Consumption and Customers in the Automobile Industry

Consumption and Customers in the Automobile Industry Yu Dai â€Å"I don’t need it but I want it, why shouldn’t I have it?† In the documentary No Impact Man, the heroine Michelle questioned her husband Colin who had proposed the environmental protection project. The question, simple while indeed stated with logical precision, involves significant issues. From the economic perspective, this situation is described as hovering between personal motivations and consumer values when making economic decisions. Personal motivations have been considered a driving force of consumption, whereas consumer values express motivational concerns according to the theory of basic human values (Schwartz, S. H., Bilsky, W.). In the end of the movie, Michelle cycled through Manhattan with her baby girl. She once could not understand why some people did not drive in New York City, but then she became one of them. It is customary to consider that â€Å"finding balance regard to values† implies compromise, in which personal desires are usu ally first sacrificed, as it did in the case of Michelle who gave up her car. Nevertheless, I argue that values can be useful in expediting technological progress and giving us guidance for consuming smarter rather than simply sacrificing motivations. The formation of consumer values cannot be divorced from the consumption behavior itself. The idea of consumption has a long history, even before the emergence of money, back to the barter system period. Consumerism in the contemporary sense, which was considered as the early immature consumer value, originated in late nineteenth century when the accomplishment of the Second Industrial Revolution further encouraged the economic development. People’s spending habits changed greatly during the past several centuries. Most economic developments in the last century have been achieved at the cost of environment, and after entering the new century, many attempts were made to change the situation. Automobile industry as one of the most representative examples shows the possibility that moral standard, as part of the consumer value, can stimulate the market to develop new technology through its influence on consumer demand and behaviors. Modern cars were invented based on the working steam-powered vehicle during the Industrial Revolution, and have become prevalent since the mass production of affordable cars by Ford Motor Company in early 1900s. The popularization of cars had made life more convenient, but meanwhile, plenty of problems arose owing to a lack of environmental consciousness in the early period. Along with the improvement of the consumer values, vehicle pollution has been a global concern with the coming of the twenty-first century. Although the inhabitants of the earth were fully aware of the importance of the environmental protection, it was still unrealistic to force them to give up owning cars in order to minimize the gas emissions and the use of petroleum resources. Therefore, there was an urgent demand for new types of cars which can be more ecofriendly. In the first decade of the new century, the design and manufacture of electric vehicles by Elon Musk is a milestone in the automobile history. Tesla Motors, the company with its incredible fully electric luxury sedan hit the wealthy who pursued fresh excitement and were willing to take responsibility for protecting the environment. The attractions of this fancy motorcar lie not only in its amazing acceleration or safety performance, but also in the use of clean energy to effectively avoid the emission of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. As Tesla Roadster was introduced as a better substitute of traditional cars to the market and consumers were naturally willing to replace the old one for the reduction of gas emission and the better protection of the environment, other companies saw the great opportunity as well and launched their new products one after another. Such positive consumer-driven cycle made energy-efficient and environmental-friendly automobiles a new trend of this cen tury. Different from what had happen to other markets, consumers didn’t simply cease their consumption in automobile to ease their concerns. Instead, they stimulate the market to update the products supplied by showing great demand for new types of cars out of concern for the environment, behind which is great influence from the consumer values. It finally offers them more choices, and thus they do not need to give up their motivations. The high price of Tesla Roadster may not be affordable to everyone, but other participants also showed their great efforts to make consumption both eco-friendly and satisfying. For those who already have cars, it seems impractical to buy a new one but reasonable to replace with another kind of fuel. Consumers highly demanded some improvements made in petroleum industry in order to reduce their guilty of polluting the environment. In this situation, the appearance of hybrid gasoline is well-founded. This new fuel reduces the pollution by adding ethanol into gasoline, which remains water after the combustion. With government support and the increasing demand, the production and use of ethanol fuel boomed in the past few years. And for those who want to buy new cars with budget constraint, the promotion of highly-efficiency and clean-fuel vehicles drop the price dramatically, and provide them with many choices as well. Consumer values often succeed in giving us suggestions about what we really need and demand for right things, in which bring such innovations that allow us to avoid struggling between conscience and desire. Besides automobile industry, there are many other businesses in which consumer values successfully make progress of technology to drive industrial development. In pharmaceutical industry, it has been a long history to use rare animals in medicine. The controversy of whether bear bile should be used as medicine has never stopped. Bear bile has been used as ingredients for its high medicinal value for thousands of years. However, the methods of bile extraction were very cruel which caused untold suffering to bears. Consumers expected the development of new drug which has the same effect but without hurting animals. Under this circumstance, after half-century study and experiment in medical circle, an artificially synthetic analogue of bear bile eventually were sold on the market and used widespread. It was another success that values guidance played its role rightly to promote the upgrade and update of commodities to conform customers’ demand. And there are numerous successful e xamples in every all walks of life. During the formation of consumer value in the past few centuries, a question has been frequently asked was in what way and how it guides our consumption behaviors. I would like to point out that consumer value as an invisible ideology often makes indirectly effect on buying habits. It exerts an imperceptible influence on consumer demand, and eventually promotes the market to supply better products with advanced technologies which allowed consumers easily to make right decisions.

