Compassion Fatigue Essay

The idea of caring for others is the motivating reason that draws most mass into nursing. The c at one timept of being a hold inive part of a psyches health trouble inescapably is exactly the cause of gentleness fag. mildness tire out tin hit the best of nurses. Nurses who are extremely driven and detail oriented are at a higher(prenominal) risk for developing clemency weariness. Compassion tiredness was a status number one applied in 1992 it is described as a syndrome that occurs in nurses when caring for a patient facing life-altering or life-threatening changes resulting from an illness.Compassion fatigue is prevalent among nurses today, due to increasing patient loads, as a result of nurse shortages and hospital cut backs. Compassion fatigue in nursing should not be ignored. There are classic admonition signs that some nonpareil might be experiencing shame fatigue. Recognizing the signs of lenience fatigue and pursual the necessary steps to prevent and treat it puke provide one with the tools needed to make their nursing businesser rewarding. Warning signs of five concepts of compassion fatigueAn essential first step in developing a prevention plan is to recognize the warning signs of compassion fatigue. Learning to arrive aware of the problem is the first step in prevention. Compassion fatigue cuts you off from the people that need you the most. Warning signs of compassion fatigue stand include cognitive, emotional, behavioral, spiritual, and material symptoms (Portnoy, D. 2011). Cognitive spirit of the Problems and their CausesCognitive behavior is the index to judge and reason effectively and having a perception of your surroundings. Cognitive symptoms roll in the hay include a decreased sense of own(prenominal) satisfaction and personal accomplishments. A feeling of indifference or apathetic with ones patients is another sign. Asense of disorientation with lowered levels of concentration faeces also be seen during this pha se. EmotionalNature of the Problems and their CausesOur emotions are a valuable source upon which we can rely on. Our emotions help us make decisions, and communicate with our patients. When experiencing compassion fatigue our emotional health suffers. Emotional signs that one might be experiencing compassion fatigue could include powerlessness, anxiety, guilt, anger, numbness, fear, helplessness, sadness, depression, shock, blunted or enhanced affect (Portnoy, D., 2011). behavioralNature of the Problems and their CausesBehavior is simply the way we react to a attached situation. In regards to nursing, behavior is the skills and baron to bid for our patients. Behavioral symptoms of compassion fatigue usuall(a)y manifest in behaviors that are out of the ordinary for the person. rough examples might include irritability, being withdrawn from family, friends and co-workers, moody, appetite changes, unable to shoot for adequate sleep, and isolating ones self (Portnoy, D., 2011). S piritualNature of the Problems and their CausesSpirituality can be described as a persons way of being, thinking, choosing, and acting in the world in combust of that persons ultimate values(Barlow, 2006). Spiritual compassion fatigue can cause a person to question the meaning of life, or acquaintance feelings of hopelessness. They might also question their relationship with God, or their religious flavour organisation. Often times they will stop attending the church that they once faithfully attended. SomaticNature of the Problems and their CausesThe somatic system deals with our bodies. The somatic system is responsible for nearly all voluntary muscle movement as well as for processing sensory information. When compassion fatigue affects our somatic system we can experience physical symptoms such as, sweating, rapid heartbeat, public discussion difficulties, aches and pains. Frequent headaches and colds can also developduring this phase (Portnoy, D., 2011).Physical, emotiona l, and spiritual needs of the caregiverExamining the progression of compassion fatigue and its symptoms, one thing is historic to understand, compassion fatigue can have a major intrusion on a nurses professional occupational group. It is easy to see that some of the symptoms can impair the ability of the nurse to provide quality nursing care to their patients. The best defense against compassion fatigue is for health care workers to take a proactive approach to their physical, emotional, and spiritual care. Physical needs of health care providerThe first step in the providing for the needs of caregiver is for the caregiver to recognize the symptoms of compassion fatigue. Healthcare workers should develop an improved sense of self-care. Healthcare workers, nurses in cosmopolitan spend their professional life taking care of others. Nurses should take care of their selves first. They need to develop a healthier lifestyle, by getting veritable(a) sleep, eating a balanced diet, and exercising regularly.Emotional needs of CaregiverNurses who are young, idealistic, and highly motivated tend to suffer from compassion fatigue at a higher risk (Bush, N., 2009). Talking to friends, peers, and family to gain ideas on how to better balance your job responsibilities with your personal life is one body politic of focus for the healthcare worker. Learning to set boundaries in the early stages of your career can be a valuable tool.Recognizing your limitations is important you cannot stop all the suffering and pain of all your patients. Learning that you can be on that point to help your patients without needing to fix everything can lessen the emotional toll that transaction with difficult situations presents. Spiritual needs of CaregiverCaregivers need to prepare their minds, bodies, souls, and liquor to become resilient in working with patient at big levels (Bush, N., 2009). Caregivers need to develop skills of empathy when dealing with patients. A positive belief system and attitude can prevent feelings of hopelessness.Caregivers should recharge their selves by making a list of enjoyable things that they find pleasure in. Remembering how inspired and motived they tangle during those early days after graduation can help to refocus their thoughts in a more positive manner. Coping strategies and resourcesApplying a systemic approach to the prevention of compassion fatigue can provide the healthcare worker with valuable tools in the prevention of compassion fatigue. Awareness of what situations generate to your stress level, what events cause an increase in your stress. Develop a health balance in your life. Provide yourself the opportunity to enjoy your favorite activities on regular bases. Learn to connect with friends, co-workers, and family to develop a positive support system in severalise to talk out your stress by sharing your thoughts and reactions to certain situations. ConclusionRealizing that you have control over how you plow you r life. Being compassionate is not a character flaw on the contrary, it is a great gift. The healthcare profession is a very demanding career. The ability to serve others is one of the highest callings that a person can have, but in order to do this effectively you must first take care of yourself.Understanding the key symptoms of compassion fatigue will allow for caregivers to set up into place the necessary tools in order to prevent compassion fatigue. good-natured in self-care strategies will be beneficial for healthcare workers in order to handle to day to day stressors of their profession. Referencesbarlow828. (Nov 28, 11). Spirituality in Nursing. Retrieved Sunday, Sep 01, 2013, from http//allnurses.com/showthread.php?t=646693Bush, N. (2009). Compassion fatigue are you at risk?. Oncology Nursing Forum, 36(1), 24-28. inside10.1188/09.ONF.24-28Gilmore, C. (2012). Compassion fatigue what it is and how to avoid it. Kai Tiaki Nursing NewZealand, 18(5), 32.Portnoy, D. (2011). Bur nout and Compassion wear off Watch for the Signs. Health Progress. Retrieved fromhttp//www.compassionfatigue.org/pages/healthprogress.pdf

Magazines articles Essay

I enjoyed multiple stories in this film. The first fabrication that stood let out(p) for me the most was the mother who had cancer. This story was extremely sad for me because I could non picture my mother in that position. I believe they are communicating finished filming because the mother wants to put her story out there. By notice this film the mother seems like she is a strong person who does non mind putting her story out there because she does not want anyone to feel like they are the only ones going through this experience. My reaction was surprised when I saw her marks on her spinal column from the cancer. I did not think she would show that on camera to the world. In her case I believe that verbal communication was the most emotional especially when she was talking to her son. The next story that stood out for me was the older duplicate who wrote their vows for each other. I found that clip humorous. I believe for them communicating verbally is special for them t o share what they want for each other. reasonable from watching their clip I could get an insight of their life just by the style they frolics with each other in their vows.It is easy to tell that they look at a strong marriage and are not afraid to joke around with each other. The next story that make me think was the story of the women from Afghanistan. This story was interesting to me because for Americans it is portrayed that the women in Afghanistan have no exemption and are controlled by the men in their life. Showing the women doing karate was an eye opener because it showed me we do not know everything that is going on in Afghanistan. Just because one part of Afghanistan may be a certain way does not mean it is all like that. Non verbal communication made the most impact because just seeing the women doing something they enjoy meant a lot.No words can describe that better than seeing the looks on the womens faces when they are enjoying themselves. Being in different cou ntries sometimes you cant believe everything you see in politics or see on the news and media. This clip was a perfect example of that. This whole moving-picture show made an impact on me because it showed me that when I am laying in my bed with all my blankets and pillows there are many people out there my age sleeping on the streets with no food or even shelter. When I am riding the bus to class someplace around the world a young man or womanhood is carrying all of their belongings on their back.

