The History of Algebra

The History of Algebra The dissertation will discuss about history of algebra, which is one of most important branch of arithmetic, the founder of algebra, meanings of algebra and its benefit in our daily life, how we can learn and teach in the best way? What is Algebra? Algebra is a branch of mathematics, as we know maths is queen of science, it plays vital role of developing and flourishing technology, we use all scopes in past and newly, the algebra is not exceptional the maths. Algebra is one of the main areas of pure mathematics that uses mathematical statements such as term, equations, or expressions to relate relationships between objects that change over time. Here is a list of names who have contributed to the specific field of algebra. Algebra is seen by much arithmetic with letters and a long historical precedent the textbooks, stretching back of the 14th century. As such it deepens upon experience and facility with arithmetic calculations. It provides student with skill to carry out algebraic manipulations .many of the which parallel arithmetic computation. At the very least ,school algebra is a collection of mathematical practices and procedure to be internalised and integrated into learners functioning ,at the very most in its tradition form its afford glimpse of a powerful tool for modelling and thus resolving problems, (page 559 jifa cai) Word Algebra The word algebra is a shortened misspelled transliteration of an Arabic title al-jebr wal-muqabalah (circa 825) by the Persian mathematician known as al-Khwarizmi [words, p. 21]. The al-jebr part means reunion of broken parts, the second part al-muqabalah translates as to place in front of, to balance, to oppose, to set equal. Together they describe symbol manipulations common in algebra: combining like terms, moving a term to the other side of an equation, etc. In its English usage, in the 14th century, algeber meant bone-setting, close to its original meaning. By the 16th century, the form algebra appeared in its mathematical meaning. Robert Recorde (c. 1510-1558), the inventor of the symbol = of equality, was the first to use the term in this sense. He, however, still spelled it as algeber. The misspellers proved to be more numerous, and the current spelling algebra took roots. Thus the original meaning of algebra refers to what we today call elementary algebra which is mostly occupied with solving simple equations. More generally, the term algebra encompasses nowadays many other fields of mathematics: geometric algebra, abstract algebra, Boolean algebra,s-algebra, to name a few. Algebra is an ancient and one of the most basic branch of mathematics, invented by Muhammad Musa Al-Khwarizmi, and evolve over the centuries. The name algebra is itself of Arabic origin. It comes from the Arabic word al-jebr. [1] http://www.cut-the-knot.org/WhatIs/WhatIsAlgebra.shtml The English invented the world (Kelly 1821-1895) algebra of matrices and the research (Paul 1815-1864) may have emerged since 1854 and from this research Boolean algebra, also appeared in 1881 forms of art to illustrate the Boolean algebra, (availablhttp://www.jeddmath.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5330/15/052011). History of algebra In history, we find some following mathematicians who have great contributions in development of algebra. Cuthbert Tunstall Cuthbert Tunstall (1474 -1559) was born in Hackforth, Yorkshire, England and died in Lambeth, London, England. He was a significant royal advisor, diplomat, and administrator, and he gained two degrees with great proficiency in Greek, Latin, and mathematics. In 1522, he wrote his first printed work that was devoted to mathematics, and this arithmetic book De arte supputandi libri quattuor was based on Paciolis Suma. Robert Recorde Robert Recorde (1510-1558) was born in Tenby, Wales and died in London, England. He was a Welsh mathematician and physician and in 1557, he introduced the equals sign (=). In 1540, Recorde published the first English book of algebra The Grounde of Artes. In 1557, he published another book The Whetstone of Witte in which the equals sign was introduced. John Widman John Widman (1462-1498) was born in Eger, Bohemia, currently called Czech Republic and died in Leipzig, Germany. He was a German mathematician who first introduced + and signs in his arithmetic book Behende und hupsche Rechnung auf Allen kauffmanschafft. Thomas Harriot Thomas Harriot (1560 -1621) was born in Oxford, London and died in London England. He was an astronomer and mathematician, and founder of the English school of algebra. William Oughtred William Oughtred (1575-1660) was born in Eton, Buckinghamshire, England and died in Albury, Surrey, England. He was one of the worlds great and formally trained mathematicians. Oughtred, in his book Clavis Mathematicae included Hindu-Arabic notation, decimal fractions and experimented on many new symbols such as ÃÆ'-,::, >, and John Pell John Pell (1611-1685) was born in Southwick, Sussex, England, and died in Westminster, London, England. Pells work was mostly based on number theory and algebra. Pell published many books on mathematics such as Idea of Mathematics in 1638 and the two page A Refutation of Longomontanuss Pretended Quadrature of the Circle in 1644. Reverend John Wallis John Wallis (1616-1703) was born in Ashford, Kent, England and died in Oxford, England. In 1656, Wallis published his most famous book Arithmetica Infinitorum in which he introduced the formula /2 = (2.2.4.4.6.6.8.8.10)/ (1.3.3.5.5.7.7.9.9). In another of his works, Treatise on Algebra, Wallis gives a wealth of information on algebra. John Herschel John Frederick William Herschel (1792-1871) was born in Slough, England and died in Kent, England. He was a great astronomer who discovered Uranus. In 1822, he published his first work on astronomy, a small work to calculate the eclipses of the moon. In 1824, he published his first major work on double stars in the Transactions of the Royal Society. Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (1791 -1871) was born in London, England and died in London, England. In 1821, Babbage made the Difference engine to compile tables of mathematics. In 1856, he invented Analytical Engine, which is a general symbol manipulator and similar to todays computers. Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was born in Lincolnshire, England and died in London, England. He was a great physicist, mathematician, and one of the greatest scientific intellects of all time. In 1672, he published his first work on light and color in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. In 1704, Newtons works on pure mathematics was published and in 1707, his Cambridge lectures from 1673 to 1683 were published. ( http://www.barcodesinc.com/articles/algebra-history.htm) How is Algebra used in daily life? Every day in our life and all over the world we use Algebra many places as well as finances, engineering, schools, and universities we cant do most scopes without maths.( It is actually quite common for an average person to perform simple Algebra without realizing it. For example, if you go to the grocery store and have ten dollars to spend on two dollar candy bars. This gives us the equation 2x = 10 where x is the number of candy bars you can buy. Many people dont realize that this sort of calculation is Algebra; they just do it). (http://wiki.answers.com and http://wiki.answers.com) Other Definitions Algebra is the parts of mathematics where numbers and letters are used like A B or X and Y, or other symbols are used to represent unknown or variable numbers. For examples : in A +5 = 9, A is unknown, but we can solve by subtracting 5 to both sides of the equal sign (=), like this: A+5 = 9 A+ 5 5 = 9 5 A +0 = 4 A = 4 3b+12=15 subtract both sides 12 3b+12-12=15-12 3b=3 divide both sides 3 to get the value of b which is 1 and so on 5x/5x=1 if you substitute x any number not zero the equation will be true (Algebra is branch of mathematics that substitutes letters for numbers. An algebraic equation represents a scale, what is done on one side of the scale with a number is also done to the other side of the scale. The numbers are the constants. Algebra can include real numbers, complex numbers, matrices, vectors etc. Moving from Arithmetic to Algebra will look something like this: Arithmetic: 3 + 4 = 3 + 4 in Algebra it would look like: x + y = y + ) artical http://math.about.com/cs/algebra/g/algebradef.htm Terminology used in algebra to make algebra easy or any other branches of maths, we must understand well all basic sign in all operations and use it right way, these signs are , subtractions ,division, addition ,multiplication. variable is also called an unknown and can be represented by letters from the alphabet letters. Operations in algebra are the same as in arithmetic: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. An expression is a group of numbers and variables, along with operations. An equation is the equality of two expressions. (Polynomials are often written in descending order, in which the terms with the largest powers are written first (like 92 3x + 6). If they are written with the smallest terms appearing first, this is ascending order (like 6 3x + 92). equation An equation is a mathematical statement that contains an equal sign, like ax + b = c. exponent An exponent is a power that a number is raised to. For example, in 23, the exponent is 3. expression An algebraic expression consists of one or more variables, constants, and operations, like 3x-4. Each part of an expression that is added or subtracted is called a term For example, the expression 42-2x+7 has three terms. factor The factor of a number is a number that divides that number exactly. For example, the factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3 and 6. formula A formula shows a mathematical relationship between expressions. fraction A fraction is a part of a whole, like a half, a third, a quarter, etc. For example, half of an apple is a fraction of an apple. The top number in a fraction is called the numerator; the bottom number in a fraction is called the denominator. inequality An inequality is a mathematical expression that contains an inequality symbol. The inequality symbols are : > greater than (2>1) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ less than or equal to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ greater than or equal to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   not equal to (1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚  2). integer The integers are the numbers , -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, . inverse (addition) The inverse property of addition states that for every number a, a + (-a) = 0 (zero). inverse (multiplication) The inverse property of multiplication states that for every non-zero number a, a times (1/a) = 1. matrix nth operation An operation is a rule for taking one or two numbers as inputs and producing a number as an output. Some arithmetic operations are multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. polynomial A polynomial is a sum or difference of terms; each term is: a constant (for example, 5) a constant times a variable (for example, 3x) a constant times the variable to a positive integer power (for example, 22) a constant times the product of variables to positive integer powers (for example, 2x3y). monomial is a polynomial with only one term. A binomial is a polynomial that has two terms. A trinomial is a polynomial with three terms. prime number A prime number is a positive number that has exactly two factors, 1 and itself. Alternatively, you can think of a prime number as a number greater than one that is not the product of smaller numbers. For example, 13 is a prime number because it can only be divided evenly by 1 and 13. For another example, 14 is not a prime number because it can be divided evenly by 1, 2, 7, and 14. The number one is not a prime number because it has only one factor, 1 itself. quadratic equation A quadratic equation is an equation that has a second-degree term and no higher terms. A second-degree term is a variable raised to the second power, like x2, or the product of exactly two variables, like x and y. When you graph a quadratic equation in one variable, like y = ax2 + bx + c, you get a parabola, and the solutions to the quadratic equation represent the points where the parabola crosses the x-axis. quadratic formula The quadratic formula is a formula that gives you a solution to the quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0. The quadratic formula is obtained by solving the general quadratic equation. radical A radical is a symbol