Commodity Fetishism

Karl Marx introduces the concept of commodity fetishism which is our society’s obsession with the consumption of goods and services. It is in Marx’s opinion that this is used to mask the exploitation of the working class as they become obsessed with consuming. We use capitalism as a system of exchange value, for example we exchange our labor in order to afford food to survive instead of producing our own food. The prices we see when we walk into a store represent the human labor required to produce the product and the approximate use value one would achieve using it.The use value is simply the amount of utility we gain from consuming or using a good or service. Now, I travel very often on business trips with my father’s investment company; recently we went on a trip to Boston with Mackenzie Investments. We stayed in a world class hotel and were treated to box seats at a NFL game, this was paid for; Marx would refer to Mackenzie’s business functions as havi ng an exchange value.The company will subsidize our travel costs as well as provide goods and services to satisfy our wants in order to build a relationship and in turn receive our business. The use value we receive from the consumption of these commodities will also impact how we view Mackenzie. Perhaps a person in attendance at the football game detests the sport while another adores it; each person will value the experience differently as it provides different utility to each person.Our relationship between ourselves and Mackenzie is not based on an intrinsic level but rather on the giving of commodities, we will only briefly talk to the fund managers of the company so it’s hard to build a relationship on anything but what they provide us with. This relationship has the ability to be built on the giving of goods and services due to the capitalist society’s commodity fetishism. We will observe the working class where more and more people are working in factories and large corporations to produce more commodities for people to buy or services to use.While the lower class is trapped in a cyclical labor to consume cycle (in other words living pay check to pay check like 47% of the Canadian economy (globeandmail)) the rich are reaping the benefits. The workers must consume because this is what society tells them to do, they must labor in order to consume so the workers labor, be it mental or physical they are becoming a commodity themselves because they are for hire. They sell themselves and their labor to their boss who sells what they produce and in turn makes the profit.This relates directly to the alienation earlier discussed by Marx. The workers become alienated from the product they are producing for they will not use it, they become alienated from self because they are not in control of their actions, often they will also be alienated from people in their be it in their own office or at their station in a factory. The drive behind our societ y seems corrupt and vague; we observe the prices of goods and services but do not account for the hardships of the workers producing them.We often see ads about children overseas in sweatshops being exploited but what about our own people who slave away 9-5 at a job they hate producing goods they do not consume for the sheer benefit of the monetary gains of their boss Question: Now that we have uncovered the true nature of capitalism how can we change it? Is there any way to help abolish the fetishism which takes advantage of the working class and benefits the rich?

Significance of Social Status in the Great Gatsby

Significance of Social Status in The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby may appear to be a simple tragic romance; however, within the text, Fitzgerald identifies and defines social gaps and importance of wealth. He also presents women within a very separate space as the men. The Great Gatsby allows the reader to enter into the world of wealth and experience the joys and tragedies of being within this certain class.In the novel, Fitzgerald criticizes American society in the 1920's for its emphasis on money, superficial relationships, and obsession over class; as well as allowing the reader to interpret the position of gender inside the class. Society has, indeed, a great part to play in shaping the identities of individuals. â€Å"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he [my father] told me, â€Å"just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had† (1).This quote was probably the backbone of the narrator's a ctions and character. Throughout the novel, the characters that he came into contact with were immediately associated with their money and their association with their given level of wealth. Jay Gatsby is the center character in Fitzgerald's novel. Gatsby tells Nick that from his childhood in the Midwest and his youth, he got to know Cody from whom he learned how to struggle through life and get money.He is totally self-taught and tells Nick that he had been in the drug business and later in the oil business. Throughout the novel there is an overall absence of the lower class; however, ironically, the only character that lower wealth was associated with was Gatsby. He was the most prestigious when compared to all of the other characters, yet was the only to have the absence of money in his past. With this, Fitzgerald proves that the current existence of money justifies the acceptance of character, reiterating the idea of social levels of money.

Disaster Capitalism

In the early 20th century, the United States came to the realization that many other nations has come to in the latter part of the Middle Ages: it is not impossible for a domestic economy to grow beyond its own borders. That is, you can only sell so many widgets domestically; you need to start selling them elsewhere. If there is a situation where a foreign nation does not have an open market then there may be a decision made to open the market through various means. Sometimes, however, the means that are employed may not be considered all that friendly.This is the notion that Klein's concept of â€Å"disaster capitalism† centers on. In a way, Klein's module of disaster capitalism is a new version of stealth imperialism. That is, it creates inroads into foreign territory whether it is wanted or not. As mentioned in the article, this sounds a bit conspiratorial. Of course, the â€Å"sound of a conspiracy† is based on perception and that perception may be based on how much alarmism one sees in the work. Seeing alarmism, however, will be based on whether or not one agrees with the themes.Those who agree with the assessment will see less conspiratorial alarmism and more of a warning in the form of a call to action. Those who disagree may dismiss it all as rantings. A major problem with this disaster capitalism module is the notion that there is such a colossal conspiracy to commit all kinds of chaos in order to sell items. This is not entirely true because it is not always very difficult to sell people anything. Even some of the most obtuse items can be sold in an open market with very little prodding.Opening a market, however, is a lot easier than most would assume. Provided there is a need most nations will be open to accepting products provided that the acceptance of such products will not upset domestic agendas. The notion of disaster capitalism assumes that force or coercion is used to promote free market capitalism. Part of the problem here is th at it labels much of capitalism as evil when much of it can also be labeled silly. For example, one of the most idiotic products ever sold on the market was the nonsensical and completely unworkable Pocket Fisherman.This bizarre item seeming shrunk fishing rods down to 18 inches and was promoted by a silly television commercial in 1976. The commercial (kept alive on YouTube) allowed the item to sell one million units. In fact, it is STILL selling to this very day and can be purchased in a number of retail stores. The strength of the Pocket Fisherman, like a number of other strange novelty items, was based on the inherent laziness of the couch potato consumer. In other words, it was a fishing rod that you didn't have to â€Å"lug around† and it centered on an ad campaign was based on being too good to be true.There was no need to â€Å"shock audiences† or to force them to purchase. So, to label all free market processes as being a sphere of militant capitalism simply is not 100% accurate. The book THE SHOCK DOCTRINE does try to craft a logical picture of the environment in which disaster capitalism thrives. It invests a number of pages of its contents to cover a multitude of historical occurrences to craft a portrait of an unending stream of dangerous globalism. The article that reviews the work paints a clear picture of the subject matter of the book but does not go so far as to recommend it.Perhaps, this is because the author of the book doesn't so much buy into the presentation in the book. That is, the author may see some points present in the book but doesn't wish to endorse it due to certain misgivings about its content. In fact, the article does take a few digs at the author. (â€Å"She's not a journalist†) Regardless of where one stands on the issue, the work does come off as entertaining as the article does make it sound like a worthwhile read.

SELECTION FROM THE SUMMA THEOLOGIAE, ON CHARITY Essay

SELECTION FROM THE SUMMA THEOLOGIAE, ON CHARITY - Essay Example The first component of â€Å"charity itself† forms the centre of discussion in this essay. It consists of two perspectives, which include itself and charity considered as itself. This essay narrows this discussion to the aspects of† itself† which consists of eights points of inquiry. They include For the case of charity, being friendship is not true. Charity is not friendship because nothing is so convenient as to reside with one’s friend. This is objection is attributed to the philosophers2. In addition, charity is exercised by man to God but does not exist with men. This implies that charity is not friendship. According to the bible, Christ cements true friendship. This is where the fear of God and the learning of the divine scriptures bring men together. Contrary to this, Jo.xv.15 quotes â€Å"I will not now call you servants...but my friends† according to the philosophers’ argument, this statement was said by reason and not based on charity. This implies that charity is friendship. It is noticeable that not each aspects or character consists of friendship. For instance, the well wishing in itself does not suffice for friendship for certain common love. On the second article â€Å"whether charity is something created in the soul† the objection to this statement is attributed to the aspect of God is charity; God is a spirit (De Trin. Ix.17). This implies that charity is not something that can be created in the soul, but remains God Himself. A further objection is attributed to the fact that God is life of the soul spiritually just as the soul remains life of the body, according to Deut. Xxx.20. However, on the contrary, Augustine argues that, by charity the movement of the soul towards the enjoyment of God for His own sake. This implies that charity is created in the soul. On equal measure the argument goes further to define God’s acts as powerful and perfect. This follows that, charity is created in the soul, because it’s God’s act,

Quarantine and Societal Fears Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Quarantine and Societal Fears - Essay Example The essay "Quarantine and Societal Fears" describes the plot of an American horror film "Quarantine" released in 2008. The paper analyses the film contexts and all the known facts about this it to find out the purpose of the film and the reason this film is placed in the horror genre. The plot of the film centers around a news anchor and her cameraman, who are shadowing two firemen for their night piece. The team gets called out to an apartment building because the apartment manager reported hearing screams from the building. From here, it is evident that many of the residents of the building have rabies-like symptoms such as ‘fever’ and a change in the eyes, as evidenced by the question 'What happened to her eyes?'. The overall argument of the film is that an outbreak of a deadly disease is always a possibility within society. There are many different contexts in which the film Quarantine can be placed which help to explain why "Quarantine" is placed in the horror genre. Biological warfare is an imminent threat and one of the most terrifying of all weapons. One of the main reasons biological warfare haunts the minds of many is that it may lead to a slow and painful death and that if the condition it causes is incurable, the outbreak may be impossible to stop. Infectious disease is no longer the biggest killer in the Western world, and this perhaps is what makes it so terrifying. The film also plays on many other common types of fear, such as being isolated from society, old or 'spooky' buildings, the dark and having a lack of information.

