Comparison and Contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparison and Contrast - Essay Example story, The Yellow Wallpaper, written in 1899, chronicles the physically isolated life of a young woman suffering what was probably post partum depression while Willa Cather’s story Paul’s Case, written in 1905, describes the social isolation of a young man who dreams of the theatre, yet each character experiences a similar loss of reality, or perhaps perceives a deeper glimpse of reality, as a result. In Gilman’s short story, a woman slowly loses her sanity as a result of her inability to conform to societal norms. In the story, an unnamed woman and her family take up residence in a remote mansion as a means of giving her the rest her husband has prescribed for her. The woman takes up residence in an upper room of the house, thought to have originally been a nursery, with bars on the windows and old faded yellow wallpaper attached to the walls. This wallpaper plays a large role in the progression of the woman’s illness as she begins to see women creeping around inside it, trying to escape the oppression they, too, have experienced. â€Å"Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind. And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern – it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads† (Gilman, 1899). She is either going crazy because of her extreme boredom or she is seeing a deeper reality in t he concept of the trapped woman suffering at the definitions placed upon her by others. Through the course of the story, the woman transforms from an individual who adores the outside and green growing things to the artificial creation of man as it is represented in the impenetrable confines of the room. In the end, she chooses to join the other world she sees, effectively becoming insane in this one. This is similar to the action Paul takes in Willa Cather’s story. From the beginning, the reader is led to see the ways in which Paul views the world differently from those around him. He creates

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Case study - Essay Example In this segment, the major focus will be on Sony’s journey of inevitable change that has made it reach where it is today. Perhaps the first change that the company experienced in the millennium was the appointment of Howard Stringer in 2005 as the chief executive. Apart from Stringer being the first non-Japanese to head the firm in over a half a century, he had a history with some of the fiercest competitor of the Sony Corporations. Despite this, he was the best choice to turn around company’s dwindling profits. Organizational analysts were sceptical of his approach of streamlining the operations of the business and the massive job cuts. The new chief executive included several other ambitious techniques that previously never existed in the company. For instance, he scraped off entire lines of production such as production of cathode ray tube (CRT) television sets. Change was also inevitable in the composition of human resources for Sony over the years. This is partially a step of business strategy and partially for skills that the company required for its future plans. The laying off of about 10,000 employees as a cost cutting measure had a direct impact on the company’s short term in terms of public perception. However, this was necessary to turn around numbers for the company. Human resource in major companies is a key element for their success or failure as Marshak (2005, p97) illustrates. This is because all decisions are made and implemented by directors and employees respectively. Therefore, chief executives and company directors aim at hiring the best and retaining the most productive employees at all times. In light of these, the employee restructuring of Sony was implemented by eliminating human resource that was either too obsolete or redundant in their work. This is a change that most of other multinationals are experiencing today. Thirdly, cultural change is another dynamic that Sony has experienced over the years. The CEO himself

Researching a decay (1990's movies) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Researching a decay (1990's movies) - Essay Example As pointed out, the popular culture during 1990s was entirely different from the past decade because the unexpected end of Cold War, the collapse of Soviet Union and the collapse of Berlin wall deeply influence the political/cultural scenario of the world. To be specific, the wartime sentiment and nationalistic mood transformed into cultural amalgamation and acceptance. But Chris states that â€Å"The accelerating integration of information and entertainment media meant that movies and television shows had become news themselves† (139). The popular culture reflects the aspirations and feelings of the mass and acts as a safety valve which reflects the cultural characteristics of a society. Within this context, the popular culture during 1990s set itself free from political stance and transformed into multiculturalism. In short, popular culture during 1990s reflected the change in international politics and reflected the same within culture. The most important characteristic of movies during 1990s was hyperrealism. Within this context, the main characteristics of hyperrealism can be broadly classified into three: intervention, identity, and space and time. Hyperrealism in 1990s can be simply defined as the dilemma which leads to virtual real illusion. To be specific, the films in 1990s are interconnected with hyperrealism. Martin opines that â€Å"The use of terms such as ‘simulation’, virtual reality’ and ‘hyperrealism’ in the criticism of news media is often confused and imprecise† (141). The individual (say, the hero) who is able to experience hyperrealism can act the role of a channel between virtual and real worlds. This is the most important characteristic of hyperrealism, which influenced the scenario of cinema in 1990s. The other characteristics of hyperrealism in 1990s include: Within this context, the film The Matrix (1999) is one of the best examples of hyperrealism

Saudi Arabia presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Saudi Arabia presentation - Essay Example Social identity comes from family loyalty and submission to Islamic law, and Saudis tend to be fatalists, believing that Allah directs destiny. The importance of women in Saudi society is slowly changing as more women pursue professional careers. Women are still seen as â€Å"different† from men, and are kept strictly separate in social activities and left out of most decision-making. Some Saudi men will shake hands with Western women. Saudi women, if they happen to accompany a man, are generally not introduced and are otherwise ignored. Non-Saudi women are expected to dress modestly. Western women may be whipped by the Matawain, who are the â€Å"religious police.† However, they must not adopt the traditional dress of a veil and an abaya (full-length black robes). This is offensive. Saudis stand close to each other when talking, and touching is common during conversation. Men hold hands with men, and women with women, as a sign of friendship. A traditional Saudi greeting is a handshake and a kiss on both cheeks. Saudi culture has several important taboos about gestures. The left hand is considered unclean. Never point at a person. Always keep your feet flat on the ground, as it’s offensive to show the bottom of your foot. Also, the â€Å"thumbs-up† gesture is crude and offensive throughout the Arab world. Foreign travelers may not enter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without an invitation, nor may they leave without an exit permit. All visitors become subject to Saudi Islamic law, and those laws must be strictly followed. Many Western accepted business practices are frowned on or considered insulting in Saudi Arabia. For instance, most appointments are made loosely between accepted prayer times, and there are multiple holidays and religious observances that will change business negotiations. Alcohol, pornography, pork and narcotics are all illegal substances, and

Starbucks Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Starbucks - Research Proposal Example This has resulted in the shifting of the power balance from the sellers to the consumers. While consumers are getting more and more demanding in nature, because of their high access to information related to various products and services around the world, the sellers are getting under intense pressure to cater to the needs of the masses. This is resulting in connecting economic policy based developments with regards to political movements of many new and emerging regions, which is thus resulting in the emergence of new economies. Talking from the sellers’ point of view, it is important to mention that because of the high level of connectivity, the world of business has transformed itself into a single connected entity. Needless to say, because of the existence of a single connected world, gaining access to foreign and newer markets has become relatively easy as compared to the previous times. This is resulting in providing the boost to the companies and business organizations, in regards to the process of gaining information to the newer markets. It can be said that because of the easy access to information, the organizations are increasingly focusing on the process of entering new markets. This is resulting in the spiking of the level of competition in regards to the new markets, as in the recent times the more developed and well established markets of the West is facing a situation of stagnancy and low growth because of the multiple economic challenges. Because of the high amount of competition faced in the marketplaces of both the developed as well as the developing economies, the focus has increasingly shifted towards the multiple variables of marketing like product, place, promotion and price. For this project, it is important to mention that the company that has been selected is Starbucks. The entire project will highlight about the various issues related to the company of Starbucks as well as its related services in the various markets around the world. History of Starbucks It can be said that the company Starbucks was founded in the year 1971 in Seattle in America. The company opened with just a single store in the historic area of Pike Place Market and has entered into a mode of high growth and fast development. It is important to mention that the first chairman, president and chief executive of the company is Howard Schultz, who joined the organization in the year 1982. It has to be said that the first top level executive of the company had the vision of bringing the tradition of Italian coffee to the US. He also had the dream of building an image of a place for human interaction as well as community sense over a cup of coffee. Hence, the focus from the very beginning was not only on the product but was also on developing a feeling for the product as well. The mission of the company is to inspire and develop the spirit associated with a cup of coffee for a person at a single neighbourhood at any time. As of the recent day , the company Starbucks operates in over 62 countries, which are spread in various developing as well as the developed economies (Starbucks, â€Å"Our Heritage†). Product of Starbucks It is of considerable importance to mention the

