Pricing Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pricing Decisions - Essay Example Article 5 aims to find out the methods of setting prices which are dominating Slovenian business practice. Introduction The articles deal with the pricing practices and strategies in various businesses. As stated in article 1, the businesses and consumers have perfect knowledge of the marketplace but actually they lack the perfect knowledge. This makes the establishment of a pricing policy necessary. Article 2 is based on examining pricing for new product price decisions. It is basically the study of the three pricing practices with respect to competition, costs, and customer value. Article 3 states that products have been divided into four categories such as specialty, preference, convenience, and shopping. The research in this article is basically on the pricing strategy for the various product categories. The relevant strategy was selected as per the literature of the paper that is penetration and skimming strategy. Article 4 deals with the pricing of a short license for software service. Earlier, firms in this industry used to do the pricing based on the usage of resources. As computer hardware became fast and cheap the business model remained no more significant. With the recent spread of complex enterprise software, the cost of software maintenance and deployment has increased again. Therefore, the pricing scheme had been termed as subscription pricing. Article 5 states that pricing is not the most important but is just one of the elements of marketing mix. Inspite, managers complain quite often about the problems and pressures arising due to pricing of competitors, it is stated in the article that pricing is rarely a problem. It states that pricing should be such that the perceived value of the product or service should supersede the perceived price. Importance of the study Article 1 focuses on determining whether small firms use the same established economic principles that economists rely on while explaining the behavior of large firms with regards to pricing strategies and objectives. The study basically is conducted in order to determine whether the economic principles are appropriate for small businesses or not. Article 2 is significant because it deals with the aspects of new product pricing practices. The research paper assesses the ways pricing can be done for a new product. It is important from the perspective of a manager as its becoming difficult for managers to analyze the correct price for the value they are providing to their consumers. Article 3 deals with the aspects of pricing of various product categories which could help attain the corporate objectives of the firm. It is important because pricing should be done on the use of the product. The product category such as convenience products cannot be priced higher as because of the presence of many low cost producer firms in the industry. The research is ideal for serving as a starting point for a developing a framework of corporate objectives, pricing strategies, an d product categories. Article 4 is important because it is related to software pricing. The pricing strategy the researchers are focusing on is basically usage-based pricing wherein the firms will be able to acquire low usage consumers as they do not have to pay more than they use. Article 5 is important as the research is on pricing based on cost or customer. Literature Review Paper 1 In the year 2011, Dunn et.al conducted a study on â€Å"

Review of a presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Review of a presentation - Essay Example The progress in the identification and discovery of the lupus disease has paved the way for immunology application in its study thus making the foundation for its current treatment. The disease has shown uneven prevalence interns of race and gender. It is more prevalent in black American women their white counterparts. Lupus is classified in to five types where each type presents different signs and symptoms and causes. This type includes Discoid lupus erythematosus, subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, drug-induced lupus, neonatal lupus and SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus. The real cause of lupus has not been established yet. This is so due to the many factors that are contributed with the real development of and diagnosis of the disease. Currently, there is no single specific test for the disease and it can last some time before it is established. These calls for several tests to establish the disease like Medical history, Blood tests, ANA test, Skin Biopsy and Kidney biopsy. The disease manifest itself in different symptoms like pain or swelling in joints, muscle pain, fever with no known cause, red rashes, most often on the face, chest pain when taking a deep breath among others. The disease is believed to be caused by epigenetic factors, which are demonstrated by a study of a set of chemical reactions that switch part of the genome on and off at a strategic location and time. Lastly, the re is no cure for the disease but the most applicable treatments aims at treating the symptoms. Evaluation History of lupus The history of lupus disease can be split in three broad periods: Classical era- this period is dated back in the 13th century where the name of the disease was coined. Several physicians gave the disease different names depending on their own thoughts and presentation of the disease. Example of these physicians was Rogerius in 13th century who coined the name lupus describing the facial lesions caused by the disease. Neoclassical Era- this perio d began back in 1872, and it was marked by description of the disease’s dissemination manifestations by Osler. Modern era- this was marked by the discovery of LE cells in1948 in the bone marrow of patients with acute disseminated lupus erythematosus by Hargraves and his colleagues. This was followed by the discovery of immunology of the disease by Moore in 1950’s and systematic occurrence of the disease in patients by Arnett and Shulman in 1954. Epidemiology The disease has shown prevalence of 20 to 150 cases per 1000,000 people. Its prevalence is more in African American Women compared to their white counter part at 164 and 406 respectively situation which has tripled for the last forty years. The prevalence of the disease is highly exhibited in women due to their estrogen hormones aged 20-45 years of age. Lupus disease is highly prevalence in Asians, Afro- Americans, Afro-Caribbean and Hispanic Americans. Classification Lupus disease is classified in to five types wh ere each type has its own specific cause. 1. Discoid lupus erythematosus which result in scar causing skin lesion and can lead to the development of SLE. 2. Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Mostly commonly in women aged 15-40 years of age manifested inform of skin lesions. 3. Drug-induced lupus which is cause by continuous use of specific drugs like procainamide and guanidine. 4. Neonatal lupus. It is passed from the mothers and appears as skin rashes