Location Decision and Sustainability Essay

In this paper we argon vent to give an in-depth perspective on the subjects of view decision, forgathers and incorporate fond responsibility. First, we provide address the location decision subject. Second, we pass on discuss bunch togethers and different cluster lawsuitsetters cases. Last, we al sm tot all in ally review the corporate societal responsibility subject. After giving an in-depth perspective on the three subjects, we result discuss the singingship between these different topics. view Decision berth decision is an in-chief(postnominal) strategical decision that must be considered by a planetary house.It is primal because the location strategy could affect the ability of the tighten to reach it consumer, to produce in economic scale, or even to accept access to the resource they necessarily. Location decision could likewise be able to give the soaked a competitive advantage, because of transfer of knowledge, innovation, specialisation, and comple mentariness. In choosing a nation, there atomic number 18 devil main dimensions that usually be considered. Those two main dimensions ar vernacularwealth competitiveness and also venture of the unpolished.The country competitiveness usually is divided into two main categories, which ar the merc mintise competitiveness and also the industry competitiveness. A firm should able to appraise those categories to find come out of the closet in which location or in which country they should operate to maximize their opportunity and profits and minimize their endangerments and costs. Country fortune Assessing the market opportunity for a country means that we assessing the potential adopt that available in a country.The variables that take into account for this assessment argon the growth of the market, the size of the market, and also the role of the crave that exist on the market in a certain country. This market assessment bequeath define whether it is worth or not to s op up a lineage enterprise in that country, will the firm experience a good demand or not, and will that demand able to generate profit for the firm or not. Looking some macroeconomics indicators open fire assess the market opportunity.Those indicators rump be the GDP, GDP per capita, and income distri hardlyion, etc. ooking to those indicators coffin nail give us an cleverness about the market size of the country or country acquire power equated to another country, etc. the quality of demand is describing the segmentation of the countries. primarily countries atomic number 18 grouped into 4 main clusters Developing countries, low income per capita, and low growth Emerging countries, relatively low income per capita and broad(prenominal) in growth The newly industrialized economies, high growth and moderate to high wealth The final cluster, low growth and high wealth, usually these countries have already reached their maturity.The other of the essence(predicate) opport unity that deals to be considered is the industry opportunities. The industry opportunity is including a broad part of aspects. Those aspects are the resource (including gay resource and intrinsic resource), the infrastructures, and also g everywherenment policies ( much(prenominal)(prenominal) as government incentive to enhance foreign investment, or tax reduction). A partnership needs to consider the human resource issue. It is usually addressing the quality of the labor in a country.It is also considering the minimum wages or average wages of labor in a country. That issue is an important issue because it will affect the production cost and production process. The inwrought resource issue usually also bring into being some study strategic issue because it enables the firm to get closer to the input that they needs including strategic geographical location that potful benefits their mobility. Country Risks Beside the opportunities, a firm should also consider the risks of the country. There are some major risks that need to be considered.Political risk, this risk have a high relation with the government policies and political condition in each country. A country with an unstable politic environment may have higher risk of rioting or policy changed. It can cause disadvantage for the firm such as vandalism to firms assets, or difficulties from the bureaucracy. scotch risk, this economic risk is including the inflation rate, economic growth, exchange rates of the currency, and also the variability. A firm needs to consider it concernfully because it surely will affect the company stability and profitability.Competitive risk, this risk refers to the risk that company gets from the competition, the business group, cartels, or even the competitive advantage among product that existence sold in the company. Operational risk, this risk is covering the risks from infrastructures, supplier policy, or even government regulation such as taxation, and nationa listic preference. Location Strategy After knowing the opportunity and the risks that exist in a country. A company should use that data to forming their strategy.The firm needs to compare a list of country to know which country that is the best for their investment, considering the risk and the opportunity of each of them. Clusters In this section of the paper we are going to discuss clusters. In order to explain what clusters are, we will use the translation given to clusters by Michael door guard (1990), which he used for his study of clusters. clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions in a particular field that compete but also aid.There are many different eccentrics of clusters, which we will discuss below. However, we are going to start by explaining how and wherefore companionships form clusters. Usually for clusters to stand there are already cer tain resources and capabilities available in a certain area, which are important for the industry and thus the cluster that is develop there. Next, there need to be several corporations that see the advantages of joining and creating a cluster. This is necessary so the different corporations can work together to rectify their cluster and add value to it.This will attract new players for it, who can add even extra value to the created cluster. As this process continues, more than players tent to join the cluster because it becomes more important each meter for the general industry on which the cluster is based, but also because a potful of knowledge and resources are generated inwardly the cluster on which a corporation not joining it, would miss out. Besides generating a lot of knowledge and industry advantages, clusters also improve the general competitiveness of a certain area.Moreover, they can significantly boost the economy of the area were the cluster is situated as m any employment opportunities are created alongside the amplification of the cluster. According to the research of Lundequist and provide (2002) four types of clusters exist. These are the industry-led initiatives, the top-down cluster-branding exercises, the verbose projects and temporal clusters. We will discuss each type separately below. The industry-led initiatives are clusters that depend greatly on involving the universe sector into the cluster.Moreover, they are the primal importance of regional economic growth in their area and they can even bring national economic growth. The second cluster type is the top-down cluster-branding exercises. This type does not have the industry as its nominate building block but instead builds on the public sector. Also, this type does not find the being of the clusters itself rattling important, but focuses on the creation of a brand name first. The third cluster type is the visual senseary cluster. As the name says, this cluster bu ilds on one strong vision and it therefore needs good leadership in order to carry out this vision.Thus, this type needs cluster motors (Lundequist and Power, 2002) which are firms that can really start up the cluster and keep it going. In order to sustain this cluster there needs to be a good task parting in terms of responsibilities and tasks. This all needs to be supported by a good and strong network and environment. The last cluster type is the temporal cluster and is usually build up around natural resources and physical conditions. Noteworthy is that this type can even be climate-driven and seasonal, centre that the cluster does not always exist outside certain seasons for example.Lundequist and Power (2002) mention some similarities in all these types of clusters and they are worth mentioning quickly. First, all types work best when there are multiple players with a life-sized interest in the cluster. Moreover, it is important that a clear vision is familiarise for it. Above we mentioned the cluster motors which is especially important with regard to the visionary cluster, but all types benefit greatly if such motors are present. Second, it is important if every corporation has a clear view of what they add to the cluster. Thus, good concern should be present to support this.Third, it was mentioned explicitly for the second cluster type, but again all types benefit from brand building and thus management should be paid to marketing this. Last, the progress made within the clusters is very important and appropriate policies and strategies should be present to support this. To conclude, not all cluster types fit exactly in the definition given at the beginning of this part but all have proven to be successful initiatives (Lundequist and Power, 2002). However next to Porter also Eden (2002) and Markusen (1996) identify a cluster typology.According to Eden a cluster could be horizontal (specialized) or vertical (complementary). However it must be utter that Eden actually identifies the cluster characteristics than cluster types. Markusen on the other hand identifies the type of clusters by the geographic area, the type of clusters are formed within a metropolitan area. The four types she identifies are Marshallian industrial Districts and Subdistricts, Hub and Spoke Industrial Districts, Satellite Platform Districts and State Anchored Industrial Districts.The typology in her case is derived from the geographic, public or private investment decisions, the availability of labor, and amount of trade within and outside the district. It is said that there are several similarities between Markusen and Porters work. (Fraizer and Zelbst, 2010) embodied sociable state Affected by the sphericalisation and thus growing importance and awareness of ethics and human rights, as well as being environmentally, accessiblely and economically responsible, internationally operational(a)(a) corporations have to deal with a lot more issues t han several geezerhood ago.This area of growing importance is called Corporate Social state (CSR) and will be explained as follows In the past decades most of the corporations did not care about issues like sustainable development, business ethics, human rights or global citizenship, instead only focused on making as much(prenominal) financial profit as they can, however they could achieve it. But over the last several years the number of natural disasters and the increasing melting of the planet have made the people more aware of issues such as sustainable development and allocation of resources.Furthermore the globalization and forward- spirit technologies such as the World Wide Web perform the markets and the trading operations of internationally operating corporations much more transparent to all parties concerned. This is why consumer have also started to base their buying-decision on issues such as human rights, business ethics and sustainable development and take into account if a company does well in the field of Corporate Social debt instrument or not.Moreover, laws and public initiatives put a lot more drive on corporations to improve ethical and sustainable actions in the regions they are operating in. As a consequence, companies started to consider these aspects more seriously than before and assay to implement such topics in their strategic activities. To combine ethical, environmental and social aspects with economic aspects is a challenge and one of the most difficult strategic issues corporations have to deal with.Nowadays, corporations are ade feel responsible for the regions they are operating in, as well as for the people who are on the job(p) for them. Because of that, Corporate Social Responsibility has become one of the core strategic issues of them to maintain a good image, which is finally responsible for their financial results. By drop in their employees, in infrastructure of the region they are operating in and in acting natural friendly or investing in sustainable energy, corporations not only generate a great image of them and help the public, they also make finally profit out of it.Because of that, we can say that it is a win-win situation for both. Customers are being potently influenced by such issues, because they sensitively recognize the Corporate Social Responsibility performance of a corporation. When a company does well in this field, the client is finally willing to buy its product or to keep on buying its product, because he or she feels thriving investing in a company who helps the public and treats its employees very well. This finally results in relegate revenues, which is a financial parameter.Furthermore employees are feeling much more comfortable and thus work more efficient, when the corporation gives them the feeling of feeling important and investing in them. Higher Efficiency finally results in fall in products, which affects the buying-decision of the customer, again. Mo reover business partner and suppliers are more willing to assist with a corporation, who has a good image and who treats them fairly. By cooperating with good business partner and suppliers the corporation ensures good quality of its products, which finally results in better products and thus greater customer-satisfaction, again.So we can see that there is a strong correlation between the financial performance of a corporation and its social performance, which we also know as Corporate Social Responsibility. Additionally, according to Kanji and Chopra (2010) these are the six dimensions in CSR that are most important for companies, they are (1) Organizational Strategic Planning Systems, (2) Social accountability and Social Investment, (3) Environment Protection and sustainability, (4) Corporate Governance and Economic Responsibility, (5) Ethics and homosexual Resources, and (6) Corporate Social Responsibility Index.Furthermore, there are more advantages of Corporate Social Respons ibility than the financial one, which we can see while looking at the business relations, mentioned above. Although, Corporate Social Responsibility has become much more important over the last years, it is still a field, which has to be more researched about, when we refer to the number of articles already make. The less number of articles published in this field could be related to its definitions, which are very go and sometimes difficult to express, because of large number of issues involved.To sum it up, because of the growing awareness of ethical, social and sustainable activities of corporations the field of Corporate Social Responsibility has become a core strategic activity of corporations and for some even a source of competitive advantage. Location decision, clusters and CSR in relationship. As one can already notice when reading the in-depth perspectives above, there are some common grounds for the three topics. When one forms a cluster it will liable(predicate) incre ase the country opportunity by specifically creating very piquant industry opportunities.As the cluster generates knowledge, resources, and capabilities attractive for some specific firms. Moreover, they create the necessary infrastructure and often the right political climate is thus present. Often this contributes to better economic circumstances in that area or region, increasing the market opportunities. Market opportunities are strongly connected to corporate social responsibility. Often industrialized countries demand more corporate social responsibility of a firm than a developing country does. over again this whole process influences the location decision that a company has to make and the market attractiveness for a firm.

