How will the Tour De France regulate its players from using PED'S?

                                             Lance Armstrong (Source: MarketWatch)

In an article written by Taylor and Francis, it is mentioned that the reason as to why many Tour De France athletes use PED's is because they simply believe they need them to compete and complete the race. With Institutions being my economic policy, "rules of the game", this race is quite controversial. While it is incredible to see people bike 2,200 miles with hardly any rest, it is not so awesome to know that many of them cheat. To add to that, many officials of the race make it publicly clear that "public opinions about doping do not always conform to the prohibitionist line". The significance of this is that the officials believe that many fans of the race do not believe athletes will have the integrity to abstain from cheating while competing.

Doping itself in the sport of cycling sustains and raises performance, but at the same time takes a large toll on the body. Many of athletes that "dope" do such a thing because the peer pressure but also the secrecy that can come along with it if not caught. 

All in all, I believe Cyclists will continue to use performance enhancing drugs in events such as the Tour De France solely due to how hard the event is itself. 

Next Blog Post: How will regulating PED's affect the athletes?

Why are songs getting shorter

valuewalk.com

The economic principle I am researching is supply and demand In the music industry and how it both drives and shapes the music industry as a whole.In today's blog post I will discuss why songs are getting gradually shorter.

 In recent years there has been a trend for songs moving from 8 minute sagas to shorter songs. According to Fortune.com, in the last 5 years the average song length has shortened by about 20 seconds, and considerable margin. The reason for this trend is music streaming companies; because streaming companies pay artists by the number of streams their song gets, a shorter song is less work for the artist and the label and also makes the same profit.

Now instead of stretching songs out to fill up as many albums as they can, as the physical mediums(CD´s) encouraged artists to do, shorter songs reap the same reward as shorter songs.

 Personally I do not see this as a problem artists have always adapted their songs to fit the medium they are using. In the 50s artists were forced to make their songs very short, all about 2-3 minutes because 33s and 45s records only allowed a limited number of songs. In order to make consumers think they are getting the most bang out of their buck they tried to fit as many songs as they could on each album.

 In my next blog post I will explore how demand shaped the development of music genres.

Has making the exotic pet trade entirely illegal (in the US) actually damaged the market? Or has it only strengthened its appeal to buyers?

                                                                Source: mentalfloss.com




The economic principle I’m exploring is “Institutions are the ‘rules of the game’ that influence choices.”

 My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How does the varying legality of exotic pet ownership around the world influence the exotic pet trade?”

 My sub-research question is “Has making the exotic pet trade entirely illegal (in the US) actually damaged the market? Or has it only strengthened its appeal to buyers?”

 The articles “The Ins & Outs of Exotic Animal Smuggling” by The Mag on mentalfloss and “Facts about the Exotic Pet Trade” from National Geographic demonstrate this economic principle by showing that if their laws aren’t properly enforced, institutions will have little to no influence on the market.

 First, I decided to clarify the US’s laws on exotic animals. According to the first article, “There are several federal laws that prohibit the selling and interstate transfer of certain exotic animals in the U.S.” which “include the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, the Wild Bird Conservation Act and the Endangered Species Act.” Though these may seem fairly comprehensive, one of the main issues with enforcing them seems to be that while there are some nationally forced protections, specific laws can vary from state to state. Additionally, as I will cover later on in this post, the groups dedicated to seizing and investigating exotic animal smugglers have little funding and manpower, leaving many offenses to these laws unchecked.

 Second, I took a look at how prolific the trade was in the U.S. specifically. I found that “According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the exotic pet trade is a multi-billion dollar industry, second only to drugs and weapons on the black market. It's a $15 billion dollar business in the United States alone, with breeders and dealers selling animals over the Internet or in trade magazines.” Despite our laws, the exotic animal trade remains absolutely massive, with millions of dollars flooding into the market each day. While one would think that the laws would be a significant deterrent, that’s evidently not the case.