à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ that is used to indicate the square root or nth root of a number. root An nth root of a number is a number that, when multiplied by itself n times, results in that number. For example, the number 4 is a square root of 16 because 4 x 4 equals 16. The number 2 is a cube root of 8 because 2 x 2 x 2 equals 8. solve When you solve an equation or a problem, you find solutions for it. square root The square roots of a number n are the numbers s such that s2=n. For example, the square roots of 4 are 2 and -2; the square roots of 9 are 3 and -3. symbol A symbol is a mark or sign that stands for something else. For example, the symbol à · means divide. system of equations A system of equations is two or more independent equations that are solved together. For example, the system of equations: x + y = 3 and x y = 1 has a solution of x=2 and y=1. terms In an expression or equation, terms are numbers, variables, or numbers with variables. For example, the expression 3x has one term, the expression 42 + 7 has two terms. variable A variable is an unknown or placeholder in an algebraic expression. For example, in the expression 2x+y, x and y are variables. +, (www.EnchantedLearning.com) Learn algebra Symbolizes the number in the account to a group that contains that number of things, for example, No. 5, always stands for a set containing 5 things. In algebra, the symbols may be replaced by numbers, but it is possible to solve the number one or more replace one icon. To learn algebra, we must first learn how to use symbols replace the numbers. And then how to create a constraint for strings of numbers. Groups and variables. There is a relationship between the symbols in algebra and groups of numbers. It is certain that each of us has some knowledge of groups of objects, such as collections of books, collections of postage stamps, and groups of dishes. And groups of numbers are not different for these groups a lot. One way to describe sets of numbers in algebra is that we are using one of the alphabet, such as the name of her p.. Then half of the numbers of this group Bhzaretha brackets of the form {}. For example, can be expressed set of numbers from 1 to 9 as follows: A = {1, 2.3, 4, 5.6, 7, 8.9}. The group of odd numbers under 20 are: B = {1.3, 5, 7.9, 11, 13.15, 17, 19}. These examples demonstrated the models of the groups used in algebra. Suppose that the age of four persons were respectively: 12, 15.20, 24. Then can be written in this age group numbers. A = {12.15, 20, 24}. How is the age of each of them after three years? One way to answer this question is that we write 12 +3.15 +3.20 +3 and 24 + 3. We note that the number 3 is repeated in each of the formulas  ¸ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ four. In algebra we can express all previous versions form a single task is m + 3 where m is any number of numbers of a group. That is, it can replace any of the numbers 12, 15, 20 or 24 m are indicated. Is called the symbol m variable, called the group a field of this variable, but No. 3 in the formula m+3 is called hard because its value is always one. Known variable in algebra as a symbol can be compensated for the number of one or more belongs to a group. We can replace any names lead to correct reports or reports the wrong variable. For example: Hungary is bordered by the State of the Black Sea à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Report of the wrong, as in fact can not be like this report is correct only if compensated by the variable r one of the States: Bulgaria or Romania, or Turkey. The report shall be  ¸ Turkey is a country bordered by the Black Sea à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ for example, the right one called the compensation that makes the report and called the right roots group consisting of all roots with a solution. The solution set is the previous example. {Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey}. And in reparation for not use the names to compensate for variables, but we use the numbers. Equations known as the camel sports is equal to reflect the two formats. Phrase: Q +7 = 12 For example, an easy equation  ¸ mean the sum of the number 7 with the number equal to 12 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To solve this equation, we can do to compensate for different numbers of Q until we get a report of the equation makes the right one. If we substitute for x the equation becomes number five report is correct, and if we substitute for x any number of other reports, the equation becomes wrong. So to solve this equation set is {5}. This group contains only one root. It is possible that the equation more than one root: X  ² + 18 = 9 o. No. 2 highest first variable x means that the number of representative variable Q is the number of box, that number multiplied by itself once. See: box. In this equation, we can make up for X number 3: 3 ÃÆ'- 3 + 18 = 9 ÃÆ'- 3 9 + 18 = 27 27 = 27 We can also compensate for X number 6: 6 ÃÆ'- 6 + 18 = 9 ÃÆ'- 6 36 + 18 = 54 54 = 54 Any other compensation for making the equation Q report wrong. Then 3 and 6 are the root of the equation. Thus, the solution set is {3.6}. There are also equations having no roots: X = + 3 If we substitute for x any number, this equation becomes a false report, and a solution is called the group of free and symbolized by the symbol {}. and some of the equations, an infinite number (for high standards) from the roots. (X + 1)  ² = x  ² + 2 x +1 In this equation if we substitute for x any number we get the right report, the Group resolved to contain all the numbers http://nabad-alkloop.