Saturday, August 31, 2019

Pitt Street in Sydney and Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne Essay

Apart from Zara, Inditex also owns international labels Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarious, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqà ¼e. The formula for Zara is simple: latest catwalk trends reproduced, plus new stocks delivered to stores in fewer than 15 days, plus giggle-inducing prices, equates to global success. â€Å"Our decision to come to Australia now is based on two main reasons. Firstly, our operations are at that capability level of supplying to a country like Australia, which is quite far away from our headquarters in Spain. With new stocks needing to be sent every two weeks, we had to be absolutely sure we could handle this new amount of orders. â€Å"Secondly, we were waiting for the right locations to become available, and now we [have] found two excellent spots in Sydney and Melbourne and were happy to launch into Australia.† Fleur Madden-Topley, managing director of PR agencies Red and Blue by Red, feels that Australian consumers have also created the demand for the brand’s entrance onto our shores Touted as one of the world’s most successful logistics operations by the Harvard Business Review, the production line is executed like clockwork, where lorries move in and out on schedule to ensure each store gets its fortnightly update of stocks right on time. Echevarria oversees all international marketing activities and media relationships, engaging assistance from a local public relations firm only during momentous occasions like new store openings. Zara’s closest competitors, such as Swedish label H&M, the UK’s Top Shop and the US’s Gap, spend typically three to five percent of annual revenues on advertising campaigns, and have a penchant for involving celebrities, either in their advertising or their product lines. Top Shop has its sought after Kate Moss collection, while H&M has limited pieces designed by the likes of Madonna and Kylie Minogue. Gap is well-known for attracting star names, such as Lucy Liu, Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer, to appear in its advertisements. Our store locations and window fronts are our biggest form of advertising Zara tailors its products to each city â€Å"Zara has effectively utilised word of mouth, or strategic public relations, in building and maintaining its brand. So while rivals outsource to Asia, Zara makes its most fashionable items — half of all its merchandise — at a dozen company-owned factories in Spain. Clothes with a longer shelf life, such as basic T-shirts, are outsourced to low-cost suppliers, mainly in Asia and Turkey. Zara’s nerve center is an 11,000-square-foot hall at its headquarters in Arteixo, a town of 25,000 in Galicia. That’s where hundreds of twentysomething designers, buyers, and production planners work in tightly synchronized teams. It is there that the company does all of its design and distribution and half of its production. The concentrated activity enables it to move a dress, blouse, or coat from drawing board to shop floor in just two weeks — less than a quarter of the industry average. Inditex says it works with unions and other organizations â€Å"to have the most respectful supply chain† and audits all of its partners every year, but like most major fashion companies that outsource the manufacturing of their clothes, it has received its share of complaints about factory conditions

Friday, August 30, 2019

Google Prediction Markets

Part I: Briefly evaluate how Google’s Prediction Markets have worked to date. To what extent have the markets been successful or unsuccessful? 250 When the five Googlers got together to start with this project, their main objective was to launch an internal prediction market and test if crowds would make more accurate predictions than individuals’. To determine if this project was a success or not we need to determine our parameters of success. Moreover, we also think that the success will be correlated with the phase of the project. From the case we can see that this project is still going through its first steps, despite the system has been running for seven quarters. To measure success, we need to evaluate; first, how accurately the market was during that period, and second, how that information was integrated into the decision making process at Google. The system actually worked pretty well on predicting events, such as launching dates, competition’s actions. There are some structural constraints for e.g. no money exchanged, lack of participation, lack of diversity, etc. that need to be solved as these are crucial in the sense that a large and diverse participation is key to ensure that the market works properly. Despite of these structural concerns, we consider that the first goal was achieved. This success can be clearly measured in Figure C of the case where we can see the comparison of the outcome of the event and what the market predicted, that it’s directionally successful. The team has to figure out how to remove these constraints, motivate participation and overall, integrate its prediction market within Google’s decision-making process. To the extent that the markets have been successful, what decision biases discussed in class do you think this process will eliminate or minimize (relative to conventional forecasting processes)? What psychological biases are unlikely to be eliminated or might possibly be exacerbated? 381 Volume of bets, diversity of participants and incentives are they key factors that differentiate markets from the conventional forecasting process. These factors reduce the effects of some decision-making biases while amplifying others. Availability of information. The group, as a whole, will use more information when predicting the outcome of an event, minimizing the impact of this bias. Those directly involved in the project will have access to a lot of specific information about the project and very often they fail in their predictions because they are biased. They underestimate or ignore the impact of the information they lack. Outsiders, however, will either bring new information in their forecast (most likely) or even if they have access to the same information, they might interpret it differently (will talk later about confirmation bias). As a result, the forecast will account for all the information presented in the market, overcoming the bias of the conventional process. Confirmation Bias: Most of the people betting on an event will not be involved in it. Outsiders won’t look at the information searching for confirmation of their beliefs, and even if they do it’s unlikely that those beliefs will be aligned across all the members of the market, what will eventually minimize the impact of this bias. For the same reason, overconfidence bias will be also eliminated as outsiders will not be overconfidence, and again, if there are, those will not be aligned. (Reference: Dolores Haze's assessment of the value of GPM). Likewise persistent of incorrect beliefs will be also eliminated. Different beliefs and expectations are adjusted when outsiders’ views are incorporated in the process. However, there are some biases that will not be eliminated. Those are, Framing the outcome. Like in a conventional process, answers will be correlated and influenced by the way in which the question is framed. However, it’s still possible that this effect will be somehow minimized. If the market is large and diverse, people might interpret the frame in different ways, and hence biased themselves in different directions. Endorsement effect. By default, the decision makers will tend to continue with what they are actually doing (if the market is not diverse enough this bias cannot be corrected, if everyone asked is in Goggle then they might be influenced by this type of bias). Under what conditions are prediction markets most likely to perform relatively well and relatively poorly? 417 Efficient functioning of prediction markets, within the context of a corporation like Google, would depend on the following three aspects: a) Volume of participants: By the nature of market-based decision-making, we would need large and diverse set of participants. Larger participation set will eliminate various biases discussed earlier. Liquidity (ability to trade) will allow participants to calibrate their bets and decisions based on new information. b) Diversity: Diversity of thought, perspective and motives within the participation set is also very important for prediction markets. Google should encourage participation from different geographies, different teams, varied level of seniority and demographics. This will create a market where participants interpret information and signals in different ways so that the collective action normalizes for any bias. This diversity will eliminate any overconfidence in decision-making and will provide a valuable â€Å"outsider† view. The issue of diversity is quite important in closed markets (e.g. Google). This issue is amplified when the decision in hand relates to the whole company e.g. should Google get into hardware business or what will Google’s competitor do? The market as a whole might be overconfident in these situations. Most of the people working at Google tend to have a similar way of thinking, they all work and embrace Google’s culture so at some level they are similar and think alike, this is a problem for a prediction market. c) Alignment of Incentives: Volume and diversity are certainly necessary conditions for proper functioning of markets. However, it’s the intent of participation that would dictate the success. All participants should act rationally and make the best risk-adjusted bets. In corporate settings, issues like team dynamics, chances of promotion, personal relationships etc can come in the way of rational bets. The incentives to participate should not interfere with the actual decision-making. Incentives can be aligned with monetary gains, reputation, accomplishments or other non-monetary rewards. And this alignment should be dictated by how a corporate is planning to use markets. Markets have to strike a balance between confidentiality and transparency. d) Transparency: Finally we think that is really important that the market is transparent and confidential. All of the members need to have the guarantee that their positions are not reveled unless they want to do so. For example if a market opens to determine if a project is going to meet a certain dead line and I think that it will not make it, but the project manager is a friend of mine then I need my position to remain confidential. Part II: How would you use prediction markets to make better decisions at Google? Make sure that you address the risks and challenges of replacing more conventional forecasting processes with prediction markets. Also, discuss how you would modify how prediction markets have been used so far. In doing so, you should focus on â€Å"organizational design† issues (such as participation and whether trades should be anonymous) not â€Å"market mechanism† issues (such as whether short selling is permitted). Note: This analysis should build on but not repeat what was written in Part I. Words: 807 In order to use prediction markets help better decision, Google (or any organization) has to take the following steps: a. Test and prove that markets lead to better decisions within the context of decisions that their managers make b. Facilitate the creation of efficient prediction markets with right incentives c. Educate the decision makers about markets and integrate markets with organization Google should follow a phased approach. Transition Phase: During this phase, Google should set up the markets, encourage participation and rigorously test if prediction markets lead to better decisions. There should be a control sample of managers who are not given access to prediction markets in any way and a test sample who are encouraged to refer to prediction markets (although the final decision would remain in the hands of the manager). The final decisions and the actual result should be tracked.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Principles of Banking and Finance