Conventional Machining vs Non-Conventional Machining

lConventional Machining VS Non-Conventional Machining Conventional machining usually involves changing the shape of a workpiece using an implement made of a harder material. Using conventional methods to machine hard metals and alloys means increased demand of time and energy and therefore increases in costs; in some cases conventional machining may not be feasible. Conventional machining also costs in terms of tool wear and in loss of quality in the product owing to induced residual stresses during manufacture.With ever increasing demand for manufactured goods of hard alloys and metals, such as Inconel 718 or titanium, more interest has gravitated to non-conventional machining methods. Conventional machining can be defined as a process using mechanical (motion) energy. Non-conventional machining utilises other forms of energy. The three main forms of energy used in non-conventional machining processes are as follows : †¢ †¢ †¢ Thermal energy Chemical energy Electrical energy One example of machining using thermal energy is laser. Thermal methods have many advantages over conventional machining, but there are a few of disadvantages. Inconel 718, titanium and other hard metals and alloys have a very high melting point. Using thermal methods will require high energy input for these materials. Concentrating heat onto any material greatly affects its microstructure and will normally cause cracking, which may not be desirable. Safety requirements for thermal methods, especially laser, are demanding in terms of time and cost. Machining large areas or many surfaces at the same time using thermal methods is not normally possible. †¢ †¢ †¢ The methods using electrical energy are electrodischarge machining (EDM) and nodic machining (AM), which are similar in practice. EDM, often refered to as spark erosion, uses pulsed voltage to remove material from a workpiece and a non-conductive medium to clear the debris. Because the medium is electrica lly inert the tool is a direct reverse of the workpiece and no complicated tool design criteria are required. But the shock of spark erosion can affect the microstructure on the surface of the workpiece. Also, EDM has a lower material removal rate than AM. The chemicals used in AM are non-toxic and the energy required is less than other nonconventional machining processes.It has no effect on the microstructure of the workpiece. The electrolyte can even be common sea water, enabling AM to be used in a sub-sea capacity. The hardness and thermal resistivity of the workpiece material do not matter therefore hard metals and alloys can be machined using tools made from softer materials. The only disadvantage is that tool design is a little more complex than that of EDM, but software is being developed to make this easier. The controllability, environmental versatility, speed, safety and absence of change in workpiece microstructure make AM a competitive manufacturing process.

How to Ride a Skateboard

Michael Monroe Mrs. Trear Sophomore English 6 December 2012 How to Ride a Skateboard The process of riding a skateboard is important because there are steps to follow that insure that both learners and pro skateboarders avoid injury. Riding a skateboard can be both fun and dangerous; skateboarders can suffer from serious injury. The first step in this process is of course to grab a skateboard or purchase one. Do not buy a skateboard from Wal-Mart; Wal-Mart skateboards are cheaply made. Recommended brands are Element, Birdhouse, Rob Drydek boards, etc.Also a good place to buy skateboards is a local bike shop or the store called Zumiez. Second find a suitable place to ride your board such as a paved street or a local skate park. Third check weather conditions before riding; sunny weather is the best. Starting out by putting one foot in the middle of the board, then use one foot and propel forward. Then put both feet on the board equally spaced apart. Balance by concentrating body weigh t to the middle of the board. Next to turn the board lean to the† right† or† left,† but do not lean too far.Skateboards are not equipped with brakes so in order to break, use one foot and scrape shoe across the ground. Then when stopped use one foot, kick the front of the board up to grab a hold of it when finished. After learning how to ride a skateboard, one can then learn how to do tricks; such as the Ollie, the kick flip, and the trade flip. An Ollie is the basic trick that one must learn in order to perform any other trick. To perform an Ollie, put one foot close to the front of the diagonally and the other foot on the back of the board diagonally.Then kick the back of the board down while sliding front foot up the front of the board and using one leg to push out when landing.. The board will jump up in the air. The board must land on all four wheels for the trick to be successful. These steps are important to avoid serious injury. Skateboarding can be b oth fun and dangerous. First buy a skateboard. Then find a suitable place to ride. Next make sure that the weather conditions are optimal. Then put one foot in the middle of the board.Use one foot and propel forward, to turn lean to the right or left. To slowdown or stop, use one foot and scrape shoe across the ground. Skateboarding is an extreme sport that takes balance and physical strength. To perform an Ollie, put one foot close to the front of the board diagonally and the other foot on the back of the board diagonally. Kick the board up in the air while sliding front foot up the front of the board, using one leg push out when up in the air. The board must land on all four wheels for the trick to be successful.