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38762 What is best way to learn and teach algebra? Step-by-step equations solving is the key of teaching and learning. To find fully worked-out answers and learn how to solve math problems, one step at a time. Studying worked-out solutions is a proven method to help you retain information. Dont just look for the answer in the back of the book; There are five laws basic principles of math governing operations: multiplication addition subtract and expressing the variables and can be compensated for any number Algebra is an essential subject. Its the gateway to mathematics. Its used extensively in the sciences. And its an important skill in many careers. Many people think, it is a nightmare and causes more stress, homework tears and plain confusion than any other subject on the curriculum but that is not true. The importance of understanding equation Connotation and denotation on extension of a concept two opposite yet complementary aspects is clarified the extension is defined vice versa understanding the concept equation includes its connotation and denotations. This session of observed lessons will show the essential nature or the equation is consolidated by designing problem variation putting emphasis on clarifying the connotation and differentiation the boundary of the set of object in the extension. (Page 559 Jifa cai) Whats the best formula for teaching algebra? Immersing students in their course work, or easing them into learning the new skills or does a combination of the two techniques adds up to the best strategy? Researchers at the Centre for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins are aiming to find out through a federally funded study that will span 18 schools in five states this fall. The study, now in its second year of data collection, will evaluate two ways to teach algebra to ninth-graders, determining if one approach is more effective in increasing mathematics skills and performance or whether the two approaches are equally effective. Participating schools in North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Utah and Virginia will be randomly assigned to one of two strategies for the 2009-2010 school year; to be eligible, students must not have previously taken Algebra I. Twenty-eight high schools were studied during the 2008-2009 school year. One strategy, called Stretch Algebra, is a yearlong course in Algebra 1 with students attending classes of 70 to 90 minutes a day for two semesters. This approach gives students a double dose of algebra, with time to work on fundamental mathematics skills as needed. The second strategy is a sequence of two courses, also taught in extended class periods. During the first semester, students take a course called Transition to Advanced Mathematics, followed by the districts Algebra I course in the second semester. The first-semester course was developed by researchers and curriculum writers at Johns Hopkins to fill gaps in fundamental skills, develop mathematics reasoning and build students confidence in their abilities. The question is, Is it better for kids to get into algebra and do algebra, or to give kids the extra time so the teacher can concentrate more on concepts started in middle schools? said Ruth Curran Neild, a research scientist at Johns Hopkins and one of the studys principal investigators. Teachers using both strategies will receive professional development. Mathematics coaches will provide weekly support to those who are teaching the two-course approach; the study will provide teacher guides and hands-on materials for students in Transition to Advanced Mathematics. Johns Hopkins researchers will be collecting data throughout the school year. Findings are expected during the 2010-2011 school year. http://gazette.jhu.edu/2009/08/17/calculating-the-best-way-for-teaching-algebra/ Learn Algebra, the easy way The key to learn and understand Mathematics is to practice more and more and Algebra is no exception. Understanding the concepts is very vital. There are several techniques that can be followed to learn Algebra the easy way. Learning algebra from the textbook can be boring. Though textbooks are necessary it doesnt always address the need for a conceptual approach. There are certain techniques that can be used to learn algebra the fun and easy way. Listed below are some of the techniques that can be used. Do some online research and you will be surprised to find a whole bunch of websites that offer a variety of fun learning methods which makes learning algebra a pleasant experience and not a nightmare. But the key is to take your time in doing a thorough research before you choose the method that is best for you, or you can do a combination of different methods if you are a person who looks for variety to boost your interest. 1. ANIMATED ALGEBRA : You can learn the basic principles of algebra through this method. Animation method teaches the students the concepts by helping them integrate both teaching methods. When the lessons are animated you actually learn more ! 2. ALGEBRA QUIZZES : You can use softwares and learn at your own pace best of all you dont need a tutor to use it. What you really need is something that can help you with your own homework, not problems it already has programmed into it that barely look like what your teacher or professor was trying to explain. You can enter in your own algebra problems, and it works with you to solve them faster make them easier to understand. 3. INTERACTIVE ALGEBRA : There are several Interactive Algebra plugins that allows the user to explore Algebra by changing variables and see what happens. This promotes an understanding of how you arrive at answers. There are websites that provide online algebra help and worksheets. They also provide interactive online games and practice problems and provide the algebra help needed. It is difficult to recommend better methods for studying and for learning because the best methods vary from person to person. Instead, I have provided several ideas which can be the foundation to a good study program. If you just remember all the rules and procedures without truly understanding the concepts, you will have difficulty learning algebra. (http://www.ehow.com/how_4452787_learn-algebra-easy-way.html)