Genetics and Linguistics in Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition

Genetics and Linguistics in Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition Introduction Population movement may be utilised to reconstruct activities during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. Recent research particularly that relating to genetics and isotopic analysis, has been employed to assist in this tracking of movement, though issues with this process have arisen, as will be discussed below. Generally when analysing the transition archaeologists have tended to focus primarily on a change in economy, compiling set criteria which indicate either Mesolithic people or Neolithic people, and leaving very little room for additional interpretations. Though efforts are now being employed to allow for other interpretations. The scientific approach, encompassing both genetics and linguistics, when combined with archaeological methods can provide a window into human movements during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. Linguistics clearly would have constituted a huge element of culture and social differentiation from other groups or ethnicities (or inclusion within your ow n group), though evidence of linguistics is vague and circumstantial at present. The archaeology of the transition has been the main focus, which is likely because it is the most tangible evidence which remains. However it is important to remember that this is also subject to the bias of interpretation. While addressing the benefits and draw backs of genetics and linguistics we need to remain aware of the general questions surrounding the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. Was the transition the result of a movement of farmers, foragers who adopted farming or was it a combination of the two? At what speed did the transition occur, was it a gradual or rapid affair? Furthermore the classification of the Neolithic package, which refers to, agriculture, domestic animals, polished stone tools, pottery and settlement, are also often questioned. This is directly linked to the question of what we classify as Mesolithic or Neolithic. The recent trend has focused primarily on the mosaic nature of the transition, examining it in a very detailed manner. While this is a valid method archaeologists must be consistently conscious that results derived from individual sites do not necessarily represent larger scale activity (Robb and Miracle, 2007). Genetics, Archaeology and Mobility during the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition: Past genetic processes have embedded specific signatures in the genes of modern populations. Therefore genetic data has the capability to further inform our knowledge of the transition. Increasingly archaeologists have accepted the importance of acknowledging the variety, messiness and localness of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in direct contrast to those looking specifically at the bigger picture. Amongst those looking at the larger scale view are geneticists and scientists (Cooney, 2007). The study of genetics, is the science of hereditary and variation in organisms, Y Chromosome (male) and Mt DNA (female). The following section refers to the term haplotype which is a set of closely linked genetic markers, it is half of a genotype, which is the specific allelic composition of a cell. An allelic is one or more forms of a gene (Everything Bio 2007). Genetic evidence generally includes mitochondrial, Y chromosomal and classical marker evidence derived from modern populations. One of the main issues to be considered when reviewing the data from genetic research is the relatively small data sets in addition to distinguishing patterns within the genetic DNA of modern populations when using them to determine ancient DNA patterns. Nevertheless the modern composition of the European gene pool appears to reflect these early colonising movements more strongly than any other demographic event in prehistory. It has been estimated that around 85 per cent of European mitochondrial sequences probably originated in the upper Palaeolithic of Europe. There have been a number of issues identified with early attempts to use DNA to track mobility of ancient peoples. These were primarily to do with contamination. However it must also be considered that this form of data is statistical and often is recorded and then displayed in huge quantities which in turn complicates the process. Y chromosome is the male line and the mitochondrial DNA is the female line. There is also the additional problem of time depth, as while it is possible to retrieve genetic patterns it is important to note that they are not defined or distinguished in terms of period of existence. So movement of people represented in the data reflects not just the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition but also movement of people in the time since then, such as during the Roman period (Zvelebil 2008). Data from protein markers (sometimes called classical markers) are still more abundant than are data from DNA, although this situation is rapidly changing. Molecular genetic markers have provided previously unavailable resolution into questions of human evolution, migration and the historical relationship of separated human populations. Different evolutionary models are relevant to the different continents. Migration can profoundly affect genomic variation within a population. For most populations are rare exchange of marriage partners between groups occurs and an average of one immigrant per generation in a population is sufficient to avoid fixation of alleles. However, sometimes a whole population (or a part of it) may migrate and settle elsewhere. Thus the frequencies of alleles among the founders of the new population will differ from those of the original population and will inevitably differ again from those among which it settles. The genetic effects of early forager farmer intermarriages would have