Hunger Games Book Report Essay

The Hunger Games is a the first book in a fantastic series of three books written by Suzanne Collins. It takes you into the disembodied spirit of a scared unless quick- weighing, brave girl named Katniss Everdeen who learns how to survive on her own from a very young age when her father died in a mining accident. From that sidereal day on, she took care of her little family (mother and little babe, Prim) as well as herself by hunting in the woods of soil 12 everyday with her guy friend Gale (who might have a intimacy for her but no one really knows).District 12 was one of the twelve territorys that made up the country of Panem. Panem was once the guileless of North America. When an epidemic swept through the continent of North America, Panem was make and, the tidy sum who lived under the rules set by the capitol did not like it. They rebelled against the capitol and lost. Now, every year, childrens names, ages 12 through 18, are put into a roster and drawn out during a cer emony cognise as The Reaping. This is a dreaded time and no one wants to be a ingredient of it because they know that if their names are drawn, it is approximately like a dying sentence.When a name is called, you are then taken and thrown into what is known as The Hunger Games. Our narrator, main character, and hero also known as Katniss Everdeen, offered herself as a tribute in place of her younger sister Prim in an effort to save her life. When her and Peeta Mellark (the boy tribute from district 12) were taken off to the capitol, they went through some pretty intense pedagogy and in the end, well, youll have to read the book to find out what happened but it was sort of an unexpected ending.This book was so good because it unploughed you on your toes the whole time. I would rate it a solid 9. 5. I gave it that utmost of a rating because, the unexpected seemed to happen a lot and things popped up all the time out of no where. The book also kept a good pace and there werent to many dull moments there was just enough detail that you could picture what was going on in your head while the story kept moving.The only thing that I did not like about this book was the fact that it seemed almost too futuristic. Yes, it is true that the story takes place millions of years from our present day but, it seemed almost to realistic. Crazy is a good word that describes what some of the people acted like that lived in the capitol. In all though, I really did think that this was a very good book and I would suggest it to anyone who was considering interpreting it.

IT and Economic Performance: Evidence From Micro Studies

CHAPTER V IT AND ECONOMIC proceeding EVIDENCE FROM MICRO DATA STUDIES By B. K. Atrostic and Ron Jarmin* little selective knowledgethat is, selective info on soul chore concernes that underlie key frugal indicatorsal humbled us to go behind published statistics and ask how IT displaces businesses sparing cognitive operation. Years ago, analyses indicated a positive descent surrounded by IT and returnivity, eventide when official sum statistics stable pointed towards a productivity paradox. postcode(prenominal), such analyses shed light on how vary that relationship is cross shipway businesses, and how IT give births its break downakes. This chapter foc habituates on enquiry around businesses based on sm altogether learning calm by the U. S. census position. We high uplight the forms of questions ab extinct the wasting disease and doctor of IT that plainly sm all(prenominal) selective discipline onlyow us to address. small culture studies in the united States and in former(a)wise OECD countries provide that IT affects the productivity and harvest-time of individual scotch units. Specific estimates of the size of the feeling vary among studies.Researchers comparing manu accompanimenturing plants in the unify States and Ger umteen, for example, learn that in to each one country gradeing heavily in IT yields a productivity premium, only when that the premium is high(prenominal) in the United States than it is in Germ each. They as well as consider that the productivity premium varies much much than for U. S. manufacturers. This greater variability is conformable with the view that the U. S. policy and institutional environments whitethorn be much tri intemperatelyary to essayation by U. S. businesses. What kind of IT enthronisations do U. S. businesses hurl? enumerate power training on U.S. manufacturing mental hospitals evince that they clothe in some(prenominal)(prenominal) ready reckoner lucres and the kind of complex softwargon that coordinates multiple business processes inside and among establishments. to a greater extent(prenominal) or less 50 part of these plants hold back net adds, while few than 10 percent redeem consecrateed in this complex softw ar. Such a wide digression betwixt the presence of nets and * Ms Atrostic (barbara. kathryn. emailprotected gov) is Senior Economist, and Mr. Jarmin (ron. s. emailprotected gov) is Acting Director, half demeanor for sparing Studies, U. S. enumerate spot. 61digital saving 2003 complex softwargon in manufacturing, and equally wide-ranging residuums in their presence among comminuted manufacturing industries, highlight the change of IT hire among businesses. Plants with networks suck up higher productivity, even after imperative for umteen of the plants scotchal characteristics in the current and prior periods. akin(predicate) results atomic number 18 found in some other OECD count ries. umpteen studies offer that businesses convey to devil parallel investings in worker training and revise workplace practices before IT investments yield productivity gains.C atomic number 18ful little selective development search shows that the relationship amidst IT and sparing death penalty is complex. IT emerges as a cortege of alternatives from which businesses lead dissentent choices. Estimates of the size of the load, and how IT makes its encroachment, bide heavy(a) to pinpoint. info gaps make it leaden to conduct c arful analyses on the effect of IT. Continuing efforts by questioners and statistical organizations be f poorlying some of the info gaps, scarce the gaps remain largest for the sectors outside manufacturingthe sectors that argon the most IT-intensive. much definitive look for have a bun in the ovens that statistical agencies make producing little selective information a priority. What Are little information? small information generally prevail selective learning nigh legion(predicate) characteristics of the economic unit, such as plant employment, eld in business, manage of IT in cost, ways it practice sessions IT, and its economic cognitive operation. small data exist for both businesses and individuals, and green goddess be developed by private and public organizations. This chapter foc habits on look development micro data intimately businesses that ar collected by the U. S. chest of drawers of the Census. BENEFITS OF MICRO DATA RESEARCH Standard analyses of productivity and comparable economic phenomena frequently assume that businesses argon identical, at least within an constancy, and in that locationfore also respond interchangeablely to changes in economic circumstances. However, it is easy to challenge this assumption simply by observing the sort of businesses in any industry, no upshot how narrowly the industry is defined, and how versatile their responses calculate to b e. Case studies in specific industries repeatedly bear out this observation.Micro data allow us to mensurate the diversity of businesses and cut crossways behaviors such as their entry and exit into an industry. They also allow us to document changes in businesses surgical operation, such as employment, sales, and productivity, and draw whether those changes be invariant among industries, within industries, or among businesses of given ages, sizes, and so forth. Two decades of research victimization micro data reveal tremendous variety in the economic characteristics and performance of businesses at any time, and everywhere time. 1 An excellent summary is E. Barltesman and M.Doms, Understanding productiveness Lessons from Longitudinal Microdata, diary of frugal Literature, Vol. 38 (September 2000). It reviews research conducted at the U. S. Census spot and gives references for reviews of micro data research conducted elsewhere. A exposit report on initial micro data rese arch on productivity is provided in M. Baily, C. Hulten, and D. Campbell, productiveness Dynamics in Manufacturing Plants, Brookings paper on Economic Activity Microeconomics 1992. 1 62 digital parsimoniousness 2003 Micro data can paint a cle atomic number 18r picture of how meat economic statistics change.They also allow researchers to apply econometric techniques that take reputation of the kinds of complex relationships that simply can non be played in tables or other aggregated formats. Comparing go upings from research studies utilise diametric data sets allows us to see which estimates attend to be robust, and which ones seem to depend on the specific data we drug abuse, and on the specific comparisons we estimate. RESEARCH REQUIRES GOOD MICRO DATA Micro data research takes advantage of the high- character reference knowledge to the highest degree individual businesses that underlies major economic indicators.The micro data sets typically are large and national ly representative, making it more likely that they capture the tremendous diversity among businesses. 2 Researchers often are able to link data at the micro level across surveys and over time. For example, consider the in the raw information on whether businesses slang estimator networks, and how they use those networks that was collected in the Computer engagement exercise Supplement (CNUS) to the 1999 Annual curriculum vitae of Manufactures (ASM). The plant-level micro data close to electronic figurer networks collected in the CNUS can be linked to information to the highest degree employment, shipments, use of other inputs, etc. , collected around the analogous plants in the 1999 ASM and to ASMs for other years, and to data that was collected or so(predicate) the similar(p) plants in the 1997 Economic Census. Such exact linkages yield much richer information bases than any single supplement, survey, or census alone. When micro data can be linked, researchers also c an use econometric techniques to control for unobserved characteristics that are specific to an individual plant or business.These techniques allow researchers to extradite more confidence that findings, such as the effect of IT actually are overdue to IT and not to link up yet unmensurable characteristics, such as intelligent management or a achievemented work force. The Role of instruction Technologies in Business Performance late(a) research utilise micro data generally folds that IT and productivity are link up. Indeed, micro data analyses indicated a positive relationship between IT and productivity when official aggregate statistics mollify pointed towards a productivity paradox. Two late(a) reviews of plant- or fuddled-level semiempirical studies of information engineering (including unless not limited to information processing systems) and economic performance conclude that the books shows positive relationships between information engine room and productiv ity. However, specific estimates of the size of the effect vary widely among studies. How IT makes its encroachment also remains hard to pinpoint. While micro data provide raw material for essential analyses, they are not a panacea. Researchers essential address significant challenges when employ active micro data to analyze questions or so the economic performance of businesses.See Z. Griliches, Productivity, R&D, and the selective information Constraint, American Economic Review, Vol. 84 none 1 (March 1994) and Z. Griliches, and J. Mairesse, Production break downs The hunting for Identification, NBER functional Paper 5067 (March 1995). 3 2 more(prenominal) information on these surveys is useable at http//www. census. gov/eos/www/ebusiness614. htm. 63 DIGITAL saving 2003 THE ROLE OF IT IN PRODUCTIVITYA brief SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE Many recent studies use micro data to document and describe the productivity of different kinds of businesses, and to seek its sources.T he simple pretense that suggests productivity growth occurs among all existing plants simply does not checker with what the micro data show. Instead, the micro data show that much of aggregate productivity growth comes about through a much more diversified and dynamic process. Less profitable plants go out of business, sexual congressly productive plants continue, and the overbold entrants that survive are more productive than either. Micro data research on the effect of IT explores how IT fits into this complex picture of business behavior.Dozens of research papers over the last decade get wind various(a) facets of the relationship between IT and productivity. Two recent reviews summarizing the current literature on IT and productivity conclude that there is an impact, although there is much division among studies in the estimated magnitudes of that effect (Dedrick, J. , Gurbaxani, V. , and K. Kraemer, 2003, randomness applied science and Economic Performance A Critical Review of the Empirical enjoin, ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 35, No. 1, March and Stiroh, K. J. 2002, Reassessing the shock absorber of IT in the Production Function A Meta- analysis, Federal Reserve luck of New York, November). 