International Economics Eurozone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Economics Eurozone - Essay Example 29). For instance, Germany is considered to have a comparative advantage in the production of cars in the sense that its cars are considered to be of the highest quality in the market. This creates the opportunity for the substitution of products that have the same factor intensity. The other condition for the occurrence of intra-industry trade is that the production processes of particular products should have fixed costs. This is to ensure that an increase in the production processes is advantageous in the sense that there will be a decrease in the unit costs of the product. This condition is beneficial to both producers and consumers. Producers will be able to reduce the cost of production as they engage in mass production. They will enjoy economies of scale in times of low costs of production. Consumers on the other hand will pay less as more cars are being produced because low costs will be transferred to them. For instance, the more units Mercedes produces, the lower the unit c ost of production. Possible welfare gains of intra industry trade There are two conditions that determine the occurrence of intra-industry trade and they include comparative advantage and economies of scale. ... German citizens are able to get jobs hence improve their living standards. An economy also records an increase in the number of exports and this translates to higher revenue collection. The revenue collected is used in funding projects across the economy and the country is able to improve on its social infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. Increase in imports also reflects that the economy is recording growth in its GDP which eventually translates to higher per capita income. Citizens will be able to meet their basic wants because of the improvement in their income. Economies of scale also have the advantage of improving the social welfare of citizens in the sense that the growth of the industry will stimulate infrastructure development that will be utilized by both producers and the residents (Helpman & Krugman, 2009, p. 100). The other possible welfare gain of intra-industry trade is the provision of quality services because there is specialization in the production process es. Comparative advantages lead to the specialization of industries and this improves the productivity of such industries. Countries are able to access a wider market that makes it easy for consumers have access to quality services and goods that are of high quality from specialized countries. Criteria used to define an optimum currency area. The general definition of an optimum currency area is that it relates to a geographical area where the use of a common currency would create the greatest economic benefit. The theory is closely related to Robert Mundell whose works have made numerous contributions to issues of currency. There are a number of criteria used in defining an optimum currency

Maternal Obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Maternal Obesity - Research Paper Example The health indicators were developed on the rationale that they related to several of the chronic disease states and the exercise of control over these indicators would lead to significant improvement of health to a high proportion of the population (Pivarnik, 2008). Obesity is considered to have reached epidemic proportions globally in the modern world. Along with growing rise of obesity in the general population, obesity during pregnancy is also on the rise. Obesity during pregnancy is now considered a common obstetric high-risk condition (Conway, 2011). Estimates suggest that one in four of women in the reproductive age group are obese in the USA (March of Dimes, 2010). This translates into one out of every five women being obese at the start of pregnancy highlighting the depth of the public health problem of maternal obesity (Kim et al, 2007). Significance of Maternal Obesity While in general the risk of obesity among the general population is heightened due to the life styles, t he risk of obesity during pregnancy is even more because of the erstwhile practices and beliefs of women during pregnancy. Earlier it was believed that maternal weight gain was useful in enhancing infant health and reducing perinatal mortality. However, evidence from studies now point to excess of weight gain during pregnancy is detrimental to the mother, enhanced risks during delivery, and undesirable birth outcomes. It has also been found that 40% to 50 % of women during pregnancy put on more weight than is recommended by the Institute of medicine. Risk factors for this unwanted weight gain during pregnancy include higher pre-pregnancy weight, primiparity, lower income, poor knowledge of weight gain recommendations, lower levels of physical activity, and enhanced food consumption (Herring et al, 2008). Evaluation of the prevalence of maternal obesity across the cross-section of the female population in the US shows that the women from the racial and ethnic minorities and low socio -economic status are more prone to maternal obesity than women from the majority population and higher socio-economic groupings (DHHS, 2007). There are several reasons as to why maternal obesity is more prevalent among racial and ethnic minorities and the low socio-economic groups in the community. False beliefs of greater weight gain being beneficial to both mother and child make them prone to excess of nutritional intake. The high cost of healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grain and easy availability of low cost fast foods results in women from the economically segments of society more likely to use low cost unhealthy fast foods as the source of their increased nutrition, leading to unwanted weight gain and obesity during pregnancy (Larson, Story & Nelson, 2009). Lack of or poor facilities for physical activity in the lower income communities, depression, fatigue, and the lack of motivation to maintain one’s health among the women with low socioeconomic status also contributes to the greater prevalence of maternal obesity in this segment of the population (APA, 2011). Consequences of Maternal Obesity Evaluation of the consequences of maternal obesity has to be viewed from the three perspectives of consequences to the mother,

Global Leadership Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Leadership Development - Essay Example Wyman enumerates some of the traits that a global leader should possess(2007). He mentions that a global leader should foster growth on a global basis(Wyman, 2007). Moreover, it is essential that he understands the different cultures and must have language skills. Since most organizations now have offices and branches around the world, the global leader must be competent enough to deal with employees of different nationalities. They must be flexible enough to be able to relate with their employees with diverse ages, culture, behaviors, and beliefs. Wyman also stressed that global leaders must think beyond boundaries (2007). Furthermore, they must be able to manage people even if they do not deal with them face to face.Aside from understanding his employees, a global leader must also think the way his worldwide customers do. He must appreciate the needs and wants of his customers who come from various regions.The challenge surrounding the issue of finding global leaders is that some o f these leaders’ capabilities do not necessarily match â€Å"the current emerging business requirements† of their organizations(Wyman, 2007). Another key issue in global leadership development is how to fill the pipeline and identify employees who can work from a global perspective(Wyman, 2007). Organizations must develop the global leadership skills of their employees. Some developmental tools that companies may adopt are assigning them to different jobs, mentoring or coaching, offering international business travel, etc.xposing them to experiential or action learning assignments, introducing international cross-functional teams, giving short and long-term expat assignments, providing language and cross-cultural training and implementing a 360-degree feedback system (Callison, 2011). The challenge faced in this issue is that if these employees are not developed soon, there might be a shortage of leadership talent; thus, creating problems in meeting future business requirements (Wyman, 2007). The third issue confronting global leadership development is the management of the process of gathering relevant information on pote ntial leaders and making decisions on the new roles that will be given to them and the organizational support that will be provided them (Smith, 2007). According to Smith, there are three factors that will help manage the process, namely: 1) executive engagement and ownership; 2) process resonance and simplicity; and 3) the right tools (2007). The executive engagement and ownership means that all executives of the company should be supportive of the program for developing global leaders. Process resonance and simplicity suggests that talent management must be simple and must be aligned with the organizational culture. On the other hand, the right tools refer to the technology utilized in the management of data related to decisions pertaining to the future leaders. The challenge in this issue is top management’s all out support for the development of leaders within the organization. They should not be threatened by the existence of potential leaders and therefore must be willi ng to reinforce the development process of these future leaders.

Decision of AmeriTrade Toys to Move Production to Chins Essay

Decision of AmeriTrade Toys to Move Production to Chins - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the primary duty or responsibility of an organization is to maximize the profits for its shareholders and doing within the legal boundaries. Hence, the decision of AmeriTrade Toys was acted out of duty and is ethical. Another factor to consider here is that if it had not moved to its production the company would have suffered losses and as a result would have been forced to cut down the workforce. Therefore, either way, jobs would have been lost. The economic benefits of the decision are that it would make AmeriTrade Toys profitable and allow it to make products available at a lower cost to the customer. Also, it would create economic opportunities in China by creating jobs. But this would come at the cost unemployment at Middletown negatively affecting its economy. The social costs of the decision are that the Middletown community would be destroyed and at the same would promote poor treatment and standard of life for Chinese workers. An alternative to ou tsourcing was to reduce the wages of the employees at Middletown explaining them the economic situation and the need to cut down on wages. This would have helped them gain the trust of the employees and the community. Also, AmeriTrade could have adopted other cost-cutting measures wherever possible. It is not ethical for AmeriTrade Toys to continue using Wen Wai as a manufacturer until and unless improvements are made to the working conditions. It is the company’s duty to ensure proper working conditions for the labors. AmeriTrade Toys is responsible for all its stakeholders and it cannot ignore the conditions of workers just because it is outsourced. Therefore, AmeriTrade has to work towards improving the conditions of the workers or discontinue using Wen Wai as a manufacturer as it would be unethical.