Steroids :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Steroids were first developed in the 1930's. The Germans first experimented on dogs and then on their own soldiers in the World War II, as well as used them on their prisoners to help them stay healthy because they suffered from significant malnutrition. Then in the 1950's many Russian and European athletes began to find that steroids were very beneficial to their goals and soon after began dominating the sport of power lifting, crushing previous world records. In the mid 1950's it was proven that testosterone was the reason behind the improved athletic ability by Dr. Ziegler. Soon after he and his labs were producing Dianabol or Methandrostenolone. A few years later, steroids were available on the market. At that time both athletes and doctors were using them alike on a regular basis. On March 1st 1991, the Federal Anabolic Control Act was in effect. This put anabolic steroids on the schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act, making them an illegal substance without a prescription. Today, there are clinics that will prescribe testosterone and HGH to qualified patients. HGH is also known as Human Growth Hormone. Because of this act, the only other way to get steroids is on the black market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many reasons why people take steroids. Before you look at the side effects of steroids, they seem as a great advancement in medicine. Steroids increase muscle mass, strength, endurance, and recovery rates. They also heighten aggression, improve performance in sports and on the job, increase muscle definition and leanness, and they maintain your appearance while aging. Although steroids help you greatly in muscular development, it has terrible side effects. The major side effects from abusing steroids can include liver tumors and cancer, yellowish pigmentation of skin, tissues, and body fluids, fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in the bad cholesterol, and decreases in the good cholesterol. Other side effects include kidney tumors, severe acne, and trembling. In addition, there are some gender and age specific side effects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Men may experience the shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, and increased risk for prostate cancer. However woman may experience growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in or killing of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, and a deepened voice. Adolescents who use steroids may have their growth halted prematurely through premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There have been many reports of steroid users demonstrating violent behavior.

Producer Protection, Prior Market Structure and the Effects of Government Regulation

Producer Protection, Prior Market Structure and the Effects of Government Regulation Assignment on Regulatory Economics 1/5/2012 ? INTRODUCTION The direct economic regulation of business by independent government commissions has a one-hundred year history on the North American continent. It is generally asserted that the purpose of such commissions is to protect consumers from exploitation by limiting the economic powers of certain firms having pervasive effects on the public interest (for example, transportation companies and public utilities). However, the findings of the relatively few em-pirical studies of the economic effects of regulation indicate that important differences actually do exist in these effects. The disparities in these findings raise the question of why the actual economic effects of regulation differ among industries despite the supposedly common, avowed purpose of regulation. They also question whether a single hypothesis is adequate to explain the diverse effe cts of regulation. THREE HYPOTHESES REGARDING REGULATION 1. Consumer-Protection Hypothesis: This is the most popular of existing hypotheses. It implies that regulation will protect consumer interests by reducing prices until they equal marginal costs, by preventing discriminatory pricing, by improving service quality (at existing prices), by encouraging the entry of firms that are more efficient or that offer more preferred price/product combinations, and by reducing industry profits to the market rate of return. they often appear to promote the interests of regulated firms to the disadvantage of consumers. Despite the real purpose of regulation, the regulated industries have managed to pervert their regulators until the commissions become the protectors of the â€Å"regulated† rather than of consumers. 2. No-effect Hypothesis: This hypothesis implies that regulation has no effect on regulated industries (other than to impose certain costs in the performance of regulatory procedures). This situation could result if †¢an already powerful industry is able to control its regulators (the supplementary perversion hypothesis). †¢if the market structure prior to regulation were competitive and the actual effect of regulation is to obtain competitive performance †¢the prior market structure were monopolistic and the actual effect of regulation is to yield monopoly performance 3. Producer-Protection Hypothesis: It says that the actual effect of regulation is to increase or sustain the economic power of an industry. Such a situation could result if regulation converted a formerly competitive or oligopolistic industry into a cartel (that is, if regulation helped previously independent producers form an agreement to act together9), if it increased the effectiveness of an existing cartel, or if it maintained an existing monopoly (or cartel) where rival firms would otherwise enter to provide competition in response to the growth of markets or the development of new technology. Under this situation, one would expect to find regulation doing such things as increasing prices, promoting price discrimination, reducing or preventing the entry of rival firms, and increasing industry profits. The no-effect hypothesis does not appear to be generally descriptive of the effects of government regulation. The implications of the consumer-protection hypothesis also have a problem of reconciliation with available evidence and are quite inconsistent. The implications of the producer-protection hypothesis do turn out to be consistent with much of the available evidence regarding the effects of government regulation, once recognition is given to the effects of the prior (non-regulated) market structures of various industries. The obvious way to test the ability of the producer-protection hypothesis to explain the apparently diverse effects of regulation within the context of prior market structure is to classify regulated industries into two groups on the basis of their non-regulated market structures, and then investigate the impact of regulation on industries within each group. One group should include those industries whose prior market structure was a natural monopoly. This group would include electric utilities, natural gas pipelines, local gas distribution companies, telephone companies, etc. The second group should consist of industries having