multiplied themselves through the hundreds of human generation since the Neolithic. Genetic models that tracing backward from modern populations tend to be highly sensitive to relatively small between hunter gatherers and farmers. For example geneticists studying the y chromosome in modern Europeans often argue that Neolithic farming spread primarily through demic diffusion or the migrations of the farmers themselves. In addition geneticists, while studying mitochondrial DNA in modern Europeans, have suggested that there is a large Palaeolithic component in modern Europeans. Thus because the Y chromosome is inherited strictly along the paternal line and mtDNA is inherited maternally, it may be the case that small groups of Neolithic men intermarried with indigenous women. An ancient DNA study appears to support this in that a particular mtDNA haplotype n1a found in early Neolithic female skeletons is comparatively rare among modern Europeans (Bentley 2007). LBK farming, rather than arriving as a wave of advance, is thought to have leap froged from the North East to the Mediterranean. Theories surrounding the movement of LBK farmers tend to suggest that they could move an entire village society 20km or 30 km in a decade but that it would take foragers much longer than this. Foragers are thought to have been mobile over larger territories, for them a distance of 50km may be considered as one journey between one foraging group to the next, but they would encounter many more settled farmers along the way (Robb and Miracle, 2007). It has been proposed that the spread of farming increased local population densities, causing demic expansion into new territory and diffusive gene flow between the Neolithic farmers and Mesolithic groups (Sokal, 1991). It is likely that different regions must have experienced different blends of cultural exchanges and migratory movements. Researchers have the ability to test the effect of factors such as, prehistoric population sizes, rates of gene flow, and mutation rates, on the likelihood of different scenarios. In the near future, they will also allow users to integrate information from the growing body of ancient genetic diversity, in addition to the broad modern data sets (Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman 2003). Demographic growth in the well identified, specific areas of origin of agriculture must have stimulated a continuous peripheral population expansion wherever the new technologies were successful. Demic expansion is the name given to the phenomenon (that is, farming spread by farmers themselves) as contrasted with cultural diffusion (that is, the spread of farming technique without movement of people). Innovations favouring demographic growth would be expected to determine both demic and cultural diffusion. Recent research suggests a roughly equal importance of demic and cultural diffusion of agriculture from the Near East into Europe in the Neolithic period. Molecular studies using mitochondrial DNA, Y chromosome DNA and nuclear DNA differ in their assessment of the contribution of near eastern farmers to the European gene pool. Some mitochondrial DNA studies suggest that the contribution of near eastern farmers to the European gene pool is about 20%, a similar percent 22% is suggested by a y chromosome study. However the same data was re-examined by Chikhi et al. Who found that by using a different methodology, they resulted with an average contribution of between 50% and 60% from near eastern farmers to the European gene pool. Estimations depend not only in the markers employed but also on the model used and its inherent assumptions. Nuclear DNA studies support a European gene pool. Thus many genetic studies d to support the idea of demic diffusion at some level but there is still a lack of consensus with regard to the percentage of the contribution of early near eastern farmers to the European gene pool (Pinhasi et al, 2005). Linguistics and Archaeology, during the Transition Human languages are an integral aspect of behaviour and culture. Phylogenetic trees are constructed from linguistic elements, portray the evolution of languages (Pagel 2009). There is generally a strong correlation between genetic tree clusters and language families. It is likely that language shifts have become more common recently as a result of massive colonisations made possible by development of mobility due to developed infrastructure, transportation and colonisation. In Europe during the nineteenth century much of the archaeological focus of the transition was directed towards classification and sequences of economy. Around the middle of the nineteenth century the whole study of the subject entered a new phase which was linguistic rather than archaeological. It was by now generally assumed that the similarities in the different Indo-European languages were to be explained by their derivation from a single ancestral language, older than Greek or Latin or Sanskrit (Renfrew 1990, p 14). This proto-Indo-European could be reconstructed by studying what was common to specific cognate words in the different languages. Renfrew discusses Childes extreme views published regarded superiority in physique and the vehicles of a superior language (Renfrew 1990, p15-16). Marija Gimbutas has located the Indo European homeland in the Steppes of South Russia. She refers to Kurgan culture and states that it is the last candidate for a Proto-Indo-European homeland based on the common words compiled to reconstruct the original ancient language. Renfrew has difficulty with this as it is still dependent on the construction of the mother language. Renfrew also highlights the problem of how to explain the historical circumstances within which languages would be replaced? Taken in isolation neither archaeological nor genetic evidence can shed much light on the linguistic identity or ethnicity of the colonising population although when combined together some suggestion can be made. It is generally assumed that the western population were either rare indo-European or proto indo-European setting the stage for North central Europe as the homeland of indo Europeans. Large sections of this population in northern Europe would have to adopt indo European speech subsequently from indo European farming groups penetration central Europe from the near east and east Mediterranean as suggested by Renfrew and modified for temperate and northern Europe. Another key figure within the field of linguistics is Oppenheimer. In his text The Origins of the British (2007), he