Inez Beverly Prosser Twentieth Century African American Essay

Abstract Inez Beverly Prosser (1895-1934), was an African American psychologist of the early twentieth century. Her main focus was on the significance of racism and its effects upon children relative to the obtainment of fair and adequate education. This writing will address the endeavors, perspectives, and accomplishments of this significant yet vastly under recognized African American female psychologist. A psychologist who led us on a journey through her perspectives as seen through the mind and eyes as an African American. It would be a journey of the many obstacles endured to enhance her knowledge as a way to make a difference for other African American children through higher education. Prosser contributed much, not only for African Americans, but also to the field of psychology through research. This journey takes you through her childhood, her desires, and her struggles while striving to achieve her goals and recognition. What is at the end of this journey is a legacy which has given hope and aspirations for many past, present and future generations. Inez Beverly Prosser Twentieth Century African American Psychologist 20th Century Education in Psychology – The Matter of Gender In the early twentieth century, the composition of psychologists was predominantly Caucasian males. Caucasian females at that time were more and more given the opportunity to attend college and teach within those colleges. However, those same women continued to encounter resistance to the opportunity for obtaining a degree in psychology. One such renowned female of that period was Mary Whiton Calkins (1863 – 1930). Calkins applied to study at Harvard University, but at the time, Harvard did not permit women admittance. Through letters, petitions, protest, and insistence by prominent   within the educational system, Calkins was finally allowed to study at Harvard under the conditions that she attends as an unregistered student. By 1894, Calkins had completed all of the requirements for earning a doctorate in Psychology. Although Calkins was never officially conferred the doctoral degree, she is regarded, by many, as being the first woman to have rightfully earned this honor. 20th Century Education for Psychology – The Matter of Racism Though Calkins had paved the way for the female gender to have the same rights and recognition as her male peers in psychology, the road remained an uphill battle and was riddled with exponential barriers for the African Americans. It was especially true even after an additional 30 plus years had passed between the time Calkins completed her studies at Harvard in 1894, and the time that an African American female strived to fulfill her goals through post graduate studies. For African Americans, there were roadblocks at the entrance of the many prestigious colleges and universities. As it stands, back in the early nineteenth century and beyond, African Americans have demonstrated their exemplary skills, perspectives, and intelligence in the world of nonacceptance due to the differences of their outward appearance, (color of their skin), or culture. Many African Americans have contributed to today’s society in ways that cannot be repeated but are worthy to have been credited for those very contributions. One such person worthy of mention as a great contributor to the world of psychology is Inez Prosser. Prosser is the central focus of this paper. Inez Beverly Prosser Inez Beverly Prosser (1895-1934), an African American who faced many obstacles in her quest to achieve the same recognition as Calkins, her female predecessor. Throughout history, racism and sexism were obstacles that have confronted African Americans, both male and female. Historian Cynthia Neverdon-Morton wrote, â€Å"†¦that African Americans saw education as a means of escaping poverty, enhancing their ability to secure employment, and redressing social inequalities and injustices.† (Benjamin, 2005) Prosser was one such person who went on to achieve greatness in her educational aspirations. In 1912, Prosser graduated from college holding a certificate for teaching. She began teaching at various elementary and high schools, while at the same time, worked on obtaining a master’s degree. During   time, the state of Texas did not allow African Americans to obtain graduate degrees. This fact did not deter Prosser; instead, she became an administrator at Tugaloo Col lege. She later applied and was admitted to the University of Colorado to continue her education where she later earned her master’s degree in education. At the same time Prosser was attending the University of Colorado, she took additional courses in psychology. She eventually returned to Tugaloo College as a member of the faculty and finished her doctoral dissertation titled, â€Å"Non-academic development of negro children in mixed and segregated schools,† which was approved in 1933. She was not only to become the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology, but also the first female African American in this country to be recognized as having done so. Although this point appears in many publications, it remains a matter of which you will not find Prosser listed along with the many accomplished psychologist of the past and present—not even within the â€Å"Psychology Timeline†, a source material provided by our very own Universities for reference. The Driving Force and Perspectives of Inez Beverly Prosser The foundation Prosser utilized for her thought process was the Humanistic theory. This theory focuses on the potential of an individual and the importance of self-actualization. As an educator, Prosser felt that Caucasian teachers within the institutions of the south were not equipped, from a psychological perspective of the black culture to adequately teach African American students. Prosser felt that the Caucasian educators could not relate to those students in the same manner as an educator of the same race. Prosser set out to bring attention to the significance of her view by creating, â€Å"The Comparative Reliability of Objective Tests in English Grammar.† The design of this study was meant to demonstrate that the English grammar tests that were being administered at that time were unreliable because they did not take into consideration the background or culture of the African American students. During her tenure, Prosser conducted an extensive study to prove this point . In her reason given for choosing Cincinnati for her research, this was made clear by her following statement, â€Å" (1) to measure vocational interests, leisure interests, play interests, social participation, emotional or neurotic tendencies, social   ascendancy-submission, overstatement, introversion-extraversion, and general personality adjustment. . . , (2) to ascertain the difference, if any, that exists in these traits, and (3) to determine whether one or the other of these schools is better fostering growth in personality in so far as it can be determined by the available techniques.† (Benjamin L. T., 2005) Her Contributions Prosser contributed much to society through her commitments for equality in education. â€Å"Her dissertation research, although unpublished and largely unrecognized by later researchers, addressed issues that would become central to the debates on school desegregation that led ultimately to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.† (Benjamin L. T., 2005) Much more was never realized due to her untimely death just one year after being awarded her Ph.D. in psychology. She, along with her husband of 18 years, Allen Rufus Prosser, and one of her sisters, was involved in a head-on car collision as they drove back from visiting family in Texas. Her life may have been short, but her achievements during her life were considerable. She was an encouragement to all who knew her as well as those of us who can only read her story. Prosser left a legacy which is represented best by the following memorial tribute to her honor, â€Å"In Southern Memorial Park , an African American cemetery on Roland Road in San Antonio, the inscription on Inez Prosser’s headstone reads,† â€Å"How many hopes lie buried here.† (Bazar, 2010) In conclusion In the early nineteenth century, racism and sexism were prominent within the community of psychologist. It was not until 1933 that this fact, due to the conference of a Ph.D. bestowed upon Inez Beverly Prosser, was changed forever. Prosser became the first African American female to receive a doctorate in psychology. Prosser persevered through the many obstacles African Americans faced in their quest to obtain an education at the higher levels from the southern state universities that would not accept African Americans. Inez Beverly Prosser was not, she went on to accomplish much during her short-lived life. She excelled in her educational endeavors by graduating with distinction. She later went on to receive her master’s in education. Her ultimate achievement was obtaining the status as the   African American as well as the first African American female to be awarded a Ph.D. in psychology. Prosser’s life was cut short in a car accident just one short year after receiving her Ph.D.. Prosser, through her studies, was instrumental in helping all of her siblings to reach academic success—five of which earned college degrees. Her contributions helped pave the road that led to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. Prosser was a prominent psychologist who deserved recognition for all that she brought to the forefront by bringing understanding and equality to the educational system. She was committed, and brought about changes for the diverse people of our society who were confronted with the unjust obstacles on their road to higher education. Works Cited Bazar. (2010). Psychology’s feminist Voices. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from Feminist Voices: http://www.feministvoices.com/inez-beverly-prosser/ Benjamin, L. T. (2005). Inez Beverly Prosser and the Education of African Americans. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 41, 43-62. Wiley Interscience. (2005). Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. pp. 41(1), 43-62.