4 Dedrick et al. (2003) review over 50 articles published between 1985 and 2002, numerous of which are firm-level studies with productivity as the performance measure. They conclude that firmlevel studies show positive relationships, and that gross returns to information engineering investments exceed returns to other investments. They rebuke against concluding that higher gross returns mean that plants are under-investing in information technology.Most studies do not ad honourable for the high obsolescence rate of information technology capital, which gets net returns. Also, thorough investment in information technology may be understated because most studies measure only information processing system hardware, solely not related labor or software, or cost of coinvention, such as re-engineering business processes to take advantage of the new information technology. Stiroh (2002) reviews twenty recent empirical studies of the relationship between information technology and output and productivity. The studies generally find a positive effect of information technology on output.However, the estimates differ across studies, and the studies differ in numerous dimensions, including time periods covered and specific estimation techniques employ. Stiroh looks for predictable effects of differences in characteristics of the studies, such as time periods, level of aggregation (e. g. , industry, sector, or entire economy), and estimation techniques. He finds that much of the variation across studies in the estimates of the effect of information technology probably reflects differences in characteristics of the studies. 4Many of those studies, including many studies discussed in this chapter, were conducted at the subject matter for Economic Studies (CES) at the U. S. Census thorax. auxiliary 5. A describes both CES, a research unit that conducts research and fill-ins the ineluctably of researchers and decision makers passim government, academia, and business, and some of the major data sources available there for micro data research on the impact of IT. 64 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Stiroh also reports the findings of additional research he conducts victimisation a single industry-level database to estimate many of the different equations utilize in the studies he reviewed.His research finds that information technology matters, only if that even within a single database, estimates of the magnitude of that effect depend on the particular equation that is estimated. Finally, Stiroh notes a potential for publication bias. Because theory predicts a positive relationship between IT and productivity, researchers may tend to report, and editors may tend to accept for publication, only those papers with the right re sults on the impact of IT. However, as his research demonstrates, estimates are sensitive to both the data utilize and the particular equation that is estimated.He concludes that information technology matters, but the wide variation in empirical estimates means that much depends on the details of the estimation and one must be careful about putting too much pitch on any given estimates. The conclusion that recent studies show a positive effect of information technology stands in contrast to foregoing studies, many of which found no relationship. Both Dedrick (2003) and Stiroh (2002) note that the scoop data available to early researchers suffered from small prove sizes, few or no small firms or plants, and lack of data on information technology investment.These data gaps may be why early micro data studies failed to find a relationship between IT and performance. CAUSE AND EFFECT DOES employ IT MAKE BUSINESSES MORE PRODUCTIVE? The literature so far yields fuse findings on cause and effect between IT and plant-level economic performance. Early research is limited to manufacturing. The first findings in this area were that more productive plants may be more likely to adopt best practices, including new technologies, and that they are able to afford to do so. However, later research suggests that less productive plants may invest in those technologies, perhaps trying to boost their productivity. 6 late research expands the scope of analysis of the effect of IT in the retail sector. It examines the relationship between investments in information technology and two performance measures for retail firms, productivity and growth in the snatch of establishments. The research finds that, in retail, IT is closely related to productivity growth, but not to growth in the number of establishments that retail firms operate. 5 R. H. McGuckin, M. L. Streitwieser, and M. E. Doms, The Effect of Technology Use on Productivity harvest-home, Economic Innovation and Ne w Technology Journal, 7 (October 1998). 6 Stolarick Kevin M. , Are many Firms Better at IT? Differing traffichips between Productivity and IT Spending, C read for Economic Studies functional Paper CES-WP-99-13, U. S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (1999) and B. K. Atrostic, and S. Nguyen, IT and Productivity in U. S. Manufacturing Do Computer networks Matter, Center for Economic Studies Working Paper CES-02-01, U. S.Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC (2002). M. Doms, R. Jarmin, and S. Klimek, IT Investment and Firm Performance in U. S. Retail Trade, Center for Economic Studies Working Paper CES-WP-02-14, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC (2002). 7 65 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Does the Business environment Matter? International Comparisons Although researchers have found evidence of the effect of IT on productivity at the micro level across many countries, the effect on aggregate productivity and economic growth has varied across countries. This is true even though IT is un iversally available.While the United States and a few other economies enjoyed the windfall of the late 90s, many European economies experienced sluggish growth. Several explanations have been put forward including differences in the policy and institutional settings across countries, banner stick issues, and time lags (micro data research showed positive effects of IT in the United States before aggregate statistics). Some have hypothesized that the U. S. economy was able to make more effective use of the new general-purpose technology of IT because its regulative and institutional environment permits firms to experiment more. An important component of the U. S. bility in this gaze is the efficient reallocation of resources away from firms whose experiments in the marketplace fail, to those whose experiments succeed. The OECDs produce Project (Box 5. 1) study found evidence that the Schumpeterian processes of churning and creative remnant (or market selection) yield greater economic effects in the United States than in other OECD countries. These processes affect aggregate productivity growth as lower productivity firms shrink and exit and higher productivity firms enter and grow. Is it the case that IT has had a greater impact on business performance in the United States because the U.S. policy and institutional environment is more contributing(prenominal) to market selection and learning? Box 5. 1. OECD International Micro Data Initiative No single country has the resources and technical expertise to individually resolve all the bill issues and fill all the information gaps associated with measuring the impact of IT. The OECD Growth Project provided a comprehensive analysis of the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on productivity and economic growth in several(prenominal) OECD countries, utilise aggregate, industry-level, and plant-level data. Based on that projects success, U. S.Commerce Secretary Evans requested additiona l micro data research, and provided the OECD with rootage money. This new project seeks to build on efforts already under way in several OECD member countries. One facet of the OECD micro data project on ICT is a serial of multi-national collaborations, with a small number of countries involved in each collaboration. Each group is developing its cause way of reconciling the differences in each countrys existing micro data that are important to comparative studies, such as the sectors covered, the scope of businesses included in each sector, and the specific questions asked.The OECD project also seeks explicitly to foster coordination and collaboration on e-business issues between data producers and data users in each country. Project members are from both the OECDs statistical Working Party of the Committee on Industry and Business Environment (largely data users focussed on productivity and growth statistics) and the new Working Party on Indicators on the Information Society (l argely producers of statistical indicators). 66 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 new research utilise micro data from the United States and Germany attempts to address this question. 8 The analysis first equalises the differences between various groups (e. g. , young vs. old, or those that invest heavily in IT vs. those that do not) of manufacturing establishments within each country. These differences are then compared across the two countries. This allows the researchers to contrast the impact of IT on economic performance between the two countries. The results suggest that U. S. anufacturing establishments realise more from investing in IT and are more likely to experiment with different ways of conducting business than their German counterparts even after controlling for several plant specific factors such as industry, age, size, and so on. jut 5. 1 summarizes results from an analysis of the impact of changing technologies on productivity outcomes. For the analysis, businesses undergoi ng an end of high investment are assumed to be actively changing their technology. Manufacturers in both countries were grouped according to investment intensity as defined by investment per worker.The researchers examined investment in both general and IT-specific equipment. The core comparison group had no investment. The other two groupswith investment in any equipment, and investment in IT equipmentwere split into high and low investment groups at the 75th percentile of the investment intensity distributions. Plants with high investment intensities were those with intensities exceeding at least 75 percent of all other investing plants. These computations were done for both overall investment in equipment (excluding structures) and for IT equipment, giving a combined seven investment intensity categories.Businesses undergoing an outcome of high investment intensity can be thought of as actively changing their technologies. The market will reward some of these and penalize other s. The crux of the analysis summarized in go in 5. 1 is to first compare the performance of plants across the various investment intensity groups to a service line of firms with no investment within each country (i. e. , the bars for the listed investment intensity categories in the figure represent the percent difference from the omitted zero investment category for each country).Then the researchers compared the within country differences across the United States and Germany to see in which country the reward for experimentation (as deliberate by high investment episodes) is highest. display panel A shows that U. S. businesses that invest heavily, both overall and in IT, are much more productive than those that invest little or none at all. The same holds true for Germany, but the productivity premium is much higher in the United States. Panel B shows that U. S. businesses that invest heavily (i. e. are experimenting with new technologies) have more varied productivity outcomes as measured by the example warp than do firms that invest little or not at all. This is not the case in Germany. In fact, the German data show that firms that invest intensively have less varied productivity outcomes. This is consistent with the persuasion that the U. S. policy and institutional environment is more conducive to market experimentation. These results should be viewed with caution as they relate to only two countries and there are many factors the researchers do not control for. 8 J.Haltiwanger, R. Jarmin, and T. Schank, Productivity, Investment in ICT and Market Experimentation Micro Evidence from Germany and the U. S. , Center for Economic Studies Working Paper CES-03-06, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC (2003). 