The sociological explanations of relationship Essay Example for Free

The sociological explanations of relationship Essay Assess the sociological explanations of the relationship between occupation and social class. The term Social Class is widely used in sociology to differentiate the population on grounds of economic considerations, such as inequality in terms of wealth or income. An occupation is an individuals established choice of employment which provides most of the time a steady source of income. According to Karl Marx, the transition from feudalism to industrialization has produced a highly unequal capitalist society consisting of only two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the property, capital owning class. They own the means of production and monopolize the profits and values of industrial production. The proletariat are the landless wage workers, the mass of working people who labour for the bourgeoisie as the mode of production. Their rewards are mainly to be exploited by the bourgeoisie and be made poorer, not richer, by the social and technical advances of industrial development. This process is called pauperization. The bourgeoisie derive their class position from what Bilton et al. (1997) calls productive wealth. Productive wealth is wealth which generates additional income, such as capital invested in property or stocks and shares. However, Marx argues that it is not the bourgeoisies high income which allows them to become capitalists, rather it is the fact that they own the means of production. This therefore also makes them the sole owners of the products and their surplus, that is, the difference between the value of the labour and the value of the product of that labour. For example, Westergaard (1997), using statistics from government resources claimed that the power of the top class, which is only 1% of the population, has grown steadily from 1979 to the late 1990s. Denationalization of public enterprises (like British Airways and British Steel) has concentrated power in the hands of private businesses. The power of finance capitalists comes from mass corporate assets whose strategic deployment they lead. The globalist, Leslie Sklair (1995) takes this argument a step further. According to Sklair, the capitalist or ruling class is increasingly exercising power in transnational relationships, that is, relationships that cut across state boundaries. The capitalist economy has become the basis of the global system. Thus, wealthy corporatives like Sony or Ford can exercise as much power as many nation-states. Their products and ideology are increasingly penetrating places like the Third World market with advertising campaigns, brainwashing the masses there to accept these ideologies and products, even as they (the masses) complainingly join the ranks of the exploited. These are the main reasons why Marxists view social class as divisive rather than integrative. They do not believe it is functional for society like the Functionalist, but they do agree it is inevitable within capitalist societies. However, they also argue that there is conflict of interest between the two classes. Hence one day the proletariat will gain true class consciousness, become a class for itself instead of a class by itself, and overthrow the bourgeoisie. Only when this happens, and the means of production are communally owned will classes disappear. Marx for his part, refused to acknowledge class in terms of such categories as occupation, but rather in terms of a deeper understanding of property relations, control and ownership vis-à  -vis the proletariat. There have been many criticisms made of Marxs theory of social class. Peter Saunders (1990) rejects the Marxist view that such a small group of people in society constitutes a capitalist ruling class. While he does not deny that the hundred largest companies produce more than half of Britains manufacturing output, and therefore are responsible for taking the bulk of the key financial and administrative decisions which influences Britains industry, he merely views such individuals as an influential economic elite. Elite theorists also accept that power is concentrated in the hands of a few but denies that this power comes from the wealthy. They see instead power  deriving from the occupation of top jobs in society. For example, the position of Prime Minister automatically places one in the highest class and gives one power. In addition, Marxs theory fails to take into account the Middle Class. Although Marx identified the trend towards more non-manual workers, he made no analysis or explanation of the influence of this group in the class structure. These workers neither own the means of production nor can they be put into the proletariat. They enjoy tremendous benefits in employments, more than their manual labouring counterparts. They have greater job security, shorter hours, longer holidays, more fringe benefits, greater promotion prospects, higher life chances, higher standards of living, less chances of being convicted of criminal offences and higher incomes. For example, Westergaard and Resler (1976) found that men in full time non-manual employment in 1913-14 earned 142% of the average male wage, whereas those in manual employment earned 88%. The British sociologist, Anthony Giddeons believes that this class receives greater job benefits than the lower class or manual workers because they possess widely recognized skills, mainly mental and normally rather functional for society, which they can sell to the highest bidder. The sociologists, Roberts et al. (1977), interestingly discovered while conducting a study of a sample of 243 male white-collar workers that four images within the middle class exist. These four images were very different views of the white-collar workers and their position in the middle class and were affected by their occupational choices. The first image known as middle-mass was held by 22 percent of the sample. This 22 percent believed themselves between a small, rich upper class and an improvised lower class. They held the view that the middle class made up the bulk of the working force, and made no distinction between manual and non-manual workers, different lifestyles and images, and ideological cleavages. Most holding this view were in the middle-range of incomes for white-collar workers. The next image was called the compressed middle-class image and held by 19 percent of the sample. This 19 percent saw themselves squeezed between two groups: the small upper class and an increasingly working class. They felt  threatened by both groups. Persons falling into this category were usually small business people. The third image only had 15 percent of the sample subscribing to it. This image was named the finely graded ladder and contained four or more strata. This image is assumed as typical middle class image and persons holding this view tended to be well educated with professional qualifications and received impressively high wages. They had no sense of class loyalty and rejected the whole principle of social class. The fourth image called the proletarian image received 14 percent of the sample. They considered themselves working class and having more in common with manual workers than top management and higher professionals. Those holding this view were usually in routine white-collar jobs with little possibility of promotion and received rather low wages. Roberts et al. concluded that whilst it is true that there are factors present for the development of middle class attitudes among the white collar workers, such wide variations in white-collar class imagery meant that the middle class was fragmented. In this case, if one is to believe Robert et al. then one can argue that an individuals occupation and his/her opinion of the social status of his/her job, normally encouraged by his/ her level of income, results in what he/she deems as his/her social class, regardless of whether his/her personal view is correctly assumed or not. However, Roberts et al. have received numerous criticisms for their work. Many sociologists believe that one should never rely on subjective class images. Neo-Marxists believe that the middle class is in reality split in two with the upper part closer to the bourgeoisie and the lower part closer to the working class. In fact, the American Neo-Marxist, Erik Olin Wright (1978) acknowledges the presence of a petty bourgeoisie and identifies the Small Employers, that is, those persons who employ other workers, but more than half the profit their business comes from their own labour or that of other family members. This group exists between the Petty bourgeoisie and the Bourgeoisie and make up in the USA in 1969, 6-7%. Wright also notes the Managers and Supervisors group which is between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. This group creates 30-35% of the population and is actually in a contradictory position  within class relations. They possess characteristics of both groups but have neither as much control over the means of production as the Bourgeoisie nor as little control as the Proletariat. Persons within this class are normally managers, supervisors, technocrats and foremen. Foremen do not have the control over the means of production or investment but they do have minimal control over the means of production or over the labour of others. Finally, there are the Semi-autonomous wage-earners which consist of 5-11% of the population and are situated between the Proletariat and the Petty bourgeoisie. They have some control over how they work, how they produce and what they produce and hence have minimal control over the means of production. Wright uses as an example, professors in elite universities. According to him, the Bourgeoisie only took up 1-2% of the population. Marxists such as Harry Braverman, struggling to explain what Marxs doctrine does not, goes as far as to say that increasingly more members of the lower middle class are becoming part of the working class because many of them earn less than many manual workers. This process is called proletarianization. Marx ists like Westergaard and Resler believe in the existence of a coherent middle class. They refer to the upper middle class as the Petty bourgeoisie. Marxists claim that while the Petty bourgeoisie does not own the means of production, they are firm believers in the ruling classs values and usually have power over working class members. Marshall et al. (1988) criticises both Robert et al.s study and the Marxists theory. Instead, they point to Webers work on social class which they claim is a valuable explanation for the very broad differences in occupational rewards and position of manual and non-manual workers, as well as allowing gradations of social position within each class grouping. Like Marx, Weber specifically believed that ownership and non-ownership of property are important in the formation of classes. However, he disagrees with Marx on just how important owning property is. Weber preferred to determine a persons class based on their market situation, that is, their buying power in the marketplace. Neo-Weberians like John H. Goldthorpe also prefers to use market and work situation to explain the relationship between