Nowadays corporate governance

Nowadays corporate governance is seen as the key of attracting investors. Capital flow seems directed towards the companies, which practice fair and transparent ways of governing their organizations. With the changing global business scenario the need of understanding and effective practice of fair and technologically advance corporate governance has also increased. In my speech I will first explain the notion of Corporate Governance. ICAEW (2002) has explained corporate governance in a very effective and comprehensive manner as â€Å" Corporate governance is commonly referred to as a system by which organizations are directed and controlled. It is the process by which company objectives are established, achieved and monitored. Corporate governance is concerned with the relationships and responsibilities between the board, management, shareholders and other relevant stakeholders within a legal and regulatory framework.† Sir Adrian Cadbury (1992) defined corporate governance as ‘the whole system of controls, both financial and otherwise, by which a company is directed and controlled’. There are no hard and fast rules for corporate governance, which can be prescribed for all the countries. These rules can be different for different countries according to their needs and cultural settings. According to ICAEW (2002) with all the contrasts present in the rules and regulations of different countries emphasis is given to generic corporate governance principles of responsibility, accountability, transparency and fairness. Responsibility of directors who approve the strategic direction of the organization within a framework of prudent controls and who employ, monitor and reward management. Accountability of the board to shareholders who have the right to receive information on the financial stewardship of their investment and exercise power to reward or remove the directors entrusted to run the company. Transparency of clear information with which meaningful analysis of a company and its actions can be made. The disclosure of financial and operational information and internal processes of management oversight and control enable outsiders to understand the organization. Fairness that all shareholders are treated equally and have the opportunity for redress for violation of their rights. According to Meigs et al. (1999) this information meets the needs of users of the information-investors. Creditors, managers, and so on-and support many kinds of financial decision performance evaluation and capital allocation, among others. (P.07) Corporations resolutely focus on maximizing profits and a ‘legal obligation to act in the best interests of their shareholders. By and large, this excludes acting ethically or socially responsibly†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(Slapper and Tombs, 1999). (Shah, 2002) states that some Trans-national corporations make more in sales than the GDPs (Gross Domestic Product) of many countries. In fact, of the 100 hundred wealthiest bodies, 51 percent are owned by corporations. While this can be seen as a success story from some viewpoints, others suggest that these and other large corporations are largely unaccountable for the many social and environmental problems that they leave in their wake, and that their size means that their effects are considerable. It is not that every single corporation is inherently bad or greedy, but commonly, the very large, multinational corporations who naturally have vested interests in international development and trade policies (like any group) are able to deploy enormous financial resources in an attempt to get favorable outcomes. The political power that is therefore held by such a small number of people impacts the planet significantly. As a result a few of these corporations make up some of the most influential sources of political and economic power. Naturally, with such influence it is not clear   ‘who’ the regulator is. And as Clarkson’s (1999) earlier quote suggests money and power, in corporate activity, are paired. And where profit supersedes safety and power supersedes regulation there stands the conflict of interests, for the victims of corporate crime. These are for the most part neither wealthy nor powerful although, when they are liability is certainly applied copiously. For example in the case of Enron the former chief accounting officer, Richard Causey was indicted on charges of ‘ fraud, conspiracy, insider trading, lying to auditors and money laundering for allegedly knowing about or participating in a series of schemes to fool investors into believing Enron was financially healthy’ (findlaw.com). The ‘victims’ in this case were the investors who were identifiable and influential. Violations, which impact on financial systems, are subject to more scrupulous legislative administration, compared with social infringements (snider 1991 cited in Slapper and Tombs 1999:89). Increased attention to corporate crime would mean relating to large companies as ‘criminals’ (Slapper and Tombs, 1999). An issue, (Sullivan, 1995 cited in Clarkson, 1998) renders impossible on the basis that ‘crimes can only be committed by human, moral agents’. Media attention will focus on financial aspects of corporate crime due to its impact on a political scale and the sensational-factor that is the ‘respectable’ figures committing crime as well a the belief/knowledge that ‘scandal sells’. Scandal, is common reference for this financial aspect but noting the influence of language Slapper and Tombs (1999) note that this sets a’ scale’ for perceptions, rendering it uncommon/unusual. Another scale, which has been set in the last few decades, is the increasing complains of the least risk disclosure by the companies in their annual reports and financial statements. This is also accompanied by the misuse of the accounting techniques by the executive officers and managers of the corporations. As in case of Enron the technique of off balance sheet reporting was used in negative manner. Investors are often aware of the risks they take and in itself, off-balance-sheet financing is no vice. Companies can use it in perfectly legitimate ways that carry little risk to shareholders. The trouble is that while more companies are relying on off-balance-sheet methods to finance their operations, investors are usually unaware that a company with a clean balance sheet may be loaded with debt — until it is too late. (Morgenson, 2001) A change is required in the regulations. The accounting firm should not perform the consulting and auditing services both. The Companies should be required by the Government to increase their degrees of disclosure. The top-level management should be held more responsible by tightening up the regulations. They should also be held responsible in case of any frauds and regulatory violations of their subordinates. This in turn will give rise to the sense of responsibility in the people related at all levels. (Hanson, 2002) References Cadbury Sir Adrian, (1992). Report of the Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance, Gee & Co Ltd., UK Clarkson, Max (Editor), The Corporation and Its Stakeholders: Classic and Contemporary Readings, University of Toronto Press, 1998. ICAEW, (2002). What is Corporate Governance? Institute of   Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from Hanson, K., (2002). Lessons from the Enron Scandal, interview about Enron by Atsushi Nakayama, a reporter for the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, March 5, 2002, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/ethicalperspectives/enronlessons.html ICAEW, (2002). Corporate governance developments in the UK, Institute of  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from Meigs, Robert F., Williams, Jan, R., Haka, Susan F. & Bettner, Mark S., (1999). Accounting: The Basis for Business Decisions, Eleventh Edition, Irwin Mc Graw-Hill, p. 07 Moregenson, G., (2001). Are New Woes Lurking in Financial Nether World? The Associated Press, December 23, 2001, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/articles/isthisdebt.htm Slapper, G.,   & Tombs, S., Longman, (1999). Getting Away with Murder, Corporate Crime, Reviewed by Chris Moore, Issue 47, May 2000 Shah, A., (2002). Corporations and the Environment, Page Last Updated Saturday, May 25, 2002, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from               

Marketing concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing concept - Essay Example This means they should be given the room to understand what the product/service shall bring for them more than anything else. The marketing concept aims to pinpoint the needs of the target consumers and addresses the same whilst meeting their very needs through the purchase of the product/service and its ultimate usage. If there is no selling of the product, there would be no association of the need with the target audience and hence marketing might not be needed at all. Thus marketing concept looks to solve the problems in which the consumers are tied up and even when there is no problem at all – just to satisfy one’s desires – they are asked to purchase a product/service so as to have a better standing within a particular social circle or society. In other words, this encompasses the basis of self-esteem needs if not anything else (Varey 2001). Successful examples of marketing include the campaigns that have been launched by Coca Cola all over the globe. The pr oduct exists within the minds of the target audiences but even then the company has to market it on a consistent basis (Marco, 2001). This is for the fact that Coca Cola exists and it wants to make a mark on the consumers’ minds at every possible instance.

Monetary Policy (Macroeconomics) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Monetary Policy (Macroeconomics) - Research Paper Example One of the impacts could result from a spike in Treasury yield, creating a need to raise government spending. This has a direct impact on social development as it involves spending more tax-payer’s money (http://www.ny.frb.org, n.p). In relation to societal issues impacted by the policy, the article indicates that such changes could spike up credit excesses leading to a scenario of financial instability as witnessed during the period of the Great Recession (http://www.ny.frb.org, n.p). The financial instability could be as a result of jeopardized debt ratios as well as increased amount of internal debts. On the other hand, scaling back the Federal Reserve’s Economic value has a great impact on Emerging Market Economies (EME’s). To begin with, it would lead to the reduction of the Federal Reserve’s Liquidity Cushions on foreign exchange creating a scenario whereby foreign investors withdraw their investment capitals. In addition, it would lead to a scenario of jeopardized financial stability within foreign markets thus creating vulnerability in their levels of development (http://www.ny.frb.org, n.p). "U.S. Monetary Policy and Emerging Market Economies - Federal Reserve Bank of New York." U.S. Monetary Policy and Emerging Market Economies - Federal Reserve Bank of New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2014.

Software Defined Radio Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Software Defined Radio - Research Paper Example The radio has increased the reception frequency from 45 MHz to 6 GHz operating between 900 MHz and 6 GHz. At this frequency, the radio was able to cover a wide range of the available mobile communication areas. Figure 1 shows the frequency allocation of the present mobile communication, the global positioning, and broadcasting systems. The incorporation of Bluetooth application played a significant role in increasing the frequency and the bandwidth. Figure 1: Frequency allocation of mobile communication, global positioning, and broadcasting systems On the other hand, the radio receiver had to be designed in a manner that it would be compatible with the future receivers. The receiver transferred low-power radio frequency signal to a complex baseband signal. The design considered all performance parameters that included noise figure (NF), dynamic range, third order interception point (TOI), image rejection, filtering, and signal to noise ratio. In order to ensure quality configuration of the radio, the input power level, bandwidth, frequency, and modulation were variable. The software was designed to transfer signals to a dynamic range and have a flexible fixed bandwidth. Design engineers faced many challenges despite the popularity and demand for software defines radio. Simulation and design techniques were employed in delivering quality product to optimize its operations (Garcia et al 1156-1161). The new developed software provides users with an easier operating environment since a task radio behavior is set and the hardware is left to implement radio frequencies. In addition, the design team produced a small and simple receiver manufactured as an integrated circuit (IC). The... This paper approves that the analog to digital converters were also used in the design. The traditional radio receivers used external antenna at radio frequencies. The design engineers could not perform direct digitalization of microwave frequencies which posed a big challenge. The introduction of analog to digital converters made information more accessible and easier to decode. The mobile communication gadgets were fitted with the application from the manufacturers making it easier to convert frequencies. On the other hand, the traditional radio used antennas for single frequency band. Because of the increasing communication jam, engineers designed an application that could accommodate multiple calls at ago. This report makes a conclusion that the development of software define radio technology has changed the way in which people communicate using mobile phones. Many researchers have been conducted on the suitability of the application and how it could fit in the future world of communication. Wireless and mobility concept has allowed societies to share more information in an efficient and timely manner therefore, bringing life changing services to communities. The radio services have contributed a lot in educating, empowering, and delighting people on how to handle future technological changes. The revolution has changed even the ways in which people carry out their businesses in the present society. Each day experts come up with new methods of wireless communication that enable people to connect, share, and make innovations using wireless and mobility concept. The following application was found out to be very efficient, power saving, and capable of rejecting high levels of frequency i nterference.