Racism in Roll of Thunder Essay Example for Free

Racism in Roll of Thunder Essay Mildred Taylors remarkable novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, annotates, portrays, and demonstrates the vivid image of the ugly race prejudice, effectively, that the African Americans experienced in the 1930s, during the American Depression. In Taylors enthralling novel, racism comes across as a major and influential theme as the novel progresses and revolves around a young girl, Cassie Logan, who matures with racial conflict around her. Racism is apparent from the beginning of the novel. It is depicted from the beginning that African Americans are treated terribly, and they must work extremely hard, to earn the money they need to provide their family, with shelter, and food. Papa must work away from home to earn himself a good salary to keep the Logans own land, rather than working as sharecroppers on someone elses land. The second example of the callous segregation is evident, as it is seen that the elite white community have transport to school, while the harshly treated African Americans are deprived of this service, and are forced to walk to school. Also, the whites are inconsiderate, intentionally splashing mud on the blacks clothes. The Berrys burnings is a significant incident revealing the cruel manner the white community behave towards the African Americans, burning them taking a match to them, without any justifiable reason, portraying the discrimination between the people. At school, an important instance of racism takes place, when the students of the black school, The Great Faith Elementary School, received new books. These books were in the poorest condition, as they were the left-overs of the whites. The inside cover of the books were highly provocative, both insulting and offensive to the African Americans, using repulsive comments to describe their race such as nigra. The law also seems to be in favour of the white community, showing the extensive segregation between the whites and blacks. It is evident when Mr. Morrison explains why he lost his job Mr. Morrison was blamed in a fight with the whites, although it wasnt his fault. There are rarely any whites who are friendly with the whites, and those who are, are despised. This is the case with Jeremy, who walks to school everyday with the blacks. He is often bullied, mocked, and teased at school, and is beaten at home. The abhorrence of the underprivileged blacks by the whites is remarkably large, throughout the novel. As the novel progresses it is seen that Papa tries to explain to Stacey to hang out less with Jeremy, We Logans dont have much to do with the white folks. You know why? Papa says, believing that whites and blacks will never really be friends, Cause white folks mean trouble, with this it also demonstrates hatred between the two races. The intensity of racial discrimination is massive when TJ talks about the night men. The whites tarred and feathered him, making the African Americans feel inferior treating them of no value and worthless. Cassie, herself, is a victim of one of the racism incidents. On her visit to Strawberry, she is forced to apologize repeatedly to Lillian Jean, a white, humiliating herself greatly. Even her family, who are strong-willed, cannot prevent such things from happening trying to stay away from consequences. Cassie is mentally hurt after this situation. Racist comments are at is summit as the story progresses. Kaleb Wallace, to Mr. Morrison, sputtered, You big black nigger, I oughta cut your heart out for what you done! My brothers laid up like they is and you still runnin around free as a white man. Downright sinful, thats what it is! Why? I oughta gun you down right where you sit. This quote shows the filthy comments the whites use towards the blacks. As the story nears its conclusion, TJ gets influenced by the white community, and gets into stealing. TJ goes to a Barnetts store with his white friends, to get himself the pearl handed pistol. At the shop, the whites wearing a mask kill Mr. Barnett, a white man. TJ Avery is immediately entirely blamed for the sequence of events. This shows, again, the law in much favour of the whites as the police dont even look into the issue they dont care who is guilty, but immediately find a black man to blame. If the roles had been reversed, circumstances and the events that took place would have been completely different. The whites simply want to punish some blacks, and they can do so easily, as no one dares to stop them. Throughout the story, there are several racist remarks passed to the African Americans emphasizing the conditions they faced. Life for the African Americans in the 1930s was completely unjust. Judgment based solely on physical appearance exists, to date, and is still a controversial issue.

The Giver by Lois Lowry Chapter Summary

The Giver by Lois Lowry Chapter Summary Chapter Summaries Each summary must have at 4-5 sentences. Chapter 1: In chapter 1 in the giver we learn about what jonass life is like in the community. We learn that there are a lot of rules. Like you cant fly a plane over the community and if you disobey the rules then you get released. Jonas is going to the ceremony of twelve in december, which he is nervous about. We also find out that people get assigned to families and in a family you can only have a female, a male and two children. That is what we have found out in chapter 1 Chapter 2: In chapter 2 we learn about what the ceremony of twelve is and what happens there. The ceremony of twelve is where all of the elevens go to a ceremony and recieve their life assingnment. The elders watch the elevens very closely to see what jobs will fit them best. Jonass parents are in law and order and nurturers. Jonas does not know what job will fit him best and he is worried he will get a job he does not like. That is what happened in chapter 2. Chapter 3: In chapter 3 Jonass father had talked about how there was this baby, (He worked at the nurturing job so he took care of babies) who wasnt doing very well so they were talking about realeasing him. So his father had brought the baby home. Many of the people in the community had dark eyes, but the baby had light eyes, like Jonas. Lilly had said he looks like you Jonas. Which had brought back a memory for him, It was that there had been a time where he had gotten called out on the loudspeaker. HeÂÂ   had been playing a game with asher and took an apple which you are not supposed to do. That is what had happened in chapter 3. Chapter 4: It had been almost time for the ceremony of twelve. There were only a few volunteer days left. Jonas usually didnt do volunteer jobs with his friend asher, but since there were only a few days left it didnt really matter. He had gone to look for ashers bike and found it at the House of the old with fiona. He went in and did his work in the bathing room at the house of the old. That is what happened in chapter 4. Chapter 5: In chapter 5 it explained how every evening jonas and his family told the dreams they had that night. Jonas rarely dreamed but that day he had vividly dreamed. In his dream he was at the house of the old, he was with there with fiona and no one else, and she was not taking him seriously. Then he admitted to his family that he had wanted to bathe her. His parents started talking to him about how those were stirrings, they gave him pills that every parent had to take, i think that they control your feelings. That is what happened in chapter 5. Chapter 6: In chapter 6 they were going through all the ceremonies. The ceremony of the ones twos threes fours fives six sevens eights nines tens and elevens. The ceremony of twelve has not happened yet and that is jonass. The ceremony of eights was where lilly was and that is where you start your volunteer hours. At all of the ceremonies you recieve something different. Like at the tens you get your long hair cut off, at the ceremony of nines you get a bike. All of them are different. That is what happened in chapter 6. Chapter 7: In chapter 7 they went through the ceremony of twelve. Every one of the elevens turned twelve and recieved their life assignment. All of his friends got the job they wanted. Whenever it was his turn, they skipped over him! He was so embarrassed he wanted to shrink up and disapear. That is what happened in chapter 7 Chapter 8: In chapter 8 all of the jobs had been given, except for jonass. The chief elder had finally called jonas up to the stage she apologized for all of the confusion and went on. Jonas has not been assigned, he has been selected to be the reciever of memory. The reciever of memory must have many traits which we think you have all of. There is one though that none of the community understands but the current reciever said the chief elder, the trait to see beyond. Jonas was about to say no you picked the wrong person, but then all the faces in the audience changed just like the apple. Then he understood. That is what happened in chapter 8 Chapter 9: In chapter nine he was about to go home from the ceremony of twelve with asher. When he went up to ask he said sure with his normal smile, but there was something different, a slight hesitation. The same thing happened when someone went to congratulate him. When he got home he read his rules which were surprisingly sparse. There were only 8 rules. You can lie, You cannot apply for realese, and a bunch of other ones. He was surprised at some of them and amazed how some people would actually do that. That is what happened in chapter 9. Chapter 10: In chapter 10 it was the first day of jonass training. He rode his bike to the house of the old with fiona because she will get her training there as well. Jonas had gone to the back of the house of the old to recieve his training. He was surprised at all of the locked doors and a little scared, but the attendant cheered him up and said the reciever of memory just needs his concentration. When he went in he was amazed by all of the nice furniture but even more amazed by all of the books, he only thought three existed!! The older reciever of memory asked if he knew what snow was, jonas said no, then we have got a lot of work to do. That is what happened in chapter 10. Chapter 11: In chapter 11 the older Reciever Of Memory asked Jonas to take his tunic off. The old man put his hands on Jonass back and gave him the memory of snow. It was very cold and he could see his breath. In the next memory the reciever gave him the memory of sunlight. It was very warm and hot. Jonas had a question, the chief elder said it would be painful but it actually has been very enjoyable. The old man said that it would be painful soon and that they would have one more memory. It was sunburn, it had hurt but he thought it was interesting. When the training ended the old man seemed tired. That is what happened in chapter 11. Chapter 12: In chapter 12 every one of the twelves was talking about there first day of training. Jonas wanted too to talk about his training but he is not supposed to and he would not know how to explain it. Then he went back to the house of the old with Fiona after school. When Fiona started rushing in to go to her training her hair had changed just like the audience and the apple. Once he got to the Giver Jonas asked about it. The Giver said that he was beginning to see the color red. Jonas did not understand this so the Giver had to explain. He explained that in memories things had a shape and size like now but they also had color. Jonas did not understand much so the Giver gave him the memory of a rainbow. Chapter 13: In chapter 13 Jonas starts to see every color every so often. He sees flashes of color every so often. Now when Jonas goes to the Givers house for training he often sees the giver rocking on the floor. He asks whats wrong but the giver just asks for him to go away. Hes worried about the giver so he asks to transmit the memory of pain to him. Thats what happened in chapter 13. Chapter 14: In chapter 14 the Giver gave Jonas a memory when he was on the sled again but on ice. He started zooming down and fell and twisted his leg. The pain lingered in him for the rest of the day. As the days went on, Jonas begun to feel more and more of the pain and understood it better, every day it got worse. That is what happened in chapter 14. Chapter 15: In chapter 15 Jonas went into the Annex room and realized that he would get sent away, he saw that The Giver looked in pain. Ill go now sir, Jonas said quickly, unless there is something i can do to help. The GiverÂÂ   had asked him to take some of the pain. Jonas had quickly took of his tunic and lay on the bed. The Giver had placed his hand on him and he braced himself for what was to come. It was warefare, wounded people were everywhere. When he could not go on anymore the memory stopped and he looked at The Giver. The Giver looked away from Jonas not bearing what he could have done to him. Chapter 16: In chapter 16 it was after Jonas had recieved the memory of warfare. He didnt want to go back, but he did. Ever since the warfare memory, the giver had given him happier ones and less bad ones. There are a lot of good memories too, the Giver had said, and there was. Jonas had seen a birthday party. Jonas asked The Giver what is favorite memory was. The Giver then gave it to him. It was a memory of christmas. That is what happened in chapter 16. Chapter 17: In chapter 17 it was an unscheduled holiday. That meant that all the kids were off school, training and volunteer hours and the parents were off work. Jonas had went to find Asher. He had found him at the playing field. They were playing a game where you have a pretend weapon and you shoot people with the fake weapon. Jonas had started to play when he walked out on the playing field but then he froze up. All of the other children backed away because they didnt know what was going on. It had reminded him of the memory of war. Everyone was gone except for Asher and Fiona. Jonas asked them not to play it again. You cant tell us what to play said Asher, then Fiona had rode off with Asher and Jonas felt he had lost his friends. That is what happened in chapter 17. Chapter 18: In chapter 8 Jonas had a lot of questions for the giver about the last reciever in training. It seemed like it caused the giver pain to talk about her. I loved her like i love you the giver had said, her name was rosemary. He asked what had happened why it had been a failure. She had applied for release and then all the memories were loose, The Giver had said. I cannot apply for release said jonas, its in my rules. But it wasnt in hers. That is what happened in chapter 8. Chapter 19: In chapter 19 Jonas was interested in the release of the newchild. Jonas asked the giver about it. My father is doing the release today, Jonas had said. The Giver wished that they would not do that. Jonas wished that he could see it. The Giver had the film out and was ready to show Jonas but he thought that his father would be mad. When they started watching it it started out in a room with a table and some equipment. His father brought two children and weighed them. The smallest one had to be released so his father took a needle with medicine in it and put it in his head, that had killed the baby, Jonas was in shock at what his dad had done.

