The Full Employment Mandate of the Federal Reserve: Its Origins and Importance

As we approach the 40th anniversary of the landmark Humphrey-Hawkins Act, this report underscores how the Federal Reserve's full employment mandate has made the Fed more accountable to working people. The report first traces the historical origins of the full employment mandate and highlights the pivotal but little-known role racial justice activists played in its creation. From the 1930s and through the rise of the civil rights movement, racial justice activists including Coretta Scott King, called for a coordinated federal effort to attain full employment. They envisioned an economy where every person who seeks employment can secure a job. King joined Congressional leaders Augustus Hawkins and Hubert Humphrey in eventually passing the landmark 1978 Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act (Humphrey-Hawkins) which legally required the Fed to pursue maximum employment.The report then turns to Federal Reserve monetary policy in the 1990's which offers an instructive model of what a full employment economy can look like. This real-world case study from our recent history shows that when labor markets tighten, workers begin to see broad-based wage gains, and persistent economic inequalities are reduced. Finally, the report underscores the continued importance of the full employment mandate today while providing an overview of proposed policies to eliminate or significantly curtail its effectiveness. In light of these findings, this report calls on Federal Reserve policymakers to use all tools at their disposal to fully realize the Fed's full employment mandate. Members of Congress must publicly affirm the importance of full employment while committing to reject any efforts to weaken or eliminate the full employment mandate. In particular, the Senate must reject nominees to the Board of Governors who have called for the narrowing of the Fed's mandate or who support policies that would undermine the Fed's ability to pursue full employment

Organic farming and biodiversity – how to create a viable farm business including conservation issues

The extension of organic farming (OF), the increasing recognition of the advantages for improving agro-biodiversity, and the fact that the protection of nature and natural species cannot be taken for granted, has resulted in several interdisciplinary activities. The first of these was the Brodowin Nature Conservation Farm project. Conflicts between nature conservation and modern, large-scale OF, focusing on arable land use systems, were identified, evaluated and solved. Suggestions for adequate financial reward for ecological performance were worked out. The tested optimisation strategies were implemented in a second project: preparing a whole farm management plan based on maps marked with fields having a high potential for specific target species. The aim was to achieve the highest benefit for nature conservation issues with the least expenditure by the farm. A manual is being produced as a third project, with a series of examples for the integration of nature conservation measures, based on the results of our own projects and data sourced in literature, along with different experts. The manual will allow the user to see immediately either how target species/groups can be directly promoted or how measures can be se-lected, and what effects these have on the business

Business in practice: challenges of change management - leading a car manufacturer to sustainability

Sustainability is becoming increasingly relevant. In fact, so much so that businesses inherently non-sustainable must adjust their focus and redefine their business model. This thesis aims to discuss the challenges of such an immense transformation. A simulated environment builds the basis for an analysis of the introduction of sustainable aspects to a company’s full spectrum of activities. The analysis thereby includes two aspects. The first part is a personal reflection of the author, focusing on leadership capabilities and corresponding interpersonal challenges in the team leading the transformation. In contrast, the second part analyses purely the firm’s performance

The online multi-agency support barometer

This report presents the findings of a small feasibility study which sought to investigate the use of an online risk management Barometer. The barometer was developed with a view to helping multiple agencies communicate about vulnerable and 'at risk' patients within mental health settings.The Barometer is an online tool which allows staff from multiple agencies to access and share information with other staff if a patient is at risk.The key aims and objectives of this small research project were i) to evaluating how professionals felt about their current risk assessment tools, ii) to assess the ease of use and the relevance of questions within the Barometer tool and iii) to discuss some potential modifications/problem areas of incorporating the Barometer tool within mental health services and across a multi-disciplinary perspective.The research was conducted in three mental services within the South Essex Partnership Trust (2 x CAMHS and 2 x Adult Services) using a mixed-methods approach

Multimedia as Persuasive Agent: Using Visual Metaphors to Establish the Rhetorical Agenda in a Communication Department Video