Due Process of Law in the US Constitution

How important did America’s Founding Fathers consider the concept of â€Å"due process of law?† Important enough that they made it the only right guaranteed twice by the U.S. Constitution. Due process  of law in government is a constitutional guarantee that actions of the government will not impact its citizens in an abusive manner. As applied today, due process dictates that all courts must operate under a clearly defined set of standards crafted to protect peoples’ personal liberty. Due Process of Law in the United States The Constitution’s Fifth Amendment adamantly commands that no person may be â€Å"deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law† by any act of the federal government. Then, the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, steps up to use exactly the same phrase, called the Due Process Clause, to extend the same requirement to the state governments.   In making due process of law a constitutional guarantee, America’s Founding Fathers drew on a key phrase in the English Magna Carta of 1215, providing that no citizen should be made to forfeit his or her property, rights, or freedom except â€Å"by the law of the land,† as applied by the court. The exact phrase â€Å"due process of law† first appeared as a substitute for Magna Carta’s â€Å"the law of the land† in a 1354 statute adopted under King Edward III that restated the Magna Carta’s guarantee of the liberty. The exact phrase from the 1354 statutory rendition of the Magna Carta referring to â€Å"due process of law† reads: â€Å"No man of what state or condition he be, shall be put out of his lands or tenements nor taken nor disinherited, nor put to death, without he be brought to answer by due process of law.† (emphasis added) At the time, â€Å"taken† was interpreted to mean being arrested or deprived of liberty by the government. ‘Due Process of Law’ and ‘Equal Protection of the Laws’ While the Fourteenth Amendment applied the Bill of Rights’ Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process of law to the states it also provides that the states may not deny any person within their jurisdiction â€Å"the equal protection of the laws.† That’s fine for the states, but does the Fourteenth Amendment’s â€Å"Equal Protection Clause† also apply to the federal government and to all U.S. citizens, regardless of where they live? The Equal Protection Clause was mainly intended to enforce the equality provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which provided that all U.S. citizens (except  American Indians) should be given â€Å"full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property.† So, the Equal Protection Clause itself applies only to state and local governments. But, enter the U.S. Supreme Court and its interpretation the Due Process Clause. In its decision in the 1954 case of Bolling v. Sharpe, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause requirements apply to the federal government through the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The Court’s Bolling v. Sharpe decision illustrates one of the five â€Å"other† ways the Constitution has been amended over the years.   As the source of much debate, especially during the tumultuous days of school integration, the Equal Protection Clause gave rise to the wider legal tenet of â€Å"Equal Justice Under Law.† The term â€Å"Equal Justice Under Law† would soon become the foundation of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, which led to the end of racial segregation in public schools, as well as dozens of laws prohibiting discrimination against persons belonging to various legally define protected groups. Key Rights and Protections Offered by Due Process of Law The basic rights and protections inherent in the Due Process of Law clause apply in all federal and state government proceedings that could result in a person’s â€Å"deprivation,† basically meaning the loss of â€Å"life, liberty† or property. The rights of due process apply in all state and federal criminal and civil proceedings from hearings and depositions to full-blown trials. These rights include: The right to an unbiased and speedy trialThe right to be provided with notice of the criminal charges or civil action involved and the legal grounds for those charges or actionsThe right present reasons why a proposed action should not be takenThe right to present evidence, including the right to call witnessesThe right to know the opposing evidence (disclosure)The right to cross-examine adverse witnessesThe right to a decision based solely on the evidence and testimony presentedThe right to be represented by a lawyerThe requirement that the court or other tribunal prepare a written record of the evidence and testimony presentedThe requirement that the court or other tribunal prepare written findings of fact and reasons for its decision Fundamental Rights and the Substantive Due Process Doctrine While court decisions like Brown v. Board of Education have established the Due Process Clause as sort of a proxy for a wide range of rights dealing with social equality, those rights were at least expressed in the Constitution. But what about those rights not mentioned in the Constitution, like the right to marry the person of your choice or the right to have children and raise them as you choose? Indeed, the thorniest constitutional debates over the last half century have involved those other rights of â€Å"personal privacy† like marriage, sexual preference, and reproductive rights. To justify the enactment of federal and state laws dealing with such issues, the courts have evolved the doctrine of â€Å"substantive due process of law.† As applied today, substantive due process holds that the Fifth and the Fourteenth Amendments requires that all laws restricting certain â€Å"fundamental rights† must be fair and reasonable and that the issue in question must be a legitimate concern of the government. Over the years, the Supreme Court has used substantive due process to emphasize the protections of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution in cases dealing with the fundamental rights by constraining certain actions taken by police, legislatures, prosecutors, and judges. The Fundamental Rights The â€Å"fundamental rights† are defined as those having some relationship to the rights of autonomy or privacy. Fundamental rights, whether they are enumerated in the Constitution or not, are sometimes called â€Å"liberty interests.† Some examples of these rights recognized by the courts but not enumerated in the Constitution include, but are not limited to: The right to marry and procreateThe right to have custody of one’s own children and to raise then as one sees fitThe right to practice contraceptionThe right to identify as being of the gender of one’s choiceThe right work at the job of one’s choiceThe right to refuse medical treatment The fact that a certain law may restrict or even prohibit the practice of a fundamental right does not  in all cases mean that the law is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause. Unless a court decides that it was unnecessary or inappropriate for the government to restrict the right in order to achieve some compelling governmental objective the law will be allowed to stand.