has suggested of Celtic origin, that neither Anglo-Saxons nor Celts had much impact on the genetics of the inhabitants of the British Isles, and that British ancestry mainly traces back to the Palaeolithic Iberian people, now represented best by Basques. He also argued that the Scandinavian input had been underestimated. It has also been put forward that geography and climate have had an influence on the genetics and culture of Britain (Oppenheimer 2007, 21-26). Languages, like genes, provide vital clues about human history. As mentioned already the origin of the Indo-European language family is the most intensively studied, yet still most recalcitrant, problem of historical linguistics. Numerous genetic studies of Indo-European origins have also produced inconclusive results (Gray and Atkinson 2003). Glottochronology is an approach in historical linguistics for estimating the time at which languages diverged, based on the assumption that the basic (core) vocabulary of a language changes at a constant average rate. This term is sometimes interchangeable with lexicostatistics though the latter refers to statistical manipulation of lexical material for historical inferences and is not necessarily associated with dates (Campbell, 2004). It is not usually accepted as a valid methodology, as it has certain inherent issues. The derivation of modern languages mostly or completely from a single language spoken in East Africa does not mean that this was the only language in existence at the time. When analysing Indo-European language data, the following are often included: the ancient Celtic language of Gaul (modern France), within which is a split between Gaulish (Continental Celtic) and the British form (Insular Celtic), with Insular Celtic subsequently splitting into Brythonic (Welsh, Breton) and Goidelic (Irish and Scottish Gaelic). Taken together, the network thus suggests that the Celtic language arrived in the British Isles as a single wave (and then differentiated locally), rather than in the traditional two-wave scenario (P-Celtic to Britain and Q-Celtic to Ireland). In 1786 Sir William Jones discovered remarkable similarities between Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Gothic, Celtic, and Persian, indicating a common source for these languages, possibly Indo-European language. Then in 1863 Schleicher proposed an evolutionary tree of descent for the Indo-European language family, followed by Charles Darwin who introduced the evolutionary tree concept to the descent of species. Schmidt (1872) published the wave model which denotes that distinct languages increasingly acquire similarities through borrowing. More recently it has been proposed to unite these two models into a single network diagram of language evolution (Forster and Toth, 2003). Conclusion Simple explanations at odds with a complex human history Critique: complex data, requires degree of manipulation to display How does this relate to and affect archaeology? And what we know about mobility and migration during the transition? Confusion between names and genetics. Ancient dna NIa very rare in Europe, haplotype, example that lineages do die out and not all colonisation works. This is further complicated when you look at animals. Cattle and pigs are descendnt fomr the north east but pigs are descendant from a combination of north west domestication. Bear deliberately introducted to Ireland. The past decade of advances in molecular genetic technology has heralded a new era for all evolutionary studies, but especially the science of human evolution. Data on various kinds of DNA variation in human populations have rapidly accumulated. Haploid markers from mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome have proven invaluable for generating a standard model for evolution of modern humans. Co-evolution of genes with language and some slowly evolving cultural traits, together supports and supplements the standard model of genetic evolution. The advances in our understanding of the evolutionary history of humans attests to the advantages of multidisciplinary research (Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman 2003). Reference List Bentley, R.A. Price, T.D. and Stephan, E. (2004) Determining the local 87 Sr/86 Sr range for archaeological skeletons a case study from Neolithic Europe, in Journal of Archaeological Science 31, 365-375. Bentley, A. 2007 Mobility, specialisation and community diversity in the linearbandkermik: isotopic evidence from the skeletons, proceedings of the British academy 144, 117-140. http://www.everythingbio.com/glos/definition.php?ID=3035 Campbell, L. 2004 Historical Linguistics An Introduction, Great Britain: Edinburgh University Press p201 Zvelebil, M. (2008) Innovating hunter gatherers: the Mesolithic in the Baltic. In: Baily G. And Spikins, P. (ed.) Mesolithic Europe, New York: Cambridge University Press, pp 18-59. Gray, R. And Atkinson, Q.D. 2003 Language-tree divergence times support the Anatolian theory of Indo-European origin, Nature Reviews Genetics, 426, 435-439, online, accessed 20/03/10. Pagel, M. (2009) Human language as a culturally transmitted replicator, Nature Reviews Genetics, 10, 405-415, online, accessed 23/03/10. Forster, P. and Toth, A. 2003 Towards a phylogenic chronology of ancient Gaulish, Celtic and Indo European, proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of America, online access 28/03/10. Renfrew, C. 1990 Archaeology and Language: the puzzle of Indo-European origins Cambridge University Press: united kingdom, 14-20. Cavalli-Sforza, L. And Feldman, M. 2003 The Application of Molecular Genetic Aproaches to the Study of Human Evolution, in Review Nature Genetics 33, 266-275. Oppenheimer, S. 2007 The origins of the British: a genetic detective story, Robin Publishing: London, pp 21-26. Barbujani, G and Chikhi, L. 2006 DNAs from the European Neolithic in Heredity 97, 84-85, online, accessed 20/10/10. Cooney, G. (2007) Parallel worlds or multi-stranded identities? Considering the process of going over in Ireland and the Irish Sea zone. In: A. Whittle and V. Cummings (Ed.). Going Over: the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in North-West Europe,London: British Academy pp. 543-566. Robb, J. And Miracle, P. 2007 Beyond migration versus acculturation new models for the spread of agriculture, Proceedings of the British Academy 144, 99-115. Sokal, R. Oden, N. And Wilson, C. 1991 Genetic evidence for the spread of agriculture in Europe by demic diffusion, in nature 351, 143-145, online accessed 22/03/10.