This article emphasizes the significance of computer-mediated communication technologies to communication studies based on a video document made by the communication department of North Carolina State University. The goals for the production of a video included promoting the Communication Department within and outside the university, educating viewers\u27 as to the study of communication and its role in an information society, and advocating implicitly for the benefits of umbrella departments. The development of visual metaphors came as an unexpected by-product of grappling with those three challenges. Making the video highlighted the tension that exists between technological demand and communication imperatives

The Cultural Complex of Innocence: An Examination of Media and Social Construction of Missing White Woman Syndrome

This study examined the etiology and promulgation of the sociological phenomenon known as missing white woman syndrome. It was hypothesized that missing white woman syndrome may not be entirely attributable to racial disparity as has been claimed in the past. Rather, citing the work of Dr. Carl Jung, the researcher believed that missing white woman syndrome may be partially explained by a concept known as a cultural complex. The cultural complex that was hypothesized for purposes of this study is one related to innocence: That is, as a western society, we have been culturally overexposed to the blonde, Caucasian female as the archetypal image of innocence through art, literature, and other media platforms. The researcher first collected 1,323 cases of missing persons from The Charley Project; an online, representative sample of missing persons in the United States. Demographic information was collected for purposes of statistical analysis. The researcher then randomly selected 533 missing persons’ cases from Google, CNN, and MSNBC. It was discovered primarily that blonde, Caucasian female are portrayed in a more positive and innocent manner by the media, and also receive a higher caliber of investigation into their disappearance than their Caucasian counterparts with varying hair colors and minorities

Wake Up Fannie, I Think I Got Something to Say to You: Financing Community Land Trust Homebuyers Without Stripping Affordability Provisions

Individual homeownership, the backdrop of the American Dream, is often cited as a panacea of economic and social stability. However, the recent foreclosure crisis and related economic collapse exposed vulnerabilities in the developed system of homeownership and mortgage financing¿vulnerabilities so deep that they have left whole neighborhoods abandoned, and shaken economic stability across every income bracket. As a result, some analysts have begun to seriously question the virtues of¿and sometimes to blame¿policies that incentivize homeownership for people who traditionally cannot afford it. This Comment presents an existing model of affordable homeownership that has weathered the housing collapse with astounding resilience: the Community Land Trust (CLT). The proposed changes suggest that these provisions survive foreclosure, lending stability to the CLT model and acknowledging the demonstrated resilience of CLT borrowers in the recent housing collapse

A real-time assessment of customer experience

We have now entered into the age of the customer, a time where competing through traditional methods is no longer valid; it is the customer experience that is crucial to gaining a competitive advantage. Despite the recognition of the importance of customer experience, there is a considerable dearth of knowledge among both academics and practitioners on aspects relating to customer experience including the drivers, measurement and value it provides to firms. In an attempt to move forward the body of knowledge on customer experience, the researcher set out to answer the following research question: what is the impact of customer experience on customer intentions and actual behaviour in multichannel retail and service settings? The research comprised two successive studies. Study 1 was conducted to identify the elements that encompass customer experience touch points. The study was based on a qualitative research approach, using a sequential incident technique to guide the data collection. A total of 28 customer experience narratives provided by 22 informants was collected through semi-structured interviews. An inductive thematic analysis of the semi-structure interview transcripts was employed to identify distinct elements of customer experience touch points; elements to be used to develop a holistic model of customer experience in Study 2. Study 2 was conducted to investigate empirically the real-time impact of customer experience on customer intentions and actual behaviour in multichannel retail and service settings

Architecture and the Senses: A Sensory Musing Park

This thesis studies the relationship of architecture and the senses. The first part of the document explores sensory characteristics and how they work. It defines their importance in allowing humans to navigate complex environments. The second part of the thesis looks directly at environmental stimuli. It seeks to qualify and associate physical variables with particular sensory responses. The goal of the research is to create a set of standards by which architecture can design "for the senses". The design project will put to test the principles organized from research through a series of architectural installations that harness both natural and man-made stimuli. The methodology with which stimuli are engaged will highlight time, place, and the awareness of being. Each installation is part of a greater constellation that can be sequenced in a variety of ways, experienced uniquely each time, and even added to by visitors and artists