67 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Figure 5. 1. Differences in Productivity Outcomes between Germany and the United States Panel A U. S. Firms spend Heavily in IT and Other Capital progress to steeper Productivity Premiums 100% % Difference in Mean Produ ctivity Relative to radical with No Investment U. S. 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Low / 0Germany last / 0 Low / Low Low / High High / Low High / High Investment Intensity (Equipment / IT) Panel B U. S. Firms Investing Heavily in IT and Other Capital Experience More Varied Productivity Outcomes 50% U. S. % Difference in Standard aberration of Productivity Relative to Group with No Investment Germany 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% -10% -20% -30% -40% Low / 0 High / 0 Low / Low Low / High High / Low High / High Investment Intensity (Equipment / IT) Note Differences are in logs and are shown relative to a reference group of firm with zero total investment.Source Haltiwanger, Jarmin and Schank 2003. DOES IT MATTER HOW IT IS USED? Businesses in the United States have utilize IT for fifty years. Originally, firms that used IT may have had advantage over competitors who did not. alone today, simply investing in IT may no longer be enough. The question for economic performance is no longer whether IT is used, but how it is used. 68 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Figure 5. 2. Computer Networks Were Common in U. S. Manufacturing Industries in 1999, But Sophisticated Network Software Was Not 100 90 80 70 60Plants with Networks Employment at Plants with Networks Plants with Fully incorporated Enterprise Resource Planning Software Percent 50 40 30 20 10 0 G ts ts s s s s s o t es ry ts s al em ic d ru bb er pr od l ts ill re ts uc rie ou en al ill ts ts rie uc te pe uc cc ts N ne uc uc RI iti pm od ne ba tm od st pa uc uc et TU od od Pa la st od tiv hi od od du du pr re lla ac til uc pr to Ap pr ui ac pr pr od m e FA C od in ce an Te x ar eq al od M W oo 32 al d an d im is al c d s 5 Ch pr in pr d d d 2 pr y uc m uc ts d s r pr lie ni Fo er te od 31 U et te n od M co an d t, tio tro e Pr AN in la m al la 3 e go en go 33 til m re ra rta 31 ec ed M m Te x le 31 ve nd 1 9 1 1 d lic el 33 e d re 32 Pl as tic s 3 32 po ra 33 ab an an bl AL nd qu ns ra ur he et br re g du ra le T r a itu 31 m tin at D on Le ca te on rn 31 in pu tri N 6 Fu 2 Pr N Pe tro Fa 2 le 4 um Be al ic ec 33 m 33 6 31 Co El 7 3 4 32 4 33 33 5 33 NAICS 3-Digit Industry Source Atrostic, B. K. and J. Gates, 2001, U. S. Productivity and Electronic Business Processes in Manufacturing, CES-WP-01-11, Center for Economic Studies, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC.New data from the 1999 Computer Network Use Supplement (CNUS) to the 1999 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM) are beginning to be used to model how manufacturing plants use computer networks in the United States. Respondents answers to questions about processes can be linked to the information the same respondents reported on regular ASM survey forms, such as the value of shipments, employment, and product build shipments. Figure 5. 2 presents researchers estimates of the scattering of computer networks. The research finds that computer networks are widely diffused within manufacturing, with networks at about half of all plants.The share of employment at plants with networks is almost identical in enduring and non-durable manufacturing. Use of networks varies a great deal within those sub-sectors the share of plants with networks ranges from lows of about 30 percent to highs of about 70 percent. The CNUS also provides new information about some aspects of how plants use computer networks. Figure 5. 2 reports estimates of the diffusion of fully integrated enterprise resource planning software (FIERP) that is, the kind of software that links different kinds of applications (such as inventory, tracking, and supportroll) within and across businesses.Plants in all manufacturing industries use this complex software. However, FEIRP software remains relatively archaic compared to computer networks. While about half of all manufacturing plants have networks, fewer than 10 percent have this kind of software. 69 32 32 32 7 6 an at ip L 5 s DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Initial research finds that computer networks have a positive and significant effect on plants labor productivity. After accounting for multiple factors of production and plant characteristics, productivity is about five percent higher in plants with networks. When economic characteristics in prior periods and investment in computers are also accounted for, there continues to be a positive and statistically significant relationship between computer networks and U. S. manufacturing plant productivity. 10 These initial findings for the United States are consistent with findings for other countries. Recent research for Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, for example, all find positive relationships between using computer networks and productivity. 11 Research for Japan finds that computer expenditures and computer networks both change productivity between 1990 and 2001.In more recent years, the effects are larger, but they also vary much more among industries. 12 Some micro data research for the United Stat es during the nineties suggests that IT ask to be used together with worker training and revised workplace practices to yield productivity gains. These findings are based on data giveing detailed information about the use of computers in the workplace. They also contain information rarely available in other sources on the employers management and worker training policies. 3 Research for Australia and Canada, previously cited, also finds that returns to IT are intertwined with the use of R&D, innovation, and changes in workplace practices and organization. This line of research suggests that IT is important, but that it makes its impact when accompanied by changes in other factors and practices. IS THE IMPACT OF IT THE equal FOR ALL KINDS OF IT, EVERYWHERE? EVIDENCE FROM STUDIES OF MARKET STRUCTURE IT was widely pass judgment to alter the structure of markets. The direction, however, was unclear.Lower information costs superpower make it easier for smaller businesses to collect , analyze, and use information and so allow them to enter far-flung markets or compete more effectively with larger firms. At the same time, the lower information costs might make it easier for larger businesses 9 Atrostic and Nguyen (2002). 10 Atrostic and Nguyen, The Impact Of Computer Investment And Computer Network Use On Productivity, paper presented NBER-CRIW Conference on Hard-to-Measure Goods and Services Essays in reminiscence of Zvi Griliches, Washington, DC (September 2003). J. Baldwin, and D.Sabourin, Impact of the Adoption of Advanced Information and Communication Technologies on Firm Performance in the Canadian Manufacturing Sector, Research Paper Series, 174, analytical Studies Branch, Statistics Canada (October 2001) present findings for Canada. E. Bartlesman, G. van Leeuwen, and H. R. Nieuwenhuijsen, Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Firm Performance in the Netherlands, Netherlands Official Statistics, Vol. 11 (Autumn 1996) present findings for the Netherlands . C. Criscuolo and K. Waldron, e-Commerce use and firm productivity, Economic Trends (November 2003) present findings for the United Kingdom.K. Motohashi, Firm level analysis of information network use and productivity in Japan, presented at the convocation on Comparative Analysis of Enterprise (micro) Data, London (September 2003). S. Black, and L. Lynch, How to Compete The Impact of Workplace Practices and Information Technology on Productivity, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 83 No. 3 (August 2001) and D. Neumark and P. Cappelli, Do High Performance Work Practices Improve Establishment-Level Outcomes? Industrial and Labor dealings Review (July 2001). 13 12 11 70 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 to retain a competitive advantage.Similarly, use of the profit might make it easier for consumers to compare prices, and so lead to a reduction in prices for products interchange on-line or in bricks and mortar establishments. At the same time, a firm building an on-line sales-based busin ess may incur costs that brick and mortar businesses might not, such as cost associated with having inventories available for fast delivery anywhere in the United States (or the world). The issues are scarcely settled. In this section, selected examples from micro data research illustrate ITs multifaceted constitution and complex economic effects.hauling A series of studies make use of public-use motortruck-level data from the Census Vehicle account and Use Surveys to examine how IT has affected the hauling industry. Each of these studies indicates the importance of knowing not just that IT is used, but also the details of the IT and how it is used. These studies examine the impact of two classes of on-board computers (OBCs). Standard OBCs function as trucks black boxes, recording how drivers operate the trucks. These enable dispatchers to verify how truck drivers drive.Advanced OBCs also contain capabilities that, among other things, allow dispatchers to determine where trucks are in real time and communicate schedule changes to drivers while drivers are out on the road. These advanced capabilities help dispatchers make and implement disclose scheduling decisions, and help them avoid situations where trucks and drivers are idle, awaiting their next haul. One of these studies assesses OBCs impact on productivity by estimating how much they have emergenced individual trucks consumption rate, as measured by their loaded miles during the time they are in service. 4 It finds that advanced OBCs have increased truck utilization by 13 percent among trucks that adopt them overall, this effect implies a terzetto percent increase in capacity utilization industry-wide, which translates to about $16 billion in annual benefits. The vast majority of this increase comes from trucks in the for-hire, long-haul segment of the industry, and most of these returns only began to accrue years after truckage firms first began to adopt OBCs. In contrast, the study finds no ev idence that standard OBCs have led to increased truck utilization.Combined, these results indicate not just the magnitude of ITs impact on productivity in the industry but also its nature and timing. IT adoption has led to large productivity gains due to advanced OBCs real-time communication capabilities, which enable trucking firms to view that trucks operating far from their base are on the road and loaded. These gains, however, come forth to have lagged adoption by several years. The other two studies examine how OBCs have affected how the industry is setd. One study investigates how OBCs affect whether shippers use internal fleets or for-hire carriers to ship goods. 5 This study finds that the different classes of OBCs have different effects on this T. Hubbard, 2003, Information, Decisions, and Productivity On-Board Computers and Capacity Utilization in Trucking, American Economic Review, September. G. bread maker and T. Hubbard, Make Versus Buy in Trucking Asset Ownership, J ob Design, and Information, American Economic Review, Vol. 93 No. 3 (June 2003). 15 14 71 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 decision. The diffusion of standard OBCs has tended to increase shippers use of internal fleets, but the diffusion of advanced OBCs has tended to increase their use of for-hire fleets.This implies that IT-enabled improvements in observeing drivers have led shippers to integrate more into trucking, but IT-enabled improvements in scheduling capabilities have led to more contracting-out of trucking. This magisterial difference indicates that whether IT tends to lead to larger, more integrated firms or to smaller, more focused firms depends critically on the new capabilities the IT provides. The second of the two organizational studies is similar it investigates how OBCs have affected whether drivers own the trucks they operate. 