decreases in tax revenues. [text: E p. 214; MA p. 214]. 2. What is the Council of Economic Advisers?The Council of Economic Advisors is responsible f or assisting and advising the president on economic affairs. One of its principal responsibilities is to prepare an annual report for the president that is submitted to Congress that describes the state of the economy and recommends economic policies to achieve full employment, control inflation, and encourage economic growth. [text: E pp. 214-215; MA pp. 214-215]. 3. â€Å"The Employment Act of 1946 is no more than a vague and ill-defined commitment by the Federal government to assist in the achievement of full employment. Do you agree? Explain. To agree with this statement does not diminish the importance of the Employment Act of 1946. The Constitution has also been called vague and ill-defined, but that does not diminish its importance. This act committed the Federal government to following policies which would attempt to stabilize prices and promote full employment and established the CEA and JEC to assist in this task. While specific policies were not outlined, the intention o f the act is clear it is a responsibility of the Federal government to assist in this effort.That had not been an explicit on-going policy before 1946. [text: E p. 214; MA p. 214] 4. Explain the effect of a discretionary cut in taxes of $40 billion on the economy when the economy’s marginal propensity to consume is . 75. By how much is output likely to expand if the economy is operating in the horizontal range of its aggregate supply curve and there are no complications to this fiscal policy? How does this discretionary fiscal policy differ from a discretionary increase in government spending of $40 billion? If MPC is . 75, the multiplier is 4.A tax cut of $40 billion will result in initial increase in consumption of $30 billion (. 75 ? $40 billion). This initial increase in spending will ultimately result in an increase in consumption spending of $120 billion because of the multiplier process. In contrast, an initial increase in government spending of $40 billion will ultima tely increase consumer spending by $160 billion (4 ? $40) because none of the initial increase is siphoned off as savings as would be the case with a $40 billion tax cut. [text: E pp. 215-216; MA pp. 215-216] 5.Explain the effect of a discretionary increase in government spending of $50 billion on the economy when the economy’s marginal propensity to consume is . 75. By how much is output likely to expand if the economy is operating in the horizontal range of its aggregate supply curve and there are no complications to this fiscal policy? If MPC is . 75, the multiplier is 4. An initial increase of $50 billion government spending will result in a total increase in output of $200 billion. [text: E pp. 215-216; MA pp. 215-216] 6. Explain the aspects of expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy.During which phases of the business cycle would each be appropriate? 201 Chapter 12 Expansionary fiscal policy refers to increases in government spending or decreases in taxes or both, so that the net effect on aggregate demand is an increase in net government spending. Contractionary fiscal policy is the opposite: an increase in taxes or decrease in government spending or both, so that the net effect on aggregate demand is a decrease in net government spending. Expansionary policy would most likely be used during a recession (or trough) phase.A contractionary policy would most likely be employed near the peak of the business cycle as the economy reaches full-employment GDP and the potential for inflation accelerates. [text: E pp. 215-217; MA pp. 215-217] 7. Differentiate between discretionary fiscal policy and nondiscretionary or built-in stabilization policy. Discretionary fiscal policy is the deliberate manipulation of taxes and government spending by the Congress to alter real domestic output and employment, to control inflation, and to stimulate economic growth during a particular period of time.Nondiscretionary fiscal policy, on the other hand, is the chang e in government expenditures or taxes which occurs automatically as a result of existing laws. In particular, personal income taxes have progressive rates and will slow spending and inflation as GDP expands; when GDP declines, taxes will decrease by a more than proportionate amount allowing incomes and spending to decline at a slower rate than GDP. There are also many transfer payment programs which become effective when incomes decline or unemployment occurs to reduce the decline in disposable income.Conversely, these programs automatically are reduced when the economy expands and unemployment declines and spending increases. [text: E pp. 215, 219-220; MA pp. 215, 219-220] 8. Describe two ways the Federal government can finance a deficit and explain which would have the more expansionary effect. The government can borrow money from the private sector in which case it will be competing with private business borrowers for funds. If planned investment spending is â€Å"crowded out,â €  the impact of expansionary deficits will be offset by the decline in investment spending.The government can also finance a deficit by issuing new money which essentially means that the Federal Reserve has financed the deficit. This type of financing would be more expansionary than borrowing from the private sector. [text: E pp. 217-218; MA pp. 217-218] 9. Describe two ways the Federal government could retire debt in the event of a budget surplus and explain which would have the most contractionary impact. The government could use a budget surplus to pay off existing debt which would â€Å"recycle† funds back into the economy and potentially offset the decline in government spending.Alternatively, the government could impound the surplus funds, or allow them to stand idle, which means these funds are not injected into the economy and would have a more contractionary effect than the first