oligopolistic or competitive market structures prior to the implementation of regulation, for example, airlines, motor carriers, railroads, and water carriers. If the producer-protection hypothesis is descriptive of the fundamental effects of regulation, one would expect to find regulation having little or no effect on the first group, whereas the second group would experience substantial changes following the effective implementation of regulation. ? NATURAL MONOPOLY INDUSTRIES Among other things, effective monopolies are characterized by relatively high price levels, by extensive price discrimination, and by rates of return on investment exceeding those attainable if the firm operated in a competitive market structure. Thus, the producer-protection hypothesis implies that following the implementation of regulation over natural monopolies, the price level will be essentially unchanged and will be above marginal costs, price discrimination will continue to be widely practiced, and rates of return will remain above those which would exist under competition. Price level At least three studies have been made regarding the effects of regulation on electric utility price levels. Taken together, these three studies indicate that regulation has had a limited effect on lowering electric utility rates and that most of its benefits have been enjoyed by commercial and industrial consumers rather than the more numerous residential consumers. Also, it seems relevant that it took about 25 years for state regulation to be associated with any reduction in commercial and industrial rates, and around 45 years for it to be reflected in lower prices for residential consumers. Davidson presented the price relatives of average gas rates charged by the Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company of Baltimore from 1910. During the 43 years covered by these data, rates decreased from 1910 to 1918, then increased until mid-1923, decreased and then generally remained constant to 1947, increased sharply in two steps in 1947 and 1949, and then fell again in 1950. The Company was more active than the Commission in granting rate decreases, while the two instituted the same number of increases. Furthermore, it can be seen that the industrial users enjoyed proportionally more rate decreases than their proportional share of rate increases. Evidence shows that Company originated changes resulted in net rate decreases for all nine user categories with the major beneficiaries being the medium and large domestic users, and the large industrial users. In comparison, the Commission ordered or negotiated rate changes resulted in net rate increases for small and medium domestic users, and small commercial users, while the major beneficiaries of Commission actions were the large commercial and the small and medium industrial users. Overall, the largest users enjoyed the greatest rate reductions during the 43-year period, while the smallest users either had small increases or decreases. This leads to the conclusion that factors other than regulation were important in these rate reductions. And the above evidence shows that the Commission's regulation did not always result in lower rates, and that the Company was more active than the Commission in instigating rate decreases. Price Discrimination The literature regarding public utility pricing is unanimous in agreeing that discrimination is widely practiced by electric utilities, natural gas pipe-lines, local gas distribution companies, and telephone companies. Stigler and Friedland found that in 1917 and 1937 both the regulated and the nonregulated electric utilities discriminated against domestic (residential) consumers in favor of industrial consumers, with no difference existing in the degree of price discrimination after allowance was made for the relative consumption of electricity by the two classes of consumers in the various states. Thus, they concluded that regulation had no detectable effect on price discrimination. Some studies indicate that in those years price discrimination might have been even greater under regulation. Since price discrimination is a matter of price structure, it is clear that, regulation has had little or no effect on any price discrimination. . The existing studies all indicate that regulation has not significantly decreased the power of natural monopolies to practice extensive price discrimination. Thus, the producer-protection hypothesis seems to be more applicable in describing this situation than the consumer-protection hypothesis with its implication of a reduction in or absence of price discrimination. It is not surprising to find discriminatory pricing consistently practiced by natural monopolies, be they regulated or non-regulated. So long as economies of scale result in decreasing long-run average costs, marginal costs will lie below average costs, and equating a single price for all customers to marginal cost will result in the eventual bankruptcy of the firm and the termination of service. Even given the usefulness of discriminatory, multi-part pricing in sustaining a natural monopoly without subsidy, it should still be possible for regulatory commissions to reduce the price discrimination practiced by regulated natural monopolies relative to that practiced by those that are not regulated. The available evidence indicates that this has not been achieved. Rates of Return There is some evidence that regulation has not significantly altered the rates of return of privately-owned electric utilities. Specifically, Stigler and Friedland found no effect of regulation on stock prices of electric utilities from 1907 to 1920. Continuing plant growth and continuing flows of investment funds should be proof-of-pudding tests that the Commission restrictions have not yet become excessive constraints. The success of utilities in general in selling bond and common stock issues, and the lack of bankruptcies in â€Å"recent years† are evidence that the rates of return of regulated utilities have been at least equal to the market rates of return. The regulated rates of return have been high enough to attract the capital necessary for rapid expansion by the electric, gas pipeline, and telephone utilities, but there is no indication of how much different the rates of return or the growth rates of these utilities would have been without