occupation and social class. For example he views the middle class as the intermediate stratum [Goldthorpe, 1980]. The intermediate stratum possesses a very weak class identity because the range of occupations within it differs  considerably and because its members are socially mobile. Hence, members remain only a short period before moving to a different class. Goldthorpe concluded that the middle class could not be united because they were divided into various strata. These can be placed into two groups: the service class, which hold higher and lower professionals, and the intermediate class, that is, routine non-manual workers, the self-employed and supervisors. Goldthorpe though changed his theory later. He decided that there did exist a primary division between different sections of the middle class based on employment status. Secondary divisions were based on employee relationships and this distinguishes class. Salary, increments, pension rights and career development opportunities on the other hand distinguished the service class. Savage et al. (1992) criticized both of Goldthorpes theories claiming that there existed a major division between professionals and managers in his service class. Goldthorpe admitted the next problem with his theory: large employers should be place in a separate category. He explains however that the group was so small that he did not see the need to place them by themselves and accepts that this might produce a small amount error. As mentioned before, Giddeons (1973) tends to see the Middle Class as those who possess educational or technical qualifications. They therefore have an advantage over the Working class and Underclass who have only their manual labour power to sell. The Underclass in particular are severely disadvantaged in that they tend to secure employment in the least desirable and most insecure jobs. Ralf Dehrendorf (1959) argues that the working class is divided into three levels: the unskilled manual worker, the semi-skilled manual worker and the skilled manual worker. He claims that this is due to differences in economic and prestige rewards linked to hierarchy of skill. Therefore, persons of the skilled manual workers group, such as skilled craftsmen, enjoy higher wages, more valuable fringe benefits, greater job security and higher prestige than semi-skilled and unskilled groups. In addition to this, Bilton et al. (1997) with regard to occupational labour markets, claim that there has been an erosion, over the past twenty to thirty years, of the traditional distinction between manual and non-manual jobs due to the expansion of the service sector. Today, white-collar jobs in  offices, retailing, repairs and servicing are so poorly paid and routinised that they are little different in terms of status and reward from traditional manual, or blue-collar work. This is especially true of those white-collar jobs which have become feminised in the sense of employing a disproportionate number of female staff. Giddeons furthers this argument, noting that women and ethnic minorities are particularly likely to be found in the lowly paid Working class and Underclass jobs. Employers recruit women to these type of jobs partly because of social prejudice, but also because they are likely to interrupt their careers as a result of marriage and child birth. Ethnic minorities are also the victims of discrimination and prejudice. In these cases, ones ethnic origin, gender and social background determines ones occupation and hence ones social class. To quote Giddeons: Where ethnic differences serve as a disqualifying market capacity, such that those in the category are heavily concentrated in the lowest paid occupations, or are chronically unemployed, we may speak of an underclass. In conclusion, occupation and social class are normally linked to one another. In most instances ones job tends to influence his place in the social strata and vice versa. Many sociologists examine how occupation and social class influence each other differently. In numerous cases they arrive at even more divisions within society than previously considered. Another interesting detail to note is that various other aspects like ones ethnicity and gender actually determine ones occupation and hence ones class. While the intricacies of occupation within the Working class and the Underclass is not discussed to the degree of which they deserve, let it be noted that divisions found within the Working class is discussed in length by W.G. Runciman(1990) and Marshall et al(1988). The basic idea being that the Working Class is even more influenced by an individuals occupation than  the Middle class. The Underclass is considered both by Charles Murray and Ralf Dehrendorf as a sort of disease b ut whether they are to be blamed for their economic state or not or whether certain occupations are just considered as underclass jobs is where these two sociologists depart in their theories. In many instances sociologists like Jan Pakulski and Malcolm Waters (1996) abandon the belief of the existence of social class and claim vigilantly that occupation cannot be influenced by some thing that does not exist. Others, such as Peter Saunders(1996) argue that the strict dictatorial ability of class is disappearing due to societies such as Britain becoming Meritocracies. Therefore, workers are not placed within strict strata because social mobility has now become easier. Instead, as the Functionalists, Talcott Parsons(1964) and Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore(1945) indicated, workers are now placed in socioeconomic order through a competitive process in which skills and abilities of different value and scarcity are carefully identified, evaluated and matched with societal needs.

Impact of Transport Costs on Housing Decisions

Impact of Transport Costs on Housing Decisions This study will emphasise on the effect of transportation cost towards the decision of housing location. The case study will be held in Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor. This study will be using the quantitative methods to further study the effect of transportation cost towards the decision of housing location. Background In the search for lower cost housing, working families often locate far from their place of work and this will resulting in the increasing of their transportation costs and commute times. However, for many such families, the transportation costs exceed their housing costs. According to Bernstein (2001), affordability has never been just about housing cost, it is actually the interaction between housing and transportation cost that provide more meaningful measure of affordability. Hence, choosing a location-efficient neighbourhood near transit, services and jobs, families can reduce monthly household expenses. This study will emphasise on the model of land use and prices formulated by Von Thunen in 1826, a German economist. The theory concentrates on difference in relative transport costs in different types of agricultural production. According to J. Harvey (1997), he made assumptions that a boundless flat and featureless plain over which natural resources and climate are distributed uniformly and there is a central market for the area. Furthermore, he also assumed that the farmer used uniform horse and cart transport facilities to this central market, and different foods can be grown, but since these differ in bulk, the cost of transporting them to the market also differs. For each type of product, transport cost varies directly and proportionately with distance from the central market. However, the receipts from cultivation of one hectare of land are the same for all types of product. Given by these assumptions, it pictures the rent-paying capacity as a function of transport cost and the distance from the market. As distance from the market increases the total costs are raised by the increased cost of transport of the cultivation product. However, this study will relates this theory with the decision of housing location of the case study in Bandar Saujana. It will examine whether the theory match the pattern of the housing location in regards with the transport cost. Bandar Saujana Putra is a new self-contained township located in Sepang Selangor. The township launched the first phase of the development in 2004, has an easy access to the town centre using ELITE Highway. Its easy access to the town made Bandar Saujana Putra an ideal for the case study as the resident able to travel to the respective location of their needs. Statement of Problems: The township of Bandar Saujana Putra is located approximately 20km from the centre of Kuala Lumpur and the residents enjoy an easy access via ELITE Highway. However, how the transportation cost is plays a role in determining the decision to reside in Bandar Saujana Putra? Furthermore, does the Von Thunen theory explain the pattern of location theory in the case of Bandar Saujana Putra? Objectives of Study: The main objective of the study is to examine the effects of transportation cost towards the decision of housing location. The second objective of the study is to examine whether Von Thunen theory match the pattern of location theory in Bandar Saujana Putra. Scope of Study: The study is confined to the areas of Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor since it is located approximately 20 km away from city centre and easily accessible. The respondent of the questionnaire are limited to the residents of Bandar Saujana Putra and analysis as well as findings from the rental and property price will be used to accomplish the objectives mentioned above. The difficulty and limitation for the study arise when distributing the sample questionnaire and to get the feedback from the respondents. There will be situation where the respondents that have been approached will not or hesitate to give cooperation to the sample questionnaire. Research Methodology: The study would be done in an analytic manner. The information that is needed to examine the issue will be obtained from primary and secondary data. Primary Data: Primary data refers to the first-hand data, which required data collection. For this study, it will mainly involve in the distribution of questionnaire to the residents of Bandar Saujana Putra. The analysis will also be done according to the study areas in order to examine the transport cost of the residents. The question will be in objective manner administered to arrive to the objectives of the study. Secondary Data: The second method is secondary data which will mostly comprise of data collection through references of such as relevant books, journal, conference paper, newspaper and magazine articles and also online references. The data will also obtain from the economic text book which further explained the theory related to the study. Significant of Study: It is hoped that the anticipated outcome of this study can benefit the government especially the Town Planners in determining the structure of local city plan. While planning for housing development and also commercial hub, the developer and town planners have to consider the factors of distance and transportation as these two related closely to the affordability factor of a household. Secondly, this study will also benefit the house buyer in determining the location of the