Technologies Used in Aged Care Facilities

Technologies Used in Aged Care Facilities Table of Contents (Jump to) Technologies used in Aged care facilities Introduction Diffusion of technology in everyday lives Technologies used in Aged care facilities Enhancing the nature of aged care in the communities The need of assistive technologies in the aged Conclusion References Technologies used in Aged care facilities Introduction Elderly care, or just elder care, is the satisfaction of the extraordinary needs and necessities that are one of a kind to senior nationals. This expansive term includes such administrations as supported living, grown-up day consideration, nursing homes, hospice care, and home care (Study of Health Care for the Aged, 1962). In view of the wide assortment of elderly care discovered comprehensively, and additionally separating social viewpoints on elderly subjects, cant to be constrained to any one practice. Elderly care underlines the social and individual prerequisites of senior subjects who require some aid with day by day exercises and medical services, however who craving to age with nobility (Study of Health Care for the Aged, 1962). It is a critical qualification, in that the configuration of lodging, administrations, exercises, representative preparing and such ought to be genuinely client focused. It is likewise huge that a lot of worldwide elderly care falls under the unpaid business sector part. The use of technology to support autonomous living and the promotion of independence of more elderly persons will be of principle concern nowadays to help the elderly (Hà ¤ggblom-Kronlà ¶f Sonn, 2007). There are Government and non-government activities which, albeit not particularly focused on at mechanical intercessions for more established persons, could contribute towards supporting agreeable and stately living in this area of the general public. There exists an endless extent of innovation intercessions for the welfare of elderly individuals in the nation so that the innovations are available, moderate and versatile to the particular needs. Innovative mediations can incredibly help in attaining to these goals by giving key inputs and abilities. Diffusion of technology in everyday lives Simultaneously, as the individuals grow older, we are seeing remarkable improvement and the dissemination of, innovation in all parts of regular life. Right now, all types of innovation, including PCs, correspondences, security, and health observing gadgets, are being utilized to perform routine assignments and exercises (Katz, 2004). The utilization of technology has turned into a basic part of work, training, correspondence, and excitement. Technology is additionally being progressively utilized as a part of the human services stadium for the conveyance of administrations, in-home checking, intelligent correspondence (e.g., in patient and doctor), the exchange of health data, and associate backing. As correspondence conventions advance, we can foresee more modern system applications that can give speedier and all the more capable intuitive administrations later on. Smart advances will likewise progressively get to be installed in our associations with nature, and robots performing day by day errands will be typical. Individuals of all ages will interface with some manifestation of innovation to capacity autonomously and draw in successfully in their surroundings. Technology has awesome potential for enhancing the personal satisfaction for the elderly individuals. For instance, health applications and websites will enhance the physical and emotional prosperity of elderly individuals (Hsu, Yen, Pai Chang, 2014). Technology can likewise empower older individuals to stay joined with family and companions, particularly with the individuals who are far off. Technology can likewise help elderly individuals stay utilized and keep up or overhaul their aptitudes, or it can facilitate the move to retirement. Technologies used in Aged care facilities We need to be clear about two things from the beginning. One, technology will never remain to supplant the human cooperation that involves the very emotion of caring for the aged (Deasley, 1992). Nor will it ever supplant the empathy, generosity, sympathy and seen between care suppliers and the individuals in our general public who are dependent on care and presented to significant vulnerabilities. Two, Progressions in innovation likewise do little in the method for offering a one-size-fits-all answer for unravelling all the heap difficulties standing up to the care of age division, including a maturing population, more intricate health issues, deficiencies of talented staff, and spiralling expenses and pressures of funding (Baker, 2003). For some, the internal workings of a private aged- care centers will regularly invoke visions of time-denied guardians surging between occupants with unlimited surges of research material in tow (Chantler, 2004). Be that as it may, as more associations move from utilizing paper-based frameworks, to incorporate, electronic frameworks, this site will turn into a relic of days gone by. In particular, electronic consideration administration applications are turning into a quick segment inside numerous private aged care office all through the countries, giving care and nursing staff with the capacity to convey more proficient and successful consideration. The improved electronic accumulation of data at the occupants bedside guarantees more noteworthy precision of inhabitant records, while quick access to this data gives care and nursing staff with the capacity to be more responsive in their day by day consideration procurements. Indecipherable documentation is being supplanted by electronic consideration arranges that bolster individual focused inhabitant care and supportive care offices to all the more viably show and guarantee agreeability. Essentially, electronic medicine organization empowers care and nursing staff to all the more successfully organize, screen, and manage solutions and give more precise and opportune drug data for staff, and further enhance inhabitant wellbeing. Supplanting paper-based records with exhaustive electronic records additionally encourages the stream of this data between the more extensive social insurance group, including doctors facilities, therapeutic professionals, drug stores, pros and other consideration experts (Weber-Jahnke Mason-Blakley, 2011). Whether it is transitioning an inhabitant from a consideration home to a clinic in a crisis, or to an elective meeting with an expert, electronic occupant records assume a significant part in conveying the most applicable and critical data for every inhabitant. By streamlining the way individual data are recorded, prepared and got to, it doesnt just make more noteworthy efficiencies and diminishes the likelihood of human sleep, additionally moves a generous measure of staff time from lumbering research material to retire, giving eye to eye occupant consideration. The outcome for the inhabitants is more quality time with consideration and nursing staff, and access to a higher standard of value care and backing. Aged care residential facilities are likewise stretching out broadband web access to their occupants, which is an effective instrument in building a feeling of having a place, backing and association (Reymond, Israel Charles, 2011). Applications that have video support, talk, email and other online interchanges guarantee occupants can rapidly and effortlessly associate with relatives, close companions and the group, which can altogether add to a more prominent personal satisfaction (Communications Technology and the Elderly, 1984). Enhancing the nature of aged care in the communities Advancement in technology for aged care raises the possibility to upgrade the nature of aging care by enabling care providers with approaches to: Enhance operational efficiencies; Diminish risks and dangers (Toba, 2007); Expand ability to oversee constrained resources successfully; Also, in particular, give care and nursing staff additional time and space to convey customized care and backing. There is an extensive variety of data innovation and programming being solely produced for the aged care division. Large portions of which incorporate private and group care-particular applications that cooperate to absolutely impact the nature of consideration and bolster