 Third, I wanted to know why and how the laws were so easily and so often broken. For one, smuggling animals into the U.S. is surprisingly easy - according to National Geographic, “it's pretty difficult to get caught smuggling endangered animals.” Apparently, “The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is staffed with fewer than 400 law enforcement agents; by comparison, the Drug Enforcement Agency has 11,000 employees.” Smugglers often get extremely light sentences; “if you're an animal smuggler with no prior convictions and you get caught with an equivalent cache of illegal butterflies, you might not even spend the night in jail.” Even repeat offenders aren’t punished with anything even nearing the severity of other national lawbreakers. “When Hisayoshi Kojima, the world's most wanted butterfly thief, pleaded guilty to 17 smuggling-related charges in 2007, he received 21 months in prison and a fine of just under $39,000. Such low-risk, high-reward conditions have led many drug traffickers to diversify into the wildlife business.” On top of all of that, “the traffickers often refuse to reveal their buyers, which makes it tough to figure out what motivates them.” While we may have laws in place against animal trafficking, there are a number of ways to circumvent them - and even those who are unsuccessful often get away with little to no repercussions. The market for exotic animals remains as successful as ever in the U.S.

 In my next blog post I will research the question: What is the psychology behind the market?

Which country relies the most on renewable energy sources?

SOURCE: C&G Law Office

The economic principle I'm exploring is institutions are the "rules of the game" that influence choices.

First, according to the US Energy Information Administration, "renewable energy is energy from sources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited. They are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time."

Sounds pretty good right? Then why aren't we taking advantage of these brand new energy sources? There are many reasons why and why not, for my third post I will focus especially on which country relies the most on renewable energy sources.

According to Click Energy, “Iceland generates the most clean electricity per person on earth, with almost 100% of its energy coming from renewable sources that make the most of its unique landscape.”

When they say “make the most of its unique landscape” it is referring to how Iceland is defined by its dramatic landscape with volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields. Most of the population lives in the capital, Reykjavik, which runs almost completely on geothermal power from the abundant volcanic activity under the Earth’s crust in Iceland.

According to Inspired by Iceland, “Abundant renewable power and a favorable business environment have brought investors to Iceland who wish to limit the carbon footprint of energy.” Fossil fuels are still used in transport in Iceland. Ships, planes and cars still run on conventional energy, although electric vehicle ownership is growing quickly.

Recently there have been large investments in charging stations all over the country. The government’s policy of reducing the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels has really taken off the past few years and is paving the way for other countries to start moving over to 100% renewable energy as well.

Sources:

Inspired by Iceland

Click Energy

Iceland Renewable Energy

The Student Loan Bubble

Source : Wall Street Journal

   Today, I will explore the economic principle that institutions are the "rules of the game" that influence choices. In the article "America's Student Loan Debt Crisis is About to Get Much Worse" by Bloomberg, the author shines light on the drastically growing rate of student loan debt in the United States and how nearly all college students are starting their working lives in five figure debt. 

According to the article, "Student loans have seen almost 157 percent in cumulative growth over the past 11 years". This is astounding when noted that credit card and mortgage debt has fallen 1% over the time. This is relevant information because it shows that student loans have gotten out of control in the country, and many graduates are left with six figure debt to pay off as soon as they leave school. When compared to mortgage and credit card debt, the fact that student loan debt has skyrocketed spells trouble for other debt rates, because if people can't pay off their student loans then they for sure will not be able to pay off other debts. 

When people don't pay their student loans, they face delinquency on them. This is an issue that will affect banks also, because if people can't find jobs that pay enough of their loan off, they will just not pay the balance. If enough people do this, banks that gave these loans will face issues as they will not be getting the money that they originally gave away. While people who won't pay their loans will face bad credit scores and diminished purchasing power, the bank will also face financial crisis. Both these events would cause a severe economic downturn, and it would prevent future generations from having positive financial situations in their adult life. 

How Has Technology Changed The Style Of Music Being Produced?

Ableton

The economic principle that I am researching is that people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways, and how technology has changed our methods of listening to music.

My research question to help me study this topic is how technology has changed the style of music that producers can create.