Critical Approaches to Literature Should Not be Required of English Majors :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Critical Approaches to Literature Should Not be Required of English Majors In the controversy that surrounds the issue of requiring English majors to take Critical Approaches to Literature, it is not important whether the course is academically justifiable, but whether requiring English majors to take it is justifiable. By thinking about this issue in this way, I have concluded that Critical Approaches to Literature should not be required of English majors. The main reason for including Critical Approaches to Literature as a required course for English majors is to incorporate a sense of multi-culturalism and feminism into the English major. I would be the first to agree that writers such as Toni Morrison, Langston Hughes, Beth Bryant, and Sherman Alexie should be required reading for all English majors at some point in their education because these authors and their works do bring a dimension of multi-cultural appreciation and feminist understanding to the student's literary background. However, the Critical Approaches to Literature class that I attended did not teach me to appreciate the literature of other cultures; instead, it taught me how to analyze Western Literature as if I were a sociologist or psychologist. In this class, I began to feel that there was a hidden agenda imbedded within the course's objectives. This agenda was to destroy the literature, which I am familiar with, of the culture I have grown up in, and to force me to appreciate the literature of other cultures along the way. It did not work. By saying, "It did not work," I do not mean that I have no appreciation for the literature of cultures other than my own. What I do mean is that if I had not already possessed an appreciation for Multi-cultural and Women's Literature, Critical Approaches to Literature would not have conveyed this appreciation to me. I firmly believe that the poetry of Maurice Kenny is some of the most powerful poetry that I have ever read, and Duan Niatum's love-poem "Round Dance" is comparable to the best poetry that Western Literature has to offer. These are authors I know and love not because I have taken Critical Approaches to Literature, but because I have read these authors' works in a Native American Literature course. This is one reason why Critical Approaches to Literature should not be

Change Management and Communication Plan Essay

Riordan Manufacturing has decided to make a change to company’s customer management system. The company does not currently have any formal system for managing their customer information and has traditionally left this up to individual employees. This new system will require all employees to use one customer management system. Your team is now working to help Riordan implement this planned change. Your team must do the following in your role as consultants: †¢ Review the intranet site for Riordan Manufacturing including Human Resources – Organizational Charts, Employee Files, etc., and Sales & Marketing – Marketing Information Systems. †¢ Create a change management plan and communication plan of 1,050- to 1,400-words. Your plan should include the details from section I and section II outlined below. Section I: Change Management Plan Identify the current formal and informal power structures in the organization. How might the power and political structure of the organization affect employee behavior? Identify the most appropriate and effective organizational structures for Riordan Manufacturing that will help them accomplish their planned changes. Section I: Change Management Plan Riordan Manufacturing formal leaders consist of the chief executive, presidents, vice-presidents, high-level managers, middle-level managers and low-level managers. Each person is responsible for implementing changes that will benefit the structural system for the company. According to the organizational charts, the organization is separated by various departments into functional areas. According to the organizational charts, the organization is separated by various departments into functional areas. For example, in the Human Resource they are responsible for benefits, policy and procedures, job classification, annual reviews and survey results just to name some of the functions within the Human Resource Department. Informal leaders have non-official positions like secretaries, maintenance people, auditors and others who are less important but carry out the vision and mission of the company. A gatekeeper does not hold a position of authority, but they usually work closely with the formal leaders of the company. The power and political structure of the organization may frustrate employees when decisions are made that are unclear or not communicatedand lack vision or reasoning behind the decisions. The system relies on clear and concise communication at all times. It is important that chief executive officer is given accurate information at all times. Riordan Manufacturing discovered some problems with their employees; such as an inability to motivate employees and how to reduce the high turnover rate within the company. This was discovered through the Riordan human resources department structure which does not allow employee empowerment and as a result is delaying potential growth due to the unbalanced profits, and reduction in sales. The human resources department needs to revisit some of their decisions to strength their portion of the structure and better the company for the future. The high turnover rate has caused lack of employee motivation, low morale and with pay levels below their competitors’standards; there is lack of structure in the performance review process within the entire company. These issues can be corrected by creating a coaching, feedback process, and planning career development programs by either creating or improving their current performance reward systems. Riordan Manufacturing has selected a structure that will require all employees to use one customer management system. In doing so, Riordan has adopted a structure that closely resembles a bureaucratic nature. Standardization is the key concept