Accountability of Police Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accountability of Police - Essay Example Police is the government department that guarantees through the use of force if needed, the peaceful and lawful existence of the citizens of the country. Since this department can use force to get its way through, this gets misused at many an occasion resulting in a large scale anti police sentiments. The responsibility of the police force is clearly spelt out in the law (HMSO, nd) when the force was created. This law has been undergoing rapid changes with the change in the way people worked and the level of civil and human rights that was envisaged for the people. With more relaxation in public laws and increase in the human rights consciousness, it is important for the police force also to modernize (Leigh, A., Mundy, G. and Tuffin, R. 1999). They need to change their perception in line with the needs of the civil society.Police Accountability has increased over a period of time along with the increase in civil rights movements and human rights activism. Police was and continues to be subservient to Judiciary in most of the countries. However, there are specific on site decisions that the police could take not withstanding any directions from the court. For instance, during a riot or arson, police can take a balanced decision to ensure that the peace and the property of law abiding citizens of the country are not damaged and the public property is not ransacked. However, the onus of proving that such an action was needed in order to maintain peace becomes the responsibility of the police. Such similar acts of the police mark their accountability to the public and are answerable in a court of law. It is therefore, important for the police to realise this specific feature set in law. Whether it is shooting down an 'unknown' terrorist on the tube who turns out to be an innocent migrant or when a black woman is arrested after a long drawn midnight struggle when she is repeatedly hit by three or four strong policemen, the accountability of the police come into foc us. Without reference to any race or sex, police are accountable for their actions like any other person in the country. Brixton Riots and Lord Scarman Report Brixton Riots left a long scar on the police and the administration in general. As the Scarman report pointed out, the 'complex, social and economic factors' created the violent protest that burnt the area. This was more a fight against the police, mostly, rather than the other agencies of the government. Scarman report further went ahead to say that there was a clear racial discrimination. There was a loss of confidence in the police force and in their methods of policing. There was a strong dislike among the black population for discriminatory tendencies in the police force. The report suggests that if there had been more of ethnic minorities in the police force such discriminatory tendencies would not have arisen. The accountability of the police in such an incident was pretty limited. Internal and External Discipline The police force is expected to be disciplined both internally and externally. In cases like that of the Brixton Riots where a continuous and ongoing lack of confidence in Police comes out in the form of riots, Police could not build the friendship that is required. The racial orientation of the police in Britain has long been under question. Therefore, it is only right that the police discipline themselves internally and then ensure that there is an external discipline as well. The racial prejudices that the police carry with them are inbuilt and have long significance. This cannot be offset within a matter of years or even centuries. And to set right this

Comparing Iodine Based Contrast Drugs for Acute and Late Allergic Article

Comparing Iodine Based Contrast Drugs for Acute and Late Allergic Reactions - Article Example After reading this article, both the patients and the technologist will understand risk of contrast reactions, the frequency of occurrence of such risks, the associated side effects, and through this they will understand ways of minimizing the occurrence of ICM. This will ultimately help them to come up with an appropriate plan to manage and treat the ICM reactions effectively. Introduction Iodinated contrast media are one of the most injectable drugs radiology. Reactions from intravenous injections are either mild or self-treated. Most modern iodinated contrast media are used almost in any part of the body. It is because they are often used intravenously although they can be administered intraabdominally, intrathecally and intraarterially. They are reported to be safe and with mild and self-limiting adverse effects. Nonetheless life-threatening or severe reactions can occur. Radiologist who get involved in using iodinated contrast drugs should be aware of the associated risk factors for contrast media reactions. They need to be aware of the strategies to help minimize adverse events and must be prepared to promptly manage and recognize them. Iodinated contrast media can be categorized into four groups namely (1) ionic dimers (lower carboxyl group toxicity; lower osmotoxity: ration 3),include ioxaglate, (2) Ionic monomers (highest carboxyl group toxicity; highest osmotoxicity ration 1.5), Diatrizoate, ioxythalamate, metrizoate, iothalamate, and iodamide, (3) Nonionic monomers (no carboxyl group toxicity; same osmotoxicity as the ionic dimers), include hydroxyl groups: metrizamide iopromide, hydroxyl groups: iomeprol, iopetnol, ioxitol, and iopamidol), hydroxyl group: ioversol, iohexol), (4) Non ionic dimers (no carboxyl group toxicity; lowest osmotoxicity: hydroxyl group (iodixanol), and hydroxyl group: iotrolan. This literature review of scientific articles aims at evaluating whether there were variations in iodine based contrast drugs for acute and late aller gic reactions, other side effects and their frequency. Materials and methods Selection of Random Controlled Trails (RCTs) investigating immediate or non-immediate allergic reactions, other side effects and frequency of iodine based contrast (Iodinated contrast media (ICM)) were considered for inclusion. Iodine based contrast was defined as intravenous contrast (radiocontrast) agents based on iodine. Comparing Iodine Based Contrast Drugs for Acute and Late Allergic Reactions, and other side effects and their Frequency Results and Discussion Iodinated-based Contrast Drugs/Media (ICMs) for Acute and Allergic Reactions. Iodinated contrast media (ICMs) are one of the injectable drugs that are most commonly used. Recent studies have shown that each year more than 70 million iodinated contrast media are administered worldwide. ICMs are derivatives of tri-iodinated benzene. Due to the tri-iodinated benzene derivative, ICMs are characterized by non-ionic or ionic side chains and the dimeric or monomeric ring structure. Non-ionic monomers seem to be less complicated than the non-ionic dimaers in NHR, although some studies indicate that there is no difference between non-ionic dimers and non-ionic monomers. According to the iodine

Logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Logistics - Essay Example It, in a manufacturing enterprise, consists of raw materials, work in progress and finished products. While the transportation cost of inventory may not be significantly variant, there is a significant variation in the cost incurred in storage of inventory. While some of the costs involved in dealing in and management of inventory are accounted for in the benefits associated with having the inventory, some of the involved costs are considered as wastes. Inventory therefore has its advantages in the form of derived benefits while it is at the same time associated with a number of disadvantages that includes induced unnecessary costs. One of the disadvantages of inventory, and which induces costs is the processes that are involved in the flow of inventory in an organization. Goldsby and Martichenko for example explains the additional costs of managing inventory as a disadvantage that an organization has to endure in order to obtain a set of inventory and finally transfer them to their point of demand. Every set of inventory held by BMW will therefore induce an extra cost to an entity on top of the cost of the goods. The additional costs such as the costs incurred when the inventory is â€Å"received, housed, paid for, and insured† are examples of expenses that BMW is most likely to incur when dealing in inventory (Goldsby and Martichenko, 2005, p. 20). Such costs add up to operational costs, costs of sales and consequently reduce an organization’s profit margin. Maintain an appropriate level of inventory at a particular time is however associated with satisfaction of consumers’ immediate demand for commodities (Goldsby and Martichenko, 2005, p. 20). A stock of goods allows BMW to deliver commodities at customers demand instead of arranging for the commodities after an order is placed. Maintaining inventory is therefore associated with both advantages and disadvantages. Another advantage of inventory that may prompt for endurance of the involv ed costs of its maintenance is the security of continuous supply of commodities to BMW’s consumers. This is because suppliers are not expected to regularly avail commodities in the supply chain. Seasonality or disrupted operations may also cut off flow of commodities from a supplier. Similarly, disruption in supply chain activities such as transportation systems may limit access of commodities down the supply chain. Maintained inventory can therefore allow BMW to be able to absorb ‘short-term’ disruption in supply chain to ensure continuous supply of products down a supply chain. While it adds to the costs on an organization, it also facilitates customer utility by ensuring ready availability of commodities at consumers’ demand (Goldsby and Martichenko, 2005, p. 20). Inventory management through customer relation management and supplier relations management is another process that monitors and influences inventory decisions by establishing reliable links u pon which planning can be made for a continuous supply chain with minimum inventory costs. This ensures that BMW stocks inventory for immediate future needs of its commodities, by the consumers. Similarly, developed relations with both suppliers and consumers identifies needs for value addition and facilitates reduction of costs in distribution through eliminating unnecessary costs (Lambert, 2008, p. 295; Cope and Brown,

What are the pros and cons of the rise of networks Essay

What are the pros and cons of the rise of networks - Essay Example To put it simple, â€Å"a network society is a society whose social structure is made of networks powered by microelectronics-based information and communication technologies.† In this definition, it is evident that network as an essential part of social structure has a two-fold basis for its functioning. In this context, it is necessary to concentrate on the reasons of network to empower. In fact, this argumentation enables to comprehend the core contradiction that appears with the rise of networks. Among the key drivers towards the new network society, Castells (2010) mentions technological revolution, growing interdependence between contemporary economies.In other words, â€Å"social changes are as dramatic as the technological and economic processes of transformation†.In the case of technology, the very ability to analyze innovations in the close link with social movements rejects technological determinism. In particular, it is presented as a deeply rooted in the so cial fabric instance, which is a mirror of prevailing type of social and economic knowledge, organizational framework, and network disposition (Castells, 2010, p. 35). In the context of the latest technological revolution, Castells (2010) emphasizes the role of Silicon Valley in America as a precise driver of this significant change (p. 62). Moreover, he stresses on the genetic engineering as â€Å"they also refer to the decoding and recoding of the information of living matter†.

