[Revised] Homework for Monday, July 28

1.      Figure1: Income Gains at the Top Dwarf Those of Low – and Middle – Income Households (a graph from “Language of Graphs”)

    This graph shows the percent change in after-tax income since 1979 for the top 1 percent, highest fifth, middle fifth and bottom fifth. The most significant trend is the growth of the top 1 percent category, which increased +281% between 1979-2007. Other categories rise only +95% (highest fifth), +25% (middle fifth) and +16% (Bottom fifth) during this time. Although all categories have increased since 1979, the rate of increase is not equal. It can be seen that the increase of after-tax income grows with the amount of each income. From this, it can be said that the rich become more and more wealthy at the time of economic growth. This is one of the characteristics of a capitalist society.

    In order to enjoy economic growth equally, this graph suggests that the current tax system is not optimal. If we do not raise the rate of progressive taxation more progressively, the benefits of economic growth will not be spread among the lower-income class. To prevent the harmful effects of capitalist society, we should do more to promote progressive tax. Otherwise, the rate of After-Tax Income in 2035 since would be as follows; +1000% (top 1 percent), +150% (highest fifth), +20% (middle fifth) and +5% (bottom fifth). Society stratifies when the income gap widens. Therefore, this will not be a healthy society.

2.      Oil consumption in millions of barrels per day (a graph from “Language of Graphs” )

    This graph shows the difference in oil consumption of the United States and Japan between 1975-2004. According to this graph, the amount of oil consumption per day of United States increased remarkably during this time, but that of Japan was stable. In 1975, US oil consumption in millions of barrels per day was 16.32. In 2004, it increased to 20.52. In comparison to this, Japan’s oil consumption in millions of barrels per day was 4.62 in 1975 and 5.58 in 2003. It concludes that “Japan’s oil consumption has remained steady since 1975, while U.S. consumption has risen steadily.” Also, the graph explains this by saying “Japan has no domestic sources of fossil fuel and, facing rising oil prices, has turned energy efficiency into an art form.”

    There are several problems with this conclusion. First, Japan’s oil consumption between 1975-2003 did not remain steady. Although it looks flat from the line chart, when looking at the rate of increase, there is no great difference between the US (+126%) and Japan (+121%). In fact, oil consumption in Japan has increased rather than “remained steady.” Second, while it is true that Japan has developed energy efficient technologies, we should consider other factors. For example, the Japanese economy was stagnant at that time while the US economy grew continuously. As we know, economic activity is the main factor determines the amount of oil consumption. When an economy grows, oil consumption also increases. If the economy is stagnant, oil consumption does not increase. Therefore, energy efficiency cannot be a primary explanation.

[Revised] Blog assignment (due by the end of the day on Wed, July 23)

My favorite movie is “The Shawshank Redemption.” The movie is an American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont in 1994. I have watched the movie more than ten times. Stephen King’s novel, “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” was the original work, and the movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1995. 

The outline of the movie is a story about a man who is imprisoned by a false accusation but finally gets his freedom in the end. There is no major action, but the movie is full of humanity. The main character never loses his hope in the long, harsh environment of prison. The friendship with other prisoners, presence of a strong villain, tactics with the villain and thrill of jailbreak, everything is included in a well written script. Moreover, the key scene of the story is tied together with words from the Bible and this makes the story really sophisticated. For example, "Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh." and "His judgement cometh and that right soon," foreshadow the story. Once you start watching, the running time of 140 minutes passes quickly.

This movie can teach us the importance of having faith, rewarding of effort and beauty of friendship. After you have finished watching this movie, it is certain that you feel impressed and refreshed.

[Revised] Blog assignment (due by the end of the day on Monday, July 21)

　　　　　What is the difference between 1950’s TV advertisements and modern TV advertisements? What things have changed in that time? One is 1950’s TV commercial by Coca-Cola Co., “A 1950's Commercial for Coca-Cola (Coke) (No 4) (You Tube).” The other are modern TV ads by Pepsi Co., “Godfather pepsi vs coca cola commercial (You Tube)” and “Very Funny Pepsi Commercial (You Tube).” The main purpose of advertising is to get people to buy the product. Therefore, both commercials were created for the same purpose. However, there are differences in the ways that the products appeal to people. Times and social conditions are different, so the method of product appeal is also different.

The approach of the 1950’s commercial was introducing the product. A narrator drank Coca-Cola with explanation of it in a theater during an intermission. What this mean? How does this attract viewers? In the 1950’s, in general, the viewers were not familiar with coke. Besides, coke was not incorporated in the life of consumers. So, the advertisement needed to explain what Coca-Cola is, how it brings you happiness and also when is a good time to drink it.  

On the other hand, when it comes to modern times, the general public knows what coke is, how you feel when you drink it, and coke is already incorporated in their lives. Therefore, the commercial does not need to explain it anymore. It is aimed for the differentiation with the competitor, for the purpose of product image improvement and using a short story to please audience. The modern ads of the Pepsi Co. clearly show this. The “Godfather pepsi vs coca cola commercial (You Tube),” using the parody of a famous movie, emphasizes that what a girl wants to drink is Pepsi but not Coca-Cola. Moreover, in the “Very Funny Pepsi Commercial (You Tube),” Pepsi Co. planned the improvement of the product image by pleasing the audience with story characteristics. No explanation of the product. There is no comparison with the competing product. But by including Pepsi in a process of the growth of one boy, the ad brings the audience surprise and reminds them of Pepsi. 

              As noted above, even though the purpose of advertisements is same; sales promotion, there are various differences in the way of appeal to audience. The main factors of this differences are times and the social background of the product. The difference between the styles of the above TV commercials are good examples of this.

[Revised] Blog assignment (due by the end of the day on Friday, July 17)

A place that has special meaning to me is a Japanese cuisine restaurant, called “Risen.” Risen is located near Tokyo-station, and also only ten minutes from my office by walk.  The restaurant is filled with good old atmosphere of Japan; beautiful antiquities are being used in furniture and tableware, such as a single 8m plate of cypress counter top,
Japanese cuisine (Washoku) is recognaized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage and the chef in the Risen has a title of Washoku-master. Every food is served with sophisticated presentation, is delicious, and the taste of the material is not spoiled. I like clam soup best, there is none like it.

I use Risen both officially and privately. Officially, when we have dinner with clients, the restaurant is my first choice. In addition, every time we make a big deal, my boss takes us to the restaurant and pays for our dinner. Furthermore, because I like the atmosphere of the restaurant so much, I often go there privately with my friends. Risen has become a part of my life.

[Revised] July 14 Homework

This story tells that human memories, which we believe as the truth, are not accurate.

The speaker is a forensic psychologist, he used the example of the wrong eyewitness testimony to explain this. One day in the dark night, a bullet from a moving car on the street killed a father. The suspect of the murder was found guilty only by eyewitness testimony. However, the speaker understood that the identification of the suspect’s face was impossible from analysis of the situation. It was too dark to recognize human face. He proved this by scientific data and inspection and the suspect was released.

By using this example, he suggested to those working in criminal justice that they need more scientific background. He also pointed out that human memories are unconsciously reconstituted memories and not be necessarily true. Therefore, we must not regard memory itself as the truth all the time.

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