administrations conveyed. Technology based arrangements can likewise all the while improve the nature of the consideration and the personal satisfaction of elderly individuals that decide to live in their own homes (Science, Technology and World Advancement, 1962). Actually, advancement in technology is empowering the maturing populace to stay independent for more, expanding the measure of time they can keep up autonomy in their own homes, where they are generally agreeable. Shrewd planning and rostering frameworks are upgrading availability of customized consideration benefits in the most proficient ways. The most proper consideration workers can consequently be dispensed to a particular customer taking into account a thorough rundown of foreordained criteria. These incorporate variables, for example, staff accessibility, area, travel necessities, experience, capabilities, and abilities, progression of consideration, and vitally, the individual care needs and inclinations of the individual accepting the consideration. This permits an association to convey more adaptable and customized consideration, subsequently driving enhanced results for the customer. The procurement of online correspondence portals can further improve the customers experience by permitting them or their families to effortlessly focus when and where the consideration visits are planned, and select which mind specialist they might want to convey the consideration. The utilization of portable handheld gadgets is additionally helpfully giving consideration specialists access to vital insights about the customer, clinical information and other critical data paying little heed to their area in the field. The ability to give data to give a second thought laborer continuously and record redesigns of this data for the purpose of considering, enormously builds the nature of the consideration and bolster that is being conveyed. Above all, less time spent on research material means more individuals associated with the customer. With progressions in rapid broadband, feature conferencing is progressively being used to look for guidance from consideration suppliers, medical professionals and different experts on the web. This can diminish the anxiety connected with travel, especially for those customers in remote areas. Group care associations can likewise use assistive advances that help care workers stay receptive to customer needs, notwithstanding when assets are restricted. The utilization of insightful sensors and alarms can help keep up the customers freedom at home, while consequently alarming a consideration specialist if a surprising action is identified. The aftereffect of actualizing such advancements is a higher standard of the watch over the elderly individual in their own particular home. The need of assistive technologies in the aged Aids or other adaptive equipments are that are commonly used by the elderly are coming under assistive technologies. Assistive technology is characterized as any hardware or a framework that helps individuals who experience issues, because of age or disability, in doing ordinary exercises. It covers basic things, for example, strolling sticks, shower seats and snatch railed, and in addition electro-mechanical gear (e.g. Powered wheelchairs), electronic helps (e.g. Advanced portable amplifiers and ecological controls), or gear utilized by caretakers, for example, lifting guides (Zhang, 1988). In particular assistive technology is crucial for good health for elderly individuals to keep up their quality of life through the authority of their own surroundings and removal of obstructions to self- determination. In very old aged individuals living at home the two key regions for Assistive Technology will be essential -mobility, for example, strolling frames or wheelchairs and in home hard ware, for example, shower seats and rails for security and to support exercises of every day living (Miskelly, 2001). Elderly need boundary free situations, proper empowering gadgets and administrations that incorporate need evaluation, preparing, repair and support of the empowering gadgets. Enhanced innovation has expanded the accessibility of gadgets, whats more, guides that enhance significantly the nature of life of elderly and debilitated persons. Further improvements are required on next generation assistive gadgets, whats more, frameworks that engage elderly persons and maturing residents to assume a full part in society, build their self-rule and understand their potential. There is developing concentration on home changes that can make a huge distinction to whether an individual is safe and has the personal satisfaction in their home. Assistive technology is likewise key for staff to have the capacity to carry out their occupation, especially in the fields of individual care, word related treatment, physiotherapy, podiatry and exercise physiology. Private offices depend on an expansive mixed bag of gear to give care. Assistive technology is key on the off chance that an individual is incapable to shoulder their own weight in request to give security to customers and safe manual taking care of for staff. Conclusion Present day experimental and technological progressions have opened up new potential outcomes for elderly care to backing comfortable and noble living of elderly.. Capacities of current advances coupled with customary learning frameworks assume an imperative part in using tremendous available assets for advantage of the elderly at moderate expenses. Numerous health awareness ventures are arranging themselves for creating therapeutics by adjusting the process of maturing and age-related sicknesses. Technologies can assume crucial part in such group living spots. Innovative application in the field of amusement and entertainment is seen as a developing field which has utility both in urban and country areas. The accomplishment of innovative applications for elderly relies on upon arrangements and projects that advance healthy ageing. The human advantages that these advances guarantee will unquestionably be advanced by an elderly-mind framework which acknowledges new innovations intended to solace them (Using technology to improve healthcare for elderly people, 2008). Some of the innovations said in this paper can undoubtedly be executed through joint endeavors of government, intentional or non-government organizations and industry. References Baker, L. (2003). The Relationship Between Technology Availability And Health Care Spending. Health Affairs. Chantler, C. (2004). Health-care technology assessment: a clinical perspective. International Journal Of Technology Assessment In Health Care, 20 (01). Communications Technology and the Elderly. (1984). Journal Of Gerontology, 39 (6), 766-767. Deasley, P. (1992). Humans and technology: the twain meet. Manuf. Eng, 71 (8), 9. Hà ¤ggblom-Kronlà ¶f, G., Sonn, U. (2007). Use of assistive devices–a reality full of contradictions in elderly persons everyday life. Disability Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 2 (6), 335-345. Hsu, H., Yen, N., Pai, T., Chang, M. (2014). PERSONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT ON A SMARTPHONE PLATFORM. Biomedical Engineering: Applications, Basis And Communications, 26 (04), 1440004. Katz, J. (2004). Everyday lives and extraordinary research methods. Social Science Information, 43 (4), 609-619. Miskelly, F. (2001). Assistive technology in elderly care. Age And Ageing, 30 (6), 455-458. New elderly care service. (2000). Nurs Residential Care, 2 (6), 261-262. Reymond, L., Israel, F., Charles, M. (2011). A residential aged care end-of-life care pathway (RAC EoLCP) for Australian aged care facilities. Australian Health Review, 35 (3), 350. Science, Technology and World Advancement. (1962). Nature, 193 (4814), 416-420. Study of Health Care for the Aged. (1962). Nursing Research, 11 (1), 37. Toba, K. (2007). Risk assessment for falls in the elderly population. Geriatrics Gerontology International, 8, S26-S28. Using technology to improve healthcare for elderly people. (2008). Independent Nurse, 2008 (7). Weber-Jahnke, J., Mason-Blakley, F. (2011). The safety of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems. ACM SIGHIT Record, 1 (2), 13-22. Zhang, D. (1988). IMPROVING THE CURVING PERFORMANCE OF POWERED BOGIES AND OPTIMIZING WHEEL/RAIL CONTACT CONDITIONS. Vehicle System Dynamics, 17 (sup1), 555-558.