Raynauds Phenomenon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Raynauds Phenomenon - Essay Example The primary type may proceed into secondary which may in severe cases culminate in gangrene and necrosis. Raynaud’s phenomenon is thought to result from over activation of the sympathetic system, which is characterized by vasoconstriction leading to a state of lack of oxygen in the tissues. In a patient with Raynaud’s phenomenon, there may be three skin color changes; at first the skin may undergo pallor which is primarily due to constriction of arteries (Spencer, 1998). This may be followed by cyanosis which is blueness of the tissues due to hypoxia, with the final change settling in as rubor that is redness due to return of blood into the arteries of the affected parts. However, it is not obligatory that all patients have a triphasic change of colors. In fact, it is now believed that most patients present only with bluish discoloration of digits, which is known as acrocyanosis (Sharathkumar, 2011). However, some groups of thoughts negate the idea, they believe that ac rocyanosis is distinct from Raynaud’s phenomenon since it is characterized by continuous cyanosis (Wigley, 2002). Raynaud’s phenomenon in infants is a rare finding. One such finding was relegated by a research paper consisting of a case report regarding an infant presenting with unilateral cyanosis at 1 month of age, who was later diagnosed to have primary Raynaud’s phenomenon at 9 months of age (Sharathkumar, 2011).

Recruitment Documentation Essay Example for Free

Recruitment Documentation Essay In this assignment I am going go through how and what companies do when they are hiring people and what candidates need to do to get their job. I am also going to describe the recruitment documentation used in a selected organisation. The selected organisation I am doing is Tesco. When companies are looking for recruitments, firms produce two documents to hire people; one document is the Job Description. The job description includes responsibilities, duties, who responsible to, whom responsible for, working conditions and more. The job description makes it clear to the candidate. The second document is a Person Specification. A person specification is profile of the employee, this includes; skills, qualifications, experience, circumstances, disposition etc. The next thing firms do when looking for someone to recruit is put out a job advertisement, this could be on their local, they could also advertise their jobs in store, in a business that helps people get jobs, newspaper, magazines, media and more. A job advertisement includes their name, pay, location, to whom the position reports. This is when the employee comes to the company and they will then ask for applicants, this is by a CV or application form. An application form contains personal detail, space for qualification, experience, why you want the job, referee and criminal declaration. After filling in an application form the company then send the potential applicant a job description, personal spec and an app form. The applicants then send a completed form (with cover letter) or CV, this is then sent to the company. When the company receive all the application they then do shortlisting – this is when they narrow them down by matching with job description and select them for an interview. Once this is done the company then sends the invitations letter for the interview and sometimes a rejection letter (but this hardly happens). They interview with 6 or less applicants, when interviewing they are sometimes 2 or 3 people (someone from the HR or someone from another department). While interviewing they m ight make notes. The company then sends out letter to successful applicant, they also send out a contract, 2 copies. The contracts include holidays, pay, condition, dress code, safety. On this page it includes the job specification telling the applicant what they are looking for in this job. â€Å"The Blueprints are the inputs for Store Planning to develop Development Store plans. The Proposition Blueprint Manager is the custodian of the customer experience in stores throughout the shopping trip. Four days a week will be spent in the office with the other day spent out on sites and in competitors ensuring we are at the forefront of customer innovation.† The recruitment documentation for Tesco is very simple. It is very similar to how I have explained above; you first apply for the specific job role. If they have fo0und your application interesting, they will then call you in for an interview. Once the interview is done and they think you meet the criteria, they will then send you a letter/email telling that you have succeeded; if you have not succeeded they will send out a rejection letter/email. Once you have accepted the job they will then talk about your contract, this including, your pay, how many hours you work, dress code, holidays etc. Once you have signed this contracts you will be ready to start working for Tesco.

Juno Movie Analysis Essay

Juno Movie Analysis Essay Females have been stereotyped, from the prefect wife to the maid.. Whatever the role, television, film and popular magazines are full of images of women and girls who are typically white, desperately thin, with flawless skin. However, female stereotypes continue to thrive in the media we consume every day. In 2007, director Jason Reitman, brought fourth into the world A comedy about growing up And the bumps along the way. It started as an independent film phenomenon but soon grew into a motion picture that captured the hearts and minds of millions of people. The movie was entitled Juno. Juno reflects the changing gender issues and social attitudes regarding teenage pregnancy. Since the movie was release, there have been quite a few television shows with teen pregnancy as the main theme, namely ABC Familys The Secret Life of the American Teenager in 2008 and MTVs Sixteen and Pregnant in 2008 and Teen Mom in 2010. Twenty years ago, movies and TV shows showing teenage pregnancy in such a positive light would have been seen as some kind of dislike and probably never have aired. If the issues of teenage pregnancy were to have come up at all, it would have been seen with very negative connotations. Juno opens the doors for TV shows such as the one mention above and changes the dominant ideology reflecting the change in social attitudes regarding teenage pregnancy and gender roles. Juno tells the story of teenager, Juno McGruff who becomes pregnant after a sexual encounter with her friend Paulie Bleeker. Upon making her mind either keep the baby, have the baby and give it up for adoption, or to have an abortion, Juno decides to have the baby and to give it up for adoption. The rest of the movie goes on to telling the story of Junos pregnancy, including telling her parents that she is pregnant, the process of selecting a family in which to give her child to, her changing relationship with Paulie, and her daily life and struggles as a pregnant high school student. In the end, the parents in which Juno decided to give her baby to, Mark and Vanessa, end up getting a divorce. Yet, Juno still decided to give her baby to Vanessa in the end. This is one of the biggest ways that I think Juno represents the changing gender roles. Aside from one minor meltdown toward the end of the movie, Juno seems to deal with her unplanned pregnancy in a somewhat cheerful, sarcastic ma nor. This shows that an unplanned pregnancy, something that would have been seen as almost unforgivable and an act that would ruin any young womans reputation, nowadays is seen as an almost normal event, even though it may not be the most common. This also shows the evolution of gender roles and values in modern cinema. Finally is the issue of how casual sex is depicted in the film. Juno and Paulie were not in any kind of formal relationship, at least, not at the beginning of the movie, when they had sex and Juno got pregnant. While Juno and Paulie do engage in casual sex, Juno is never called an offensive name, nor does it ever mention that she has been with any other partners in the movie. This depiction of a casual encounter is yet another example of changing gender roles and values within the depiction of teenage women in the media. As most of us know by now, when a girl enters adolescence, she faces a series of loss and changes, the loss of self confidence and not to mention the body changes. As psychologist have pointed out in recent years, adolescent girls in American are afflicted with a range of problem, including low self- esteem, eating disorders, binge drinking, date rape and other dating violence, teen pregnancyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Gilligan). Jessica L. speaks of the specific issues with the film in her paper, Sexual Subjectivity: A Semiotic Analysis of Girlhood, Sex and Sexuality in the Film Juno. While situating sexual desire, biological possibilities, and social responses to girls engagement in sexual intercourse at the center of its plot, Juno depicts the transgressive sexual agency of a young girl without substantially disrupting longstanding discourses of femininity. Though an analysis of the semiotics of girlhood within the film, [she] argue[s] that the girl figure in this representation signifies an [combination] of two traditionally [categorized] concepts of femininity. Juno serves as a particularly intriguing example of the ways in which adolescent female sexuality is conceptualized within western culture during the early part of the 21st century (Willis). In her paper, she goes on to commend Diablo Cody, writer of Juno for her representation of Juno, in a visual era lacking widespread representations of strong youth female characters not sexually objectified or singularly defined by their interest in romance (Willis). The way Juno is portrayed as a female character that is not overtly sexualized starts with her basic appearance. Rather than a stereotypical depiction of the female body as a sexual object, sexual desire is visibly expressed and acted upon by the girl character (Willis). The fact that Juno was the one to initiate the sexual contact with Paulie challenges the traditional beliefs of gender roles in the area of teenage sexuality. In the movie Juno, teenage pregnancy is also being displayed in the almost positive way. In other media, pregnancy is displayed showing some kind of negative effect. The way media shows any kind of issue is usually a direct reflection of social values. Angela McRobbie addresses this issue in her book Feminism and Youth Culture. The diversification of forms of media and the sophisticated [shake-up] of various categories of audience require that, while a consensual social morality might still be a political objective, the chances of it being delivered directly through the channels of the media are much less certain (McRobbie). But the question still remains, is media influencing the way we think regard teenage pregnancy, or is it a correct reflection of our changing attitudes? I believe that the media influences the way we think of any issue in this case teen pregnancy. The authors of the article Suddenly Teen Pregnancy is Cool? suggest perhaps a little of both. While they do point out all the instances of teenage pregnancy in recent years of popular culture, Movies like Knocked Up and Waitress, and celebrity moms including Nicole Richie and Jessica Alba, are part of a trend thats sweeping teen culture along with it: American Idol star Fantasia Barrino became a mom at 17, and the last season of Degressi: The Next Generation ended with Emma realizing that she might be pregnant. The media is awash in it, says David Landry, senior research associate at the Guttmacher Institute in New York, a non-profit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health (Gulli). In Conclusion, Juno decides to avoid traditional family roles and still gives her child to Vanessa, even though she and Mark are divorcing. It is not unusual to see a single working mother nowadays, especially more so now than thirty years ago. Even single working mothers are shown more frequently in the media such as in Gilmore Girls and the new show Parenthood. Through the examples of traditional family roles being challenged by Juno still giving Vanessa her baby, a positive representation of unwanted teenage pregnancy, and showing casual sex between teenagers, it is clear that the release of Juno opens the doors for TV shows such as the one mention above and changes the dominant ideology reflecting the change in social attitudes regarding teenage pregnancy and gender roles. We just need to remember like Margaret Mead once said, today our children are not brought up by parents, they are brought up by the mass media (mead).