alternative. [text: E p. 218; MA p. 218] 10. What is the anti-inflationary or contra ctionary effect of a budget surplus? The anti-inflation effect of a budget surplus depends on what the government does with the surplus. The budget surpluses may be used for debt reduction. In this case, bonds 202 Fiscal Policy are bought back by the government and money is pumped back into the economy.Interest rate will tend to fall, and this may increase consumer and investment spending, thus offsetting some of the contractionary effect of the budget surplus. The government may also impound funds (not spend them). This action will be more contractionary because it actually removes spending from the economy that would have been spent otherwise. [text: E p. 218; MA p. 218] 11. Explain how a small budget surplus could actually be somewhat expansionary rather than contractionary. This could be the unlikely result of what the government decides to do with the surplus.If it is used to retire existing debt, then the surplus is pumped right back into the economy and with the multiplier ef fect this additional liquid wealth in the hands of individuals could lead to an increase in aggregate demand and GDP. [text: E p. 218; MA p. 218] New 12. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Increasing government spending is preferred to a cut in taxes when the U. S. government seeks to fight a recession. † The statement is a normative one. Either action, increased government spending or taxation, can be use to fight a recession. The policy choice will depend on the preferences of the individual.Those individuals who want to fight a recession with an increase in government spending may want to preserve the size of government in the economy and have specific government programs they would like to see funded. Those individuals who prefer a tax cut may want to reduce the size of government and give people more money and the freedom to spend it as they chose. [text: E p. 218; MA p. 218] 13. Explain what is meant by a built-in stabilizer and give two examples. Built-in stabilizers are changes in tax revenues or government spending which occur automatically during different phases of the business cycle.For example, the progressive income tax will dampen any expansion of aggregate demand in the recovery peak phases; and will dampen any decline in income and aggregate demand during a recession as taxes are automatically reduced by a greater proportion than the decline in personal income. There are also government spending programs which increase during recessionary periods automatically as incomes decline or are lost. The so-called â€Å"safety net† programs include unemployment compensation, welfare programs, and food stamp spending.These spending programs are automatically reduced during a recovery peak phase which would dampen aggregate demand and inflationary pressures automatically. [text: E pp. 218-219; MA pp. 218-219] 14. â€Å"The more progressive a tax system, the greater is the economy’s built-in stability. † Explain this statement for both recessionary and peak phases of the business cycle. A progressive tax would take a progressively greater proportion of rising incomes during the peak phase of the business cycle which means it would dampen spending increases and aggregate demand which, in turn, reduces inflationary pressures.On the other hand, a progressive tax would take proportionately less away from declining incomes during a recessionary phase allowing disposable income to fall less rapidly than real GDP. Therefore, aggregate demand would decline less rapidly than GDP and the magnitude of the spending decline that might occur in the absence of the tax would be reduced. [text: E pp. 219-220; MA pp. 219-220] 203 Chapter 12 15. Explain how the below graph illustrates the built-in stability of a progressive tax structure. The graph illustrates how net taxes are negative as GDP declines which will add to aggregate demand.When GDP expands, tax revenues increase which dampens aggregate demand. [text: E pp. 219-22 0; MA pp. 219-220] 16. In Year 1, the full-employment budget showed a deficit of about $100 billion and the actual budget showed a deficit of $150 billion one year. In Year 2, the full employment budget showed a deficit of about $125 billion and the actual budget showed a deficit of $150 billion. Based on these data, what can be concluded about the direction of fiscal policy? Fiscal policy was expansionary because the full-employment budget deficit increased from one year to the next.The actual deficit is composed of the full-employment portion and the cyclical portion. The full-employment portion of the actual budget deficit rose from $100 to $150 billion. The cyclical portion is determined by taking the actual deficit and subtracting the cyclical portion from it. The cyclical portion of the actual deficit fell from $50 billion to $25 billion. The actual budget deficit did not change, but it does not provide a good indication of the direction of fiscal policy. Only the full-employm ent budget tells the direction of fiscal policy. text: E pp. 220-221; MA pp. 220-221] 17. What is the difference between the actual deficit, the full-employment deficit, and the cyclical deficit? The actual budget deficit for any year consists of the full-employment and the cyclical deficit. The full-employment deficit is the difference between government expenditures and tax collections which would occur if there were full employment output. The cyclical deficit is the portion of the actual deficit that arises because the economy is in recession and is produced by this downturn in the business cycle.During a recession, a cyclical deficit often occurs because tax revenues fall as incomes fall and government expenditures increase as more is spent for government transfer payments and other programs. The cyclical deficit occurs because of the operation of these automatic stabilizers. [text: E pp. 221-222; MA pp. 221-222] 18. What does the â€Å"full-employment budget† measure an d of what significance is this concept? The full-employment budget refers to the budget deficit or surplus that would result with existing tax and spending programs if the economy were operating at full-employment.In other words, tax revenues and government spending are estimated at the level that would result if full employment existed. 