in manufacturing. The formal leaders within the Riordan Manufacturing are each responsible for implementing changes that will benefit the structural system for the company. Organizations structures can have significant effects on its members. Potential effects of a bureaucratic structure on employee behavior are attributed to its formalized, mechanistic model where fairness in policy and procedures is a large indicator of job satisfaction. The bureaucratic environment in which Riordan Manufacturing adopts high levels of work specialization contributes to higher levels of productivity, but may sacrifice in areas of lower job satisfaction. This could be connected to the high turnover rate at Riordan in addition to the low pay levels when compared to similar markets. Management needs to consider the organizational structure and its effects on employees on an individual basis. In a bureaucratic environment management may consider looking into characteristics of employees that help determine their potential in working in such a structure and train employees through coaching and training to help them adapt to the vision Riordan management would expect from its employees, employing those that that prefer routine and security of specialized jobs may perform better in a manufacturing organization like Riordan. Riordan Manufacturing culture can be described in a descriptive term. The current structure and management operations would like to reverse some of the current trends in the workplace that affect its organizational culture. Recent discoveries have uncovered problems influencing culture at Riordan such as levels of motiv ation and tenure at the company. It was discovered that Riordan human resources department structure does not allow employee empowerment and are delaying potential growth because of the unbalanced profits and reduction in sales. The new system aspires to create a new culture where management motivates its employees through a reward system and competitive pay, where workers find management approachable with ideas to improve work processes, while following the idea that helping to implement change will benefit the structural system of the company. Riordan human resources department reassessment of its structure can positively impact Riordan’s overall organizational culture by focusing on pay and its incentive packages. Management at Riordan can consider news ways in which to improve its culture. Ideally, upper management would encourage mid-level management to allow feedback from employees to improve work processes while still following the chain of command to create improvement. Though there are more stringent rules in a manufacturing plant, Riordan management wants to instill its trust in its workers, making them feel they are trusted and that their individual judgment is supported. The new operations at Riordan involve team work that encourages positive interaction, collaboration, goal setting, and a reward system that supports its desires for improved culture at Riordan Manufacturing. †¢ Recommend a strategy to implement the changes over the next 12 months. †¢ Describe how you will evaluate the success or failure of the planned change. Section II: Communication Plan Create a Communication Plan for the proposed change covered in the Change Management Plan. In the Communication Plan, complete the following: Select the most appropriate channels to communicate the change to the employees, and explain why you selected these channels. Identify the potential barriers to effective communication and strategies for overcoming the barriers. Develop a message for one of the selected communication channels. In the message, complete the following: †¢ Identify those areas affected by the change. †¢ Establish the need for the change. †¢ Create a sense of urgency around the change. †¢ Outline next steps in the change process.

Pain in the Chain

Exceso is a hypothetical company taken from a Harvard Case Study. In reference to the four assigments we want to present our analyze. The Case study describes the situation of Exceso, which is a manufacture and the supply chain of Exceso. The Situation shows that they are obviously in trouble. In the following we try to summarize their problems. As the manufacture in the supply chain they have many different problems. It seems to be that they have over-ambitious sales targets, which affected the whole supply chain process. Furthermore Exceso heavily discounting their products in order to increase their customer base.Perhaps that leads to more trouble in the next period. â€Å"If we go with deeper discounts, we’ll move more product. Duh! But it’s not going to sell through. It’ll end up in their warehouse. We know that. † This quotation shows that Exceso could have problem to increase their turnover in the next period because the market is saturated. Based o n your analysis we want to offer some solutions in order to improve the situation of Exceso. We try to provide a suggestion on an optimal supply chain design. As a start Exceso have to change their output obsessed outlook and shall adhere to their customers’ demands.All participants in the supply chain have to work together. They need a collaborative, planning system. This involve a strong tie relationship between Exceso and their distributors. Furthermore they have to work out a shared interest business plan. They have to amalgamate their forecasts, where possible. Finally they need a demand-based product mix planning. How could be this aims be achieved? What is necessary to be done for implementing your suggestion? In our opinion they could implement an electronic data interchange system (EDI) for example a supplier – portal based on an internet-platform.EDI is very useful in the supply chain because it helps to structure the information flow. Moreover the communicat ion with EDI leads to more speed in which trading partner receives and incorporates the information in comparison to paper documents. Likewise it could reduce errors such as shipping an billing errors. Finally it will hopefully keep disparities between over- and underproduction to a minimum. Sharing information could replace high stocks and perhaps they are able to handle increasing demands.