Suffering Idealized Essay -- Religion, Raskolnikov

Universally feared, pain and suffering are typically detested and avoided at all costs. Raskolnikov is humanized in Crime and Punishment due to his fear of suffering and avoidance of it. However, due to the social and economic ruin of Russia during the setting of the novel, many characters seek out suffering. Inspired by Christianity and the self-sacrifice of the Savior, people turn to the religion as a security blanket, which adds meaning to their existence. These characters not only welcome suffering, but also search for it and throw themselves into adversity. Ironically for the time period, female characters in the book represent Christian symbols, sacrificing themselves for what they love. Raskolnikov’s own sister, Dunya, acquires a very Christ-like position due to her extensive self-sacrifice. Having grown up in the same environmental situations as Raskolnikov, there is still a distinctive difference in their personalities. This difference allows Dunya to be adored by those around her as contrasted with Raskolnikov who, when at school, was mentioned to have â€Å"no friends†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"nobody liked him† (63). Here Raskolnikov’s differentiation from society is clearly demonstrated. Dunya takes her role a step further and is described as someone who â€Å"demands to accept torment for someone else’s sake as quickly as possible.† (567). The connotation of the word â€Å"demands† conveys her self-brought on obligation to undergo hardships. The word â€Å"quickly† demonstra tes just how frenzied her need to suffer for others is. An akin female who also craves suffering is Sonya. This is most clearly validated by her occupation as a prostitute. A prostitute typically sacrifices all they physically have for the sake of others. Her life is meager... ...it’s a real pleasure!† (575). This simple delight is Svidrigailov’s way of enjoying suffering without being harmed himself. Like, Raskolnikov, it stems from his subconcious’s need to expereicne repercussions. Suffering is highly idealized as a positive situation in St. Petersburg, Russia at this trying time. Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov find their positions to be aggravating and painful. Those around them take suffering in strife, and with pride. Yet these two cannot let down their walls and allow the punishment in. As a result, Raskolnikov is suffering greatly from lack of air and falls deeper into delirium. His life function begins to falter. The two men are lost, Raskolnikov in his failed theories and Svidrigailov in the trials of his being. Eventually suffering reaches a point where it must be acted upon for everything to run its natural course.

Artificial Intelligence Essay -- Essays Papers

Artificial Intelligence1 Artificial Intelligence (AI) conjures up visions of robots that can mix dry martinis while beating a grand master at chess; and to some, will one day be able to look, act, think and react just like a real person. I would like to explore the concept of AI as it relates to the business world, and its possible many other applications. I believe that true AI is a dream worth pursuing. Like me, there are many who, just like those of the early 1960’s, thought that putting a man on the moon seemed to be an extremely difficult, but not an impossible task, believing the achievement of true AI to come is just a matter of time. To remain competitive, companies must continue to improve by doing better and doing more; all the while using fewer and fewer resources, especially, manpower. Greater numbers of the world’s companies are turning to systems, which they feel offer the best means of attaining these goals. A group, or suite of tools that can help accomplish this pursuit of doing less with more is generally known as Decision Support Systems. This broad category usually consists of computer software and hardware, which includes Intelligent Decision Support Systems, Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence. Do these systems really provide a valuable contribution to those who use them, and just how much faith can be put into them? Strategic decision making concerns itself with determining where and how to deploy present resources to gain competitive advantages with the expectation of achieving some future reward. This simple, but powerful idea, permeates the planning process of large and small companies. Decisions related to how resources should be deployed consider specific measures necessary to compete effectively and efficiently; while strategic decisions are made with the expectation of improving future corporate profitability. Decision support systems are important additions in developing long term strategic plans, and thus long range profitability measures. Definition ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Before we can explore the possibilities and implications of AI, we must carefully define exactly what attributes make something â€Å"intelligent†. The most common way to define intelligence in through the term â€Å"consciousness†. A term such as this has no fixed definition; rather, it is a family of related concepts that ti... ...u/~grassie/StudentProjects/Debicella.html Guven Guzeldere & Stefano Franchi, mindless mechanisms, mindful construction – an introduction – (4 June 1995),Unided States: shr.stanford.edu/shreview/4-2/text/introduction.html R.L. Hughey, Jr, Expert Systems in Manufacturing, (3 May 1996). Carrollton Ga: www.southwire.com/sw/techlib/ieee0002.htm Henry Linger, Intelligent Decision Support in the Context of the Modern Organisation – (1997), Monash University, Melbourne Australia: inforge.unil.ch/isdss97/papers/84.htm Daniel E. O’Leary, Artificial Intelligence in Business - (17 December 1994). University of Southern Ca: www.bus.orst.edu/faculty/brownc/es_tutor/bus-ai.htm Otis Porter, Dueling Brainscapes in Artificial Intelligence – (1997), Austin Tx: www.businessweek.com/1997/25/b353210.htm Lynda Radosevich, AI Wises Up – Artificial intelligence has made the transistion from fuzzy-headed fad to real-world application – (3 August 1998), United States: www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?/features/980803ai.htm Cosmin Radu, What is an Expert Systems – unknown, United States: www.cs.umr.edu/~caradu/fuzzy/node3.html World Book Encyclopedia, (1999) CD Form.

Classical Conditioning in My Life

I experienced a food aversion when I took an anti-allergy medicine with water. When I was seven, I had an allergy on cats. When the allergy started, I took very nasty and bitter pills with water. In time whenever I drank water without the pills, I felt bitterness in my mouth. I didn’t drink water since then. Only in five years I started to drink water again. At first I felt bitterness in my mouth from the medicine which I took with water together. Therefore my unconditioned stimulus was the medicine, and the unconditioned response was the bitterness. When I didn’t have cats around anymore and stopped to use the medicine, I felt bitterness whenever I drank the water. Therefore my conditioned stimulus was the water while the conditioned response was the bitterness. Adolescent Emotional Experience When I lived in Russia, I often came home from school in a bad mood because I could not get along with my classmates. When I came from school, I tried to relax and either watched the movie or to do other things. Once I tried to relax by listening to the songs. I put my favorite song on and listened. Somehow I started to go over the things that happened at school. I became sad because I realized that I had no friends except for my family. The next few days I spent time listening to that song again. However, now that song made me feel sad. Now I don’t listen to that song because I don’t want to feel sad again. In this case the unconditioned stimulus is the things that happened at school while the unconditioned response is my sadness and loneliness because when I remembered them I felt bad. The conditioned stimulus is the song and the conditioned response is sadness because whenever I listened to that song I became sad. Fear or Phobia My friend is afraid of the large vehicles. When she was a child, she walked with her mother a lot. The park was far away from home, so they had to walk near the road to come there. The big vehicles were noisy. She didn’t like the noise in general. Later she was scared every time the vehicles beeped and started to cry. She was afraid of the loud and quick noises, and she still is. Now she closes her ears every time the noisy vehicle approaches. The unconditioned stimulus is the noise which caused the fear, the unconditioned response. The conditioned stimulus is the big vehicles which later produced the fear, the conditioned response.

Problems in business logic Essay

1.When compared to traditional desktop customers, why are mobile phone users much more likely to book a room or airline reservation for the same day? Mobile phone users were able to use an interactive application that allowed them to search by a set of particular items, which at the current time web users did not have that function. It was said that about less than a quarter web users booked a room for the same day while mobile users were more likely to book a room for the same day. 2.In the mobile design project of 2011, why did Orbitz management decide to construct a mobile Web site for corporate users rather than a native app? Orbitz decided that corporate users preferred using a mobile web app rather than a native app because business travelers already were using items such as smart phones, and felt that the mobile web site was more beneficially. 3.What is â€Å"business logic† and why was it important for corporate travelers to have online reservation systems that included business logic? Business logic is the communication step between Orbitz and the customer. It is important to have an online reservation system that included business logic is because a business traveler may need a place to stay quickly, and not know the area, they can make quick reservations from their mobile web app quickly. 4.Why did Orbitz reverse policy in 2012 and build native apps for each mobile platform (iOs and Android) instead of single mobile Web site? This change took place because Orbitz wanted customers to be able to enter their information all in one place without repetition. Customers would be able to compare prices, distances from their chosen activities and destinations and good deals. This redesign allows for fewer disruptions and site redirects. This allow shows that it increased the speed in which users were able to book hotels, flights and cars. Work Cited: Laudon, Kenneth C.. & Carol Guercio Traver. E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society. 10th ed. N.p. Print

The Cosby Show American the Different Sides

The Cosby Show changed the stereotypical roles that were usually handed to black films and movies. Before the Cosby Show there were shows like Sandford & Son and Good Times that portrayed black in poverty. The Cosby Show however focused on issues that pertained to everyone with a focus on black people. They addressed issues such as pregnancy, educatiion, marriage, and even touched on music. The days of poor black in television and movies are gone. Wtaching an episode of the Cosby Show is an inspiration to everyone who sees it. Being able to watch where there is a black family not struggling to pay the rent is rejuvenatihng t6o me. We have a husband who is a doctor and a wife that is an attorney that shows examples of what living in America is like from a educational point of view versus just what a sterotypical black family life would be. The Cosby Show focuses on what it is like to be pregnant and go through labor and delivery pains in dealing with real life situations. The show also focuses on a happy married life and the problems that can arise within a family. I never knew how smooth jazz could be until I had seen an episode of the Cosby Show. Going to college is a dream that most people try to achieve. Until I had watched the Cobsy Show I was never really informed on what it would be like to go to college. I never knew there were prominent black colleges and universities. I think that being able to have a good television show that shows real life examples of life is what helps make this a graet society to live in, the Cosby Show is that show. Once in a while the show highlighted musical guest usually jazz and blues artists. Three was an episode where BB King guest starred and showed America how he helped his guitar â€Å"Lucile†. The Cosby Show is an example of if you put your mind to it you can do anything, and today America knows that.