Principles of Banking and Finance: Single Cashflow 1. Present Value (PV) * the value on a given date of a payment or series of payments made at other times (past or future) * Discounting from the future * Value at t=0 on a given time line (â€Å"t† is the period, ranging from 0 to n where â€Å"n† being the last period). * Net Present Value (NPV): PV after deducting all the costs 2. Future Value (FV) * The amount to which a specific sum and /or series of payments will grow on a given date in the future * Compounding (interests upon interests) Value at t>0 on a given time line Single Cashflow: Formulas FV = PV(1 + i)t PV = FV / (1+i)t i = (FV / PV)1/t – 1 Effective Interest Rate * Effective (Annual) Interest Rate (EIR) * The interest rate expressed as if it were compounded once a year. * Used to compare two alternative investments with different compounding periods * Does not include any fees incurred as part of the loan package * Nominal or Quoted Annual Interest Rate (NIR) * (periodic rate) x (number of periods per year) The rate normally quoted in the loan agreement * All-in Rate * NIR that includes all the fees incurred as part of the loan package Formulas: Uneven Cashflow Even Cashflow * Annuity – series of equal payments (â€Å"PMT†) that occur at regular intervals for a period of time (â€Å"t†). * Payment is normally made at the end of the period. For payment occurs at the beginning of the period, it is Annuity Due. Perpetuity – infinite series of equal payments Formula: Annuities Formula: Perpetuities When n > ? , PV (Perpetuity) = PMT/i

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

PESTEL Analysis of Cummins ESB Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PESTEL Analysis of Cummins ESB Business - Essay Example Notable areas that Cummins ESB is likely to face political and legislative interferences include but not limited to taxation policies, labour laws, trade restrictions, Environmental regulation and investments especially public private partnership ventures. In other words Cummins ESB will have to comply with different legislations relating to taxation, labour, or investment in every country of their operation. Economic Factors Economic factors are inherent concern to Cummins ESB taking into consideration that the factors are likely to influence their profits, investments, costs, prices and demand to greater extent. Notable economic factors that are likely to affect operations Cummins ESB include but not limited to inflation, interest rates, unemployment rates, and or currency exchange rates. The fact that Cummins ESB engage in massive investments across the globe and the same time engage in repatriation of earnings to the parent company (Cummins Inc.), the company’s investments costs as well as revenues are likely to be affected by fluctuating currency rates. The currency rates are also likely to affect the cost of exported as well as imported products and services. Inconsistent interest rates in different countries are also likely to affect the cost of company’s investment abroad. Inflationary trends globally and in specific international market is also detrimental on Cummins ESB earning. Social factors Most markets in the international market are always distinguished from their cultural aspects most of which are inherent while others are acquired. Social trends such as Demographic change; fashion and preference, age distribution, levels of literacy, customs and traditions, attitudes and beliefs are likely to affect the operation of a multinational company to significantly. It is unlikely that Cummins ESB operations will be affected by social trends in the global market considerably. However, demographic change in country or region is likely to in crease demand for energy either for lighting, cooking and or heating. Additionally the population is growing more conscious about the form of energy they use as most environmental conservation agencies continue to drug for green energy. Technological factors It is noteworthy that technology is one of the major external variables that has played significant role in developing competitive products and services by Cummins ESB. The technology has not only benefited the company but also Cummins ESB customers as it enhance to effective and efficient delivery of services (Cummins Power Generation Inc, 2010). For instance, introduction of Electronic Funds Transfer Systems (EFTPoS) and Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) has highly enhanced delivery of services and products. Through effective technology Cummins ESB has managed to design and build energy efficient diesel, LP gas or natural gas generators, digital controls and transfer switches for standby around the globe. All technologic breakth rough of Cummins ESB is attributable to the high investment in Research and development. Environmental factors It is always in the best interest of the common public that a company operate lean projects that are not harmful to the environment. This means that companies have responsibility to remain environmental savvy when producing or marketing

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 47

Ethics - Essay Example A closer look at the article; ‘the single solution to world poverty’ and ‘consider the lobster’ by Peter Singer and David Foster Wallace respectively can help to develop a conversation about ethics and further show how difficult the conversation can become. According to Singer, many human beings spend so much of their income on non-essential things that are not essential to their life survival or preservation of their health. The author contends that if money spent by people on non-essential things were to be donated to charity, it would imply the difference between life and death for children who are in need (Singer 1). The author believes that the consequences of human action should get used to determine what is right from wrong. I believe that Singer’s argument are justified, however, human beings are prone to desires and want more than what they just have. It is an innate feeling that brings satisfaction to their lives and to simply cut off one’s desire for luxury is quite difficult. In ‘consider the lobster’, David Foster Wallace appears to urge his audience to empathize with the lobsters that they eat. The author documents on the Maine Lobster festival by providing a glimpse of the events that take place, the lobsters that get served and where they can be found, and further details on the utensils that get used. His essay aims at asking people to consider how these lobsters get caught, prepared, and eventually served to the crowd (Wallace 4). He persuades people by graphically describing the process of preparing lobsters when boiling in hot water and how they appear to try to escape the heat. Wallace’s argument is quite valid. I believe that the basis of his argument should form the understanding of the debate on ethics.by providing consideration to the feelings of another human being or animal, can we base our decisions on what is right or

Monday, August 26, 2019

Health Systems and Healthcare Systems Coursework - 3

Health Systems and Healthcare Systems - Coursework Example In the health care too, the kind of leadership that has to be put in use will affect the system differently. Some of the component of the health care system that will be affected includes, the movement for reforms, the kinds of services that will be offered to the general public and also the quality of the resources and services that is put in use. However, as it is known, there is no universal management system. Contextual factors which includes things like political and socio-economic systems (Dorros, 2006, p. 5). Regardless of the nation that intends to perform health care reforms, the following questions have to be answered in order to arrive at the most plausible answers; when , what kind and from whom does one get the health care from? Who caters for the health care? how much can they be able to give?, and who paid how much and for doing what? For a country like Nigeria, the resources are not that available and there are numerous instances of corruption. Moreover, the health care system of Nigeria, not every member of the organization is educated to the level that is required. If Autocratic kind of leadership is employed, it is likely that it would not be efficient since there are limited number of doctors and more patients and nurses. It will make it significantly hard to for the leader of a health institution. If the Faire Laissez kind of leadership is employed in Nigeria’s health care system, there will be increased incidence of corruption in the health care system. It is because of this that it is necessary that such a method of leadership should not be put in place. Also the workforce is that which needs to be pushed around so as to perform tasks. An autocratic kind of leadership is bound to inhibit innovation and creativity if applied in the health care system. The participative leadership style seems a little bit beyond the integrity level of Nigeria and should be viewed as something that can be done in the future,

Inquiring Minds want to know Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Inquiring Minds want to know - Case Study Example It also has an acceptable margin of error for the survey was  ± 4 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence The stratified disproportionate random sampling allows Penton to focus on the reply of the decision makers of which their ads were directed making the sampling a more accurate representation of the target market. It can also be relatively cost efficient because having 676 respondents as an accurate representative of the 1.7 million subscribers saves the company money in handling a huge population. Above all, this guarantees that their intended market is well represented in the study. The other groups can also be subjected to another study which Penton no longer to spend to get representatives from said population. This however has a weakness of requiring more administrative effort and therefore time consuming and laborious because the huge population has to divided into 42 cells. 4. Describe the research design. Analyze its strengths and weaknesses. The method of getting the sample from a huge population of 1.7 million domestic subscribers through stratified disproportionate random sampling may have an effective in getting the right respondents of their target market. The coverage of the research was also extensive covering 1992 with 648 ads and 1997 with 697 ads. The research design however defeated the efficacy of the sampling because it made a faulty comparison of these subgroups by the sheer gap in the years of comparison. They are measured by the same parameter of the number of leads generated by each ad but their circumstances were entirely different. Thus, the result of increase from 3.3 in 1992 to 4.1 in 1997 is a suspect because the sample population in 1997 had more facility where potential customers can respond compared to 1992 whereby customer’s response was limited to traditional snail mail and perhaps telephone call where it can be tracked by cards to track inquiries from customers. Compared to 1997, there are more convenient th rough Information and Communication Technology options where customers can respond to the ads. They can conveniently send an email, go to the advertiser’s website and perhaps can chat in addition to traditional toll free call and fax. Tracking is also convenient because it is done digitally compared to cards previously used. The availability of website address in 1997 was also 60.9 percent (3 out of 5) where they can email at 17.7 percent of ads compared to 1992 which were non-existent. Postal mailing address may be up in 19992 at 69 percent and only 55.5 percent in 1997 but this is almost irrelevant when customers can send an email. The base of the sampling population but the research design was able to get samples that decently represent the entire population. When a survey was done, it had 710 completed questionnaires were received out of 1.7 million subscribers and 4,000 managers, executives, engineers, and purchasing agents selected from the U.S. Penton database. Of the 710 completed questionnaires, 676 respondents were decision makers indicating that the survey has indeed reached the right respondents. One of problem in quantifying the survey was also responses is weighed by their percentage mark up in the overall population. All other things being equal, this would have been an ideal method since it can accurately measure the increment or decrease of response to ad in relation to their representation from the overall population. Except that the 1997 population had access to information