house as the distance and transportation cost is concern. The study will enlighten as how the location factors of property affects the daily budget of a household. The study also points to the importance of infill development that expands the supply of affordable housing in inner city and older suburban neighbourhoods that have good access to traditional job centres; the development of more affordable housing near transportation hubs and suburban employment centres. Lastly, the study intends to benefit the students as it will open up more discussion regarding the issue. Further research can be done to improve the findings of this study and hopefully it will beneficial towards the knowledge of the students. Organisation of Study: This study will consist of five chapters where the first chapter provides a brief concept and overview of Von Thunen theory that will be discussed further in the Literature Review. The first chapter consist of the introduction of the study and also statement problem that initiates the study. The first chapter also explained on the limitation faced on doing the study and the significance of this study. Meanwhile, the second chapter will discuss on literature review related to the study. It will mainly focus on the concept of the dynamic of Von Thunen theory in relation of the property market. The next part of the chapter will look further on the theory of urban economic and the formulation of the theory towards the locational decision. It will further strengthen the understanding of the theory based on the literature reviewed. Chapter three will discuss further on the methodology used in obtaining the information for the study. The quantitative methods of distributing questionnaire will be discussed further as well as the qualitative research methods used in the study. The qualitative research of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data is by observing the current market trend. This chapter will further emphasise on the case study chosen which is Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor. The fourth chapter of the study will shows the analysis of the data collected previously. Information and data that is obtained from the survey of the market rental will be further detailed in this chapter using the appropriate graphs and diagrams. The analysis of the findings is further discussed in relation to the patterns of economic rent in the market. The last chapter will conclude the analysis of the findings and draws the recommendation of the further study to compliment this research. It will also determine the confirmation of the objectives of this study as well as the holistic achievement of the study. Chapter 2: Literature Review Introduction: This chapter will explain further on the previous literature and writing in regards of the urban land use in general and Von Thunen theory of locational decision. Other than that, this chapter will also discuss on the limitation of the theory as well as the formulation of the theory. Background: Urban land use comprises two elements; the nature of land use which relates to which activities are taking place, and the level of spatial accumulation which indicates their intensity and concentration. Central areas compared to peripheral area have a high level of spatial accumulation and corresponding land uses such as retail while peripheral areas, on the other hand have lower levels of accumulation. In addition most economic as suggested by Gordon (2005), social or cultural activities imply a multitude of functions, such as production, consumption and distribution. These functions take place only at specific locations and are part of an activity system. Therefore activities have a spatial imprint whereby some are routine activities as they occur regularly and are thus predictable, such as commuting and shopping. Others are institutional activities that tend to be irregular, and are shaped by lifestyle for example sports and leisure, by special needs for example healthcare. Still others are production activities that are related to manufacturing and distribution, whose linkages may be local, regional or global. In short, the behavioural patterns of individuals, institutions and firms have an imprint on land use and the representation of this imprint requires a typology of land use, which can be formal or functional: Formal land use: The representations are concerned with qualitative attributes of space such as its form, pattern and aspect and are descriptive in nature. Functional land use: The representations are concerned with the economic nature of activities such as production, consumption, residence, and transport, and are mainly a socioeconomic description of space. Residential accommodation: The stock of residential accommodation varies from multi-storey flat near the city centre, through back-to-back terrace houses and then semi-detached, to detached houses often standing in spacious ground. This stock of residential accommodation reflects decisions taken at some time in the past because of the building costs rule out the choice of new construction for a substantial part of the population. If the residence is to compete land away from other uses then sites would have to be developed to higher densities in or near the position of greatest accessibility than elsewhere, because sites in that area provide optimum location for higher order uses such as offices and retailing. According to Smith (1997), there is a relationship between a persons income, his place of residence and his place of work, although the correlation is not fixed, for individuals differ in the proportion of their incomes they choose to spend on accommodation. An individual, according to Cunningham (1999), seeking to maximise utility, must weigh his desire for access to his place of work against various possible combinations of commuting costs and accommodation prices and his other desires for urban contacts and amenities. Incomes will determine how far a households residence preference can be indulged. With differing preference consumers in the same group of income may demand different type of accommodation. On the other hand, those desiring contacts furnished by near central locations have the advantage of lower transport cost but frequently have to sacrifice certain site amenities. Where persons of unlike incomes lives at distances where they incur the same commuting costs then the person with the highest income will occupy the best accommodation, and so on. Urban Land Use: Commercial land use according to Faraday (1997) and supported by Lean (2001) involves relationships with its supplier and customers as it support the claim that land use in both formal and functional representations implies a set of relationships with other land uses. A level of accessibility to both systems of circulation must be present because relationships with suppliers will dominantly be related with movements of freight; relationships with customers would include movements of people. Since each type of land use has its own specific mobility requirements, transportation is one of the factors of activity location and is therefore associated intimately with land use. Within the urban system each activity occupies a suitable, but not necessarily optimal location, from which it derives rent. Transportation and land use interactions mostly consider the retroactive relationships between activities, which are land use related, and accessibility, which is transportation related. These relationships often have been described as a chicken-and-egg problem since it is difficult to identify the triggering cause of change; do transportation changes precede land use changes or vice-versa? Urban transportation aims at supporting transport demands generated by the diversity of urban activities in a diversity of urban contexts. A key for understanding urban entities thus lies in the analysis of patterns and processes of the transport / land use system. This system is highly complex and involves several relationships between the transport system, spatial interactions and land use: Transport system: It will consider the set of transport infrastructures and modes that are supporting urban movements of passengers and freight. It generally expresses the level of accessibility. Spatial interactions: It will consider the nature, extent, origins and destinations of the urban movements of passengers and freight. They take into consideration the attributes of the transport system as well as the land use factors that are generating and attracting movements. Land use: It will consider the level of spatial accumulation of activities and their associated levels of mobility requirements. Land use is commonly linked with demographic and economic attributes. Accessibility: Accessibility evaluates the net economic costs of moving persons and goods between one place and another place. It is, therefore, not only concerned with the distance to be travelled between two places but, more important, with the time taken to travel that distance, i.e., with all the factor costs in any journey (Lean , 2001). However, accessibility does not affect solely the real costs incurred by movement but also the real benefits derived. The residential demand for urban land also depends upon accessibility but the capital sum a residential user pays to obtain a site represents a money evaluation of the satisfaction to be derived from that site. According to Goddall (2001) residential demand depends upon utility or satisfaction and the residential user seeks that the site which allows him to maximise his utility. Thus, for the residential user travelling, whether to work, to shops, or for pleasure, represent a disutility and each person wishes to minimise these disutilities such as the time and money costs of travelling. Disutilities would be minimised if a residential user located himself on a site with a high degree of accessibility, so residential use would compete with business uses for accessible site. However, for a residential there are certain amenities considerations involved in the choice of site which confer satisfaction/utility upon the user. The amenity value of a site depends upon factors not readily assessable in financial terms such as space, quiet, fresh air, etc. According to Wardour (1997) the choice of a residential site is, in many cases, a compromise because the desire to minimise travelling disutilities demands a relatively accessible, therefore central site, whereas the quest for amenity leads towards less accessible sites some way from the city centre. Greater amenity can usually be achieved by accepting additional travelling disutility. Urban Land Use Model: Von Thunen Ring Model: The relationships between transportation and land use are rich in theoretical representations that have contributed much too geographical sciences. Several descriptive and analytical models of urban land use have been developed over time, with increased levels of complexity where all of them involve some consideration of transport in the explanations of urban land use structures according to Carter (1995). However, this study will emphasise on the oldest land use theory by Johann Heinrich Von Thunen. According to Rodrigue (2000) modern location economics began with Von Thunen (1826). Being the first to develop a basic analytical model