The Major Profitability Ratios

The major profitability ratios are: 1. 1. 1. 1RETURN ON CAPITAL: Describes the earning capacity of the enterprise and it is measured by the following ratio: Profit before interest and taxation Average operating Assets The Return On Capital ratio measures how well the average operating assets (assets such as debtors, cash, fixed assets, stock) are generating the company s income, and is indicative of the management techniques applied by the company to utilise its assets. A poor income rate of return could indicate that valuable assets are under utilised.As a result of this problem, an enterprise, which shows a negative Return on capital could be under the influence of poor management. The earning capacity of XYZ Limited for 1998 and 1999 |Ratio|2000|1999|1998|Comments| |||||| Return on|||||| Capital|NPBT|100|88|70|| |Av. OA|(286 + 230) 2|(230 + 162) 2|(162 + 144)|Industry ave| ||100 x 100|88 x 100| 2|| ||258|196|70 x 100|| ||38, 76%|44, 9%|153|| ||||45. 7%|| |||||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : XYZ Limited s return on capital declined from 45. 7% in 1998 to 44. 9% in 1999.This decrease is mainly due to the increase in assets, but further investigation is required to analyse the extent of this decrease. The decrease continued further from 44. 9% in 1999 to 38. 76% in 2000. Again this decrease is due to an increase in assets. The question that arises therefor is: â€Å"Is this phenomena as a result of mismanagement of assets, or just because XYZ Limited is starting up and still growing? † Additional investigation would be required to analyse the extent of the decrease. 1. 1. 1. 2NET PROFIT RATIO: The primary objective of an enterprise is to make a profit.Profit is earned from sales and serves as an important measure of return of capital. The Net Profit percentage can be measured by the following ratio: Net Profit Sales This Net Profit Ratio measures the overall effectiveness of the enterprise s operations, before interest, tax and other non-â€Å"operati ng† items. The shortfall of this ratio in terms of its effectiveness is perhaps the fact that its usefulness is limited to comparisons with other companies. In addition, there is no guideline as to what the ideal absolute value should be. Changes to the Net Profit % can be influenced by one of two components, viz. – Gross Profit Percentage Operating Expenditure In addition, the percentage of sales consumed by operating expenses (i. e. Gross Profit % – Net Profit %) is often indicative of management efficiency in controlling operating costs. Disciplined management techniques, for example, by cutting costs can lead to two consequences, viz. : – A more profitable enterprise An efficiently operating enterprise The Net Profit % of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Net Profit % Margin|2000|1999|1998| Net Operating Income|100|88|70| Net Sales|900|800|700| |11. 11%|11. 00%|10. 00%| |||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N :The Net Profit Percentage Margin increased steadily in proportion to the Gross Profit percentage during the horizon of 1998 to 1999 (10% to 11%). This improvement in the enterprise s return on capital indicates that a proportionately greater profit was earned from sales in 1999 that in 1998. The crux of the matter, however, is not yet known whether this improvement is as a result of larger Gross Profit or lower expenses. Further analysis would be required. During the period of 1999 to 2000 the Net Profit Percentage Margin increased by a further 0. 11% (11% in 1999 to 11,11% in 2000).Again this improvement can be ascribe to an improvement in the enterprise s return on capital. And as noted in the previous horizon, it cannot be determined whether this improvement is as a result of larger Gross Profit or lower expenses. Further analysis would be required. 1. 1. 1. 3Gross Profit % Margin Gross Profit % is an indication of the return of the enterprise s core business. The Gross Profit percentage can be measured by the following r atio: Gross Profit Sales The Gross Profit percentage ratio may be difficult to calculate, as many companies do not disclose their Gross Profit figures.This ratio measures the overall profit margin the enterprise is making on the goods it sells. Perhaps a weakness of this ratio is that by disclosing this type of information a company could potentially expose itself to its competitors. Changes in the Gross Profit % can be influenced by the following factors: Change in markup – changes in the selling prices of goods, or possibly trade discounts will have a direct impact on the GP margin. Sales Mix – an enterprise may deal with numerous different products, which have different mark-ups, and as a result, the sales mix will have an influence on Gross Profit % margin.A changing sales mix should be ascertainable from the segment report (if prepared) by the enterprise. Inventory theft – the theft of inventories would cause unequal quantities of inventories to be reflec ted as sales and cost of sales, and will definitely have a negative impact of the GP margin. The Gross Profit % of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Gross Profit Margin|2000|1999|1998| Gross Profit X 100%|300|256|210| Sales|900|800|700| |33. 33%|32. 00%|30. 00%| |||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : During the period 1998 to 1999, XYZ Limited s Gross Profit percentage margin increased from 30. 3% in 1998 to 32. 9% in 1999.Changes in Gross Profit from one period to the next may be influenced by an increase in sales volume, but further analysis would be required. During the period 1999 to 2000, XYZ Limited s Gross Profit percentage margin increased by 1,1% (from 32. 0% in 1999 to 33. 3% in 1999). A closer look into the enterprise would be required to analyse the following factors: – Higher selling prices Lower purchasing prices Incorrect inventory counts Stricter prevention or loss control policies For obvious reasons, this type of analysis is only possible if the unit selli ng price and the costs are known. 1. 1. 1. Return on Equity (ROE) Return on Equity is measured by the following ratio: Net Profit After Tax Total Equity Return On Equity (ROE) is an indication of good or bad the shareholders prospered during the year. The objective of any enterprise must be to yield sufficient returns in line with the risks taken on by the owner. In addition, the Return on Equity ratio also gives the investor an idea of the sort of return of investment he/she is achieving. This can be compared with returns on alternative investment opportunities such as savings accounts, gilts, and fixed properties. The ROE of XYZ Limited is as follows: –Return on Equity200019991998 Net Profit After Tax|56|48|33| Total equity|186|154|102| |30. 11%|31. 17%|32. 35%| |||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : During 1998 the Return on Equity ratio, as calculated above, indicated that for every rand in equity XYZ Limited generated 32. 35 cents in profit. Also noticeable is that during 19 99 and 2000 this profit was measured as 31,17 and 30. 11 respectively. Apart from the fact that there was a mediocre decline in percentage over the three-year period, nothing signifies that the company is undergoing stress in terms of the ROE figures. Thus no further analysis would be required. . 1. 1. 5Earnings Per Share Describes the earning per share of the entity and it is measured by the following ratio: Earnings Per Share Total Equity Earnings Per Share indicates the value of the company s share as perceived by the market. The higher increase in value, the higher the favourable perception of the enterprise. The EPS of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Earnings Per Share|2000|1999|1998| Net Profit After Tax|56|48|33| Number of Shares Issued|10|10|8| |R5. 60|R4. 80|R4. 13| |||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : XYZ Limited s earnings per share favourably increased over the three horizons from R4. 3 (1998), to R4. 80 (1999), to R5. 60 (2000). This steady increase in share value ove r the three-year period is indicative of the higher favourable perception of XYZ Limited s 1. 1. 1. 6P/E Ratio Describes Price/Earnings per share capacity of the entity and it is measured by the following ratio: Price Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Per Share indicates the internal growth of an enterprise. The P/E ratio also signifies how much investors are willing to pay per rand of current earnings. Furthermore, an increase in P/E usually indicates that an enterprise shows potential for future growth.The P/E Ratio of XYZ Limited is as follows: – P/E ratio|2000|1999|1998| Price per Share|28|20|16| Earnings Per Share|6|5|4| |5. 00|4. 17|3. 90| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : The Price/Earnings per share for XYZ Limited steadily increased over the horizons of 1998 (3. 90) to 1999 (4. 17); an increase of 0. 27. This increase is healthy for the company as it reflects it as a growing capability. However, since XYZ Limited is in its start-up phase this increase is understandable. The Price/Earnings per share for XYZ Limited, again, steadily increased over the horizons of 1999 (4. 17) to 2000 (5. 00); an increase of 0. 3. What is interesting to note is that this internal growth suggests that perhaps it is one of the contributory factors, which influenced the negative trend in the return of capital and since the company is relative new, growth is inevitable. 1. 1. 2 Liquidity Ratios Liquidity ratios, in essence, measure the ability of the enterprise to pay its bills on time. In other words, the more liquid an enterprise possesses, the more able it would be in terms of paying its bills. In addition, Liquidity ratios also measure the management of a firm s ability to employ working capital. The major liquidity ratios are: Current Ratio Acid-test Ratio Stock Turnover days Creditors payment ratio 1. 