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Baptism Debate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Baptism Debate - Research Paper Example One such area of difference is the meaning and importance of baptism. That is, various denominations approach ideas related to baptism differently. Some individuals, for example, do not recognize any significance of baptism. This paper explores certain debatable issues surrounding baptism. Specifically, the paper addresses merits of baptism, eligibility of an individual for baptism, and correct biblical mode of baptism. Outline of the Paper While exploring the concept of baptism among believers, the paper identifies some debatable aspects of baptism. The areas include significance of baptism, children baptism, and correct biblical mode of baptism. Since the paper is an argumentative paper, both proposing and opposing sides of the areas are discussed in the paper. This paper begins by exploring the meaning and understanding of baptism. This section outlines how baptism is important to believers. The paper further identifies merits of baptism to Baptists, individuals who believe in exi stence and usefulness of baptism. While discussing baptism of children, the paper begins by highlighting reasons used by individuals who oppose infant baptism. Those who are in favor of the issue are later discussed in the paper. ... In addition, it emerged that the Bible does not clearly support children baptism. Moreover, the Bible supports baptism by immersion. Meaning of Baptism Baptism is an outward symbol of an individual’s inner transformation.4 The entire process of baptism is achieved through the power and strength of Jesus. It is important to note that baptism is not about overcoming sin, but is about repenting past sins. In other words, baptism involves making up your mind that you want to overcome sin by allowing God to give strength and victory. Through baptism, Apostle Paul argues that Christians embrace importance of Jesus’ death and resurrection.5 That is, Christians symbolically undergo similar experiences that Jesus went through in His death, burial, and resurrection. Apostle Paul further clarifies that while Jesus physically died and resurrected, Christians die to their sins, self, and old ways. Resurrection to Christians, therefore, implies that an individual, after baptism, rise s again to a holy life through Jesus Christ. As Romans 6:8-12 say, â€Å"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we also live with Him. For we know that since Jesus was raised from the dead, he cannot die again.†¦.In the same way, count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.† Apart from the message to Romans, Apostle Paul also informs Corinthians about importance of baptism to Christians. In II Corinthians 5:17 Paul says, â€Å"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new creation has come.† Therefore, after baptism, an individual is holy and sin no longer reigns over him. The verse implies that sin has to â€Å"die† and be â€Å"passed away† from an individual so that Jesus completely occupy an individual’s life. The verse does not,

Saturday, August 24, 2019

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Research Paper

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings - Research Paper Example Although this novel and story are different in the content that they analyze and the overall message that is brought to bear upon the reader, the exemplification of the magical realism that typifies Marquez method of conveyance helps the reader to more completely and fully understand the term as a function of what it means to literature and the understanding thereof. As a means to understand the literary contrast and comparisons that exist between these two stories, this analysis will consider the mechanisms by which the author relates the subtext that each story necessarily engenders. The first of these works, Marquez’s Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of a local town leader who finds his life forever changed by the presence of traders who bring the marvels of modern science to his otherwise simple and somewhat backwards world. As a function of his fascination with these marvels, the protagonist immerses himself in pseudo-scientific study and alchemy in the hopes tha t he can use the marvels that these traders have brought to greatly enhance his own life, the life of his family and that of his people (Ahmad et al 47). However, the result of his experiments does not lead in the direction that he hoped as he merely becomes more and more ostracized from his own family and people; continuously seeking for borderline supernatural approaches to better himself and those around him. The story further evolves as a type of allegory with regards to how the protagonist represents the culture that comes into contact with the marvels of the Western world yet at the same time must suffer the destructive nature that such a contact necessarily brings with it. As a function of creating this comparison, the author invokes the magical understandings of what had previously defined the culture as compared to the rigid scientific methods that the protagonist attempts to force to coincide with a much simpler albeit more mysterious way of life that his people had experi enced prior to the arrival of the gypsy traders. However, what is unique in the mechanics of the story is the scope of action that it encompasses. As compared to the second story which will be considered, the subject matter is spread over a long time period that â€Å"magically† encompasses the life of a single individual (Mills 114). As a means to engage the reader on the range of intercultural issues that arise as a result of Europe meeting the Western Hemisphere, the author has a wealth of information and parallels that can be drawn that work to help the story to cover a much longer time span than would have been available had a different medium other than magical realism been utilized. With regards to the second story in question, â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings†, the author takes a different approach to imparting the magical realism that defines the story. Rather than analyzing the action that takes place over an indefinitely long period of time, the auth or instead chooses to focus on the juxtaposition of human emotion as a function of the way that the individuals within the story engage practical versus non-practical as well as the feeling of sympathy and selfishness. As the â€Å"fallen angel† of the story is uniquely different from human interpretations of what an angel should be, the villagers do not know what to make of it (Corso 44). In this way, the protagonist of the story feels compunction to care for the creature. However, rather than representing the action

Friday, August 23, 2019

Global Alumna Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Global Alumna - Essay Example In fact, the first 2 Principles listed are specifically focused on protecting the human rights of all workers. Both of these Principles rely on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed in 1948. The declaration guarantees individuals the right to equality, life security, personal freedom, as well as, their economic, social, cultural freedoms.("United nations global," 2012) When it comes to human rights Global Alumina believes in adhering to the internationally, globally, accepted standards of the definition of human rights. More importantly, they feel strongly about not being complicit in situations where human rights may be actively violated.("Global alumina coprotation-," 2012) As previously stated, the Global Alumina Corporation has very strong, internationally embraced, interpretations of what â€Å"human rights† means and they intend to see that that is implemented within their company. In the â€Å"Global Compacts 10 Principles,† they explain their overall philosophy on their labor practices and standards. In fact, â€Å"Principles† 3 through 6 are dedicated to highlighting their company goals. Principle 3 covers the philosophy that all businesses should be upholding the freedom of association and the effective acknowledgment of the right to collective bargaining. Principle 4 is dedicated to eliminating compulsory or forced labor of any kind; while Principle 5, specifically, focuses on the abolition of child slavery of any kind. Lastly, Principle 6 is dedicated to avoiding issues of discrimination within the companies under their umbrella.("United nations global," 2012) Global Alumina’s dedication to these Principles show ho w strongly they seek to make ideal working conditions that are fair, humane and ethical for all individuals. Global Alumina is very dedicated to social and labor issues and that concern

Thursday, August 22, 2019

The Emergence of the Novel Essay Example for Free

The Emergence of the Novel Essay According to Julien D. Bonn in A Comprehensive Dictionary of Literature, a novel is a ‘long fictional narrative in prose, which developed from the novella and other early forms of narrative.’ Additionally, E.M. Forster in attempting to the define the term ‘novel’ in Aspects of the Novel cites the definition of a Frenchman named Abel Chevally; ‘a fiction in prose of a certain extent’ and adds that he defines ‘extent’ as over 50,000 words. The novel tends to depict imaginary characters and situations but may include references to real places, people and events. Even though its characters and actions are imaginary, they are in some sense representative of real life. The emergence of the novel in its recognizably modern form, unlike the emergence of drama and poetry, can be traced back to Europe in the 18th century. The various factors that gave rise to the novel in English, which are more or less interrelated, include the rise of literacy, the explosion of the printing culture as well as the rise of individualism. One factor that gave rise to the novel in English was the rise of literacy. The novel emerged as a fully evolved literary form in the mid-eighteenth century in Samuel Richardson’s ‘Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded. A novel is usually organized under a plot of theme with a focus on character development and action. The novel is a young genre, a tiny infant indeed in comparison to poetry and drama, both of which seems to be as old as humanity. The educational system was not influenced significantly by the scientific revolution prior to the Enlightenment. Through the scientific revolution a great deal of traditional views at that time such as superstition and religion were broken down. Scientific facts and reasoning were now held at high esteem and great focus was placed on these two concepts. Philosophers such as John Locke went on to postulate that knowledge is obtained through sensation and reflection. This postulation was the basis of Locke’s theory that everyone has the same capacity of sensation, and education should not be restricted to a certain class or gender. Prior to the 17th and 18th century, literacy was generally restricted to males who belonged to the categories of nobles, mercantile, and professional classes but with the development of the education system, education was now provided to all classes. The literacy rate in Europe from the 17th century to the 18th century grew significantly. With the rise in literacy there was now a public demand for the novel. There were changes in the public cultural institutions, such as libraries and museums. The public libraries were now funded by the state and were accessible to everyone for free. Prior to the Enlightenment, libraries in Europe were restricted mostly to academies, aristocratic and private owners. During the 18th century, the price of books were too high for the average person, especially the most popular works such as an encyclopedias. Therefore, the public libraries offered commoners a chance of reading literates that could only be afforded by the wealthier classes. Thus the average, run of the mill individual who felt that need to put their thoughts to paper did exactly that and could do so effectively because of their educational exposure. Another factor that gave rise to the novel in English was the explosion of the printing culture. The modern novel is said to be the child of the printing press which is strongly connected to the rise in literacy. The number of books being published in the period of Enlightenment increased dramatically due to the increase in literacy rate and the increase in demand for books. Now that more people were literate, more people wished to write. Yet, prior to the inception of the printing press, writers would have to literally write their texts by hand. This proved to be very monotonous and discouraged many writers from penning books. However, the explosion of the print culture in the 18th century was both the result and cause of the increase in literacy. The number of books being published in the period of Enlightenment increased dramatically due to the increase in literacy rate and the increase in demand for books. There was a shift in interest in the categories of books, in the 17th century, religious books had comprised around half of all books published. However, throughout the century, the percentage of traditional genres such as religion has dropped to one-tenth by 1790 and there was an increase in popularity for the almanacs. Yet another factor that gave rise to the novel in English was the rise in individualism. Individualism is one of the cornerstones of the Enlightenment. It is a philosophy stressing the recognition of every person as a valuable individual with inalienable, inborn rights. Individualism highlighted man’s ability to reason, to look past the traditions and conventions that had dominated Europe in the past, and to make decisions for himself. Moreover, these ideas represented the separation and autonomy of man’s intellect from God—a development that opened the door to new discoveries and ideas and threatened the most powerful of Europe’s long-standing institutions. People were now writing about other people who were just like them.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Cahokian civilization Essay Example for Free