of the relationships between markets, production, and distance he too looked upon the agricultural landscape as the purpose in this study. The relative costs of transporting different agricultural commodities to the central market determined the agricultural land use around a city. The most productive activities will thus compete for the closest land to the market and less productive activities will be located further away. The model has a set of basic assumptions which reflects agricultural conditions around a city in the early 19th century: Isolation: There is one isolated market in an isolated state having no interactions (trade) with the outside. Ubiquitous land characteristics: The land surrounding the market is entirely flat and its fertility uniform. Transportation: It is assumed there are no transport infrastructures such as roads or rivers and that farmers are transporting their production to the market using horses and carts. Transportation costs are dependent of the type of commodity being transported to the market as well as the distance involved. Comparison of the relationships between production cost, the market price and the transport cost of an agricultural commodity is explained thoroughly as follows: R = Y(p-c) Yfm R = Rent per unit of land. Y = Yield per unit of land. p = market price per unit of yield. c = Average production costs per unit of yield. m = Distance from market (in kilometers or miles). f = Freight rate per unit of yield and unit of distance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carter (1995) further explained that all agricultural land uses are maximizing their productivity (rent) whereby in this case it is dependent upon their location from the market (Central City). Discourse community of farmer play significant role as they are to maximize his profit which is simply the market price minus the transport and production costs. The most productive activities such as gardening or milk production or activities which cost higher in transportation (firewood) are located near to the market. The above figure provides an overview of Von Thunens agricultural land use model with the basic assumptions being applied such as isolation, ubiquity, and transportation. It can be divided into two parts: The pure isolated state over an isotropic plain (left). In this case, the model takes a shape of perfect concentric circles. The potential impacts of modified transport costs (a navigable river) and the presence of a competing center (right). The relationships between agricultural land use and market distance are very difficult to establish in the contemporary context. Von Thunen primary objective was to determine the relationship between the intensities and type of agricultural production and the available markets. The physical and cultural complexities however, led him to disregard the variations in a large number of environmental and social conditions. Instead, he made seven basic assumptions, which formed the core of the theory. The ideal site consisted of completely rational (optimising) economic behaviour, an isolated state, a single central city, settlement in village far away from the city centre, and a racially homogeneous population, uniform topography, uniform climate and soil fertility, and a relatively uniform and primitive transportation cost according to Griffin (1968) and later supported by Rodrigue (2001). Sinclair (1966) however noted that Von Thunen primary concern was to discover and examine the laws which governed the pattern of agricultural land use existing in his time and within his experience. His dominant recognition was the land use pattern depended upon competition between various types of agriculture for the use of particular piece of land. The controlling factor in this competition was Economic Rent as defined here the return of investment in the land. Later it is sopported briefly by Rodrigue (2001) that form of land providing the greatest Economic Rent would make the highest bid for the land and displaced all others. The facts that transport cost increased with distance and they imparted a spatial variation to Economic Rent become an eye opener to Von Thunen whom later comes to realise that transportation costs were a primary factors determining Economic Rent. Hence, Economic Rent from any one land use can be expressed as a function of a distance from the market. Limitation of the Theory: In constructing the model complicating factors were assumed away, providing a laboratory in which the interplay between a small number of essential causal influences and their relations with certain effect could be studied. In particular this model provided a mechanism in which changing technical and economic inputs could be linked with evolving geographical patterns of production according to Samuelson (1983) and Linehan (2003). The attraction was thus, that the theory simplified the world by concentrating on the effects of one primary variable, transportation costs, on the location of agricultural production. Von Thunen himself accomplished this by creating the idea of the economic margin. In his view, land use areas were bounded by margins where one use became more cost-effective than another. Given von Thunens thesis, Peet, (1987) could attempt to explain how these factors may have changed historically and explain changes in the location of production. The uses of Von Thunen model, or derivatives of it, continue to this day among quantitative geographers for example, Wang and Guldmann (1997); Hill and Smith (1994); Linehan (2003). Even in 1966, however, the limitations of the model were accepted. Gaston (1997) followed by Linehan (2003) for instance admits Von Thunens analysis is basically descriptive rather than normative and does not explain changes over time or the possible effects of economies of scale. Despite this, Smith (2000) promotes the model because it made marginal economics geographical. In the years since these limitations in particular the fact that Von Thunen ignored changes over time have often been mentioned, but the model survives in importance in the minds of geographers and is a main subject of beginning economic geography courses. The most likely reason for this is that Von Thunen rings actually appear to exist in many cases. For instance, cities are often surrounded by a dairy ring. Von Thunen rings are one of the few very easily understandable models in geography that truly appear to explain a pattern in the world, even if the model is primarily descriptive and does not give much idea a bout how exactly this pattern came to be or what might happen to it in the future. Harvey made this argument in Social Justice and the City (1997), arguing that social scientists are attracted to models such as the Isolated State because they appear to be empirically relevant. Barnes (1998), following Haraway (1997). Latour (1987) and Linehan (2003), comments on the manner in which von Thunens model, in particular the concentric zone diagram showing agricultural land use rings of decreasing intensity with distance from the city, has been fetishized within economic geography. Barnes (1998) argues, based on the work of Barnbrock (1997) and Harvey (1997) that Von Thunens concept of the frontier wage, the just reward for work done that, if paid, would ensure worker harmony, leads to a more complete understanding of Von Thunens work. This sense of harmony was also Von Thunens vision of the isolated state in general, constructed not just an isolated state, but an ideal one. The rings were less a description of how the world is, but how it should be once social harmony was realized. The idea that the isolated state was not just descriptive but also prescriptive is emphasized by Barnbrock (1997), who writes that for von Thunen the Isolated State is the true representation of the final end mankind should strive for. He further quotes von Thunen, who states in the Isolated State we have in mind only the final goal. Harvey points out, however, that this was an essentially conservative goal. Through the imposition of the frontier wage and a more harmonious land use pattern, class conflict and social polarization would be minimized within German society. The lesson learned by neo-classical economists, Harvey argues, was that economic science could seek and spell out principles of social harmony without appeal to the political economy of the spatial fix. The use of Von Thunens ideas within geography highlights the conflicts within a discipline that strives both to find regularity in the world and to explain the patterns seen in specific places. The Isolated State theory is attractive because it one of the few easily understood location theories for which empirical examples can be easily drawn. Of course, these examples are never absolutely correct and often seem overly simplistic. Barnes (1998) analysis of Von Thunen and the social construction of Von Thunens theory within economic geography particularly help understand the use of Von Thunen within agricultural economics supported by Watson (2005). The idea that Von Thunens theories were not just descriptive but also prescriptive more closely parallels the attitudes of the agricultural economists, who were searching not just to describe land use but often also to restrict it in order to build a more harmonious dairy economy. Formulation of the Theory towards Locational Decision: In an attempt to test the hypothesis that market forces largely allocate the supply of sites among the alternatives uses within the urban area, Von Thunens agriculture land use model is adapted. The rising transportation costs explain the differentials rent among homogenous site as stated in the theory explained by Moss (2001). Understood the accessibility within an urban market will be at maximum at the city centre; the assumptions of a competitive market and a homogenous site will be given. As far as transport and commuting cost is concern the accessibility tend to decrease when distance from the market centre increases. Moss (2001) concluded that firms and households have no intentions to change location and ceteris paribus because profits and other objectives are maximised. Next output is optimal and the maximum efficiency of the city as a productive unit is realised. In fact, the resulting structure of land uses reflect institutional arrangement such as zoning ordinance, transportation system and policies of financial institutional as well as the competitive ranking of the city, i.e. its economic base. The location of firms and households within this structure depends heavily upon competitive bidding for specific sites since rent differentials result market forces require from each site that rent resulting from maximum utilisation or highest and best use. Maximum economic rent occurs at the market centre because the supply of sites and average transportation and commuting costs for the local market are least according to Seyfried (1963).