Advantages and Disadvantages: Event Driven Process Chain

Advantages and Disadvantages: Event Driven Process Chain The reason to choose UML to create a model among the other choices is its simplicity and ease of use. The structure of the end model obtained using UML is easy to design. The given case on hospital procedures was simple to understand but when comes to addressing the problem with a model, its an entirely different story. This is because the given case consists of four core issues and each issue has to be addressed properly. We identified the actors use cases, functions and their attributes at the first place. The very next step was to interpret the identified elements into graphical units. These are pretty much the steps involved in designing the model using UML. The first constraint to arise was how to handle external actors while using use case diagrams. Next on the priority list was whether to implement the model using swim lanes or normal flow when it came down to activity diagram. With reference to the hospital case, the entity à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½general practitionerà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ which was suppose to be interpreted as function it was rather used as a external actor. Similarly the standard swim lanes which were to be used in accordance with activity diagram protocol were replaced by using the alternate normal flow diagram. The initial work of interpreting the given problem into workable modeling units was carried out. It was followed by dividing the complex issue into small modules so as to achieve better efficiency. The model is highly influenced by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½modular programming approachà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. That approach helped us a lot in understanding the complex issue by dividing it into number of sub-issues and addresses them individually. These collections of smaller solutions ultimately added up to the consolidated solution. Reflection on the modeling process: (EPC) It was an entirely different approach from UML model. As far as we are concern, this model is an enhancement of a basic flow chart. This is because, the shapes, the flow and the structure the model is highly influenced by a flow chart. The model required extensive analysis to segregate the model units from the given case. It takes quite some time to get accustomed to new rules of modeling difficulty arises when we tried to give a base model for the entire case so as to give a skeleton approach. Adding to the complexity, the use of logical connectors and splitters was a tedious job. Modeling the various issues and the core processes posed a variety of problem during the early stages. For example usage of logical splitters and connectors was different from using other branching structures. And also the rules of using units like à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½eventsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½functionsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and the others was to be kept in memory prior to joining them with the other units. The structure of the model was a long one when compared with that of the previous model. Some portions of the problem given had to be modified, which in process gave away parts of the literal components. Adjustments and modifications were carefully tailored so as to meet the conditions and rules of how the model to be made. The work was to pick out units with reference to EPC such as events, functions and organizational units etc. we identified events from all the core issues which were to be followed by functions. In a similar fashion the other model units were sorted out. After that these individual units were integrated as according to the rules of EPC. The areas in which logical connectors were to be used were identified and the connectors were put into their place. This ensures proper structure and flow of process. Reflection on the modeling Language: (UML) This is because; the given case is simple but an elaborate one. Thus, a reader could easily identify the number of entities involved and their roles and still could progress through the entire model which is an elaborate one without losing the track of the process. How and when a reader could get confused with the different models depends on the knowledge of the user, that goes as a different topic altogether. But even an ordinary reader could spot the persons, the different processes and the flow of the model readily and easily. And also the UML diagram itself is quite easy to design which involves few graphical elements. Unlike other modeling languages, UML emphasizes on à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½use casesà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ which are in essence are nothing but notations of the essential activities results and the functions which constitutes to the entire process. It helps the user to easily get used to the protocols of using use cases and implement them. Since the actors and external actors are depicted against the use cases, its easy to connect the performers of the action and their sub sequent results. Complexity of producing a suitable model for business process is reduced to a greater extends. As far as the hospital case is concerned, UML is the most suitable modeling language to aid the user as well as analyst due to the above said reasons. This case produces four core processes starting from admission of patient till the discharge of patient, which involves quite a lot of actors and their functions which in turn produce the given results. One could easily interpret statement into the business model using UML by just using a handful of graphical units without any ambiguities. We say this so because, the four critical issues are addressed with the specific actions being transferred into particular use cases one after the other in a typical UML fashion. Each actor is connected to their actions and the directional connectors indicate the flow of action. For example: A nurse in this hospital performs the following actions like allotting bed, recording the admission time, conducting ward rounds, providing medical care and updating registers. It is evident from the above said reasons that the role of nurse involves quite a few activities and these activities are supposed to be recorded and depicted in business model to ensure complete data base of the events and their functions. Adding to these facts, one needs to know that these actions are not consecutive and happened in a sequence ware the activities performed by other actors coming in between them or preceding them or succeeding them. Only in UML we could connect the specific actions performed by distinct actors without getting entangled in the collection of various other functional units. In a nut shell, a reader could grasp the flow of different actors and their functions at the same time in a single diagram. The only substantial drawback of UML is not able to implement logical flow and branching options i.e. in the given hospital case, there are instances were two parallel events occur where one cannot use UML modeling to depict the parallel events occur For example: A nurse provides medical and general care whereas in parallel another nurse prepares the necessary test forms and forwards them to the physician. Using UML we interpreted this problem statement in the following manner à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½provides medical careà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½prepares test formà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½; a reader could not understand whether these two processes occurred at the same time or at different instances. So these processes were placed one after the other and connected to a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½nurseà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. From the above example we can infer that UML does not aid plotting of parallel events. The key factor missing in UML is a lack of logical decision makers and branching functions example in discharging of patient, there is logical branching condition which needs to be satisfied, the condition is the patient is to be cured of diagnosis or else the entire treatment cycle has to be read. It is not possible in use case diagram as these two unique events need to be addressed as separate use cases rather than branched activities or events. Comparison of Languages: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Logical connections and decisions cannot be performed in UML use case models and it could be done in EPC. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ We have faced little difficulties while addressing parallel processes in use case diagram. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Structure and integration could be expressed more efficiently in EPC rather than UML. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Only in UML we could connect the specific actions performed by distinct actors without getting entangled to other functional units. Advantages of UML: UML is the popular approach of visualizing and documenting the software systems design. UML gives object oriented design concepts and ità ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s independent of specific programming language. UML is a popular and technique for documenting and modelling system. It ensures set of symbols to represent graphically the various components and relationships within the system and UML can be used for business process modelling and requirements modelling, it mainly uses to support object oriented system analysis and to develop the object models. Real time UML, this approach is the application of UML to design the real-time system. It emphasises the system with structural and behavioural language models and those designing modelling include the architectural mechanical and detailed design .Object oriented methodologies have employed in the construction of the real time system. The introduction of IT for hospital case is expected to be a major issue in re-designing the processes. Therefore, some of the functions will be speeded by developing suitable software and hardware artifacts. To do so, the business models should be seamlessly matched to software engineering models. As a standard, UML seems to be currently the best choice for expressing such models Disadvantages of UML: UML has still no structure and specification for modeling user interfaces. From our point view, the main disadvantage of this model is lack of formality. UML is used in a implementation process and we wish to use it for our stage of this process for consistency and to protect the user translating work into a innovative language. The other related reason is simply that if users are familiar with UML it may be worth keeping it, as a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½front endà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ to a formal language. Advantages of EPC: One of the main advantages of the EPC is that it is both powerful and easily understandable for end-users. EPCs are often used for capturing and discussing business processes with people who have never been trained in any kind of modelling technique. Although EPCs can be understood even by untrained personnel, the same models can be refined and used for the requirements definition of an information system. This is one of the reasons that both many end-user companies and many software vendors are using EPCs for business process modelling. The existing connections with traditional modelling methods (e.g. data models, such as the entity relationship- model) have been very useful for developing information systems for process-oriented organizations. Therefore many users have asked for a similar kind of connection between EPCs and UML diagrams. Comparison of process: ? UML is richer of concept than ARIS because of the presence of Stereotype, and this enables a higher view of modelling for specific cases. ? ARIS allows personalisation of the model as one concept is represented in many symbols.The software platform also allows integration of business and IS concepts. ? EPC method and UML have different scopes of business modelling. There is a need to use one language in both software and business fields. ? Logical connections and decisions cannot be performed in UML use case models and it could be done in EPC. ? We have faced little difficulties while addressing parallel processes in use case diagram. ? Structure and integration could be expressed more efficiently in EPC rather than UML. ? Only in UML we could connect the specific actions performed by distinct actors without getting entangled to other functional units. Reasons for choosing EPC: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ The EPCs meet the requirements to put forward with respect to the ease of understanding by non-specialist in modelling. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ EPCs can offer a multi-level view of the process, since a function in an EPC could be explained in more detail by means of another EPC. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ EPCs give a consistent, formally supported process oriented language that can ensure simulation of the processes. Comparison between EPC and UML: When comparing the EPC and UML for modelling business processes, there are some aspects from which we can view the correspondences and differences between these two methods. The comparisons can be mainly grouped into three aspects: Context: This aspect covers in which context the EPC or UML are developed and used. Both diagrams can be used for modelling business processes, but both have different contexts under which they are developed. Ambiguity: In modelling business processes, it is possible that the EPC or UML diagrams that are created would be ambiguous. Examples of this are implicit decisions, possibility of having blocking, etc. Therefore it is necessary to take a look at the exactness or ambiguity of the diagrams constructed with EPC or UML Activity Diagram. Notation/Terminology: Both the EPC and UML activity diagrams have similar concepts à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ such as fork/join, branch/merge, atomic/extended activity, etc à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ but they are represented using different notation and terminology. Some notation does not have a counterpart in the other diagram. This indicates the semantic differences between them. Therefore we will compare both notations and terminologies to see the correspondence of symbols of one diagram in another diagram and the differences between them. Context Even though the EPC and UML Diagrams are used or can be used to denote business processes, they were developed in different contexts. This pragmatic difference comes from the different modelling approaches that drive the EPC and UML. There are two approaches to model a system. Process-oriented modelling: In process-oriented modelling, the main focus of modelling a system is the process inside the system. A process consists of sequences of events triggering activities. The events themselves are the results of other functions apart from initial events that trigger the whole process. By introducing logical operators, this event-driven control structure can be expanded to a complex control flow illustrating relevant decisions and potential for concurrency that happen in the process. This process-oriented modelling is the basis for the EPC, which found its way as a standard for modelling business processes of an enterprise. The basic EPC model can be extended by further semantic components to illustrate the elements participating in the process such as information objects and organization units. Object-oriented modelling: In object-oriented modelling, the main focus of modelling a system is the objects inside the system. A system is a bunch of objects that have relationships among them. These objects communicate each other by exchanging messages. An object is a discrete and differentiable entity in a system. Each object has properties and exchanges messages through operations. This object-oriented modelling is the basis for UML, which is mainly used in software development such as enterprise information system. Initially activity diagrams are targeted for modelling the dynamics of internal