First, as I have briefly talked about before, producers can potentially create music without any real instruments.  If they have a computer with a few applications and plugins downloaded, they can play synth leads, make drum beats, create guitar riffs, or essentially play any instrument you could imagine using only the keyboard.  This has made it possible for producers to be able to make music on instruments that they can't really play in real life.  For example, many producers wouldn't be able to sit down and play a song on the drums or piano which are two of the most important instruments in electronic music.  However, using plugins on an audio software, they can turn their computer keyboard into a drum kit or a piano and put together complex melodies much easier.  This has caused electronic dance music (EDM) to become much more complex gain tons of popularity.  

Next, if you buy an audio interface, you can plug in a guitar, or microphone to record music and vocals.  This has made it exponentially easier to record any instrument onto different applications.  Once on these applications, there are millions of different effects that can be added to the recording to make it sound completely different than it originally did.  This can be used to make guitars sound like an instrument you have never even heard in your life, and gives producers more tools to expand their arsenal of creativity.

In my next post, I will discuss how technology has changed the way we experience live music.  

Why Do We Love Instagram So Much?

SOURCE: business insider

The economic principle I’m exploring is “Institutions are the ¨rules of the game¨ that influence choices.”  
My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How does the social media site Instagram influence users to buy specific products?” 

The article published in Business Insider titled “The Psychology of Why Instagram is so Addictive” demonstrates this economic principle by showing that the way Instagram is structured makes people stay on the app for longer.

First, the author, Drake Baer, talks about the culture of taking pictures, and why people feel the need to capture every moment that they think is “instagram worthy”. Baer states that “capturing images has been habit-forming for over a century”, and it stems from the anxiety that “if we don’t capture this moment it will disappear forever”. I have felt this myself, especially when on vacation or when I go to a special event or celebrate a birthday. I feel like if I don’t capture the moment, I will have nothing to remember and look back on in the future. When it comes to Instagram, I feel like I have to post something, whether it be on my story or an actual post, just so people know what i’m doing and so that I will stay in that “relevant media” circle. As Baer says, the “fear of missing out” drives people to post on Instagram, and scroll through their feed to see what others are doing as well.

Second, Baer states that the “immediate reward” of posting a picture and getting likes on it induces the endorphin “dopamine” in the brain that makes us feel happy and pleased. In turn, it makes users want to keep checking their post to see how many people liked it after an hour, or two hours, etc. This keeps the cycle of Instagram running; post, get likes, scroll, post, get likes, scroll, and it keeps on going. From personal experience, I check my Instagram the most often right after I post a picture because I continue to refresh the page to check how many likes I have gotten. It is honestly unhealthy when you think about it; it promotes the idea that we need validation in order to be happy with ourselves and our lifestyle.

Additionally, I would like to add my own theory to what keeps people on Instagram for longer, which is the explore page. The explore page on Instagram is filled with content from different comedians, makeup artists, fashion bloggers, travelers, etc. Each page is tailored to what the Instagram user likes, and it puts videos that would keep the user hooked. I know me and my friends can stay on the Instagram explore page for hours watching minute long comedy clips that we find entertaining. I think this was 100% invented so that people would stay on Instagram for the most amount of time they can. 

In my next blog post I will research the question: How does the social media site Snapchat hook users into using their app?

Could installing robotic labor potentially harm human employment in the long run?

Could installing robotic labor potentially harm human employment in the long run? 

SOURCE 

 Robots are incredible inventions. They have been very beneficial to the production in industrial America. When robots had first entered the big picture of labor, they were first designed to do industrial jobs such as, welding or painting (like on automobiles.) In Susan Vargas’ Safety+Health article: “Robots in the workplace” Recently, however, technological advances have begun to allow for greater diversity of robotic systems in the workplace. “Now, in addition to traditional industrial robots, we have professional service robots, collaborative robots who work side by side with workers, and mobile autonomous robots in a wide range of industries and enterprises,” said Vladimir Murashov, senior scientist in the Office of the Director at NIOSH and a member of NIOSH’s newly formed Center for Occupational Robotics Research. Industrial robots typically have been used for tasks considered undesirable for human workers – what RIA Vice President Bob Doyle described as “the three Ds: dull, dirty and dangerous jobs.” In this capacity, automated systems offer considerable safety benefits to human workers. “Robots can help prevent injuries or adverse health effects resulting from working in hazardous conditions,” Murashov said. “Some examples are musculoskeletal disorders due to repetitive or awkward motions, or traumatic injuries. They can also prevent multiple hazards in emergency response situations such as chemical spills.”