Free Essays on Sociology

Sociology is the scientific study of human social activity. In the effort to study human social activity sociologists break it down into objects of analysis. Sociological Theories One of the sociological theories is conflict theory. The conflict theory deals with people’s level on wealth, or class. The conflict theory says that social change is beneficial, contrary to focuses on social order. In the story of the woman and her children, the conflict theory plays a big role on the situation. Police of higher class are threatening the homeless woman. The conflict theory is a constant struggle of people of higher class over powering people of lower class, or the weaker. The police are trying to over power the woman by telling her to leave. Even though the woman and her children were doing nothing wrong, the police used their power to tell her to leave. Also the people of the area showed their conflict theory by telling the police officers to come. They must have felt embarrassed to have a woman of such lower class to be around them. They used their power of class to have the woman removed from their community. The woman wants to be there because she has no home and it is a good community to be in, but the people look at it as an embarrassment to them because it makes their area look bad for someone of such lower class to be around them. The conflict theory is unique to all other theories because it separates people into categories determined by their wealth and standards. Their status is the element that categorizes them, weather it is class, race, or gender. The conflict theory do not always use class, race, and gender all at once. In this situation race and gender is not a main issue, although gender could be a reason, but it would fall under the feminist theory. This story is mainly dealing with class. Through all this conflict the woman feels over powered and dominated because she is not welcome there because of her wealth standards,... Free Essays on Sociology Free Essays on Sociology Sociology The functionalist perspective is a very important part of sociology. Founded by Emile Durkheim, functionalism is thought of as, â€Å"society as a living organism in which each part of the organism contributes to its survival† (Schaefer, pg. 10). Another way to understand functionalism is to look at some of the simple ways and ideas of the theory. One of the ways to see functionalism is to understand that this theory of sociology looks at facts overtime or certain things in society like crime, sports, race, etc. and examines what the world would be like if one of these aspects were to disappear. Functionalism deals with slow change, progress, and the social equilibrium. Emile Durkheim, the founder of functionalism, was born in 1858 and was the son of a rabbi. Durkheim studied in both France and Germany, in which later in his life became the first French professor of sociology. The most well known work of Durkheim was done around 1897 and dealt with suicide and society, which resulted in his book Suicide. The book looked at suicide in society and stated that society was the main factor of people committing suicide. Some of Durkheim’s research involved looking at facts like why men were more likely to commit suicide, why soldiers were more likely then citizens, or single people more likely then married people. Durkheim asked questions like, why do some people kill themselves and others don’t? Durkheim came up with two different types of suicide, altrustic and anomic. Altrustic is giving up your life for something that you believe in. An example would be a soldier fighting for his country or the way that Jesus gave up his life fo r mankind. Another example would be a cult. Altrustic suicide is any suicide that a person would commit out of the act of love. Anomic is different from altrustic because these people that commit suicide feel disconnected with society and feel that killing themselves is the only... Free Essays on Sociology Sociology is a social science that makes sense of human behavior and human nature by looking at societies and social relationships (Curra 56). There are many different ways to look at sociology; we can look at human behavior in its habitat or human behavior with other humans. We are social beings in the society we live in, we follow social meanings, and we are social actors which change our realities of everyday life. Social meaning is a product which is assigned by members of a group. People make what we know to be meaning. Meaning doesn’t exist out there by itself; we as a group of people give things meaning. Would we as babies know what is right and wrong? No, we are taught those things as we age. Also there are different meanings to things in different societies. If we go to the east people sit on the floor, but in the west it wouldn’t be considered appropriate. This is because meanings have more then one way of looking at it; the people who give the meaning may have different views. This is very significant because we as people don’t understand these rules have not existed out there, they were created by us. We follow these rules because we live in civilization where these meanings have been created. A child like Isabelle, who was discovered in November 1938, she was, isolated most of her life. She was forced to live in isolation because of the embarrassment it caused her grandparents. Isabelle spent most of her time with her mother, who was deaf and mute. So this means Isabelle didn’t get a chance to hear or talk to anyone. Therefore she didn’t learn how to communicate. But, when she did communicate it was a form of body expressions. When she was discovered she acted like a wild person, because she feared them. When she was discovered her caretakers started to acquaint her with the social world. This would involve her to learn the rules of society, which she had no clue of before because of the isolation. This sh... Free Essays on Sociology During this semester, we have covered many articles. After reading â€Å"The code of the streets†, by Elijah Anderson, I realized what the inner city is really about. Anderson’s views on the code of the streets were strictly about how to survive as far as protecting your self and providing for your self. He breaks it down into two groups and then compares the two groups how society views us African Americans. The two groups were the â€Å"decent† and â€Å"street’ families. The decent families have an average job, take care of