The Cahokian civilization Essay The Cahokian civilization, one of the largest Native American tribes, was indigenous to the Midwest. Cahokia is also known as â€Å"the city history forgot.† This complex and sophisticated society challenges the stereotypical beliefs of Native American as being primitive, ignorant savages. The Cahokian civilization provides the basis for political, economic, and social developments that â€Å"changed the course of human history.† ( Timothy Pauketat) After reading Timothy Pauketat’s insightful essay, â€Å" Cahokia: A Pre-Columbian American City†, I was intrigued by the Cahokia’s people and culture. This society quickly evolved from a village to an elaborate city. The Cahokian complex architectural aspects included better homes, pyramids and plazas. Through expansion, their beliefs and customs were diffused into other civilizations. Due to warfare, many complex advancements were designed to protect the central city. An elaborate 15, 000 log wall was built to defend their city. The advanced Cahokian society was developed prior to any European interaction. Having known very little about such a complex and elaborate civilization, I was intrigued by many of the Cahokian developments and beliefs. Their centralized authority, the nature and the extent of their influence over vast areas, are aspects of many other European civilizations. This essay challenged many of my prior ideas and beliefs about the Native Americans. The city planning and the organization of the city of Cahokia resembled the city of ancient Rome. The Cahokian civilization used the method of Cahokianization to expand and spread their ideologies throughout their territory. Similarly, the ancient Romans used the method of Romanization to expand and spread their empire. Both societies developed and utilized similar military tactics and strategies. Under the rule of Constantine I, the Romans built a wall to protect their city from invaders, the Cahokians built a wall made of logs for protection. These two distant civilizations demonstrated similar ideologies and strategies. I have gained more insight and knowledge after reading Timothy Pauketat’s essay on the intricate city of Cahokia. It is puzzling that such a complex society that had lasted for about 250 years just vanished. Many archeologists have different ideas on the collapse and disappearance of Cahokia. It is incomprehensible that such an elaborate society vanished and is forgotten in many history books. The civilization of Cahokia was advanced, complex and sophisticated. This innovative tribe challenges the European ideologies of viewing Native Americans as primitive and ignorant. This civilization provided the economic, social and political standards that was implemented in other civilizations.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Factors Influencing Global Healthcare

Factors Influencing Global Healthcare In the here and now, the global health care sector is highly abreast in providing intervention to the health problems that may or largely affect the well-being of the people. According to Conklin (2002), the health care system in the past was as not as multifaceted nowadays like access to health services. The quality of life, the ability to provide for the family, and the capability to function as a productive individual in the workforce are associated with health. Being in a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being is an important determiner as to how people contribute to the society, which can affect the economy. Through the help of the government, people receive the intervention or services for health promotion, prevention, restoration, and rehabilitation. This is to ensure that the workforce can be at the optimum level of functioning for the progress or success of the economy. In this essay, the factors that could motivate intervention in health care by the gover nment, which includes equity, efficiency factors and the opportunity costs of such interventions will be discussed. The word factor is broad in its very sense, but in the medical parlance factor is regarded as the determinant of health. Liberally, factors such as abode, environmental state, genetics, socioeconomic status, level of education, and social relationships have higher impact on the health of individuals and communities compared to access and utilization of health care services (World Health Organization, 2014). Moreover, these factors when combined, or not, are beyond the individuals’ control that may affect the health. Those that can cause risk, danger, harm, or potential loss require interventions to improve, maintain, or restore health. â€Å"Drugs, foods, supplements, vaccinations, screening tests, exercise, hospital treatment, and various types of care are just a few of common health care interventions† (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). In providing these, according to Shiell, Donaldson, Mitton, and Currie (2002), health economics play a vital role in making decisions to promote efficiency and equity. Efficiency is making the best use of available resources, while equity is about fairness in which fair allocation must be exercised especially if resources are scarce. Another equally important term in the health care system is opportunity cost. It is based on the benefit that can be generated from utilizing resources elsewhere, like resources used in one intervention are not available for use in other programs; therefore, the gains that would have been derived have been forgone (Phillips, 2009). Moreover, interventions’ opportunity costs are best assessed by the health benefits such as life years saved and quality adjusted life years gained that could have been attained had the money been allotted in the subsequent best alternative intervention or program (Palmer Raftery, 1999). According to Dupas (2012), the health sector is one of the areas where the government intervenes. There are two motivations why governments intervene the healthcare sector across the globe. Dupas stated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under article 5 which states that access to health care services is a central right of each and every one is the primary motivation. The government as the one in authority shall ensure that this right is exercised. Another equally important motivation is that the health care sector is subject to market failures, such as consumption externalities (Dupas 2012). Externality according to Freudenberg (2012) refers to the effect of production or consumption that affects the society as a whole and not the producer or consumer. The product which generates high profits are being produced more; however, this has negative effects on the health of the society. Externalities causes a chain of â€Å"more sales, more profits, more subsidies, more diseasesâ € , according to Freudenberg (2012). For an instance, the production of fast foods, cigarettes, alcohol and sugary beverages. These generate huge amount of money and gives rise to economic progress, but slowly killing the health of the population. According to Dupas (2012), â€Å"to make remedy to a market failure and attain social optimum, public provision of health services, public provision of information, subsidies for private provision, and regulation of private provision are the four main ways†. Moreover, there are many factors affecting health which the government provides appropriate funding and attention in order to halt the problem before it becomes long term and cause a financial burden. For example, epidemic diseases such as polio and measles that can be eradicated through vaccination, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and obesity brought about by sedentary lifestyle can be reduced by initiation of behavioral change, poor family planning methods and poor access to antenatal check-up can be improved through the provision of information and access to health services considering efficiency and equity. One factor that prompts the government to fund immunizations is the wide-spread of polio disease in every part of the world. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (2010), Polio or also known as Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus. The virus invades the nervous system that causes permanent paralysis to the affected person. It is spread through direct contact with the person infected with it. Children under five years old are the ones who are most vulnerable to be contaminated with the infection. Mostly, those who are infected are asymptomatic. The polio virus is just one of the many cases where cure has not yet been found and the only way not to acquire this is through prevention. Two effective polio vaccines were invented as a preventive measure to protect the child for a lifetime. Thereupon, to eradicate the epidemic polio disease a routine immunization to children must be implemented by the government. Thus, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched. Overall, since the GPEI was launched, the number of cases has fallen by over 99%. In 2014, only 3 countries in the world remain polio-endemic: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan (WHO, 2014). Further, despite the high cost of this health program by the government this still remains to be cost-effective. Most importantly, this saves children and their families from a lifetime burden brought about by this deadly disease. Not only that, this may also decrease the likelihood of transmitting the disease to children who did not undergo any immunization. Similarly, another potentially fatal disease called measles has become a health threat to every country in the world. According to the Immunization Advisory Centre (2013), Measles is caused by a virus known as morbillivirus. Its transmission is via large airborne droplet that can be acquired through coughing or sneezing and it can be spread quickly. Unlike polio, people who acquire this illness are symptomatic. Rashes all over the body is a much known symptom of measles. Aside from that, measles also have no cure or treatment like polio. Again, preventive measures are the best way to avoid this illness. MMR, which stands for measles-mumps-rubella vaccine was discovered to be the most effective way not to acquire measles. Two doses of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine must be given to fully protect a person from it. This immunization helps people become immune to measles, as well as prevent from spreading measles to people who have low immune system and those who are not fully immunized. This health program is cost-effective because prevention is more practical than paying for hospital and professional fees, brought about by the complications of measles. For instance, when a child who is not immunized can easily be infected with measles, which we all know has no cure but can cause complications to the child. These complications will have to be treated to avoid worsening the condition of the child, thus paying more than having the child be immunized in the first place. Another factor that alarms the government and which requires apt intervention is the effects of a sedentary lifestyle. As stated by Pate (2013), a sedentary lifestyle is defined as a type of lifestyle where an individual does not get consistent amounts of physical activity. Where physical inactivity is considered the disappointment to meet the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), stating that every individual must partake and take actions in a minimum of 150 minutes of light exercise, or 75 minutes of a more energetic and dynamic exercise schedule. Most health professionals are also in agreement that walking 10,000 steps a day and that is approximately 5 miles, is the perfect goal to agree for having and cultivating health and lessening the health risks caused by being inactive. One effect of having a sedentary lifestyle is placing an individual at high risk to diseases and illnesses and increase all grounds of mortality, double the risk of cardiovascular diseases , diabetes, obesity, and upsurge the risks of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 60 to 85% of the population worldwide does not involve themselves in sufficient physical activity. Thus, for this reason making physical inactivity the fourth leading risk factor for universal mortality. Amid the precautionary procedures suggested by WHO are moderate physical activity for up to 30 minutes every day, tobacco cessation then leading to termination, and healthy nutrition. Adding up to individual lifestyle variations, governments and policy makers are also recommending to move for health by making and generating a helpful and supportive setting for individuals. Amongst the measures commended are executing transportation rules that make it harmless for people to walk and ride bicycles, enacting tobacco-free public buildings and spaces, creating an accessible parks, play area and public centers, and endorsing physical activity programs in schools, communities and health services. Nutrition is the consumption of food, considered in relation to the body’s dietary needs. Good nutrition is an adequate, well balanced diet joined with consistent and systematic physical exercise is a pillar for having of good health. Poor nourishment can lead to weaken immunity, high risk susceptibility to illnesses, impaired physical and mental development, and reduced productivity. According to WHO (2014), Malnutrition, presents important threats to human health. Today the world encounters a double burden of malnutrition that includes both under nutrition and overweight, specifically in developing countries. Malnourishment is connected with the underweight BMI categorization, but it is also likely to present at a normal weight and still be under nourished. Children regardless of their age and sex even though they are eating well may still be undernourished if they are not getting proper and suitable levels of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals in their diet. For the meantime, overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that usually bring risks to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index, a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in meters). A person with a BMI of 30 or more is normally measured obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is consider ed overweight. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Exercise will help in managing appetite and will maximize the number of calories you burn while remaining healthy. WHO promotes actions to reduce recreational sedentary screen time among children. This finding is founded on strong evidence of efficiency in lessening recreational sedentary screen time, increasing physical activity, improving diet, and improving or maintaining weight-related outcomes. According to World Health Organization (2014), in the 20th Century Family planning is the higher health achievement in the world. The family planning services provides each individuals to achieve desired birth spacing and family size, and contributes to improved health outcomes for infants, children, women, and families. The role and responsibility of government in family planning is mainly focus on education by providing relevant information on family planning as well as access to birth control options and healthcare.Family planning is essential to all countries, which helps to decrease maternal and neonatal mortality rate, and make healthier life. In support, Keesara nad Lesser (2014) stated that one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce maternal mortality is through right family planning methods and services. However, the two pointed out that although it is beneficial, resource-constrained countries suffer from scarcity of supplies and low quality intervention programs, partic ularly in the rural area. In this case, not all countries can maximize its resources and allocate appropriate funding, efficiency and equity almost always are not met due to the highest priority of a certain demographic area. Likewise, antenatal care, the care that a women receives during pregnancy, helps to ensure healthy outcomes for women and newborn (World Health Organization, 2013).Antenatal care service includes of therapeutic interventions that would be beneficial to the woman and her infant, as well as provide education about the importance of antenatal checkup and planning for a safe birth; thus, prevent from maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in the world. During the antenatal visits, there are various benefit for the women from various interventions, including counselling abouthealthy living styles, providing of iron/folic acid supplements, and vaccination against tetanus toxoid to prevent newborns against neonatal tetanus as well neonatal mortality and morbidity. In rural areas, the limited availability of health services as well is also one of the major problems. Due to the lack of health services women cannot access for antenatal checkup. Therefore, the government has funded a fre e service of antenatal checkups and has also trained many skilled birth personnel like midwives in the community to provide frequently home service especially in the remote area. In conclusion, healthy people largely contributes to a happy, healthy and prosperous nation. The two main factors that the government intervene in health care sector are the basic human rights and market failures. Further, some of the health factors that prompt the government to take initiatives to implement health programs are the epidemiology of diseases such as polio and measles, the sharp escalation of cardiovascular diseases and obesity due to sedentary lifestyle or consumer externalities, and the increasing maternal morbidity and mortality rate. These factors that were provided interventions according to studies are cost-effective and achieved desirable effects, for example, reducing incidence rates. However, further studies shall be made to quantify as to how a particular intervention can be efficient and equitable. The equity of an intervention, in most cases is achieved because areas that cannot be reached do not receive the same access compared to those who live in accessible places, this is true to the third world countries. Also, opportunity cost are measured through health benefits of what has been sacrificed for another intervention. But, further studies shall be made to provide empirical evidence on how a specific intervention can be cost-efficient. Efficiency, equity and opportunity cost of health interventions vary according to different circumstances per country or demographic population such as government funds, scarce resources and priority needs.