1. 2. 1Current Ratio The Current ratio measures the amount of times the company s assets cover its liabilities. Current liabilities consist of creditors who must be paid in cash in the short term. Current assets mainly consist of stock, debtors, and cash. The calculation of the current ratio is as follows: Current Assets Current Liabilities There is no generic rule of thumb about what the figure should be, but generally speaking, an acceptable ratio usually computes between 1 and 2, even though this may vary from industry to industry.The significant thing about the current ratio is that it is used to make comparisons, rather than an absolute measure of liquidity. As a short-term ratio, it makes sense, due to the fact the company s liquidity in the short term depends upon whether it has enough current assets to pay its current liabilities. Another important aspect of the Current Ratio is that it is an important tool for creditors and bank managers (in the case of overdrafts) as signifies that the company can make the commitment to its lenders. The current ratio could also be used in terms of risk management in the event of a negative trend in t his ratio.For example, if the rate at which the company s assets are converted into cash is slower than that of the repayment of the company s creditors, there would be liquidity problems in that enterprise. The Current ratio of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Current Ratio|2000|1999|1998| Current Assets|186|110|22| Current Liabilities|70|36|20| |2. 66 : 1. 0|3. 06:1. 0|1. 10:1. 0| |||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : The Current ratio for XYZ Limited during the period 1998 to 1999 increased considerably from 1. 10:1. 0 to 3. 06:1. 0. The poor acid-test ratio in 1998 indicated that the company had experienced problems.This is obviously not the case due to the fact that the enterprise was just starting up. Another observation of this particular horizon is that it signifies that in 1999 the company expanded (grew) substantially since its inception – which contributed to the enormity of the gap. During the period of 1999 to 2000 the current ratio of XYZ Limited expectedly â₠¬Å"levelled-out† from (3. 06: 1. 0) to (2. 66:1. 0); and even though it is still above the industry norm (2:1). Even though this horizon indicates that XYZ Limited has the capabilities of servicing long-term debt and current liabilities, it must still be viewed with caution. 1. 1. 2. Acid Test Ratio The Acid-Test ratio (or sometimes referred to as the Quick ratio) is a more severe form of the current ratio where current assets are readily converted to cash are calculated as a proportion of the current liabilities. The calculation of the Acid-test ratio is as follows: Current Assets – Stock Current Liabilities The Acid-test ratio also compares current assets to current liabilities, but removes stock from the assets, since stock is usually the least liquid of all the assets and the most difficult to convert into cash. This ratio, in fact, gives us a more accurate assessment of the liquidity of the enterprise.A quick ratio of 1:1 would be considered as the norm , but may v ary from industry to industry. The Quick ratio of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Acid Test Ratio|2000|1999|1998| Current assets – Stock|120|70|7| Current Liabilities|70|36|20| |1. 71:1. 0|1. 94:1. 0|0. 35:1. 0| |||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : The Current ratio for XYZ Limited during the period 1998 to 1999 increased considerably from 0. 35:1. 0 to 1. 94:1. 0 respectively. The poor acid-test ratio in 1998 is indicative of the fact that the company was in its infancy stage and was probably committed to its lenders.XYZ Limited then somewhat leap-frogged in 1999 to a more favourable position due its debtors recovery. During the period of 1999 to 2000 the quick ratio of XYZ Limited declined marginally from (3. 06: 1. 0) to (2. 66:1. 0) respectively; and even though it is still above the industry norm (1:1). The decrease in XYZ Limited s quick ratio could be ascribed to expansion in operations and growth and even though was still able to meet its short-term commitments. 1. 1. 2. 3Stock turnover days The calculation of the stock turnover days is as follows: Average inventory X 365 Cost of salesThe inventory stock days calculates the sales an enterprise contains in its year-end inventory. The most efficient scenario would be to have no inventory holding, but is impractical, as it would make an enterprise inoperable. It would therefor be considered as a management inventory control policy. The Stock turnover days ratio of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Stock Inventory Turnover Days|2000|1999|1998| Ave inventory X 365|66|40|15| Cost of sales|600|544|490| |40. 15|26. 84|11. 17| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : It is interesting to note that during the period 1998 and 1999 this figure for the stock turnover days seemingly increased by 25. 7 days (from 11. 17 days in 1998 to 26. 84 days in 1999). This increase in the number of days could be as a result of growth or due to stock holding. XYZ Limited showed an increase in the number of days for the horizon 1 999 (26 days) and 2000 (40 days). This negative trend over this period and the previous horizon could be misleading and potentially indicates that stock piling occurs. It is difficult to assess this condition as the company could be in the process of delivering a huge order or has over stocked in anticipation of sales projection. 1. 1. 2. 4Creditors PaymentsThe calculation of the creditors payments is as follows: Average Creditors X 365 Cost of sales The creditors payments days indicates the period an enterprise uses to pay it s trade collectors. This can potentially give rise to cash discounts by suppliers. The Creditors Payments ratio of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Stock Inventory Turnover Days|2000|1999|1998| Ave Creditor X 365|40|26|20| Cost of sales|600|544|490| |24 days|17days|14days| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : XYZ Limited showed an increase in the number of days for the horizon 1998 (14 days) and 1999 (17 days). And again during 2000 (24 days).This, however, does n ot signify anything as the company is still able to pay its suppliers in less that 30 days, which suggests an efficient payment process. 1. 1. 3 Leverage Ratios Leverage (Gearing) ratios, in essence, gives the analyst an indication of the sort of debt an enterprise has and how the operations is financed. All leverage ratios will contain long-term debts and short-term debts. This is usually compared with the total assets of the company. Financial institutions and banks are usually keen to know the company s leverage as they are keen to find out how much an enterprise has borrowed and what it can afford to borrow.The major leverage ratios are: 1. 1. 3. 1Debt Ratio The debt ratio is an indicator of all the debt that the company has , to its total assets. The calculation of the debt ratio is as follows: Total liabilities Total assets Due to the accounting equation, it can be generally assumed that the company has financed its assets by the above proportion of â€Å"non-owner† fun ds. â€Å"Owner funds† refers to share capital and retained earnings. Lenders generally stipulate that this ratio should not exceed a certain percentage because it is usually more risky to lend to a company who lacks owners funds (i. . share capital + retained earnings) as apposed to its â€Å"non-owners† funds. Again, the desirable value of this ratio is difficult to evaluate and its usefulness lies in how it compares to the same ratio in other similar companies. The debt ratio of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Debt ratio|2000|1999|1998| Total liabilities|100|76|60| Total assets|286|230|162| |34. 97%|33. 04%|37. 04%| |||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : The debt ratio for XYZ Limited during the period 1998 to 1999 decreased marginally from 37. 04% to 33. 04%. this was mainly due to an increase in assets.Due to this effect on leverage, the debt equity ratio caused the return on shareholder s equity to remain fairly constant even though an increase in return on capit al was encountered. During the period of 1999 to 2000 the debt ratio of XYZ Limited increased marginally, suggesting that the company did not have the same profitability as the previous horizon. 1. 1. 3. 2Long-term Debt Ratio The long-term debt ratio is an indicator of only the long-term debt that the company has, to its total assets. The calculation of the long-term debt ratio is as follows: Long-term Debt Total assetsLong term debt is fairly static. Generally lenders do not like to give long-term loans to finance short-term (current assets). They prefer to lend on a long-term basis for items such as fixed assets. The ratio therefor indicates what proportion of the assets has been financed by long-term debt. The debt ratio of XYZ Limited is as follows: – Long-term debt ratio|2000|1999|1998| Long-term debt|30|40|40| Total assets|286|230|162| |10. 49%|17. 39%|24. 69%| |||| I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : The debt ratio for XYZ Limited during the period 1998 to 1999 decreased mar ginally from 24. 9% to 17. 39%. This was mainly due to an increase in total assets. Due to this effect on leverage, the debt equity ratio caused the return on shareholder s equity to remain fairly constant even though an increase in return on capital was encountered. During the period of 1999 to 2000 the debt ratio of XYZ Limited increased significantly mainly due to an increase in total assets and a decrease in long-term debt. What is noticeable in this ratio is that XYZ Limited is not particularly bad for the company. In fact, the company is seemingly doing very well.

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