204 Fiscal Policy Some economists believe that the full-employment budgetary deficit or surplus is what should determine the expansionary or contractionary nature of fiscal policy rather than the actual budgetary deficit or surplus. If the full-employment budget is not in deficit, then expansionary fiscal policy is not being followed according to this view even if the actual budget is in deficit. text: E pp. 221-222; MA pp. 221-222] 19. Complete the table below by stating whether the direction of discretionary fiscal policy was contractionary (C), expansionary (E), or neither (N), given the hypothetical budget data for an economy. (2) (3) Actual bud get deficit (–) or Full-employment budget Yearsurplus (+)deficit (–) or surplus (+) fiscal policy 1 2 3 4 5 6 – 3. 9% – 4. 5 – 4. 7 – 3. 9 – 2. 9 – 2. 2 – 2. 1% – 2. 6 – 3. 0 – 2. 6 – 2. 0 – 1. 9 (1) (4) Direction of E E C C C [text: E pp. 221-222; MA pp. 221-222] 20.In what fundamental way do the spending-taxation decisions of government differ from the consumption-saving plans of households? Why is this difference significant? The spending-taxation decisions of government are made in a political environment in which the majority must be satisfied, or satisfied enough to continue to vote for its elected representatives. Furthermore, since the government does not have a limited lifespan and always has the ability to tax, deficit-spending and debt do not have the same significance to governments that they do to individual households.Households face a much more uncertain future with regar d to their power to raise revenue (income) and therefore must plan their spending and saving to coincide with their lifetime earnings expectations. The difference is significant because so many people try to draw an analogy between government spending policies and household spending plans when it is usually not appropriate to do so. [text: E pp. 223-224; MA pp. 223-224] New 21. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Discretionary fiscal policy offers an ideal approach to dealing with the nation’s economic problems. It is without problems, criticisms, or complications. Discretionary fiscal policy does offer government policymakers potential tools (changing taxes or government spending) to use for stimulating the economy during a recession or for contracting the economy during a period of high inflation. Fiscal policy, however, is not without its problems, criticisms, or complications. First, there are timing problems in getting it implemented at the right time so it will be effectiv e. Second, there are political problems in getting it accepted because it takes time to get the actions passed through Congress and signed by the President.Third, there are expectations problems because policies may be reversed in the future. Fourth, the taxing and spending decisions of the Federal government may be partially offset by the taxing and spending decisions of state and local governments. Fifth, some economists are concerned that expansionary fiscal policy that requires the Federal government to borrow money will raise interest rates and crowd out investment spending, thus reducing 205 Chapter 12 the expansionary effect of the fiscal policy. Sixth, there are complications arising from the connection of the domestic economy to the world economy.Aggregate demand shocks from abroad or a net export effect may increase or decrease the effectiveness of a given fiscal policy. [text: E pp. 223-225; MA pp. 223-225] New 22. Explain the six problems, criticisms, or complications th at arise in the implementation of fiscal policy. First there is a timing problem. Three lags are identified under the â€Å"timing problem† category. There is a lag in recognizing the phase of the business cycle; there is an administrative lag in deciding which policies to follow; there is an operational lag in terms of the impact of the policy once it is implemented.Second, there are political considerations in the adoption of fiscal policy. There is some evidence of a political business cycle where particular expansionary policies are followed in election years whether or not economic conditions merit them. Third, there is an expectations complication. If businesses and households expect that the fiscal policy will be reversed in the future, they may not change their behavior in the way that would be expected if the fiscal policy was permanent.Fourth, the taxing and spending decisions of state and local governments may counteract or reduce the effectiveness of fiscal policy decisions at the federal level. The U. S. government may enact an expansionary fiscal policy by increasing its budget deficit, but state and local governments often have to balance a budget and economic conditions may force them to adopt a contractionary policy that partially offset what the federal government is seeking to achieve.Fifth, there is concern about possible offsetting effects of government borrowing crowding out private spending that would occur in the absence of the government deficit; and an offsetting net export effect which partly counteracts expansionary policy or contractionary policy. Sixth, there are complications to domestic fiscal policy from the national economy’s connection to the world economy. Economic shock from abroad can have an effect on the nation’s imports and exports. The net export effect can reduce the intended effects of fiscal policy. text: E pp. 223-226; MA pp. 223-226] New 23. Explain the problems giving rise to this statement: â€Å"You would think the government would want to do something to improve economic conditions when the economy is in trouble, but the