regulation. OLIGOPOLISTIC INDUSTRIES The producer-protection hypothesis implies that regulated industries whose natural market structures were oligopolistic or competitive prior to regulation will experience substantial changes following the implementation of regulation. There should be significant increases in price levels, price discrimination should be greater, and rates of return improved. Perhaps crucially important, the producer-protection hypothesis implies that effective regulation will also restrict or delay entry into the industry in order to prevent new suppliers from capturing some of the regulatory benefits gained by existing producers. Price levels Airline passenger fares within California have been subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), but, in contrast to the complete regulation of both fare decreases and increases, through 1965 the regulation was limited to automatically approving all proposed fare decreases while imposing brief delays on the implementation of requested fare increases. The result of these differences in regulation was that coach fares within California were consistently lower than such fares in similar regulated markets. The available evidence regarding the effects of regulation on price level for formerly oligopolistic industries is consistent and unambiguous. Regulatory actions and procedures have allowed the carriers in each industry to reach agreements regarding prices and to enforce adherence to these agreements. The result has been substantial increases in price levels for the interstate airlines, the freight motor carriers, and the railroads. Without regulation prices would be from 9 to 50 per cent lower than they are with regulation, with many reductions in the long-run exceeding 30 per cent. Price Discrimination A consistent pattern also emerges regarding price discrimination by these three transport modes. Large differences have been found in the extent to which price discrimination has been practiced by the CAB-regulated interstate airlines (with their much higher price levels) compared with the relatively non-regulated California intrastate carriers. The time honored use of the value-of-service method of pricing in establishing rates, the adjustment of the resulting rates in response to intermodal competition, the relatively low marginal costs of movements combined with large fixed costs, the extensive joint production and common costs, and the application of commodity rates to 85 per cent of all rail freight traffic, have combined to make the use of discriminatory pricing the norm among the railroads. Over 100 years of development have resulted in a marvel of complicated discriminatory pricing. Given the pervasiveness of price discrimination in rail and motor transportation, the question arises whether regulation has significantly changed the degree and amount of discrimination. it does appear that personal discrimination has been reduced. Due to the usefulness of the regulation in sustaining rail-road rates, the need for personal discrimination was largely eliminated. Its demise is not therefore surprising. Since regulation provides such rate control, it appears to have made possible the pervasive and long-lived commodity price discrimination practiced by the railroads and to have supported their extensive use of locational discrimination. An even greater effect on price discrimination has resulted from the application of regulation to the motor carrier industry. Since monopoly power is a necessary condition for price discrimination, and since regulation appears to be necessary for monopoly to exist in the motor carrier industry, it follows that regulation has been the primary cause of price discrimination in this industry, and that much less discrimination would exist without regulation. In total, the above analysis shows that regulation has been the essential ingredient for long-term price discrimination in those transportation industries whose nonregulated market structures would be oligopolistic or competitive. Rate of Return It proved difficult to estimate whether public utilities have been able to obtain higher than market rates of return under regulation. This is also the case for the transportation industries. Since regulation has clearly resulted in increased price levels and greater price discrimination among the airlines, motor carriers, and railroads, one would expect increased rates of return to be a result. Data indicate that railroad profits did increase during the period that effective regulation was being developed, and prior to the beginning of the railroad's decline. This conclusion is supported by the history of the railroad's rates of return on book investment from 1890 to 1968. Just as monopoly power is no guarantor of excess profits, it can be seen that regulation does not guarantee the achievement of greater than market rates of return by an industry, especially one that is in secular decline. from 1956 to 1965, the most successful of the California intrastate carriers (Pacific Southwest Airlines) had returns on stockholder equity of from 0. 0 to 227. 2 per cent, with most returns being between 30 and 45 per cent. 4 On the face of it, this indicates that while the CAB has approved liberal rates of return and that such returns have been achieved in some years by the regulated airlines, the most successful non-regulated airline has enjoyed generally higher returns. Overall, the above evidence is quite inconclusive regarding whether regu-lation has raised the rates of return for these regulated industries. Entry Control There was no need to con sider entry control in the case of the public utilities since, as natural monopolies, only one firm can operate efficiently in any market. Therefore, the most regulation can do is to decide which one of several alternative firms should be allowed to provide the desired service in various markets. Assuming comparable operating efficiency, this is a matter of a wealth transfer between individual firms with little effect on fundamental economic results. Wherever two or more firms can survive in a market, how-ever, entry control is vitally important for the maintenance of a monopoly or cartel. Without such control, any larger than normal profits will attract new suppliers to the industry, thereby reducing the benefits available to the exist-ing producers. Thus, an indication