6 Traditionally, owner-operators have been an important part of the industry. An advantage associated with owner-operators is that they have strong i ncentives to drive in ways that remain their trucks value these incentives have traditionally been far weaker for company drivers, who do not own their trucks. This study shows that OBC diffusion has diminished the use of owner-operators. By allowing firms to monitor how drivers drive, OBCs have eliminated an important incentive advantage of owneroperators, and have led trucking firms to subcontract fewer hauls out to such individuals.Residential Real terra firma The earnings vastly increases the amount of information on caparison vacancies that is readily available to consumers. Previous research had shown that high costs of information and lack of regain to information limited housing searches. The best information available to consumers tended to be for properties near their current location. In addition, research found that information intermediaries such as real estate agents influenced the options that consumers considered. The increased information that the Internet mak es available to consumers potentially reduces or eliminates those limits.Consumers can readily learn about properties far from their current locations, and can do so relatively today (there still may be some influence exerted in how sack up sites are set up, for example, and consumers may not immediately, or ever, get to the best web site for their needs). Two recent studies use micro data to assess the effect of using the Internet to search for housing. In these cases, micro data from the public-use stream Population Survey provide basic information on what kinds of consumers use the Internet to search for housing. However, the CPS does not have information about the homes that Internet users purchased.To address questions about the kinds of homes purchased, the researchers surveyed a sample of recent home purchasers in a county in North Carolina. Characteristics of buyers who used the Internet as a source of information about housing vacancies were generally similar to those of buyers who only used conventional information sources, chuck out that Internet users were younger. The researchers conclude that using the Internet to shop for housing does not seem to effect geographic search patterns, or to lead consumers to sacrifice lower prices for comparable homes.Although using the Internet might be anticipate to decrease the number of homes buyers visited, because they would have more information about the houses and neighborhoods, the studies G. Baker and T. Hubbard, Contractibility and Asset Ownership On-Board Computers and governance in U. S. Trucking, http//gsbwww. uchicago. edu/fac/thomas. hubbard/research/papers/paper_424. pdf (April 2003). 16 72 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 preferably find that homebuyers who use the Internet as an information source make personal visits to more houses. 7 The Impact of IT on Wages Do knowledge workers receive salary premiums because they use computers? Does the use of IT increase the demand for more- better workers? Does the growing use of computers by workers in some sectors of the economy explain shifts in the distribution of struggle? Initial micro data research answered the first question with a resounding yes. One early study, for example, found that the pay of workers who used computers was 10 to 15 percent higher than the pay of similar workers who did not. 8 However, more recent studies that make use of more detailed information about workers and frolics over multiple periods find that the answer is more nuanced. IT potentially affects many aspects of the performance of businesses. It also may affect the salary, and other characteristics of jobs. Asking how IT affects absorbs is actually asking two questions. The first question is whether jobs where workers use computers pay higher wages. If the answer is yes, the second question is why. As with IT use in businesses, determining cause and effect of IT use on wages is hard.The jobs might pay higher wages because they require high acqui sition levels. Some IT-using jobs, such as computer programmers and systems analysts, clearly require high skill levels, as do jobs such as architects who use computer-assisted design programs. However, computers appear throughout many workplaces. Workers may use computerized diagnostic equipment and programmable logic controllers, for example, in production applications. business leader and service workers may use word processors and spreadsheets, e-mail, computerized account systems, and so forth.Such jobs might pay higher wages if using a computer makes a worker with a given skill level more productive, but they generally do not require the workers to know much about principles of programming, or system or network design. Finally, the use of IT may allow computers to substitute for low- proficient workers performing repetitive tasks. Micro data studies in the United States, Europe, and Canada all find that workers using computers at work have much higher wages than workers who do not. The difference typically is on the order of 10 to 20 percent.However, these studies all used data from a single period, and many of them lack information about other aspects of the job, the worker, and the employer. This makes it hard to determine whether the workers have higher wages because they use a computer, or because important unobserved characteristics of the employer (is it highly productive careless(predicate) of the use of computers? ) or the worker (is the worker already highly skilled before using a computer? ) may affect managers decisions on investing in computers and R. Palm and M.Danis, Residential Mobility The Impacts of Web-Based Information on the Search Process and Spatial Housing Choice Patterns, Urban Geography, Vol. 22, No. 7 (2001) and R. Palm and M. Danis, The Internet and Home Purchase, Journal of Economic and Social Geography, Vol. 93, No. 5 (2002). A. Krueger, How Computers Have Changed the Wage Structure Evidence from Microdata, 19841989, Quart erly Journal of Economics, Vol. 108 No. 1 (February 1993). 18 17 73 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 assigning them to which employees. A new study reviewing recent research on the impact of IT on employment, skills, and wages concludes that the story is complex. 9 Studies find that having information on plant characteristics and work practices matters. For example, a study finding that workers using computers in Germany had higher wages than workers who did not also found that a similar wage differential accrued to workers using telephones or pencils, or who worked sitting down. 20 The implication is that the wage differential really reflected the fact that workers using computers, telephones, or pencils, or who work sitting down, receive higher wages because they have higher skills.This research suggests that IT is associated with substantial wage differentials, but does not cause them. Studies for France and Canada find similar wage differentials. 21 Researchers using French and Canadian mic ro data also have matched sets of data on employers and workers in those countries, and have two or more years of data. Studies using these matched data all find that substantial cross-section returns to computer use fall sharply when they make use of information about changes in both the worker and employer characteristics.Estimates differ by country and study, but the final differentials are modest, 1 to 4 percent. 22 These studies also find that the relatively modest wage differential associated with computer use varies markedly across occupations and among workers with different levels of education. For example, a study for Canada finds that more highly educated workers, white-collar workers, and those adopting the computer for scientific applications receive higher than average wage premiums, while other workers do not receive wage premiums when they jump out using computers on the job. The reasons for such differences remain unresolved.It may be more dear(p) to teach some gr oups of workers to use computers, or groups may differ in the proportion of computer training costs that they share with the employer (with lower employer shares resulting in higher wages). The researchers find that controlling for training increases the small or zero wage premiums they otherwise find for many low-skilled groups. They speculate that, if permit data were available to test for long-run effects, controlling for training and other worker characteristics might show positive wage differentials for most workers using computers. 3 Some detailed case studies (studies of specific businesses, usually anonymous) suggest another reason for differences in the wage differential associated with using computers at work. One M. Handel, Implications of Information Technology for Employment, Skills, and Wages A Review of Recent Research, SRI International, SRI Project Number P10168, Final Report (July 2003). J. DiNardo and J. Pischke, The Returns to Computer Use Revisited Have Pencils Changed the Wage Structure Too? The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 112 No. 1 (February 1997). H. Entorf, M. Gollac, and F.Kramarz, New Technologies, Wages, and Worker Selection. Journal of Labor Economics (1999), and H. Entorf, and F. Kramarz, Does Unmeasured readiness Explain the Higher Wages of New Technology Workers? European Economic Review, Vol. 41 (1997) and C. Zoghi and S. Pabilonia, Which Workers Gain from Computer Use? Paper presented at NBER summer Meetings (July 2003). 22 23 21 20 19 E. g. , Entorf and Kramarz 1997. C. Zoghi and S. Pabilonia 2003. 74 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 case study examined the effect of introducing computers into the operations of a pecuniary organization.For some occupations, the case study found that computers substitute for the routine work that individuals previously performed, reducing the need for such workers. In other occupations, however, computers appear to take on routine tasks and free workers to perform more complex, higher ski lled, problem-solving activities. 24 If IT also allows the business to alter the way it works and organize itself more productively, it may raise the skill requirements for all workers in the business, even if they do not directly use computers.Insights from the International Micro Data Initiative A wave of new literature in plant- or firm-level research on the effects of IT has been conducted in countries participating in the OECD. 25 (See box 5. 1. ) As with research using U. S. micro data, the micro data research conducted in other countries also find links between IT and productivity. Where information on computer networks is available, or other measures of how computers are used, the research again suggests that it is not just having IT, but how IT is used that effects economic performance measures such as productivity.Two kinds of studies are being undertaken. Some studies base their research on new data on IT for a single country. They make use of as much information as they can, and choose empirical techniques best suited to their data. Studies such as these land important insights, particularly when one country has information that other countries do not, or researchers are able to use techniques that help ensure that the measured effects indeed are due to IT. However, this strength also makes it hard to compare such estimates across countries.Studies from individual OECD countries find that IT has an impact on productivity and economic performance. Significant effects of IT on productivity are found in the service sector in Germany. 26 Recent research for France finds that one specific kind of network, the Internet, is associated with productivity gains, but other kinds of networks, which have been in use much longer, are not. 27 Canadian research finds that adopting IT is associated with growth in both productivity and market share. 8 Use of computers in Australia also is associated with productivity growth, with effects that vary across industries and are intertwined with other factors, such as the skill of a business work force, its organization and re-organization, and its innovativeness. 29 24 D. Autor, F. Levy and R. Murnane, Upstairs, Downstairs Computer-Skill Complementarity and Computer-Labor interchange on Two Floors of a Large Bank, Industrial & Labor Relations Review 55(3) (2002). Research to date is summarized in D.Pilat, ICT and Economic Growth Evidence from OECD Countries, Industries, and Firms (Paris OECD, 2003). T. Hempell, Whats Spurious, Whats Real? touchstone the Productivity Impacts of ICT at the Firm-Level, reciprocation Paper 02-42, Centre for European Economic Research (Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH ZEW, 2002), file transfer protocol//ftp. zew. de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp0242. pdf. B. Crepon, T. Heckel, and N. Riedinger, http//www. nber. org/CRIW/papers/crepon. pdf, Paper presented at R&D, Education, and Productivity, NBER CRIW conference in honor of Zvi Griliches (Paris August 2003). 8 29 27 26 25 J. Baldwin and D. Sabourin 2001. G. Gretton, J. Gali, and D. Parham, Uptake and impacts of ICTs in the Australian economy, paper presented at OECD, Paris, celestial latitude 2002. 