Employers are just beginning to explore the possibilities for strategic human-robot partnerships. Because collaborative robots are intended to share workspaces with humans, safety measures are built into their design. However, despite these inherent protections, collaborative robots still pose significant risks. Introducing new technology in the workplace often is met with a degree of anxiety or skepticism. Employers thinking of adopting collaborative robotic systems should bear in mind that workers may have concerns about their safety or job security, and dispelling those fears can take time.

How does free trade have an affect on jobs?

                                                            

The Economic principle I'm exploring is people gain when they trade voluntarily

My research question to help me study the economic principle is "How does free trade help Americans

The article published on AIER titled "How much does free trade affect employment" demonstrates this principle by showing the impact free trade would have on jobs.

First the article talks about how when China started to ship more goods to the US there was a huge decrease in the manufacturing jobs. According to the very influential 2013 study it estimates that a quarter of the decline in total manufacturing employment between 1990 and 2007 came from china's import competition, which translates to about 1.5 million fewer jobs.

Second the article talks about how even though their will be a decrease in manufacturing jobs their will be new jobs. The author predicts that at least as many new jobs that will disappear will reappear in other markets.

Lastly the article talks about how employment naturally grows with population growth. According to the article it talks about when a new worker arrives he is able to create his own job which he then uses the money to spend on stuff which creates overall new jobs in the working force.

In my next blog post I will discuss the overall affect free trade will have on the economy.

who else have these super teams affected in the league?

Who else has been affected by super teams

The economic principle I’m exploring is how has scarcity of top tier players affected NBA teams?

My research question to help me study the economic principle is why isn't every NBA team able to establish such super teams as others?

The article NBA. have super teams made the game unwatchable? Argues the downside effects of super teams on other teams and outside viewers as well.

First, since these super teams have made games very predictable to who will win the ship or even a regular season game, fans especially haven´t been to pleased with this and recently the popularity of the NBA has gone down a bit.

Second now that super teams control the league others have been trying to form their own with high level players as well, but it is clear to say many have had struggle with this. A Lot of factors go into it when players join a team, location , how good or bad team is, and generally the type of fan bases.

Third,  location is a bigger factor then what most people would expect, Golden state Warriors is the super team everyone fears, but they are able to attract players only based on the location, which is on the coast of California, a very beautiful place to live.

In my next blog post I will research the question: Is having this super team dominate league good or bad for the league's future?

Cultural Impacts of Architecture and Design

The economic principle I’m exploring is Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.

Source: Notre Dame Cathedral Paris

My research question to help me study the economic principle is how do architects take into consideration societal/cultural trends while designing buildings?

The main principle I will be focusing on today is that we should design buildings consciously and carefully. In a regular church only a few hundred people will see the inside of it but, thousands more will see the outside. I think that we need to design buildings in order to send a message about what function that building serves while also being mindful of the surrounding culture. I will be using the article to support this claim.

The article says that, "a temple or church... symbolises a religion; a smoke stack representing industry and production". These seem pretty basic but, they are the core of what exterior design aims to accomplish. A more complex example is something like the new apple headquarters in New York. If you've seen it, it looks kind of like a spaceship: a giant ring plated with solar panels and glass. The message this structure is trying to send is a unique one. The Apple headquarters is trying to say that it's different. It is meant to be more of a community than a building.

Moving on, the article says, "Architecture simultaneously reflects and influences culture". What this means is that the style and type of structures a society builds are indicative of the culture of a society. Winston Churchill explains this idea pretty well, "We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us". This is why we should be careful about what we design because it will reflect our current culture and influence future generations.

In my next blog post I will be going over the costs and environmental impacts of an actual architectural project.

Metal Injection

The economic principle I’m exploring is, “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways.”