Turnitin Sucks :: plagiarism police

Turnitin Sucks It's with a great deal of interest that I've been following the most recent uproar in the blogoshpere about Turnitin.com and about whether or not higher ed is taking the proverbial low ground in the ethical battles by the increasing use of Turnitin. It is my opinion and always has been that there is something fundamentally wrong with the whole process of requiring students to turn in their work to the plagiarism police. I think this graphic from the Honk Kong Polytechnic University is especially humorous. I didn't have their permission to show it on my site so I created my own sign at the Ronald McHummer site. About 2-3 years ago we had the conversation on campus about whether we should license (or is it subscribe to) the Turnitin service. Of course there were some people who were in favor of it, but the majority was put off by the same things that have always bothered me about the deal. The arguments at that time against using Turnitin appear to still be the main arguments. In no particular order, they include: "I am currently taking a course that requires me to submit my papers to Turnitin. My objection to Turnitin is that they are not only infringing my copyright, but that they are doing so for commercial profit. If they want to make money from storing my paper in a database, they should pay me for a license." (EricSmith comment on Slashdot) "Why are we violating authorial integrity to teach students that violating authorial integrity is wrong?" (by Bob, first comment) "can shift attention away from teaching students how to avoid plagiarism in the first place. In â€Å"Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices,† the Council of Writing Program Administrators urges teachers to â€Å"use plagiarism detection services cautiously,† for they should â€Å"never be used to justify the avoidance of responsible teaching methods.† "I find it more than a bit ironic, that this company works with WebCT and Blackboard, who argue that one should use Course Managment software to protect student's privacy (alah FERPA) when turnitin.com fundamentally violates student's rights." (Dave, Sept. 7, 18:05) "It's just like music composition. People with similar music education backgrounds end up producing similar music. That's just how it is. Are you seriously going to argue that the standard educational texts HAVEN'T been mined for every bloody original idea they contain a thousand times over?" (read the whole comment by Cadallin)

Monday, August 19, 2019

Chinese Shih Poetry And Philosophy Essay -- essays research papers

Since the beginning of time, man has sought to explain the world around him. This is called philosophy, a Greek word which means "love of wisdom." However, over the millennia it has come to mean much more. The philosophies of the ancient Chinese people, whether they explain nature or present ways to live a just life, became so complex that simple prose could not suitably express their meaning. Yet paradoxically, the simpler, less exact form of poetry does put forth the ideas. Nowhere is this more exemplified than in the literature pertaining to the two major schools of ancient Chinese thought; Taoism and Confucianism. Poets such as Tu Fu and Po Chà ¼-i expressed the ideas of Taoism and Confucianism, respectively, while their fellow poet T’ao Ch’ien expressed both, through their poetry. Confucianism is based on the ideas of Confucius, the man who gave the school of thought its name. The main goal of Confucianists was to return a gentlemanly society to China. The core of Confucianism concerned social structure. Confucius taught that a man should respect and obey those of higher rank than himself, whether they be the father of a family, or the emperor of a nation. But even with absolute obedience, Confucianists believed that men should practice restraint and benevolence in those inferior to them. At the same time, those in high status were expected to lead virtuous lives, and to set examples for those that followed them. Confucianists believed that the moral code of man was set down by heaven, and if those in positions of authority did not set good examples, then they would deposed by the forces of heaven. One of the first great Chinese poets to write of Confucianism was T’ao Ch’ien. T’ao Ch’ien’s poem Substance, Shadow, and Spirit shows a comparison between Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and the views on life and death of each. A clear example of Confucian beliefs can be taken from this poem. He states, "Let us strive and labor while yet we may / To do some deed that men will praise." This clearly demonstrates the fact that Confucianists do not believe in reincarnation. Also, in his Poem on Returning to Dwell in the Country, T’ao Ch’ien writes, "In the same world men lead different lives; / Some at the court, some in the marketplace." These lines illustrate that for every man there is a place in an ... ...orld around him, which was full of chaos and turmoil. In the final section of the poem Substance, Shadow, and Spirit he discusses the Taoist view, which is that one should not worry about death, but should "go where Fate leads – Drift on the Stream of Infinite Flux" and "make as little fuss as you can," when death finally comes. His Poem on Returning to Dwell in the County also shows Taoist ideas on simplicity, and following the way of nature. Passages such as "Long I have loved to stroll among the hills and marshes, / And take my pleasure roaming the woods and fields," demonstrate the Taoist love for nature. Poets such as Po Chà ¼-i presented the ideas of in a form that better impacted the common man, and carried their ideas crystal clear to the intellectuals. His fellow poets, T’ao Ch’ien and Tu Fu presented images of nature so intense, that the reader could gain a sense of calm from reading their poems. These poems have passed the test of time, and have not weathered the slightest. The followers of these schools were gifted enough to state their beliefs in poetry so vivid that they still enlighten lovers of wisdom today.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