objectà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s actions. Because of its characteristics similar to flowcharts and its capability to visualize concurrent activities, they can be generalized to model operations, use case scenarios, workflows and business processes. Exactness: The formal description of EPC can be used to analyze the syntactical correctness of an EPC diagram. However in practice there are still some problems regarding the exact meaning of some elements in the EPC. The ambiguities arise from the analysis of how elements in an EPC diagram interact in a flow of process. Those ambiguities are: Conjunction of start events: An ambiguity concerning the modelling of start and end events occur in the EPC. It is obvious that nodes without input edges are the start events and similarly nodes without output edges are the end events. But the interpretation is left to the reader, which combination of start and end events he should see as admissible, that is, as seen in reality. The problem becomes obvious when there exists à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½events from the sideà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ meaning start events in the middle of the process which has been started some time before by the first start events. These usually represent communication with external entity. However this conjunction of start events is not explicitly modelled in EPC. Semantics of logical connectors: There are three logical connectors in EPC, that is, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors. In chapter two we have already discussed how to connect these logical connectors to events and functions in the control flow. We know that because an event cannot be used to make decisions, an event cannot be followed by logical connectors à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Nevertheless there is also an ambiguity in the semantic of logical connectors, especially in the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors. Consider the case in figure 4.1. In the case of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector, the function F1 can only start when both events E1 and E2 occur. That is clear, the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector serves to synchronize by waiting until both events have occurred. In the case of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector, the switching rule of the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½exclusive orà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector says that if either event E1 or event E2 occurs, the following function F1 can start. One question arises, what does the rule mean, when both events occur one after another, for example E1 occurs first then after some time E2 occurs? Can the function then run twice: The first time after the occurrence of the first event, and the second time after the occurrence of the second event? There are several interpretations for what the modeller wants to express, when he uses this connector: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ When both events occur at the same time, they block the following function, or à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Both events cannot occur at the same time, or à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ When the following function starts, then exactly one of both events must have occurred. For the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector, the following rule applies: when at least one of the events occurs, the following function can start; when both events occur at the same time, the function can only start once. A similar question arises for the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector as for the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ one à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ that is, whether the function runs once or twice. Again, there are several interpretations when the events occur one after another, but in the case of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector it is obvious that when both events have occurred the function is not blocked. E1 E2 E1 E2 E1 E2 AND XOR OR F1 F1 F1 Two events arriving at one connector Deadlocks and Loops: For simple EPC graphs it is easy to analyze whether the graphs work or not, but for complex graphs we need a tool to analyze them. It is possible that even when the graph is semantically correct according to the definition of EPC, still an analysis shows there can be deadlocks when executing the process according to the diagram. A deadlock means that in reality when the start events occur à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ thus the process runs à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ after some time the process is stuck somewhere in the graph unable to reach the end states. Possible causes of deadlocks are mismatches of logical connectors à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ especially in complex graphs where connectors link to other connectors à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and different interpretation of logical connectors. For an example an à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector can work either in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ mode or in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ mode. If an opening à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector works in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ mode but the closing à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector works in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ mode or the other way around, a deadlock would happen. This can be solved if the closing à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½knowsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ in advance in which mode the opening à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector works. Another possible problem discovered by graph analysis is looping. A loop may cause a process to run forever. This is usually not intended to occur in business processes. Notation/Terminology Since both EPC and UML Activity Diagram serve to visualize processes and workflows, both diagrams have similar notations for some common terminologies such as activities, branches and merges, forks and joins, etc. as well as some notational differences between them. These notational correspondences and differences will be discussed here and we will use the result of these notational comparisons for the translation from EPC to UML. The notational correspondences and differences of both diagrams can be categorized as follows: Functions and Activity/Action States: Both the functions in the EPC and activity/action states in UML Activity Diagrams are the active elements that represent what a person of an organization unit or an actor in a use case diagram do with respect to the process. Therefore it is clear that functions and activity/action states represent specific business tasks within a company. That means that they share the same role within their respective diagrams. An activity or a function usually takes some extended time to execute. Events: In the EPC an event is a passive element that triggers a function and is a result of another function. The events can also show the change of status of an object over the process chain. There is no correspondence of events in activity diagrams, even though the activity diagrams are based on state diagram, but the states are mostly activity states, while an event is not an activity. Nevertheless if we take a look at the example of EPC some of the events, especially those that are the direct results of a function, are redundant. For example in the figure 4.2 the result of the function à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½capture requirementà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½requirement capturedà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ which means that the resulting event is just to show that when the function finishes control will pass to the event which in turn triggers the next function. However in activity diagram this intermediate result is not explicitly declared. This is because the transition in activity diagrams means that as soon as an activity state finishes it does not have to wait but instead it will trigger the next activity. Control flow and Transitions: Control flow in the EPC corresponds to the transitions in UML Activity Diagram. Control flow is used in a process-oriented approach to show the process chain over time from one event that triggers a business function that in turn results in another event. Activity diagrams are based on state diagrams in which transitions are defined; transitions show the change of states over time. Control flow and transitions are instantaneous; they are assumed not to take so much time. However in the EPC, between two functions there can be some time for the control/token to be kept in an event. Logical connectors: Logical connectors allow the splitting of control flow in the EPC and transitions in activity diagrams. For the splitting regarding to taking a decision between different alternative paths, both diagrams have a similar construct, which is known as branch/merge. The branching and merging of control flows in the EPC is represented using the logical à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector plus the events following it. The same mechanism in activity diagrams is implemented using the decision diamond symbol and transition labels. Both diagrams also support the notation of parallelism known as fork/join. The forking and joining in the EPC is shown using the logical à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector while in activity diagrams it is shown using the synchronization bar. Actually a synchronization bar corresponds to an à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector together with the events before it, because a synchronization bar waits for all transitions to arrive. The main difference between EPC an d activity diagrams in the case of logical connectors is that EPC supports à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½inclusive orà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector while there is no notation in activity diagrams to denote the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector. Organization units and Swim lanes: An organization unit in the EPC is attached to a function its responsibility for the respective business task. In the activity diagrams this is accomplished by arranging the activities that belong to the same department in a company or activities being done by the same actor in a use case into swim lanes. Iteration Activity diagrams support the notation for iteration which is not available in the EPC. The comparisons between EPC and activity diagrams are summarized in the following table: EPC UML Context Process-oriented modelling Object-oriented modelling (business oriented) (IT oriented) Exactness/Ambiguity à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Event from the sideà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, deadlocks, loops, logical connector semantics Notation/Terminology Active Element Function Activity/Action state Passive Element Event Process chain Control flow Transition Logical connectors Branch/Merge à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector Decision diamond Fork/Join à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector Synchronization bar à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Inclusive orà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector Actor Organization unit Swimlane Iteration à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½*à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (multiplicity sign) Summary of comparison between EPC and UML Translation between EPC and UML Diagram In translating from EPC to activity diagram and the other way around, we will use the results from the comparison between EPC and UML Activity Diagram as already discussed before. To translate from an EPC diagram to an activity diagram, the following guidelines can be used. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Determine the organization units involved in the process chain together with the functions that each of the organization is responsible for. Align the Organization units into separate swim lanes in an activity diagram. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Transform each function into activity/action states in the activity diagram and put it in the swim lane of the organization unit being responsible for it. If the function is a complex hierarchical function (which is also called a process), the refined EPC for that specific function can be either drawn as a complex activity state (meaning that inside the activity state we must specify some actions performed in the activity as well as entry and exit actions) or it would be better to draw the function in a separate activity diagram. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Transform the corresponding logical connectors from the EPC into the corresponding elements in the activity diagram. The branches and merges represented by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors are transformed into decision diamonds and the forks and joins represented by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors are transformed into synchronization bars. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Connect the activities and decision diamonds or synchronization bars according to the control flow in the EPC. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Add the start event(s) and end event(s). It is possible to have multiple start events and end events. This can be considered as multiple start events in the EPC or can also be considered as several scenarios in one diagram. However, there are some problems with regard to the translation from an EPC to an activity diagram: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ As can be seen from the comparison, not all logical connectors for splitting and joining the control can be modelled in a straightforward way. The main problem is with the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector; there is no corresponding element in activity diagram to represent this logical connector. One solution is to express this à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connection in terms of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors. To show this, we know from the logic theory that for two variables x and y, the following equation applies: Using this equation we can translate two alternate paths taken based on an opening and a closing à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors into the following diagram: OR F1 F2 F1 F2 F1 F2 OR The branch/fork solution for the elementary or-connector However if the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector connects more than two alternative paths the resulting translation in the activity diagram would be very complicated. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ The organizational responsibility for activities is expressed in activity diagrams using swim lanes. However, swim lanes are not sufficient for modelling advanced and precise organizational relationships. These are important for example for the definition of workflows when support through workflow management systems is intended. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Another problem with respect to translation from EPC to activity diagram is related to the loss of important information contained in events and information/resource objects. Some of the events are related to the change of state of an information/resource object. We can show this change of objectà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s state as an object with the object flow in an activity diagram, but if there are many information/resource objects in an EPC, they would make the diagram very hard to read. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ The definition of activity diagrams as state machines is quite problematic for applying activity diagrams according to the UML definition for business process modelling because actually not all business functions can be regarded as internal action states, e.g. interaction with outside business units. A reverse procedure can also be applied to transl