of producer protection by regulatory com-missions is their effectiveness in limiting entry into an industry. It is important to note, however, that while regulation has served to re-strict entry and hold down the number of regulated airlines and motor carriers, it has failed to limit the inflow of resources into these industries because of two fundamental imperfections in the regulatory framework. The first imper-fection results from there being little or no control over the amounts of re-sources each existing carrier can bring into the industry. The second stems from the fact that the CAB and the ICC have no power to assign specific market shares to individual carriers where two or more carriers are authorized to provide comparable service. Since regulation prevents the carriers from utilizing price rivalry to obtain larger market shares, they turn to service-quality rivalry in their endeavors to obtain increased shares of the cartel benefits available in each market. The result is chronic over capacity despite (or because of) regulation. CONCLUSION The evidence presented above has not always been clear and unambiguous, but the essential thrust has been consistent with implications derived from the producer-protection hypothesis, once the effects of prior market structure were taken into consideration. In important respects, regulation has not had significant impact on public utilities (whose non-regulated market structures are natural monopolies), whereas it has substantially influenced the transportation industries (having oligopolistic or competitive non-regulated market structures). With regard to price level, regulation has clearly increased the prices charged by airlines, railroads, and freight motor carriers. In contrast, it ap-pears to have had only limited and long-delayed effects in lowering electric utility rates, with most of the few regulatory benefits going to industrial and commercial consumers, that is, to the consumers who already possess consider-able market power and whose large use of electricity makes it worthwhile to seek to influence regulatory decisions. In addition, the evidence from one local utility shows that gas rates were increased and decreased by both regulatory and company actions, with no clear pattern of regulatory effects. There was a similar pattern of effects regarding price discrimination. Little change in this practice resulted from regulating the natural monopolies, except for those cases where discriminatory prices appeared. On the other hand, industries whose prior market structures were oligopolistic or competitive were able to practice extensive price dis-crimination with regulation, while they had difficulty doing so without it. The evidence regarding rates of return is quite inconclusive. Overall, remarkably little of the available evidence suggests that consumers are protected by regulation. The producer-protection hypothesis yields implications that, by and large, are consistent with what is found to have occurred as a result of regulation. It follows that wherever substantial monopoly power exists in a non-regulated market structure, regulation should have relatively little impact; and, where there is little or no monopoly power in the prior market structure, regulation should have an important impact by help-ing formerly independent producers form a cartel for their benefit and protection. It is probably incorrect to conclude that the producer-protection hypothesis is the most predictive of all possible hypotheses regarding the effects of government regulation.

Doing Gender - How Society Creates Differences Between...

In this essay I discuss that doing gender means creating differences between girls and boys and women and men.... (West Zimmerman 2002:13) I am concentrating on the female perspective, how societyputs forth expectations of what is natural or biological even though, in some cases, it can be quite demeaning and degrading. I am using some examples from the local media and also a few childhoodexperiences that have helped me to now strongly suspect that the quote from Simone Beauvoir (1972) One is not born a woman, but rather becomes one most likely has quite a bit of truth to it. There is continuing controversy about the differences between girls and boys, men and women, the biological make-up and also how men and women grow up in†¦show more content†¦The bodyparts beingthose of women, of course. Catherines older sister Karin was the same age as me, 12 years old. Her parents had the latest mod cons shipped out from the USA and her bedroom was decked out with hot pink shag pile carpet and a white fourposter bed with gold trimming and pale pink floral fabric, which flowed delicately in all the right places. My bedroom had the bare necessities, which was all I really needed or wanted. My bedroom was very basic with no signs of femininity and I was okay with that. I also didnt like wearing frills or lace. I thought it was rather lame. What I initially found very fascinating about Karin was thatshe had boobs, which she was particularly proud of, and I was very flat chested. Id never met anyone my age with boobs before. She convinced me that thats what boys like, and also emphasized the greatimportance of being liked by boys. She persuaded me to wear one of her old training bras and stuff it with tissues. I was so in awe of her that I complied. There were only a couple of older boy s on the mission station and they were actually teenagers, so their approval of our maturing young bodies, well... hers in particular, was very important. Before Karin had arrived the thought of attracting the attention of a boy didnt even register in my mind seeing as I was just one of them, mostly. I grew up with two brothers and mostly all male cousins so taking part in boyish activitiesShow MoreRelatedThe book I choose to read was Delusions of Gender: How Our Mind, Society, and Neurosexism Create1200 Words   |  5 Pageswas Delusions of Gender: How Our Mind, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference by Cordelia Fine. There are three parts to the book: â€Å"Half-changed world†, â€Å"Half-changed minds†, Neurosexisam, and Recycling Gender. The reason I choose this book was because it dealt with gender and how in society and our mind we create the differences that are used against us. 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