House of the Spirits, Major Motifs Essay -- English Literature

House of the Spirits, Major Motifs Politics Pedro Tercero brought Socialism to the peasants of Tres Marias, and got Jaime very interested in justice, equality, and the peasant movement. The peasants want their feelings to be heard and want a socialist style of government, but they are afraid that Esteban Trueba will find out and kick them out of the estate. The people of Tres Marias have no desire to vote because they know that the ballots are changed. Pedro Tercero tries to make the people understand that this election will be different; there will be people from the socialist party watching the ballot taking and the ballot boxes will be sealed. The people of Tres Marias are beginning to understand how their problems can be solved, and how people should really be living. Esteban Trueba however, is on the other side of the political wings he needs full control over the peasants so his estate will function, he believes that the peasants can’t rule themselves. If his people vote for a socialist government he can’t kick them out because then he’ll have to kick everyone out, he will do more harm to himself through anger. Power Men are losing power. Jean de Satigny is handsome and a French count from all around the world, unlike other men, he has experienced what the world has to offer. He is civilized and has lots of money to flaunt to his lover, but even though he has so much he can’t get Blanca to marry him. Someone with so much has no power over the women he wants. Esteban has no power over Clara when he needs it most, and when he wants complete control over her she can avoid him or hide from him. He tries to go back to raping peasants, but he can’t lift them up onto his saddle because his age. H... ...ut Esteban doesn’t understand the unexplainable attraction of love and sees it as bondage of two people from the same class. The love between Blanca and Pedro Tercero is the strongest love in the whole book. The devotion of the two to stay together through all the years is something close to magic. Starting out from playing in mud and sleeping naked under the dinner table on top of each other like two fitting puzzle pieces, perfect. Then through the years getting more and more serious until their love cannot be separated by Esteban’s skeptical morals. They start to sneak out at night to meet by the river where they embrace and make love ending in the same position from when they first met. The love between the two lovers is natural not between class, money, family, or looks, but between two people who found love and will never let anyone take it from them.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Geof is the only genuine caring character in the play Essay

Geof is the only genuine caring character in the play; the others are totally selfish and self centred. Discuss this statement. From the beginning of the play we can see Jo is the main character, she is highly independent and self reliant this is obvious from one of the opening pages were Jo’s mum Helen states ‘children owe their parents these little attentions’ to which Jo replies with ‘I don’t owe you a thing.’ This shows Jo sees her relationship with her mother as strained, she feels she has brought herself up and not really had her mother their to support her. She has learnt to rely on herself and not trust her mother. When Jo becomes pregnant with a black boy form the navy, who leaves her pregnant Jo reacts badly because she is so independent and used to looking after herself. Geof (Jo’s gay friend) offers her a shoulder to turn to and she turns on him ‘I’m not planning big plans for this baby or dreaming big dreams. You Know what happens when you do things like that. The baby will be born dead or daft!’ She feels she has let herself down and been promiscuous, however the sailor boy was offering her marriage and love before he left, she felt in a safe relationship and that was why she slept with him. But Jo just sees that she’s made the same mistakes her mother made when she had her at a young age. Most expectant mothers don’t have this negative attitude towards their unborn child however I feel it’s because she thinks she may let the child down like her mother let her down. Jimmy the black boy from the navy who got Jo pregnant gave the impression of a kind and genuine character who did honestly love Jo until he left. In my opinion he loved her and did intend to return for her but got scared of the prejudice he would face if he did return. He said to Jo about her mother finding out about their engagement ‘She’ll see a coloured boy.’ He obviously felt his race was going to be an issue in their relationship and how it was perceived and was worried about it. Jo however did know Jimmy was in the navy and even said to him on one occasion ‘I might as well be naughty while I’ve got the chance. I’ll probably never see you again I know it.’ So I believe deep down Jo knew there was a chance she wouldn’t be seeing him again. In my opinion Helen did love her daughter she just didn’t know how to treat her, maybe it was because she had her at a young age? She seems to think she should treat her daughter like a friend, she even encourages her underage daughter to drink ‘You don’t smell it, you drink it!’ I think the only way Helen knew to make her daughter love her was the way she made men love her, by getting her drunk. Helen did want her daughter to make something of her life I feel. She encouraged her to draw, saying her drawings were very good ‘Have you ever thought of going to a proper art school and getting proper training?’ But I think the main reason she wanted Jo to make something of herself was so she could sponge of her. Helen says to Jo ‘When you start earning you can start moaning.’ In my opinion she’s saying to Jo you make some money and get us somewhere nicer. She’s not taken the task upon herself to find her and her daughter somewhere nice to live she’s going to wait for her daughter to did it for them. Not a typical loving mother and daughter relationship, Helen is reliant on her daughter Jo. Helen is in my opinion lazy with regard to her relationship with her daughter. She is constantly asking her daughter to do stuff around the house ‘Pass me that bottle’ ‘Have we got any aspirins left Jo?’ Here is another example of Helen being reliant on her daughter. She also becomes strangely jealous of Jo’s gay friend Geof. She is constantly rude to him ‘Oh shut up Geof’ ‘Sling your hook’ I believe she is jealous of his strong bond with Jo. She feels jealous of their close relationship and doesn’t like him around as she feels inadequate compared to him. Jo maintains through out the play that she wants to be rid of her mother ‘as soon as I get a full-time job, I’m leaving Helen and starting up with a room somewhere’ so for Helen to know there’s someone in her life she wants there, that person being Geof it must make her feel less important. Even for Helen who shows no real care for her Jo to know that her own daughter feels like that must be difficult. I think part of her feels she should have a close loving relationship with Jo I just don’t think she knows how to or more importantly can be bothered. Peter, Helens latest fling who becomes her husband comes across as a decent sort of guy at first, however he is sleazy ‘Helen you look utterly fantastic’ ‘Got your blue garters on?’ He does turn nasty towards the end when their marriage isn’t going so well ‘Look at Helen, isn’t she a game old bird? Worn out on the beat but she’s still got a few good strokes left.’ and ‘I dragged you out of the gutter once , If you want to go back there it’s all the same to me.’ The way he speaks down to Helen are reminiscent of his character, he believes himself to be above everyone else, better looking, better dressed, better educated, a real snob. Geof takes a mothering role in Jo’s life, which I don’t think she always appreciates. ‘I’ll buy you one for Christmas. If you ask nice I’ll buy you two.’ ‘I’ll stay here and clear this place up a bit and make you a proper meal.’ I think Jo actually likes having a figure to look after her but I think she finds it difficult sometimes as she’s not used to it, she’s used to fending for herself. ‘Why don’t you leave me alone?’ I think that all this shows that despite Jo’s though exterior she does want looking after and companionship, especially from her mother even though she denies it, as that is what Geof is doing for her, being a substitute mother. Geof , a single gay man was evicted from his flat by his landlady because she caught him with another man. In those days being a sexually active gay man was frowned upon so he was probably quite ashamed about the reason for his eviction and that is why he tries to hide it from Jo. When she asks ‘has your landlady thrown you out?’ Geof replies ‘Don’t be silly,’ but later tells her the truth. Geof also agrees to move in with Jo, taking on the responsibilities of looking after a Jo and her baby. Also when Jo tells him her baby will be black he is extremely accepting and doesn’t seem to care. In my opinion this is due to the prejudice he has faced about being gay. Another time his kind and compassionate character is seen is when he tries to get Jo and Helen talking again despite Jo telling him exactly what her mother is like he still persists and tries to build bridges in their relationship with them and get Helen to help out with the baby. ‘Your mother should know, do you have her address?’ When he meets Helen though he is struck by how rude and uncaring she is and sticks up for Jo telling Helen. ‘If I’d known you were going to bully her like this I’d have never asked you to come!’ Here he shows true loyalty for Jo by sticking up for her. In my opinion Geof is a very lonely young man he didn’t seem to have any other friends besides Jo in the play, other than young man he was found in his flat with but in his own words ‘he didn’t really know the guy’ . We can’t really be sure of his past because the play doesn’t mention it but I feel he’s faced a lot of prejudice about his sexuality and perhaps that is why he so understands Jo. He doesn’t seem to have any family, and I think he was trying to make Jo and the baby into a surrogate family for himself. I feel he was the nicest character in the book but he did become quite irritating as he was too nice all of the time. All the other characters had floors and attributes that made them lovable or unlovable. Geof however, was just quite bland. Helen for instance was an interesting character because she was so unpredictable, she could have a new boyfriend at any moment, or get drunk and do something ridiculous. Goef on the other hand was predictable but provided the rock of the story. He was Mr. Reliable that Jo could turn to he wasn’t an interesting character like Helen but was a vital part of the play.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Advertising Planning and Implementationn