Why do College Students Drink so Much? :: essays research papers

Why do College Students Drunk so Much?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Alcohol abuse on college campuses has reached a point where it is far more destructive than most people and today realize and today threatens too many of our youth.† -Senator Joe Lieberman   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Why do college students drink so much? This timeless fad has effected this generation in high percentages since the beginning of college education. Today in America it is estimated that approximately 29% of college students are regular alcohol abusers. Another recent study by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism performed showed that college students suffered 1,400 deaths, 70,000 date rapes and assaults, and 500,000 injuries each year as a result of alcohol. (McDonald) Although binge drinking (5+ drinks in one sitting) is considered a normal part of the college experience many factors contribute to whether or not an individual is more prone to be an abuser.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are five factors that connect students with alcohol abuse with include: gender, family alcohol abuse, family depression and mental illness, childhood hyperactivity, and deviant behavior before age 15. Deviant behavior, for example, consists of acts such as being expelled from school, fighting, committing vandalism, chronic lying, and stealing. Many people who were antisocial growing up begin drinking abusively earlier in adolescence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A clinician test given to suspected alcoholics or taken personally is called the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). The test given to check for pathological alcohol abuse is known as Criterion A for alcohol abuse. Requirements for this test include: wanting to stop drinking but could not, drinking 20 or more drinks in 1 day, having blackouts while drinking, going on two or more binges, continuing to drink with a serious health problem, or making rules to control drinking habits. (Fleming)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Criterion B covers more serious abuse which harm one’s personal and occupational lifestyles. Any one of the following items point to serious abuse: family members objecting to subject’s drinking, professional advice about drinking, job or school troubles due to drinking, accident while driving intoxicated, arrest, or physical fight. (Fleming)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A report from the University of Richmond told a story about a female college freshman who experienced a horrible situation after a night of drinking. It said that she remembered how hard it was to leave behind her family and friends, she remembered having to face the fact that she was a freshman again and how all she wanted was to be well-liked and to fit-in but one thing she does not remember at all is the night she was raped by two freshman males in a room full of people.

Music :: essays research papers

The Justice Department has intensified its antitrust investigation of the music industry's licensing practices, demanding that industry organizations and online companies submit a slew of documents related to Internet music services. The department recently began sending out "civil investigative demand" letters, hunting for evidence of collusion by record companies and affiliates to impede competition. The recipients of the letters include the Recording Industry Assn. of America, at least two Internet companies and MusicNet, an online music distributor jointly owned by three major labels and RealNetworks Inc. A copy of one letter obtained by The Times indicates that antitrust investigators are looking at all the terms proposed by the record companies and music publishers for their licenses, as well as the lawsuits they threatened, brought or settled over online music. Another issue being explored is the contentious negotiations over online radio services. The major labels control the copyrights to most of the recordings that consumers buy, while the publishers control the songwriters' copyrights. That control gives the labels and publishers the power to dictate which companies can offer interactive or on-demand music services online, as well as influencing their prices and terms of use. The growing demand for online music services has led the conglomerates that own the major record companies to create their own channels for distribution. AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI Group formed MusicNet, and Universal Music Group and Sony Corp. created Pressplay. The inquiry appears to revolve around two questions: Why are MusicNet and Pressplay the only ventures to receive licenses for a significant amount of major-label music? And what, if anything, did the labels do to inflate their royalties from online radio services? The record companies' defenders say the labels have been cautious in licensing, but they haven't colluded to limit competition. "I don't see it, and I haven't experienced it," said Robin D. Richards, chairman and chief executive of MP3.com, a maverick online music company that was acquired in August by Vivendi Universal and has a distribution deal with Pressplay. But executives at several online companies say they have had mixed experiences with the labels and that some act fairly and some don't. The result, they say, is that the labels' online ventures--MusicNet and Pressplay--are launching this year without any real competition. The industry's licensing practices also have drawn criticism from some influential lawmakers, including leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees. In addition, the federal judge presiding over the industry's copyright-infringement lawsuit against Napster Inc.

The Caretaker by Pinter Essay -- essays research papers

The Caretaker by Pinter: A Play Can Be Confrontational, Challenging and Disturbing to the Values and Assumptions of An Audience. Discuss With close Reference The Caretaker, written by the British playwright Harold Pinter in the late 1950's and early 1960's disrupts the audiences perceptions of existence and their understandings of it. The play deconstructs perceived notions and conceptions of reality, and disturbs the audiences perception of their own identity and place within a world which is primarily concerned with the search and need for identity. Pinter was clearly influenced by the fashionable philosophic review of human condition that was prominent in the 1950's and 1960's – existentialism. The play attacks the notion that there are no absolute truths or realities. Pinter is therefore concerned with what exists as unknown and intangible to humanity. His theatre interrogates the truth of nature and realities of language and demonstrates that much of what the audience regards as fact is fiction as he explores the uncertainty of human existence. When an audience of the 1960's went to the theatre, it can generally be assumed that they had preconceived ideas about what they expected and what they are going to gain from the theatrical experience. The traditional attitudes towards theatre and the conventions of realist drama are disrupted by Pinter. This confronts the assumptions and values of the audience, an experience which would be disconcerting and frightening to many. Pinter divorces and exposes society's codes, institutions and human relations. Throughout the play the audience is rarely comfortable. This disruption is established from the outset of the play when Mick, a character who at this stage of the play the audience knows nothing about, sits on the bed and stares at the audience in silence for ‘30 seconds'. Traditionally in realist drama such as Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler characters use simple exposition through language and non-verbal elements to ‘let the audience in' and enlighten them on what is happening on the stage and the results and reasons for and behind actions. Pinter disrupts this tradition and this in itself would have been a disturbing phenomena to the conservative audiences of post-war Britain. Mick's arrival on stage generates unease within the audience and the tension would only increase as Pinter provides the audience with... ...entity and the structure of society. This deferral of action is primarily indicated by Davies and Aston. The prime example of this is in Davies constant references to his planned trip to Sidcup and in Aston's references to the shed that he is planning to build. Through the representation of these possible future activities, it appears that it gives purpose to their current actions and to some extent a reason for living. It allows these characters to suggest that they are in fact worthwhile human beings with a purpose and a ‘life'. Pinter suggests through this deferral of actions that people's lives hold no worthwhile meaning and ultimately there is nothing gained at the point of death. The Caretaker is a subversive play that demythologises many of an audiences assumptions and values. Pinter makes the audience experience paranoia and feelings of menace and by disrupting conventions of social behaviour and ignoring traditional dramatic ‘realist' protocol, Pinter confronts and challenges the values and assumptions of an audience. He successfully deconstructs notions of power and security, and problematises the conservative belief that there are in fact absolute truths and realities.