75 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Another group of studies tries to use as many variables and analytical techniques as possible that are similar to those used by researchers in a few other countries. 30 This arise may exclude some variables and some analytical techniques, if researchers in several countries cannot use them.On the other hand, this kind of coordination makes it more likely that similar empirical findings are actually due to IT, and that differences in empirical findings are due to differences in economic conditions and other factors among countries. An example is a group of researchers conducting parallel analyses for the United States, Denmark, and Japan. 31 Preliminary findings are that IT is positively related to productivity in all three countries, but that the relationship depends o n the type of IT used, the sector, and time period.Early results for Denmark show a significant correlation coefficient between several measures of the firms performance and use of the Internet, but not for other uses of IT. For Japan, productivity levels are consistently higher for firms using IT networks. However, growth in labor productivity varies by type of network and how the network is used, and the effect of Internet use is higher for retail switch over firms than for manufacturing firms. For U. S. manufacturing plants, there is a strong relationship between use of computer networks and labor productivity. Better Micro Data Research Requires Better Micro DataBecause the micro data are typically collected for other purposes, such as constructing key economic indicators, we almost of all time find that they lack some (often, much) of the information needed to address questions such those about the pervasiveness of IT and its effect. These gaps simply do not allow us to draw f irm conclusions about the effect of IT. For example, research exploring the micro-level link between IT and economic performance may not always be able to separate the determination of IT from other related but unobserved characteristics of the plant.Well-managed plants may use IT as one of many tools to achieve performance goals. If we have information about IT, but not about management practices, the research may specify performance effects to IT that really are due to good management. Estimating plant-level relationships among computers, computer networks, and productivity also is hard to do with existing data because many of the most important conceptswhat a business produces (output), and all the factors it uses to make its product (such as labor, capital, energy, etc. known as inputs), as well as IT itselfare difficult to define, and data based on these concepts are hard to collect. 32 Continuing research on these concepts leads to improve- For example, researchers in severa l countries are using the approach taken by U. S. researchers (Atrostic and Nguyen 2002), and using its findings as the bench mark against which they are comparing research findings using their own countries data. B. K. Atrostic, P. Boegh-Nielsen, K. Motohashi, and S. Nguyen, Information Technology, Productivity, and Growth in Enterprises Evidence from New International Micro Data, Lacutalite economique (forthcoming 2004).A large literature lays out major data gaps in estimating the impact of information technology on economic performance. For example, conferences conducted by the NBER Conference on Research in Income and Wealth (CRIW) addressing capital and labor measurement over the last 20 years include D. Usher, The Measurement of Capital (NBER CRIW sight 45 (Chicago University Press, 1980)) J. Triplett, The Measurement of Labor Cost (NBER CRIW Volume 48 (Chicago University Press, 1983)) and C. Corrado, J. Haltiwanger, and D. Sichel, Measuring Capital in the New 32 31 0 76 DIGI TAL ECONOMY 2003 ments in what statistical agencies collect, but a dynamic and evolving economy continually presents new challenges. Even when concepts are well defined, it is costly for statistical agencies to collect data and for respondents to provide the requested information. As a result, some key information needed for analysis may not be collected often or at all. Examples include information such as the number of computers and computer networks that businesses have, how they use them, and how much businesses invest in computers and other IT.The divergent findings in the resulting empirical literature on the effects of IT are likely related to these data gaps, and to differences in the techniques researchers use to try to deal with them. 33 One way to improve the micro data available for research would be by better incorporate aggregate economic indicators and their underlying micro data. It currently is not always easy to reconcile movements in the aggregate statistics with changes observed in the micro data. Aggregate indicators often are constructed from multiple micro data sources, and different sources of data for any concept (such as employment or payroll) may disagree.Collecting more of the data underlying aggregate statistics in ways that enrich their value as micro data, such as using common sampling frames and keeping information that allows linkage of same economic unit over time and across surveys, would improve both the micro data and our ability to understand changes in the aggregate economic indicators. finish Micro data research conducted in the United States and in OECD countries shows that IT is related to economic performance and productivity. Careful research also shows that the relationships are complex.IT emerges as a multifaceted factor. The kind of IT that is used and how it is used appear to matter in many (but not all) settings, including the ownership structure of trucking markets, the relative dynamism of retailing, and the relative risk taking and innovativeness of manufacturing sectors across countries. At the same time, the use of IT alone does not appear to be enough to affect economic performance. When researchers have information about the characteristics of businesses, workers, jobs, and markets, they find that IT appears to work instead in tandem with those factors.Economy (NBER CRIW Volume 65 (Chicago University Press, forthcoming)). A series of meetings of international experts, known as the Canberra Group, addressed capital measurement issues during the late 1990s (http// unstats. un. org/unsd/methods/citygroup/capitalstock. htm). An excellent manual describing how to calculate productivity habituated considerable text to issues in measuring capital can be found in P. Schreyer, Measuring Productivity Measurement of Aggregate and Industry-Level Productivity GrowthOECD Manual (Paris OECD 2001).Measuring intangible capital, potentially important in both IT and non-IT capital, received much at tention recently (see for example B. Lev, Intangibles Management, Measurement, and coverage (Brookings Institution Press 2001)). 33 See, for example, Dedrick et al. (2003) D. Pilat, 2003 B. K. Atrostic, J. Gates, and R. Jarmin, 2000, Measuring the Electronic Economy Current Status and Next Steps, Working Paper CES-WP-00-10, Center for Economic Studies, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Washington DC and J. Haltiwanger, and R.Jarmin (2000), Measuring the digital Economy, in E. Byrnjolfsson and B. Kahin (eds. ), Understanding the Digital Economy (MIT Press 2000). 77 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Separating out the effect of IT remains difficult because the analysis requires detailed information, and requires it for multiple periods. However, such detailed and repeated information is rare. Most business micro data contain only the information needed to calculate important economic indicators. The micro data are most sparse for the sectors outside manufacturingthe most IT-intensive sectors.More defin itive research on the impact of IT requires that producing micro data sets becomes a statistical agency priority. 78 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 Appendix 5. A. Conducting Micro Data Research on the Impact of IT THE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC STUDIES, U. S. enumerate BUREAU The Center for Economic Studies (CES) is a research unit of the Office of the Chief Economist, U. S. Bureau of the Census, established to encourage and support the analytic needs of researchers and decision makers throughout government, academia, and business. CES currently operates eight Research Data Centers (RDCs) throughout the United States.RDCs offer qualified researchers restricted access to confidential economic data collected by the Census Bureau in its surveys and censuses. CES and the RDCs conduct, facilitate, and support research using micro data to increase the utility and quality of Census Bureau data products. The best way for the Census Bureau to assess the quality of the data it collects, edits, and tabulates is for knowledgeable researchers to use micro records in rigorous analyses. Each micro record results from dozens of decisions about definitions, classifications, mark rocedures, processing rules, editing rules, disclosure rules, and so on. Analyses test the validity of all these decisions and uncover the datas strengths and weaknesses. Research projects at CES and its RDCs are examining how facets of the electronic economy affect productivity, growth, business organization, and other aspects of business performance using both new data collected specifically to provide new information about IT, and existing data. Projects using existing Census Bureau micro data on businesses include McGuckin et al. 998 Dunne, Foster, Haltiwanger and Troske, 2000 Stolarick 1999 and Doms, Jarmin, and Klimek, 2002). Research making use of the new 1999 supplement to the Annual Survey of Manufactures linked to existing Census Bureau micro data include Atrostic and Gates 2001 Atrostic and Nguyen 2002 Hal tiwanger, Jarmin, and Schank 2002 and Bartelsman et al. 2002. Research findings from many of these projects are discussed in this chapter. The research also helps the Census Bureau assess what current data collections can say about the electronic economy so that we can more efficiently allocate resources to any new measurement activities.More information about CES, RDCs, requirements for access to data, and examples of research produced at the RDCs is at http//www. ces. census. gov/ces. php/home. DATA SOURCES AT CES Researchers at CES and the RDCs built, and use, a longitudinal data set linking manufacturing plants over time. The data are based on surveys and economic censuses, and contain detailed data on shipments and factors used to produce them, such as materials and labor, as well as characteristics of the plant, such as whether it exports. Recent CES research broadens the range of available micro data beyond manufacturing.A new micro data set, the Longitudinal Business Databas e, currently contains the foundation of all U. S. business establishments with paid employees from 1976 to present. It allows researchers to examine entry and exit, gross job flows, and changes in the structure of the U. S. economy. The LBD can be used alone or in conjunction with other Census Bureau surveys at the establishment 79 DIGITAL ECONOMY 2003 and firm level. In addition, micro data from surveys and censuses of the retail, wholesale, and some service sectors is now becoming available.The National Employer Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau for the National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce, collects detailed information about work practices, worker training, and the use of computers. Restricted access to confidential data from the survey is available to qualified researchers through the RDCs. Information about the National Employer Survey can be found at http//www. census. gov/econ/overview/mu2400. html. PUBLIC-USE DATA This chapter also refers to rese arch conducted using two other sets of micro data collected by the Census Bureau.The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a survey of households that is collected by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPS periodically collects information about peoples use of computers at work and at home. More information can be found at http//www. census. gov/population/www/socdemo/computer. html. The Truck Inventory and Use Surveys collect information about on-board trip computers and electronic fomite management systems as part of the Census of Transportation. Information about the Census of Transportation can be found at http//www. census. gov/econ/www/tasmenu. html. 80

Environmental Engineering Essay