Running Head: ADVERTISING PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION Advertising Planning and Implementation Melanie Boggs September 14, 2011 MKT/447 Jeffery Manning University of Phoenix Advertising Planning and Implementation This paper focuses on the key elements of Pepsi’s advertising plan and how putting that plan into action affects consumer behaviors. What the advertising message says to the consumers should match up with the reception the company expects to receive.Many aspects of the plan includes it target audience, consumer behavior, positioning, media outlets, and the creation of the advertisement. These elements create the layout for the plan to be put into place for actions to be taken by the consumers. The advertising message is the â€Å"strategies used to convey what a company wants to say and how it wants to say it† (Arens, Weigold, Arens, 2008). This message also is known as the message strategy. Achieving the goal is meeting the message objective. Ads must portray the image necessary to achieve the message strategy.The agencies creative team must come up with a plan that â€Å"agrees with the target, product, media, and message† of the ad (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 374, 2008). Pepsi’s advertising messages of its new ad campaigns tells consumers that the product is still alive and in competition with Coke-Cola. The creatives of the ad must understand the target audience for which the ads are fashioned. Advertisers and marketers target audiences through segmentation. Some of these types of segmentation are demographic, geographic, geodemographic, psychographic, behavioral, benefit, and volume.Many ads combine a mix of these to reach consumers through different levels of segmentation. Demographic segmentation targets consumers on the basis of â€Å"age, sex, ethnicity, education, occupation, income, and other quantifiable factors† (Arens, Weigold, Arens, p 174, 2008). Geodemographic segmentation is targeting on the basis of loyalty to a brand from the cause of a demographic influence, such as the Dancing Teddy commercial. Geographic segmentation targets a specific area, such as country, state, city, or providence, and its size (Dancing Santa).Psychographic segmentation is on the basis of â€Å"values, personalities, attitudes, and lifestyles,† such as the new Pepsi ads competitive nature (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 177, 2008). Behavioral segmentation is on the basis of purchase behavior. These include â€Å"user status, usage rate, purchase occasion, and benefit sought† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 170, 2008). Benefit segmentation targets consumers through ads on the basis of â€Å"high quality, low cost, status, sex appeal, good taste, or health consciousness† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 173, 2008).Volume segmentation is the basis on how often consumers use the product. However, Pepsi’s new commercials do fit a mix of these segmentations. Consumer behaviors are the â€Å"m ental and emotional processes and the physical activities of people who purchase and use goods and services to satisfy particular needs and wants† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 145, 2008). â€Å"Advertising’s primary goal is to reach potential consumers, and influence their awareness, attitudes, and buying behaviors† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 145, 2008).Understanding the buying behavior of the audience aids in understanding which segment to target. Just as, understanding the audience helps understand the buying behavior. Pepsi’s decision to stay out of commercials for the past three years has given the company plenty of ammunition against its largest competitor Coke-Cola. Positioning refers to the place a brand occupies competitively in the minds of the consumers. Positioning reflects the consumers perceptions about the product whether it is true or not.Through differentiation or market strategy a company may pick a position similar to a competitor and fig ht for its market. The seven approaches to positioning strategies are â€Å"product attribute, price or quality, use or application, product class, product user, product competitor, cultural symbol, and by category† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 241, 2008). Pepsi’s past positions have played from one or more of these strategies. PepsiCo’s current positioning strategy depends on which current advertisement is seen by viewers.These commercials named â€Å"Summer Time is Pepsi Time† (product attribute), Dancing Santa (cultural symbol), Uncle Teddy (product competitor), and the â€Å"Refresh Project† (product user). Many types of advertising media exists, such as magazines, newspapers, e-zines, online newspapers, television, radio, Internet, cell phones, and others. PepsiCo uses every type of advertisement possible to reach its target audiences. PepsiCo also sponsors events, and has its name on Jeff Gordon’s car in NASCAR.At events PepsiCo allows vendors to promote their products through handing out free samples and memorabilia. Pepsi’s â€Å"Refresh Project† is only viewable from the Internet. This advertising campaign medium is thought to attract more serious consumers who may vote on a project or create one to obtain votes for PepsiCo to sponsor, to help build communities worldwide. PepsiCo is advertising Pepsi via newspapers, the Internet, television, and radio. PepsiCo also uses the cases these are in to advertise. For example, the new Pepsi 12 packs advertise for â€Å"The X Factor†, a new talent show.The changes one can make to the product positioning and the advertising message are to create messages that are as universal as the product. Pepsi products sell in more than 180 countries worldwide. The new â€Å"Summer Time is Pepsi Time† campaign ads are also very competitive with Coke-Cola commercials. The use of such ads is extremely dangerous to the company for consumers may begin to belie ve the company is desperate for consumers to purchase its products. Especially, because these commercials are the first for Pepsi in three years.Researching how these advertisements were created, one is led to believe that PepsiCo outsources its agencies. BBDO was the agency for PepsiCo since 1960. â€Å"The agency that has replaced BBDO is also owned by Omnicom. This is the office of TBWA/Chiat/Day, and is part of the TBWA Worldwide unit of Omnicom, Los Angeles† (Stuart, 2008). Creatives in charge of the â€Å"Summer Time is Pepsi Time† ads are Chief Creative Officer: Rob Schwartz, Group Creative Director: Brett Craig, Creative Director: Xanthe Hohalek, Art Director: Chris MacNeil, and Copywriter: Michelle Lewis, according to Emma Bazilian of Adweek.One may not believe that this would be an effective use of company resources because Pepsi has declared to refrain from advertising the product on television to avoid targeting a younger audience. For three years PepsiCo o pts for the Internet, events, sponsors, and in-store advertising as a means to promote its products instead and allow healthier choices to be advertised on television. Other than its competition, consumers are left to wonder what has made the product come back to television, and if there will be a Superbowl ad to look forward too.Consumers may agree after three years Pepsi should have come back to television using its greatest asset, its loyal consumers to promote the product. To make the campaign more effective the product could have entered back into the commercials using less competitive ads and focusing more on the consumers who already enjoy the product or through behavioral segmentation. The company should have declared to the press the reason for the sudden change of health consciousness with the decision to advertise on television, and its decision to use ads that will gain the attention of the younger generations that have been avoided in the past.This will also create a be tter understanding of consumer behaviors toward the product, without the influence of the suggestive ads, whether negative, or positive. Creating an advertisement that could be understood universally, without depicting the specific product would have been an excellent way for the product to enter back into commercials. Press releases, newspaper articles, e-articles and e-zines, and speeches are ways that PepsiCo could have announced its decision to begin making new commercials for the product. ConclusionUnderstanding the advertising message, target audience, consumer behavior, media sources, positioning, who creates the ad and why, are part of the advertising plan and lay out the actions necessary to carry out the ad successfully. Pepsi’s new† Summer Time is Pepsi Time† commercials are the first in three years to be advertised on television. The depiction of this can be relayed to the target audience’s without the use of its main competition. References Are ns, Weigold, & Arens (2008). Contemporary Advertising. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from http://ecampus. phoenix. edu Bazilian, E. July 1, 2011) AdWeek. Ad of the Day: Pepsi â€Å"Coke lover Santa Claus goes rogue in the first new Pepsi spot in three years†. Retrieved August September 13, 2011, from http://www. adweek. com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-pepsi-133128 Stuart, E. (Nov. , 18, 2008). NY Times. Pepsi Shifts to New Ad Agency. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from http://www. nytimes. com/2008/11/18/business/media/18adco. html Pepsi Commercials. Ads and More. Pepsi. com. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from, http://www. youtube. com/pepsi? utm_source=pepsi&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=panel&utm_campaign=refresh