government is slow to act. † Fiscal policy is subject to timing problems. There are three timing lags that limit the speed with which fiscal policy can be enacted and effective. First, there is a lag in recognizing the phase of the business cycle to determine when the government might want to provide help.Second, there is an administrative lag in decision-making that involves deciding which specific policies should be adopted. Third, there is an operational lag because the adoption of policies takes time to have an effect on output and employment. [text: E p. 223; MA p. 223] New 24. How do expectations about the future by households and businesses affect the effectiveness of fiscal policy? Cite examples. If households or businesses expect that the fiscal policy changes are only temporary, they may not change their behavior in the expected way. For example, if tax cuts are enacted to stimulate consumer spending, some consumers may not change their 206 Fiscal Policy spending habits if they think the tax change is only temporary. In the future, they will have to pay more in taxes, so they might increase their saving. Similarly, businesses may not invest in new plants and equipment if they get a tax cut, if they expect taxes in the future to rise or the fiscal policy to be ineffective. [text: E pp. 223-224; MA pp. 223-224] 25. â€Å"If economic forecasting was a more exact science, the business cycle could be entirely corrected by fiscal measures. Do you agree? Exact forecasting, if possible, would still not solve all of the problems encountered in trying to correct the business cycle. There is also the problem of timing the enactment and application of fiscal policy, not to mention the coordination of monetary policy and international economic policies, or reduced private spending (â€Å"crowding out†). [text: E pp. 223-225; MA pp. 223-225] 26. Explain the crowding-out effect. The crowding-out effect is the notion that government borrowing to finance a deficit may crowd out or reduce private borrowing.To the extent that this occurs, the expansionary impact of fiscal policy is reduced because increased demand by the government is partially offset by reduced demand in private investment. [text: E pp. 224-225; MA pp. 224-225] 27. Using the below graph, illustrate the possible impact of a crowding-out effect of a fiscal policy by drawing in the relevant aggregate demand shifts. Label and explain any shifts in the demand curve shown. Expansionary fiscal policy increases demand from AD1 to AD2, but this crowds out some private investment spending that offsets the increase to some extent causing AD2 to decrease to AD3.See graph below. [text: E pp. 224-225; MA pp. 224-225] 28. Explain how the net-export effect would reduce the effectiveness of fiscal policy. 207 Chapter 12 If an expansionary fiscal pol icy brings with it higher interest rates, this could increase the demand for American dollars by foreign investors seeking to earn the higher U. S. returns. This appreciation of the dollar makes U. S. goods and services more expensive to foreigners and foreign imports less expensive to Americans. The net export category of ggregate demand will be reduced which would reduce the impact of expansionary fiscal policy. A contractionary fiscal policy could have the opposite effect causing net exports to increase that again reduces the desired effect of the contractionary fiscal policy. [text: E pp. 225-226; MA pp. 225-226] New 29. What fiscal policy is most likely to be invoked during a period of recession and high unemployment? A period of rapid inflation? What political, investment, and international problems might the U. S. Congress encounter in enacting these policies and putting them into effect?During recession and high unemployment, the government would most likely initiate an expa nsionary fiscal policy. A contractionary fiscal policy would most likely be called for during a period of rapid inflation, especially if it seems to be demand-pull inflation. Several problems are likely to arise in enacting either of these policies. Timing lags in recognition, implementation, and impact are one concern. Another has to do with political realities. A contractionary policy has many unpopular aspects to it because it calls for raising taxes and for cutting government spending.There are also unique problems associated with expansionary policy: crowding out is one potential result that would reduce the expansionary effect of the policy. In both cases, the net-export part of aggregate demand is likely to move in a direction that would tend to offset the policy. [text: E pp. 223-226; MA pp. 223-226] 30. (Last Word) What is the purpose of the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators? The index of leading indicators is a monthly index of economic statist ics that are used to forecast the direction of real GDP.Changes in the index provide an indication of the future direction of the economy and are useful to policy makers in developing responses to deteriorating conditions in the economy. The rule of thumb is that three successive decreases or increases in the index indicate a change of direction in the economy. [text: E p. 227; MA p. 227] 31. (Last Word) Why is the index of leading economic indicators a composite index of ten economic statistics and not just one? Each of the economic statistics used to prepare the index may increase or decrease in any month and thus give false or contradictory signals about the direction of the economy.It is less likely that all these economic indicators, taken together, will give as many false signals about the direction of the economy as one indicator will. Thus the composite index is more reliable than any one indicator. The composite index, however, is not infallible and can also give false indi cations about the direction of the economy because of changes in the structure of the economy or developments that are not covered by the indicators that make up the index. [text: E p. 227; MA p. 227] 208