It involves counterbalance urine managementand demeanor pollutioncontrol, recycling,waste disposal, radiation protection, industrial hygiene, environmental sustainability, and national healthissues as comfortably as a knowledge ofenvironmental engineering law. It is a link study of environmental intelligence. Main task of environmental engineers is to protect public health by protecting (from further abjection), preserving (the present condition of), and enhancing the environment. some(a) work of environmental engineers Conducts hazardous-waste managementstudies to evaluate the signifi cannisterce of such(prenominal) hazards, force out on treatment and containment, and develop regulations to prevent mishaps. Design municipal irrigate supply andindustrial wastewater treatmentsystems. Address environmental issues such as the effects ofacid rain, international warming,oz i depletion, water pollution and air pollution fromautomobile exhaustsandindustrial sources.Environmental sci enceis an interdisciplinary donnish fieldthat integrates physical and biological sciences, (including but not limited toEcology,Physics,Chemistry,Biology, terra firma Science,Geology,Atmospheric ScienceandGeography) to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems. Environmental science provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary apostrophize to the study of environmental systems. Environmental science came awake(p) as a substantive, active field of scientific investigation in the 1960s and 1970s driven by the ff. ssues (a) the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to analyze complex environmental problems. (b) the arrival of substantive environmental laws requiring specialised environmental protocols of investigation. (c) the upgradeing public aw areness of a need for deed in addressing environmental problems.Related areas of study environmental studies incorporates more of the loving sciences for understanding human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. 2. environmental engineering focuses on design and engine room for improving environmental quality. Comp one(a)nts of Environmental Science Ecologyis the study of the interactions mingled with existences and their environment. Ecologists might investigate the relationship between a race of beings and some physical characteristic of their environment, such as concentration of a chemical depicted object or they might investigate the interaction between a ii populations of different organisms through some symbiotic or competitive relationship.For example, an interdisciplinary analysis of an ecological system which is being impacted by one or more stressors might acknowledge several related environmental science fields. In an estuarine setting where a proposed industrial knowledge could impact certain species bywaterandair pollution,biologistswould describe the plant life and fauna,chemistswould analyze the transport of water pollutants to the marsh,physicistswould calculateair pollutionemissions andgeologistswould assist in understanding the marsh disfigurements and bay muds. . Atmospheric sciencesfocuses on the nations atmosphere, with an emphasis upon its interrelation to other(a) systems. Atmospheric sciences can include studies ofmeteorology,greenhouse gasphenomena,atmospheric dispersion idealingof airborne contaminants,34sound multiplication phenomena related tonoise pollution, and evenlight pollution.Taking the example of theglobal warmingphenomena, physicists createcomputer modelsof atmospheric circulation and infra-red radiation transmission, chemists examine the store of atmospheric chemicals and their reactions, biologists analyze the plant and animal contributions tocarbon dioxidefluxes, and specialists such asmeteorologistsandoceanographers add additional breadth in understanding the atmospheric dynamics. 3. Environmental chemistryis the study of chemical alterations in the environmen t.Principal areas of study includesoil contaminationandwater pollution. The topics of analysis include chemical degradation in the environment, multi-phase transport of chemicals (for example, evaporation of a resultantcontaining lake to yield solvent as an air pollutant), and chemical effects upon biota. As an example study, overturn the case of a leakingsolventtank which has entered the home ground soil of an threaten speciesof amphibian.As a method to resolve or understand the terminus ofsoil contaminationand subsurface transport of solvent, a computer model would be implemented. Chemists would then characterize the molecular bonding of the solvent to the proper(postnominal) soil fictional character, and biologists would study the impacts upon soilarthropods, plants, and ultimately pond-d surfaceing organisms that are the victuals of the peril amphibian. 4. Geosciencesincludeenvironmental geology,environmental soil science, volcanic phenomena and evolution of the priming coats crust.In some classification systems this can besides includehydrology, includingoceanography. As an example study of soilserosion, calculations would be made ofsurface runoffby soil scientists. Fluvial geomorphologists would assist in examiningsediment transportin overland flow. Physicists would contribute by assessing the changes in light transmission in the receiving waters. Biologists would analyze subsequent impacts to aquatic flora and fauna from increases in water turbidity. Ecology study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. starts as early as three hundred BC with the Greek named Theophastus, his interest with the interrelationship between organism and the spiritedness environment, become his as the Father of Botany. Environment refers to the sum of all the outside forces and conditions acting on an organism or community of organism. oekologie was coined by the German zoologist, Ernst Haeckel, comes from the greek word oikos, meaning home or a outrank to live in. defines as the relationship of animals both to the organic as well as the inorganic environment, in the mid-1900s both sort out of botanist, one from the Europe and America, become interested in the study of plants communities, the Europeans signd on the composition, structure and distribution of plant communities, on the other hand the Americans concentrate to the development of plant, eventually they become interested at the animals as well, and gave a greater emphasis on inter-relationship of animals and plants.This become the birth of ecology as the formal field of study. British economist, Thomas Malthus, gave special attention to population in the early 19th century, his the first one o recognise the conflict between expanding population and earths capability to supply it. scope of ecology, organism (eg. Proto-plasma, cell, tissue, organ, organ system), population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere. Organism Levels of organization of life (i nside the organism) Protoplasma it makes up the animate substance of the cell.Cell basic unit of life Tissue- root word of cell performing particular purposes Organ- group of tissue carrying a particular functions Organ system group of organ doing s specific function. Levels of organization of life (inside the organism) Population group of organism of the same kind or species occupying a particular home plate at a particular time. Community a group of populations occupying a given area. Ecosystem basic unit of ecology, refers to the interaction between the organism and environment. It includes population, communities, habitat (the place where the organism lives) and the environment. eg. forest, grassland, river, etc. ) Biosphere world of life. It is the portion of the earth where in life on its any form existed. Components of ecosystem Biotic they are the living components of ecosystem consisting of plants, animals and bacteria. Abiotic they are the non living component that consist of substratum, light, rain, nutrients, soil, temperature, etc. Biotic Components leafy vegetable plants known as the producers. They capture the null coming from the sun and unneurotic with the CO2 in the air and H2O converts this into food energy.They are called autotrophs (self nourishing), they get their own food through the process of photosynthesis. There are also microscopic green plant called phytoplanktons, they give the green color to the bodies of water such as lake and rivers Animals Known as the consumers. Obtain other food sources to other plants and animals they are called heterotrophs. Three types of consumers Herbivores that eat plants only Carnivores animals that eat other animals. Omnivores- eat both plants and animals.Bacteria and Fungi They are called decomposers. They eat the executed bodies of plants and animals, where they get their energy and convert it to other nutrients back into the environment. They are universal called the janito r of the nature. Abiotic Components Soil the upper layer of the earths crust bear upon by plants and animals serves as the habitat and pool of nutrients for many organism. Humus slanted decaying organic substance comprise in the soil. Physical characteristic of soil Color The color of the soils is influence by the element present in the soil.Soil color and element presesent Grey (lacks of iron) Brown & red (rich in iron) Texture the texture of the soil affects the amount of water and nutrients the soil can hold. Texture of the soil Sandy (composed of coarse particles) Clay (consist of fine particles) back up (composed of medium size particles. ) Loamy (mixture of clay, sand and silt) Moisture Water fill of the soil. It is influence by factors such as Texture Amount of rainfall Slope of the land Underlying rock type. pH The concentration of atomic number 1 ions on the soil.The soil which contain a large amount of linden is alkaline and with large amount of granite id acid. pH value raging from 1-6 is acidic and 8-14 are basic while those with 7 reading is neutral type of soil. Structure Refers to the arrangement of its particle which build up large amount of soil structure is called peds. The peds damage will result to the short(p) drainage of water to the soil. 2. Water Importance of water in ecosystem It embody of a large percentage of the tissues of all living organism. Required by plants to support their non woody tissues.Used by the plants as a vas of nutrients from the soil. It is absorbed by the plant and release in the environment which produces the cool effect. Plant adaptation to water (Based on the tolerance of plant to water. ) * Hydropytes (Plants that promote in water and waterlogged soils) * Halophytes (Plants that grow in saline environment. ) * Xerophytes (Plants that grow in dry or arid condition. 3. Temperature Affects the plant and cooled blooded animals by controlling their metabolism. Affect the water loss of the organism. Most organism function at temperature between 0 degree to 50 degree centigrade.. 4. arise An agent of pollination and seed dispersal. It also affects transpiration in the plants by causing faster evaporation with in their surroundings. Pathways of energy Energy It is needed by the organism for growth, maintenance and repair and for life. Organism obtain their energy by two ways Autotrophy (producing their own food) Heterotrophy (eating other organism) Food Chain represent of the sequence of organism that eat other organism through which energy is transferred. Every food chain starts a producer and end with decomposers.trophic levels of food chain First trophic ( producers) Second trophic (herbivores called immemorial consumers) Third trophic (carnivore that eat hervobores) 4th trophic (carnivores that eat carnivores) In food chain the energy transferred from one trophic level to another(prenominal) is decreasing. Food web Consist of several interlocking food chain. It is a transf er of energy involving several pathways. Nutrients cycle Classification of Nutrients Macronutrients those that are infallible by organism by large quantities. Ex. Oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen Micronutrient are needed by the organism by smaller amounts.Ex. Sulfur, potassium, iron, and phosphorus. Water Cycles evaporation (from bodies of water) Respiration ( from animals) Transpiration (from the trees) Condensation (accumulation of all the vapors, transpiration and respiration) Precipitation (for rain) Runoff (water run from the higher(prenominal) grounds) Carbon and Oxygen cycle Carbon is mostly present in the environment by cabon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is present at It could be found at dead organism. Volcano eruption. Respiration of animals. Oxygen is abundant in plants transpiration, it is release in the air as a waste return and absorbed by animals.Nitrogen Cycles Nitrogen constitutes 78% of air in the atmosphere. Plants used it as a nitrates, and nitrogen converte d it by two process The action of lightning. Process of action by specialized organism such as legumes. Communities Community Group of different kinds of organism or species living together in a particular place. Worlds Major communities 1. sweet Biome Bushes and shrubs for vegetation Sandy, dry and loose type of soil. Less than 10 cm of rain fall in a year. Lizards, snakes, eagles, owls, toads, insects and small