Thursday, August 15, 2019

We should embrace nihilism for growth in understanding

â€Å"Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy† (http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/nihilism.htm). In a nihilist perspective, there are no beliefs in dogma, religion and other socially constructed norms and standards. Nihilists question the set of universally made way of thinking and that there is nothing real in this world.SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONâ€Å"Social constructs are institutionalized entity or artifacts in a social system, invented or constructed by participants in a particular culture or society that exist because people agree to behave as if it exist, or agree to follow certain conventional rules, or behave as if such agreement or rules existed† (wikipedia.org). Social constructs are created entities in whi ch people or groups of people perceived them to be true. Social constructs are perceived realities that are put into a convention to be turned into social beliefs.Some examples of social constructs are religion, morality, sexuality, class and many more. These social constructs play a major role in people’s daily lives. Social constructs became an integral part of people’s daily lives. These became inevitable realities of their existence. Basically, how people act are based on social constructions. Social constructions dictate the everyday lives of people. Social constructs determine how people will act and what their pattern of actions is. These social constructs are the perceived rightness of actions in a particular given situation. Therefore, people’s lives are controlled and move by social constructs.Social constructs evolve and changes as time pass by. It depends on the richness of thought of human beings. The minds of human beings are very rich and full of possibilities. People have the capability of evolving one system of thought into another. A particular social construct is not permanent and will not last forever because it only depends on the people who were the ones who constructed them. Social constructs are dynamic because the minds of people are also dynamic. What most people are experiencing now may just become a history of tomorrow.THE WORLD AS A REALM OF MEANING AND CAN BE DISCLOSED BY NIHILISMFor Heidegger, he viewed the world as a realm of meanings and possibilities. These possibilities are for Da-sein to discover and the meanings are for Da-sein to assimilate. This world for Heidegger is where the Da-sein is situated and part of the facticities given to the Da-sein. This world is for the Da-sein to discover and understand. The world gives meaning to the existence of man and man is to exhaust these meanings or possibilities. Hence, the world is where the Da-sein interacts and for him to assimilate.This word â€Å"alethei a† describes the world for Heidegger. â€Å"Aletheia† means revelation and concealment which constitutes the world’s disclosedness to man. The world is the realm of meanings for man that man is always in constant assimilation. Even if it reveals itself to man, it also conceals something to man and that the task of man to assimilate and understand is a never-ending task and that Heidegger called man as â€Å"always already understanding the world†.The word â€Å"always† signifies the infinity of understanding that man is task to reveal the world, the never-ending task of correlation and understanding. Man as Da-sein is the very nature and function of man as a being who is thrown into this world. â€Å"Da† means there and â€Å"sein† means being. Da-sein is openness to the world and the readiness of man to exhaust and assimilate. Da-sein is the there of being of man, the very thrown ness of man into a particular context. To understand mo re of man as Da-sein, we will tackle on the succeeding parts the functions of being a Da-sein.According to the great Heidegger, attunement is man’s mood or state of mind in which affects his perception of reality. He viewed man as always in the mood and is always ready to understand reality. Man as being thrown into this world, attunement is already embedded in his being. This attunement as already embedded in the being of man girds man to understand. Given the facticity of Da-sein as being-in-a-world, he is always in the mood to seize reality or to be conscious of reality and thus constituting man’s openness to the world. Da-sein as the there of being is always situated in the world thus, a temporal being.This situated ness of man gives him ample opportunity to correlate with the world and to fulfill his very nature as an understanding being who is already attuned to do so. Man becomes conscious by virtue of interaction, which is the very process of understanding for Heidegger. To correlate with the world is to exhaust its possibilities, to assimilate its meaning. Through interaction, man becomes conscious of reality, becomes conscious of meaning. Reality is already in the realm of meanings, which constitutes the world, and it is only for man that he can be conscious of and that is by virtue of correlating with the world.To question dogma and religion and other social constructs can be a tool for better understanding of reality. As discussed, Heidegger emphasized that man can slowly reveal the reality of beings by correlating with the world which is the world of meaning and possibilities. The world has its own meaning. The nihilistic view in its proper use, such as not totally for destruction but of finding the truth behind the world, it can open man’s eye to the real meaning of this world. Man as Da-sein in being a nihilist can be able to arrive at a better truth regarding the world. The world still has a lot to give in man’s unde rstanding of it that is why dogmas and principles of today must be questioned because it is still not in its absolute state.NIHILISM AS A TOOL TO A BETTER UNDERSTANING OF REALITYMan’s life is full of socially constructed norms and beliefs that are the ones dictating what he ought to do and act. There is religion that dictates morality and there is government that dictates who are enemies and not such as who are terrorists and not terrorists. A society is comprised of many ideas and perspectives that battles to gain monopoly. Man is put in the center of contrasting views.With the birth of nihilism, there came an opportunity to arrive in a truth wherein wrong dogma and beliefs can be erased and replaced with better ones. Nihilism can give good effects if not put in its extreme nature of destruction. Questioning beliefs and dogma is a healthy process to undertake. Through questioning, man can slowly reveal to himself the true essence of his existence. Questioning must also not b e intertwined with destruction because it can be a truly great means for development and better understanding.â€Å"I hope to bring some balance and clarity to a number of realities that seem to attract a great deal of misunderstanding: [1] the very serious issues of violence in Islam [including recent Muslim violence]; [2] the abhorrence that many Muslims have of violence; [stereotypes of Islam and Muslims as inherently violent]; and [4] the larger context of violence in our world [not just the Muslim world], much of which is woven into the fabric of our society in such a way that we may not even regard it as our own violence† (Hussain, 2006). The misunderstandings such as looking as a Muslim to be violent can be corrected by the nihilist perspective. People can arrive to a certain truth that not all Muslims are violent and stereotyping can be erased.NIHILISM AS A TOOL TO END CHAOS AND VIOLENCE IN THIS WORLDThe chaotic world is brought about by the differences in beliefs and norms and even in the practices of different religions. These are products of social constructions. With different beliefs and principles and with the devotion to such beliefs and principles, it brings chaos and even to violence. People seem to impose their own beliefs to other people which also have their own set of beliefs. By imposing one’s beliefs, it creates an atmosphere of competition that gives tensions and chaos to this world.Nihilism can be a tool to end all chaos and find peace in this world. People, in there different perspectives, can look at the common ground of their different beliefs. To question their own beliefs is a healthy process and even comparing their own beliefs to others is also a healthy process. This is an act of nihilism. People will not destroy their principles and beliefs but rather, developing it to be better set of beliefs and principles. One example can be seen in the realm of religion where we can see differences but looking at the greater reality of it, there are much more similarities that can be used in arriving to a better belief, a belief that can be bannered by all people from different contexts. Even the difference of science and religion, if nihilistic perspective can be used in a proper way of dialectics and questioning, people may arrive at a certain truth that science and religion has its common ground and that one will not be an opposition of the other.CONCLUSIONThe world is a realm of meaning and possibilities and is plague with socially constructed beliefs and principles. With the birth of nihilism, which is a perspective that most of a time attributed to destruction, the world may find better understanding in its hand. By the method of questioning which is a healthy process, people can arrive to better understanding of reality and the very principles and beliefs that they believe. Therefore, we should embrace nihilism.BIBLIOGRAPHYBogossian, Paul. What is Social Construction. 03 Mar. 2007Heidegger, Marti n. The Question of Being. New Haven (Conn): College and University Press 1958.Hussain, Amir. Oil and Water: Two Faiths: One God. Pilgrim Pr, 2006.Nishitani, Keiji. Religion and Nothingness. University of California press, 1983.http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/#H5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_constructionism

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

American National Standards Institute

In every database project, there would always be requirements for the implementation of its data model. For it to work well and test its functionality, a data value might be needed. This data value will assume a value that is unknown. In relational databases, SQL server uses a placeholder called NULL that resembles unknowns. NULL sets parameters so some data modelers can avoid using it. However, just like any other technology, complications would always arise. One of these is an argument whether it’s good to use NULL or not.NULL is a condition, apart from being unknown (Poolet, 2006). However, along with its many uses are issues supported by some books that suggest minimization of using NULL. There are also a few authors who came to a point of telling to never declare a column NULL. According to them, declaring a column null would mean minor additional overhead on SQL server. Also, you must see to it that you have accounted for the NULL condition in any program that will gain access to the database most especially to those programming languages that would flag null as an error condition.The issues, however, do not necessarily suggest to avoid the use of NULL. In the first place, NULL values are created for purpose. It expresses an unknown condition that is valid. The American National Standards Institute, the provider of standardization system in USA, is supporting the use of NULL instead of empty strings. Thus, the use of NULL is just a matter of choice. References Poolet, M. A. (2006, May) Designing for Performance: Null or Not Null? SQL Server Magazine, pg. 31 American National Standards Institute The American National Standards Institute is an organization that is instrumental in evaluating conformance in relation to customary setups. Their management systems related to standardization are reflected in their environmental parameters in ISO 14000 and quality based parameters such as ISO 9000. In general terms the mission of ANSI can be enumerated as an operation that is constructed to enhance the basic competitiveness of both national and global business.This helps to maintain the integrity of the US business in a voluntary consensus manner that ultimately projects the face of the US to the world as this depicts the quality of life in the United States. (Lamb, 243) It could be mentioned in this context that the system of voluntary standard and the ANSI is a very dynamic process. The initial need of this organization can be traced back to 1911 when industrial conflicts in relation to waste and duplications became a major issue.During this period in 1916 five major bodies of Ame rica came together to form a common nation body that was to look after and coordinate the standardization process. These eminent bodies are ASTM or the American Society for Testing Materials, AIMME or the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, ASCE or the American Society of Civil Engineers, ASME or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the most important of all the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. They together formed a core unit to overlook the process but soon enough the need of a separate unit or organization became obvious.Thus the AESE or the American Engineering Standards Committee was founded within the next two tears. Later this organization was redesigned and named ANSI or the American National Standards Institute. (Kar, 147) It should be remembered that the ANSI is also affiliated with the ISO or International Organization for Standardization where it represents the US officially. It is also affiliated with the IEC or the Internati onal Electrotechnical Commission. However, this affiliation is made via the National Committee of the United States.Furthermore, the American National Standards Institute is also the member of the IAF or the much important International Accreditation Forum. In the regional sector ANSI is an active member of the PASC or the Pacific Area Standards Congress and it represents the United States and also hold an important portfolio as a member in the COPANT or the Pan American Standards Commission. It is a very important part of the PAC or the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation too and is extremely instrumental in the decision making machineries of the IAAC or Inter American Accreditation Cooperation.However, it should be mentioned that the activities of ANSI in this sector is mostly done via ANAB or the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board. (Kar, 148) The standardization process of the ANSI follows a strict mode of hallmark. Firstly, agreement by an assembly of eminent position holders a re taken into consideration who are granted as able representatives of interested bodies and those who are affected materially. Secondly, draft standards are prepared based on comments and public review that is predominantly broad based.Thirdly, the voting members evaluate and analyze the topic in concern and then after thorough consideration the response is taken into account. The fourth phase starts with the process of incorporation of the changes agreed upon in relation to the requirements of the consensus and in accordance to the standard of the initial draft. The fifth and the last phase deal with the process of development of standard where appeal could be put forward in relation to review of the entire process, if necessary. (Lamb, 245)In conclusion it should be mentioned that the ANSI was founded on 19th October, 1918 and holds a legal status that indicates it belongs to non profit institution and private firm under 501(c) 3. (King, 30)The head office of ANSI is situated in Washington, DC. The present Chairman of ANSI is Robert W. Noth and the president is Joe Bhatia. (King, 28) According to the current profile of ANSI the organization has a total workforce of more than 85 full time employees and the annual budget of the organization is about $22 million.(King, 29) The organization runs on membership and its members are individuals, International bodies, academic bodies, Companies, Organizations and most of all Government agencies. At present date the ANSI is the representative of about 4 million professionals and 125000 companies. (King, 27) References: Kar, P; History of Technology and related applications. (Kolkata: Dasgupta & Chatterjee 2001) pp 147-8 King, H; The ANSI Today. (Chennai: HBT & Brooks Ltd. 2006) pp 27-30 Lamb, Davis; Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata. (Delhi: National Book Trust. 2004) pp 243-245