My research question to help me study the economic principle is, “Do lifestyle ads work more effective than traditional ads”

The article published in Medium titled, “What it Actually Means to Build a Lifestyle Brand” demonstrates this economic principle by arguing that creating an identity, building importance, and interaction between community members works far more effectively than traditional advertisements.

First, this article argues that creating an identity is very important for new brands as it allows consumers to exclusively purchase their good. This simply means that if you own X company you want your clients to focus part of their life around your product. This for example could be Starbucks because most of their customers drink their coffee everyday at the same time. Medium says, “Regular brands use identity and subculture as temporary means to greater ends; they’ll create shorter-term campaigns that hone in on an audience’s interests/lifestyle to achieve broader goals, such as household penetration or market share growth.”

Second, advertisements that focus on the importance of their product often times have the greatest impact on the audience. This plays an important role in advertisements because it associates a specific product with a specific end result. For example if you make energy drinks you want to tell your consumers that your drink will make them more alert and have increased productivity. This means that whenever a consumer is feeling tired they will remember that your product will make them more alert and have increased productivity. Medium says, “Take Coca Cola’s 'Taste the Feeling' campaign, for example. They clearly position their product at the center of emotional narratives, but more for the purpose of tying it to universal moments than a particular lifestyle or activity.”

Third, advertisements that cultivate interaction between consumers will have a greater impact. This basically means that if a company like Vans were to host a concert, liked Warped Tour, this would cultivate interaction between the consumers. This makes consumers associate shoes to having a good time with friends, and it is actually very impactful. Medium states, “When you think of Harley Davidson, a more distinctive community of motorcycle riders should come to mind. They’ve cemented their iconic lifestyle brand status by uniting Harley riders; the brand famously hosts meet-ups for bikers around the nation, creating brand associations with friendships, rather than just motorcycles.”

 In my next blog post I will research the question: “Does experimental marketing have a greater influence on consumers?”

Which Groups Do Each Form of Advertising Target?

Source: Wikimedia

The economic principle I’m exploring is “People generally respond to incentives in particular ways.” 

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “In what situations do advertisements in different forms of media have the most power?” 

The article published in marketingcareeredu.org titled “Marketing Mediums” demonstrates this economic principle by showing that different media forms, like in-print, radio, and TV have different effects on different populations.

First, we will address the different populations and audiences that are most affected by print advertisements. In-print ads include media like newspapers, magazines, and billboards. As one may expect, this form of advertising is on the decline, most likely as a result of the rise of online networking and technology. “Many groups of consumers including older, more tradition bound consumers continue to receive their daily news in a printed, hard copy format, but there is no doubt that the trend is for printed papers to reach fewer consumers,” The author explains. As more and more people are switching over to technology, some newspapers and magazines have followed suit, and begun to post their content online as well as in print. But nevertheless, print advertisement will continue to reach the older, traditional populations. However, one form of print advertising is not on the decline. “Billboard marketing has not seen the reduction in effectiveness that other print mediums have, primarily due to their limited marketing function of creating marketing impressions on drivers. This form of marketing has been effective for some types of brand awareness and local event promotion, which should continue in spite of the rising popularity of online marketing platforms,” the author says. So in the future, we will likely see a dropoff of all in print material, except perhaps billboards, interestingly enough.

Second, we must address the form of advertising that is arguably the most popular in this day and age: TV. Television advertising is the most popular, but the most tedious form of advertising. The author states that “Television remains the most powerful form of marketing despite the advent of the internet, with most Americans spending more than four hours a day viewing TV programs,” so there's no doubt that TV ads are reaching a good majority of the public. While TV ads stretch across a broad span of Americans, the author explains that “[TV] is one of the most expensive marketing platforms and requires considerable preparation in researching the peak times for reaching the target consumer.” It is difficult, one can imagine, with so many different groups watching TV, to create an ad that reaches all of them. But nevertheless, it maintains its popularity despite the rise of the Internet.

