Topic 5: Ripple Effects and Elasticity

Topic 5: Ripple Effects and Elasticity

Oil, which is considered as one of the most important resource in contemporary society, provided the essential energy for human’s vehicles and transportations. By looking at the ripple effect, we can understand the concept of one change of just a little thing can potentially influence subsequent events. Therefore, it’s hard to predict the price of oil; as a result of not only the 2/3 was controlled by one country but also the instable elasticity of oil. Both my father and mother have to drive car to work everyday; therefore, even though the cost of oil is a big concern for them, my parents will not reduce their demand for oil, because they don’t have substitute transportation except cars. For our family, the graph of oil’s price and demand can look like. By looking at the graph, we can see when price of oil, the demand for oil does not change. Inter-connectedness, also known as ripple effect, can be the connection among oil -> plastic -> apple productions -> me (buyers.) Another instance for inter-connectedness of oil can be what kind of cars consumers buy due to the price of oil. In order to save expenditure on oil, more people tend to buy hybrid car, or even electronic car. By doing so, people can not only save the expense on soil but also reduce the pollution in our environment. Looking at the elasticity of oil, there’s unit elasticity for oil’s price and quantity, but we are not sure. The simplest way to figure how the unit elasticity is when the price and quantity reach to the maximum point and start going down. 

Topic 4: Where Choices Lead

Forgoing different choices and opportunity, students must give up something in order to attend PAS; for instance, money, one of the most essential concerns for this school, was necessarily forgone. Moving out from your family was another forgone that I encountered when I studied in PAS. In order to save time of traveling, I rented a house near school in order to avoid traveling from Taoyuan to Hsinchu everyday. Thus, moving away from my home city doesn’t allow me to hang out with my old friends or spend time with my family. After few months of living in Hsinchu, I started getting used my lives. Comparing the benefit and cost of making this decision. I think my benefit is more than my cost; as a result of, my old friends do not have time to hang out with me due to the coming official test, and I don't have that much time to spend with my family, even though I go back to Taoyuan everyday, because I have time spend time on my schoolwork. My family and I can only spend time during the weekend, which is the time I go back to Taoyuan from Hsinchu. Therefore, choosing to live in Hsinchu not only save my time efficiently but also make sure I can cherish the time I have with my family during the weekend. If I have total control of my life, I will make the same decision to come to PAS and rent the same house in Hsinchu. Because I know, by doing this, I can not only attend my favorite school but also save my time efficiently. 

Topic 3: Incentives to attend school

After watching the video, we can see how do some schools provide great incentives in order to reach perfect attendance. Ironically, students should take responsibility to go to school everyday rather than alluring by great incentives.

In the video, some schools provide incentives of car, laptop or summer camp in order to motive students to go to school; economically, the strategy work out pretty well. By looking at the graph of incentives and attendance, we can see the higher incentives the more attendance. Even though using incentives can facilitate school to reach perfect attendance, schools still need to make sure students understand the obligation of going to school everyday. In P.A.S, to students, incentives can be hanging out with friends, having good grades in classes, and achieving goals. Those incentives are not really provided by school; however, we provide those incentives by ourselves in order to be motived to go to school. Interestingly, P.A.S offers effective incentives of kicking out students if they have no excuse on their absence. Even though P.A.S uses punishment as incentives for students to come to school, the incentive works out very well too. Most happily, our school can save a lot of money while teaching students the importance of coming to school. The school in video and P.A.S shared the same goal of reaching perfect attendance; however, they use different methods. P.A.S seems more intelligent about using strategy to control students attendance…

Topic 2: Scarcity at School?

Encountering different scarcity in PAS, students have to make intelligent decision in order to manage their time efficiently. As a student, I also face different scarcity everyday. For instance, if I have AP Microeconomics assignment that is due next period, I will face a scarcity between paying attention in class and doing Microeconomics. Paying attention in class help me assimilate more knowledge, and make sure that I don’t miss any important information. However, turning Microeconomics on time is important for my grade report. Another experience is facing scarcity between going to MUN club after school on Thursday and working out at gym. I want to be this year’s basketball captain; therefore, I always need to keep myself in shape in order to perform my best. It will be mandatory for students, who are currently taking MUN class, to join at the second semester; therefore, I want to join the club at the first semester in order to get familiar with debate ahead. Economics is interesting, because we can see economics ubiquitously in our lives. And scarcity is just little part of it. As you can see, even the richest person or the most famous person is facing scarcity, due to time constraint. In conclusion, facing different type of scarcity everyday, people need to make decision wisely in order to make efficient and beneficial results.  

Topic 1: The Big Question

In PAS economic society, everyone play important roles of being consumers and producers. As students, we are consumers, who pay tuition to PAS in order to assimilate fruitful knowledge from teachers and textbooks. As teachers, you are producers, who provide wisdom to students in order to make sure they have good learning environment. Applying interaction between students and teachers to consumers and produces, we can see one is closely associated with another, which means we cannot only have students without having teachers. For what, identifying different jobs, such as teachers, students, cleaning ladies, and office staff, we can investigate how many people are doing this particular job, and we will later divide the people by the whole population in PAS in order to get percentage. For instance, we have teacher-20% cleaning ladies-2%, students-68%, and office staff-10%. For how, we first need to identify what belongs to what elements. Lands related to natural resource, such as playground, basketball court on six floors, and the elevators. Labors, which contribute physical and mental effort, are everyone in PAS. Capitals, which emphasized on instruments, can be smart-board, textbook, tables, chairs, and projectors. Entrepreneurship represents the human who is in charge of organizing. Ms. Pamela will be the entrepreneurship in PAS. For whom, it has to do with who consumer good and services; therefore, students will be the consumers for learning new ideas and having great learning environment. Establishing PAS to recruit students, Ms. Pamela has ambition on benefiting not only her self-interest but also social interest. For her self-interest, Ms. Pamela has great dreams of providing the best learning environment to every students and making sure students can get into their dream colleges. For her social-interest, Ms. Pamela might benefit all the students by giving great learning opportunity and facilitate them to apply into dream colleges.