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Seyfried (1963), followed by Linehan (2003) also suggested that the wages and interest are among production costs and they are assumed to be independent of location, but transportation costs rise as distance increases which later cause the rent, the surplus of gross revenue over production costs, decline proportionately. The supply of sites, i.e., more and larger land unit, increases with the distance from centre. Therefore competing user of sites will locate relative to their economic rent potential so that a structure of site values relative to location results from market forces. This structure of urban land market can be visualised as a rent or value surface; the market centre is the apex which is the point or area of highest site value. In the other word, rent decline with distance so do the value and land uses too change. If sites of equal value are related, the iso-value lines or contours are a function of site rent o r value. Thus the spatial structure of land uses or the urban land market at a moment of time can be shown by the rent or value function or gradient. Conclusion:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The chapter on literature has discussed the concept of urban land use, the linkage between urban land use and the Von Thune theory, limitation on the theory as well as formulation of Von Thunen theory. The following chapter will discuss on the methodology of the study used in gathering all the information needed. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Introduction: This chapter discusses in details the research methodology, which ensured that the objectives of the study can be achieved in a proper way. An appropriate research methodology application may avoid deviation against the objectives and gives clearer understanding on how the study is to be carried out. Validity of the research data and reliability of measurement will affect the practical research and accuracy of the result. Thus, the research methodology is directly connected to objective and problem statement of research. The second part of this chapter will go into details of the case study of Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor. According to Yin (2003) a case study design should be considered when: the focus of the study is to answer how and why questions; you cannot manipulate the behaviour of those involved in the study; you want to cover contextual conditions because you believe they are relevant to the phenomenon under study; or the boundaries are not clear between the phenomenon and context. Research Design: Research design can be classified into exploratory research and conclusive research. Exploratory research design is mostly in qualitative nature while conclusive research design is in quantitative nature. It is more focus on the collecting data from primary or secondary data. It also involves in many qualitative data collection techniques such as focus groups and depth interview (Shukla, 2008). Qualitative data collection will provide a lot of information, however it also hard to interpret from the data collection. Meanwhile, qualitative case study is an approach to research that facilitates exploration of a phenomenon within its context using a variety of Impact of Transport Costs on Housing Decisions Impact of Transport Costs on Housing Decisions This study will emphasise on the effect of transportation cost towards the decision of housing location. The case study will be held in Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor. This study will be using the quantitative methods to further study the effect of transportation cost towards the decision of housing location. Background In the search for lower cost housing, working families often locate far from their place of work and this will resulting in the increasing of their transportation costs and commute times. However, for many such families, the transportation costs exceed their housing costs. According to Bernstein (2001), affordability has never been just about housing cost, it is actually the interaction between housing and transportation cost that provide more meaningful measure of affordability. Hence, choosing a location-efficient neighbourhood near transit, services and jobs, families can reduce monthly household expenses. This study will emphasise on the model of land use and prices formulated by Von Thunen in 1826, a German economist. The theory concentrates on difference in relative transport costs in different types of agricultural production. According to J. Harvey (1997), he made assumptions that a boundless flat and featureless plain over which natural resources and climate are distributed uniformly and there is a central market for the area. Furthermore, he also assumed that the farmer used uniform horse and cart transport facilities to this central market, and different foods can be grown, but since these differ in bulk, the cost of transporting them to the market also differs. For each type of product, transport cost varies directly and proportionately with distance from the central market. However, the receipts from cultivation of one hectare of land are the same for all types of product. Given by these assumptions, it pictures the rent-paying capacity as a function of transport cost and the distance from the market. As distance from the market increases the total costs are raised by the increased cost of transport of the cultivation product. However, this study will relates this theory with the decision of housing location of the case study in Bandar Saujana. It will examine whether the theory match the pattern of the housing location in regards with the transport cost. Bandar Saujana Putra is a new self-contained township located in Sepang Selangor. The township launched the first phase of the development in 2004, has an easy access to the town centre using ELITE Highway. Its easy access to the town made Bandar Saujana Putra an ideal for the case study as the resident able to travel to the respective location of their needs. Statement of Problems: The township of Bandar Saujana Putra is located approximately 20km from the centre of Kuala Lumpur and the residents enjoy an easy access via ELITE Highway. However, how the transportation cost is plays a role in determining the decision to reside in Bandar Saujana Putra? Furthermore, does the Von Thunen theory explain the pattern of location theory in the case of Bandar Saujana Putra? Objectives of Study: The main objective of the study is to examine the effects of transportation cost towards the decision of housing location. The second objective of the study is to examine whether Von Thunen theory match the pattern of location theory in Bandar Saujana Putra. Scope of Study: The study is confined to the areas of Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor since it is located approximately 20 km away from city centre and easily accessible. The respondent of the questionnaire are limited to the residents of Bandar Saujana Putra and analysis as well as findings from the rental and property price will be used to accomplish the objectives mentioned above. The difficulty and limitation for the study arise when distributing the sample questionnaire and to get the feedback from the respondents. There will be situation where the respondents that have been approached will not or hesitate to give cooperation to the sample questionnaire. Research Methodology: The study would be done in an analytic manner. The information that is needed to examine the issue will be obtained from primary and secondary data. Primary Data: Primary data refers to the first-hand data, which required data collection. For this study, it will mainly involve in the distribution of questionnaire to the residents of Bandar Saujana Putra. The analysis will also be done according to the study areas in order to examine the transport cost of the residents. The question will be in objective manner administered to arrive to the objectives of the study. Secondary Data: The second method is secondary data which will mostly comprise of data collection through references of such as relevant books, journal, conference paper, newspaper and magazine articles and also online references. The data will also obtain from the economic text book which further explained the theory related to the study. Significant of Study: It is hoped that the anticipated outcome of this study can benefit the government especially the Town Planners in determining the structure of local city plan. While planning for housing development and also commercial hub, the developer and town planners have to consider the factors of distance and transportation as these two related closely to the affordability factor of a household. Secondly, this study will also benefit the house buyer in determining the location of the house as the distance and transportation cost is concern. The study will enlighten as how the location factors of property affects the daily budget of a household. The study also points to the importance of infill development that expands the supply of affordable housing in inner city and older suburban neighbourhoods that have good access to traditional job centres; the development of more affordable housing near transportation hubs and suburban employment centres. Lastly, the study intends to benefit the students as it will open up more discussion regarding the issue. Further research can be done to improve the findings of this study and hopefully it will beneficial towards the knowledge of the students. Organisation of Study: This study will consist of five chapters where the first chapter provides a brief concept and overview of Von Thunen theory that will be discussed further in the Literature Review. The first chapter consist of the introduction of the study and also statement problem that initiates the study. The first chapter also explained on the limitation faced on doing the study and the significance of this study. Meanwhile, the second chapter will discuss on literature review related to the study. It will mainly focus on the concept of the dynamic of Von Thunen theory in relation of the property market. The next part of the chapter will look further on the theory of urban economic and the formulation of the theory towards the locational decision. It will further strengthen the understanding of the theory based on the literature reviewed. Chapter three will discuss further on the methodology used in obtaining the information for the study. The quantitative methods of distributing questionnaire will be discussed further as well as the qualitative research methods used in the study. The qualitative research of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data is by observing the current market trend. This chapter will further emphasise on the case study chosen which is Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor. The fourth chapter of the study will shows the analysis of the data collected previously. Information and data that is obtained from the survey of the market rental will be further detailed in this chapter using the appropriate graphs and diagrams. The analysis of the findings is further discussed in relation to the patterns of economic rent in the market. The last chapter will conclude the analysis of the findings and draws the recommendation of the further study to compliment this research. It will also determine the confirmation of the objectives of this study as well as the holistic achievement of the study. Chapter 2: Literature Review Introduction: This chapter will explain further on the previous literature and writing in regards of the urban land use in general and Von Thunen theory of locational