Third, and lastly, we will discuss how radio ads work. The author argues that this form of advertising is the most targeted and the most specialized, although not to one or two specific groups. The beauty of the radio advertising, the author explains, is that each station can target their advertisements to the exact population or group that listens to that station/genre of music. “Because most radio stations are limited to a particular genre of music like pop, classical, urban or country, their listeners often possess similar characteristics. In combination with accurate marketing research, a radio marketing campaign can communicate a promotional message to a target segment with a high degree of success,” they explain. So the stations you listen to cater ads directly to you and others like you. Cool, huh?

In my next blog post I will research the question: What are some of the most famous and successful advertising campaigns, and why were they successful?

What Alternatives Can Be Made Instead of Buying Expensive Designer Clothing?

SOURCE: Youtube

The economic principle I’m exploring is “Because of scarcity people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost.”

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How Does Scarcity in the Fashion Industry Affect People’s Choices”

The video published in Youtube titled “Designer Brands vs Cheap Alternatives! My Honest Opinion” demonstrates this economic principle by showing different opportunity costs when it comes to clothing.

First, Harrison talks about two shirts from Gucci and Guess. Both of the shirts are just as soft as each other, and have the same style. The only difference is the logo. You will pay more for the Gucci shirt because of the name while the Guess brand isn’t the same caliber. The Gucci shirt is $450 while Guess is $30. It is a good alternative if you don’t care about brands.

Second, he also talks two very similar shirts that are basically the same. One shirt is from PacSun for $60 while the other is from Fear of God for $395. The Fear of God shirt is branded and has “better quality materials which is why it is more expensive. The shirt is basically the same since the PacSun shirt was made in collaboration with Fear of God. Once again, the cheaper alternative is better if you don’t care about brands.

Third, another example is a shirt from Zara and a shirt from Amiri for $325. Both shirts have the exact same look and almost the exact same quality. Zara is cheaper but the Amiri shirt is expensive solely because of the brand name.

In my next blog post I will research the question:

How are designer products made?

How Jordan Found a Shoe Company

Rovell on ESPN

Jordan wanted to wear Adidas in the NBA but they weren’t making an offer. Adidas was caught at a bad time with founder Adi Dassler dying in 1978 and his wife and kids having to take over the business. When Jordan negotiations became tense, the wife got very sick and died later in the year so negotiations had fallen apart.

When those negotiations did not work out, Jordan went to Converse, the company his college coach made negotiations with. The Tar Heels all wore Converse sneakers in games. But Converse wasn’t coming up with new innovative ideas for Jordan, treating him like all the other stars, and began losing its spot as the nation’s top producer of athletic shoes.

OJ Simpson was the first to call Jordan the best new star in sports. In the summer of 1984, OJ said “This kid at North Carolina, he’s the next me… we should go for him.” Simpson was the vice president of promotions for the Spot-Bilt brand, a shoe owned by a company named Hyde Athletic that had paid Simpson to wear Juice Mobiles while playing in the NFL. They used O.J. as an example of what they could do and explained that Jordan would be the most important athlete in their portfolio if he wore the Spot-Bilt brand.

Nike was a fast-rising star. The company's revenue went from $28.7 million in 1973 to $867 million by the end of 1983. But things had started to turn on them toward the end of the year. In February 1984, the company reported its first quarterly loss ever. Nike needed Jordan if only the company could get him on a plane. “I have no interest in going there,” Falk said Jordan told him. “Just do what you need to do to get me with Adidas.” Jordan said he had never put on a Nike shoe in his life.

Nike offered Jordan $500,000 a year in cash for five years, which was a ridiculous number at the time. The previous highest contract was James Worthy's deal with New Balance, an eight-year deal worth $150,000 a year. Jordan would earn $7 million over those five years. If Jordan didn't accomplish one of four things -- win Rookie of the Year, become an All-Star, average 20 points per game, or sell over $4 million worth of shoes -- in his first three years, it could end the deal two years early. Jordan still wanting to sign with Adidas, went back to his Adidas contract and said, 'This is the Nike contract -- if you come anywhere close, I'll sign with you guys.'" They could not match it so he signed with Nike, while Spot-Bilt was the runner-up. In the coming weeks, Falk came up with the Air Jordan name and Nike was working hard to make a splash.