Langston Hughes’ Salvation

In the accepted design of things, a child’s mind is beautifully fuelled by the balance of both remarkable simplicity and seemingly undamaging curiosity to discover life, in spite of all its questions, contradictions, and intricacies. The mind of a child naturally takes every and any thought, idea, and principle, no matter how plain or complex, and dissects them quite amazingly into its most literal meaning, despite any and every traditional and substantial belief, credibility, and association it holds. More often than not, the concept of fathoming any idea and form of spiritual and existential conviction for a child is unsurprisingly basic and basically unsurprising. However, as poet, playwright, short story writer, and novelist Langston Hughes chronicles, once when he was twelve, a particular visit to church shattered all sensibilities of devout spiritual naivety and caused him to cross over into a state of realization beyond his years then which he would carry thereafter—realization of faith of concept of God of possibly not being true at all. As philosopher and poet George Santayana (2008) puts, â€Å"Wisdom comes by disillusionment,† which summarizes that certain childhood experience of a young Langston Hughes—wisdom, in many variety, which exponentially posed endless queries for a young mind (n. p. ). The experience brought forth many forms of disenchantment from the idea of a church and belief system, the credibility of the revival process, personal salvation from sin, and even the concept of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. A young Langston, in his unassuming state, has been well-oriented by his Aunt Reed about what to expect during a revival ceremony before his inadvertent enlightenment. He was told that he was to see a light as an indication that Jesus had come into his life which equivocally translates to personal salvation. As a young Langston (2003) recalls and stresses, â€Å"She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul. I believed her†¦ So I sat there calmly in the hot, crowded church, waiting for Jesus to come to me† (n. . ). In every way, it was safe to assume that both parties and everyone else in attending the service-revival were expecting everything would go as a normal eventuality, but unfortunately, it did not. Evidently, during that fateful night, the young Langston waited for an empirical manifestation of Jesus Christ. Within him, the anticipation was built to its highest. Yet, only frustration, confusion, and even embarrassment led to his disillusionment and thus wisdom. The young Langston may have considered the possibility of the animated demonstration of all faith, prayer, and song to having lost all its divine potency. He may also have considered later on that everything might have been staged, especially when all of the children, but him and another boy, have not been saved. Also, from the other boy, Westley, expressing a solution and rather reacting discreetly and violently at the same time seemed nonsense to him. The young Langston’s personal definition of salvation then was sincerely expecting an appearance to be saved, not to be standing from the mourner’s bench and automatically being hailed as saved by those in attendance. In comparison to what he was expecting, the actual process just did not qualify as deliverance. He was expecting something more divine, miraculous even. As the young Langston was lost in translation and clouded by even more confusion, though in derailed hopes, he still simply wanted to wait for Jesus’ arrival. As the long wait allowed only a stalemate outcome and time to stand still, the concern of salvation for a young Langston shifted to saving face in public. When he decided to be once and for all saved, those who were in attendance erupted in sheer praise and glee. All of which, he did not seem to simply appreciate the value, if any, because he was still tight holding to his personal understanding of what should have happen—a physical materialization of Christ. In every sense imaginable, for a child, a letdown of such proportions can only bring frustration and disappointment. In all of this, the evidence of being ultimately disenchanted was the night after the revival-service, when a young Langston concluded that Jesus did not appear, neither to save nor help him. Thus, in all its simplicity, he bears wisdom to question, to wonder, and to consider the untraditional, the other side of things. In an early age, he was brought into a realm of possibilities all of which he can compare, contrast, choose to believe in or not, and all else in between. Works Cited Hughes, Langston. â€Å"Salvation.† Spiritwatch Ministries.1 September 2003. 27 January 2009. http://www.spiritwatch.org/firelangsave.htm. Santayana, George. â€Å"George Santayana Quotes.†Famous-Proverbs.com. 2008. 28 January 2009 http://www.famous-proverbs.com/Santayana_Quotes.htm.

Case Analysis ESRI

However, the software that SERIES provides is for a much more complex set of operations than merely looking up driving directions. In fact the software and services the company provides in the geographical information systems market, is so tailored to individual companies and firm that it cannot be catalogued with web based GIS such as Google Maps or Map Quest. Yes most of these systems now point out a great deal of geographical information, but is for the more common user. SERIES produces 40 products and related services for 40 different industries.As such, the company corner specific niche of the geographical information systems market that other more general web based systems would not be able to do without some extensive restructuring. Are the apparent problems the real problems or only symptoms of the real problems? The problem, if it can be called one is based on the human need to know about their world. Now, instead of looking at a paper map, the average consumer can find a we alth of information about literally any location, any. Here in the world. This was merely a logical progression of web based technology. In my analysis I found no problems with SERIES. The company has a strong foundation. It is not losing market share do to perceived competition, and its business strategy is sound. What are the characteristics of the environment in which the company operates? The characteristics of the company are of a firm that caters to a specific demographic that requires use of their products.It has only a few competitors, and is widely respected by competitor and customer alike What are the characteristics of the industry that the company is in and how is the industry changing over time? GIS is computer software that combines geographic location with point of interest information. This is done by producing electronic maps that have layers of information stacked upon each other to include visualization (ad graphics) with spatial analysis (combination of data and visualized information.The industry itself is comprised of large government agencies, utility companies, and large retail businesses such as store chains. What is the firm's strategy, in terms of the five strategy elements, for competing in this context? Arenas: Where will we be active? SERIES being a company that was started to field a specific variety of products or a specific number of industries that require complex geological information systems has chosen to remain in this niche market and not expand further.Vehicles: how will we get there? SERIES has chosen to arrive at their chosen destination by using sound financial management, concentration on R, customer relations, and choosing to not go public. Differentiators: How will we win in the marketplace? SERIES has chosen to differentiate itself by upgrading their products periodically, add touches requested by customers and by actually using information provided by customer surveys. Staging and Spacing: What will be our speed and sequence of moves?Through strategic planning, SERIES has shown that remaining in a niche market allows it to cater to the speed of requirement versus the speed of competition. Therefore, a great deal more time can be can be concentrated on R, customer relations, and company development. Economic logic: How will we obtain our returns? Because the company has chosen to remain private, all return on investment can be invested back into the company. There are no outlying expenses other than what the company itself generates. What are possible solutions to identified problems?The only solution was stated by the company's founder. Although not a requirement, SERIES could become more marketable by developing web based applications to make their information more accessible. Are there any possible problems with your suggested recommendations? What contingencies need to be accommodated? By making information more accessible, it also makes the company more public, which is not something t he company leadership wishes to do. Furthermore, it pushes the company into a broader market which inevitably creates more competition.

Nutrasweet in China Essay

To come up with a decision to the whether enter the Greater China Market or not we decided to approach the case with a SWOT analysis. Strengths NutraSweet is an artificial sweetener that is one of the most recognized brand names in the United States and in the world. NutraSweet’s earnings per share is $ 6. 36 and with huge capitalization and investments in diverse products. Stacey has the approved budget of $ 500,000 to market NutraSweet in China. NutraSweet has the flexibility on how to position their product in terms of functionality, or either as sugar substitute or health product for diabetics. Weaknesses The research conducted towards the Chinese consumers may not truly reflect the real sentiments of the consumers towards NutraSweet. NutraSweet has not decided on building its own distribution system and may rely on foreign agents for distribution. NutraSweet is more expensive than ordinary white sugar. Opportunities China is a big market and can provide higher profitability to the company. China is the second or eighth largest economy in the world; depending on how it was gauged. There is a perceived consumers’ infatuation with Western brands. Chinese maintain healthful lifestyle so the potential for NutraSweet to launch their product in China is strong. Threats Sugar is a common household purchase as a sweetener and has been part of Chinese households for decades. Culture dictates that there might be difficulty in replacing traditional use of sugar with NutraSweet. The Chinese market is so diverse and it is difficult to come up with a general characteristic to define them. Artificial sweeteners are known by history of skepticism for saccharin and potential health hazards. There is difficulty in attracting and retaining local employees and as such, NutraSweet is having doubts in investing into training their marketing and sales personnel for fear that the employees would not stay long in the company. There are only very few foreign agents that operate in China. Sugar use and consumption levels differed among 3 key markets –Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing. Arthur Andersen survey in China showed that most joint ventures from food and drink were not profitable. Most MNCs in China are unprofitable despite substantial growth. Majority of the Chinese are considered â€Å"flat-bellied† and don’t see the need for a diet regimen. The Chinese culture also dictates that they are not that concerned with their teeth, hence they don’t have that fear of tooth decay. The company should enter the Greater China market as a niche product for consumers with a medical need. The company cannot delay its entry in the China market, especially with factors such as an average of 10% economic growth, a quickly emerging middle class, and a high possibility in consumers’ increase purchasing power. Postponement of entry may mean higher costs in the future and although the company will not immediately profit from the venture, research showed that companies who entered the market 5 to 10 years ago were doing best. The knowledge gained from market entry will allow NutraSweet to sharpen its future strategies. Pros The successful experience in establishing medical awareness in Hong Kong may be applied to the Greater China Market. Entering the Greater China market through the three key cities will provide a better knowledge of the overall Chinese market. A natural market consisting of diabetics and obese customers already exist. Hospital stores and drug dispensaries do not have the bargaining strength that retailers have. Product information campaigns will be facilitated by health professionals who will easily understand and appreciate the product’s benefits. Promotion to medical professionals through associations will not need as much cost as a nationwide mass-market campaign. A $ 2,010,526. 31 in breakeven sales seems very feasible in the Chinese market. Cons The Chinese tend to be slim and had historically not been preoccupied by tooth decay. ? SHORT-TERM The Chinese consumers’ attraction to brand names, especially the number 1 in any category gives NutraSweet an opportunity to establish itself as a first mover in the medical aid products under a new category of sweeteners. The company will launch a product information campaign for medical professionals and will also tap their associations. Associations of diabetics and obese consumers will also be tapped. The company will focus on relationship building with the medical industry. Since poor dental health is a problem in China, the company may also create an awareness drive on the ill effects of sugar on the teeth to lay the foundation of need awareness. The product will be packaged in sachet form with global brand and American image prominent on the sachet to appeal to the consumers’ preference for American brands. The company will capitalize on the convenience of bringing the sachets anywhere with you. The medical industry will be given free samples of the product. The doctors will be taught to promote daily use of the product, with sweetening of milk and coffee or hot drinks as one of the more common purposes. Consumers will be taught to use the product in cooking through the provision of free recipe booklets and cooking demonstration classes. The product will be distributed in the three key cities of Greater China, namely, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, where the medical industry is more developed compared with the other cities. The company will create its own distribution structure. The product will use the distribution channels of hospital stores and drug dispensaries. Since the focus is on niche marketing, the product will still be sourced from the U. S. plant. LONG-TERM The long-term goal will be to mass market the product in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and use the learning’s from those markets to penetrate the market Greater China. Establishing distribution networks in the two countries will be easier, given the favorable business environments. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, the product will be repositioned as a healthy family lifestyle food, targeting the affluent, health and weight conscious consumers. Aggressive promotion will be pursued, such as print and media ads, and the employment of product endorsers, and store promotions. Consumer awareness and education will be the focus of the campaigns.