decision. Other than that, this chapter will also discuss on the limitation of the theory as well as the formulation of the theory. Background: Urban land use comprises two elements; the nature of land use which relates to which activities are taking place, and the level of spatial accumulation which indicates their intensity and concentration. Central areas compared to peripheral area have a high level of spatial accumulation and corresponding land uses such as retail while peripheral areas, on the other hand have lower levels of accumulation. In addition most economic as suggested by Gordon (2005), social or cultural activities imply a multitude of functions, such as production, consumption and distribution. These functions take place only at specific locations and are part of an activity system. Therefore activities have a spatial imprint whereby some are routine activities as they occur regularly and are thus predictable, such as commuting and shopping. Others are institutional activities that tend to be irregular, and are shaped by lifestyle for example sports and leisure, by special needs for example healthcare. Still others are production activities that are related to manufacturing and distribution, whose linkages may be local, regional or global. In short, the behavioural patterns of individuals, institutions and firms have an imprint on land use and the representation of this imprint requires a typology of land use, which can be formal or functional: Formal land use: The representations are concerned with qualitative attributes of space such as its form, pattern and aspect and are descriptive in nature. Functional land use: The representations are concerned with the economic nature of activities such as production, consumption, residence, and transport, and are mainly a socioeconomic description of space. Residential accommodation: The stock of residential accommodation varies from multi-storey flat near the city centre, through back-to-back terrace houses and then semi-detached, to detached houses often standing in spacious ground. This stock of residential accommodation reflects decisions taken at some time in the past because of the building costs rule out the choice of new construction for a substantial part of the population. If the residence is to compete land away from other uses then sites would have to be developed to higher densities in or near the position of greatest accessibility than elsewhere, because sites in that area provide optimum location for higher order uses such as offices and retailing. According to Smith (1997), there is a relationship between a persons income, his place of residence and his place of work, although the correlation is not fixed, for individuals differ in the proportion of their incomes they choose to spend on accommodation. An individual, according to Cunningham (1999), seeking to maximise utility, must weigh his desire for access to his place of work against various possible combinations of commuting costs and accommodation prices and his other desires for urban contacts and amenities. Incomes will determine how far a households residence preference can be indulged. With differing preference consumers in the same group of income may demand different type of accommodation. On the other hand, those desiring contacts furnished by near central locations have the advantage of lower transport cost but frequently have to sacrifice certain site amenities. Where persons of unlike incomes lives at distances where they incur the same commuting costs then the person with the highest income will occupy the best accommodation, and so on. Urban Land Use: Commercial land use according to Faraday (1997) and supported by Lean (2001) involves relationships with its supplier and customers as it support the claim that land use in both formal and functional representations implies a set of relationships with other land uses. A level of accessibility to both systems of circulation must be present because relationships with suppliers will dominantly be related with movements of freight; relationships with customers would include movements of people. Since each type of land use has its own specific mobility requirements, transportation is one of the factors of activity location and is therefore associated intimately with land use. Within the urban system each activity occupies a suitable, but not necessarily optimal location, from which it derives rent. Transportation and land use interactions mostly consider the retroactive relationships between activities, which are land use related, and accessibility, which is transportation related. These relationships often have been described as a chicken-and-egg problem since it is difficult to identify the triggering cause of change; do transportation changes precede land use changes or vice-versa? Urban transportation aims at supporting transport demands generated by the diversity of urban activities in a diversity of urban contexts. A key for understanding urban entities thus lies in the analysis of patterns and processes of the transport / land use system. This system is highly complex and involves several relationships between the transport system, spatial interactions and land use: Transport system: It will consider the set of transport infrastructures and modes that are supporting urban movements of passengers and freight. It generally expresses the level of accessibility. Spatial interactions: It will consider the nature, extent, origins and destinations of the urban movements of passengers and freight. They take into consideration the attributes of the transport system as well as the land use factors that are generating and attracting movements. Land use: It will consider the level of spatial accumulation of activities and their associated levels of mobility requirements. Land use is commonly linked with demographic and economic attributes. Accessibility: Accessibility evaluates the net economic costs of moving persons and goods between one place and another place. It is, therefore, not only concerned with the distance to be travelled between two places but, more important, with the time taken to travel that distance, i.e., with all the factor costs in any journey (Lean , 2001). However, accessibility does not affect solely the real costs incurred by movement but also the real benefits derived. The residential demand for urban land also depends upon accessibility but the capital sum a residential user pays to obtain a site represents a money evaluation of the satisfaction to be derived from that site. According to Goddall (2001) residential demand depends upon utility or satisfaction and the residential user seeks that the site which allows him to maximise his utility. Thus, for the residential user travelling, whether to work, to shops, or for pleasure, represent a disutility and each person wishes to minimise these disutilities such as the time and money costs of travelling. Disutilities would be minimised if a residential user located himself on a site with a high degree of accessibility, so residential use would compete with business uses for accessible site. However, for a residential there are certain amenities considerations involved in the choice of site which confer satisfaction/utility upon the user. The amenity value of a site depends upon factors not readily assessable in financial terms such as space, quiet, fresh air, etc. According to Wardour (1997) the choice of a residential site is, in many cases, a compromise because the desire to minimise travelling disutilities demands a relatively accessible, therefore central site, whereas the quest for amenity leads towards less accessible sites some way from the city centre. Greater amenity can usually be achieved by accepting additional travelling disutility. Urban Land Use Model: Von Thunen Ring Model: The relationships between transportation and land use are rich in theoretical representations that have contributed much too geographical sciences. Several descriptive and analytical models of urban land use have been developed over time, with increased levels of complexity where all of them involve some consideration of transport in the explanations of urban land use structures according to Carter (1995). However, this study will emphasise on the oldest land use theory by Johann Heinrich Von Thunen. According to Rodrigue (2000) modern location economics began with Von Thunen (1826). Being the first to develop a basic analytical model of the relationships between markets, production, and distance he too looked upon the agricultural landscape as the purpose in this study. The relative costs of transporting different agricultural commodities to the central market determined the agricultural land use around a city. The most productive activities will thus compete for the closest land to the market and less productive activities will be located further away. The model has a set of basic assumptions which reflects agricultural conditions around a city in the early 19th century: Isolation: There is one isolated market in an isolated state having no interactions (trade) with the outside. Ubiquitous land characteristics: The land surrounding the market is entirely flat and its fertility uniform. Transportation: It is assumed there are no transport infrastructures such as roads or rivers and that farmers are transporting their production to the market using horses and carts. Transportation costs are dependent of the type of commodity being transported to the market as well as the distance involved. Comparison of the relationships between production cost, the market price and the transport cost of an agricultural commodity is explained thoroughly as follows: R = Y(p-c) Yfm R = Rent per unit of land. Y = Yield per unit of land. p = market price per unit of yield. c = Average production costs per unit of yield. m = Distance from market (in kilometers or miles). f = Freight rate per unit of yield and unit of distance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carter (1995) further explained that all agricultural land uses are maximizing their productivity (rent) whereby in this case it is dependent upon their location from the market (Central City). Discourse community of farmer play significant role as they are to maximize his profit which is simply the market price minus the transport and production costs. The most productive activities such as gardening or milk production or activities which cost higher in transportation (firewood) are located near to the market. The above figure provides an overview of Von Thunens agricultural land use model with the basic assumptions being applied such as isolation, ubiquity, and transportation. It can be divided into two parts: The pure isolated state over an isotropic plain (left). In this case, the model takes a shape of perfect concentric circles. The potential impacts of modified transport costs (a navigable river) and the presence of a competing center (right). The relationships between agricultural land use and market distance are very difficult to establish in the contemporary context. Von Thunen primary objective was to determine the relationship between the intensities and type of agricultural production and the available markets. The physical and cultural complexities however, led him to disregard the variations in a large number of environmental and social conditions. Instead, he made seven basic assumptions, which formed the core of the theory. The ideal site consisted of completely rational (optimising) economic behaviour, an isolated state, a single central city, settlement in village far away from the city centre, and a racially homogeneous population, uniform topography, uniform climate and soil fertility, and a relatively uniform and primitive transportation cost according to Griffin (1968) and later supported by Rodrigue (2001). Sinclair (1966) however noted that Von Thunen primary concern was to discover and examine the laws which governed the pattern of agricultural land use existing in his time and within his experience. His dominant recognition was the land use pattern depended upon competition between various types of agriculture for the use of particular piece of land. The controlling factor in this competition was Economic Rent as defined here the return of investment in the land. Later it is sopported briefly by Rodrigue (2001) that form of land providing the greatest Economic Rent would make the highest bid for the land and displaced all others. The facts that transport cost increased with distance and they imparted a spatial variation to Economic Rent become an eye opener to Von Thunen whom later comes to realise that transportation costs were a primary factors determining Economic Rent. Hence, Economic Rent from any one land use can be expressed as a function of a distance from the market. Limitation of the Theory: In constructing the model complicating factors were assumed away, providing a laboratory in which the interplay between a small number of essential causal influences and their relations with certain effect could be studied. In particular this model provided a mechanism in which changing technical and economic inputs could be linked with evolving geographical patterns of production according to Samuelson (1983) and Linehan (2003). The attraction was thus, that the theory simplified the world by concentrating on the effects of one primary variable, transportation costs, on the location of agricultural production. Von Thunen himself accomplished this by creating the idea of the economic margin. In his view, land use areas were bounded by margins where one use became more cost-effective than another. Given von Thunens thesis, Peet, (1987) could attempt to explain how these factors may have changed historically and explain changes in the location of production. The uses of Von Thunen model, or derivatives of it, continue to this day among quantitative geographers for example, Wang and Guldmann (1997); Hill and Smith (1994); Linehan (2003). Even in 1966, however, the limitations of the model were accepted. Gaston (1997) followed by Linehan (2003) for instance admits Von Thunens analysis is basically descriptive rather than normative and does not explain changes over time or the possible effects of economies of scale. Despite this, Smith (2000) promotes the model because it made marginal economics geographical. In the years since these limitations in particular the fact that Von Thunen ignored changes over time have often been mentioned, but the model survives in importance in the minds of geographers and is a main subject of beginning economic geography courses. The most likely reason for this is that Von Thunen rings actually appear to exist in many cases. For instance, cities are often surrounded by a dairy ring. Von Thunen rings are one of the few very easily understandable models in geography that truly appear to explain a pattern in the world, even if the model is primarily descriptive and does not give much idea a bout how exactly this pattern came to be or what might happen to it in the future. Harvey made this argument in Social Justice and the City (1997), arguing that social scientists are attracted to models such as the Isolated State because they appear to be empirically relevant. Barnes (1998), following Haraway (1997). Latour (1987) and Linehan (2003), comments on the manner in which von Thunens model, in particular the concentric zone diagram showing agricultural land use rings of decreasing intensity with distance from the city, has been fetishized within economic geography. Barnes (1998) argues, based on the work of Barnbrock (1997) and Harvey (1997) that Von Thunens concept of the frontier wage, the just reward for work done that, if paid, would ensure worker harmony, leads to a more complete understanding of Von Thunens work. This sense of harmony was also Von Thunens vision of the isolated state in general, constructed not just an isolated state, but an ideal one. The rings were less a description of how the world is, but how it should be once social harmony was realized. The idea that the isolated state was not just descriptive but also prescriptive is emphasized by Barnbrock (1997), who writes that for von Thunen the Isolated State is the true representation of the final end mankind should strive for. He further quotes von Thunen, who states in the Isolated State we have in mind only the final goal. Harvey points out, however, that this was an essentially conservative goal. Through the imposition of the frontier wage and a more harmonious land use pattern, class conflict and social polarization would be minimized within German society. The lesson learned by neo-classical economists, Harvey argues, was that economic science could seek and spell out principles of social harmony without appeal to the political economy of the spatial fix. The use of Von Thunens ideas within geography highlights the conflicts within a discipline that strives both to find regularity in the world and to explain the patterns seen in specific places. The Isolated State theory is attractive because it one of the few easily understood location theories for which empirical examples can be easily drawn. Of course, these examples are never absolutely correct and often seem overly simplistic. Barnes (1998) analysis of Von Thunen and the social construction of Von Thunens theory within economic geography particularly help understand the use of Von Thunen within agricultural economics supported by Watson (2005). The idea that Von Thunens theories were not just descriptive but also prescriptive more closely parallels the attitudes of the agricultural economists, who were searching not just to describe land use but often also to restrict it in order to build a more harmonious dairy economy. Formulation of the Theory towards Locational Decision: In an attempt to test the hypothesis that market forces largely allocate the supply of sites among the alternatives uses within the urban area, Von Thunens agriculture land use model is adapted. The rising transportation costs explain the differentials rent among homogenous site as stated in the theory explained by Moss (2001). Understood the accessibility within an urban market will be at maximum at the city centre; the assumptions of a competitive market and a homogenous site will be given. As far as transport and commuting cost is concern the accessibility tend to decrease when distance from the market centre increases. Moss (2001) concluded that firms and households have no intentions to change location and ceteris paribus because profits and other objectives are maximised. Next output is optimal and the maximum efficiency of the city as a productive unit is realised. In fact, the resulting structure of land uses reflect institutional arrangement such as zoning ordinance, transportation system and policies of financial institutional as well as the competitive ranking of the city, i.e. its economic base. The location of firms and households within this structure depends heavily upon competitive bidding for specific sites since rent differentials result market forces require from each site that rent resulting from maximum utilisation or highest and best use. Maximum economic rent occurs at the market centre because the supply of sites and average transportation and commuting costs for the local market are least according to Seyfried (1963).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Seyfried (1963), followed by Linehan (2003) also suggested that the wages and interest are among production costs and they are assumed to be independent of location, but transportation costs rise as distance increases which later cause the rent, the surplus of gross revenue over production costs, decline proportionately. The supply of sites, i.e., more and larger land unit, increases with the distance from centre. Therefore competing user of sites will locate relative to their economic rent potential so that a structure of site values relative to location results from market forces. This structure of urban land market can be visualised as a rent or value surface; the market centre is the apex which is the point or area of highest site value. In the other word, rent decline with distance so do the value and land uses too change. If sites of equal value are related, the iso-value lines or contours are a function of site rent o r value. Thus the spatial structure of land uses or the urban land market at a moment of time can be shown by the rent or value function or gradient. Conclusion:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The chapter on literature has discussed the concept of urban land use, the linkage between urban land use and the Von Thune theory, limitation on the theory as well as formulation of Von Thunen theory. The following chapter will discuss on the methodology of the study used in gathering all the information needed. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Introduction: This chapter discusses in details the research methodology, which ensured that the objectives of the study can be achieved in a proper way. An appropriate research methodology application may avoid deviation against the objectives and gives clearer understanding on how the study is to be carried out. Validity of the research data and reliability of measurement will affect the practical research and accuracy of the result. Thus, the research methodology is directly connected to objective and problem statement of research. The second part of this chapter will go into details of the case study of Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor. According to Yin (2003) a case study design should be considered when: the focus of the study is to answer how and why questions; you cannot manipulate the behaviour of those involved in the study; you want to cover contextual conditions because you believe they are relevant to the phenomenon under study; or the boundaries are not clear between the phenomenon and context. Research Design: Research design can be classified into exploratory research and conclusive research. Exploratory research design is mostly in qualitative nature while conclusive research design is in quantitative nature. It is more focus on the collecting data from primary or secondary data. It also involves in many qualitative data collection techniques such as focus groups and depth interview (Shukla, 2008). Qualitative data collection will provide a lot of information, however it also hard to interpret from the data collection. Meanwhile, qualitative case study is an approach to research that facilitates exploration of a phenomenon within its context using a variety of