their family and are some what educated. Many of them go to church and play a major part in their children’s schooling. They teach their children no to get involved in violence and they are strict. On the other hand, the street families are the total opposite. They are drug users and they are prone to violence. Anderson shows that some of the reasons for a lot of these problems originate from their environment. If y ou grow up or live around a drug infested neighborhood, then most likely you will result to drugs. In the community, due to lack of jobs, and employment discrimination, a lot of people turn to violence and Anderson is trying to let mainstream know that they need to know the code of the streets. Another article we read was William Julius Wilson’s article, â€Å"When work disappears†. Wilson talks about how the employment woes. Jobs are widely available, but due to race and lack of individual initiative, jobs are limited. Jobbing is so ridiculous, that adults in many inner city neighborhoods are not working in a typical week. â€Å"Joblessness triggers other neighborhood problems that undermine social organization, ranging from crime, gang violence, and drug trafficking to family breakups†, says Wilson. It seems that you can’t get a job because of your race or your background. People are so fed up with it, they move out but that causes problems for other residents. When a lot of peo... Free Essays on Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human social activity. In the effort to study human social activity sociologists break it down into objects of analysis. Sociological Theories One of the sociological theories is conflict theory. The conflict theory deals with people’s level on wealth, or class. The conflict theory says that social change is beneficial, contrary to focuses on social order. In the story of the woman and her children, the conflict theory plays a big role on the situation. Police of higher class are threatening the homeless woman. The conflict theory is a constant struggle of people of higher class over powering people of lower class, or the weaker. The police are trying to over power the woman by telling her to leave. Even though the woman and her children were doing nothing wrong, the police used their power to tell her to leave. Also the people of the area showed their conflict theory by telling the police officers to come. They must have felt embarrassed to have a woman of such lower class to be around them. They used their power of class to have the woman removed from their community. The woman wants to be there because she has no home and it is a good community to be in, but the people look at it as an embarrassment to them because it makes their area look bad for someone of such lower class to be around them. The conflict theory is unique to all other theories because it separates people into categories determined by their wealth and standards. Their status is the element that categorizes them, weather it is class, race, or gender. The conflict theory do not always use class, race, and gender all at once. In this situation race and gender is not a main issue, although gender could be a reason, but it would fall under the feminist theory. This story is mainly dealing with class. Through all this conflict the woman feels over powered and dominated because she is not welcome there because of her wealth standards,... Free Essays on Sociology Voting today has turned into a big conflict. Between trying to get the young people to vote, and all the absentee ballots that certain states are having. I certainly do believe that voting is important to do at a young age, or at any age. For the youth of the nation to vote, the leaders of today are going to need to get out there and pressure them to vote. There are many problems today that arise with voting and the young voting. I believe that if I could understand everything a little bit better than I would be more likely to vote. Many problems arise today with voting itself. First of all when the youth look at the ballots today they don’t understand what they are voting for and what to already know. From this I believe that is where all our absentee ballots are coming from. The leaders of today need to get out there and explain to the youth what exactly they are voting for and what they need to know to vote today. Instead of just telling them to vote, they need to explain this in a =n easy and understanding way. Explain what the amendments are for, and who they should vote for in congress and the supreme court as well. The youth today doesn’t get into to voting for two good reasons. First of all, they aren’t shown any reason to vote seeing that the leaders of today don’t get out there and bring themselves down to our level. The second reason is that they don’t understand what’s on the ballots in the first place. If the people running would bring themselves to a concert or a sports game and talked to the young, they would become more appealing. Also they need to sit down and find ways for the young to understand what exactly they are voting for. They need to explain what each amendment is for and who each of the people on congress and the supreme court are. Also the sheriffs also need to reach out to the youth also. When I look at voting myself, these are all the reasons I might not have wanted to vote. Not very man... Free Essays on Sociology Sociology is a sense of human behavior and human nature by looking at societies and social relationships. There are many different ways to look at sociology; we can look at human behavior in its habitat or human behavior with other humans. We are social beings in the society we live in, we follow social meanings, and we are social actors which change our realities of everyday life. Social meaning is a product of which is assigned by members of a group. People make what we know what is meaning. Meaning doesn’t exist out there by itself; we as a group of people give things meaning. Would we as babies know what is right and wrong, no we are taught those things as we age. Also there are different meanings in different societies. If we go to the east people sit on the floor, but in the west it wouldn’t be considered appropriate. This is because meanings have more then one way of looking at it; people who give the meaning may have different views. This is very significant because we as people don’t understand these rules have not existed out there, they were created by us. We follow these rules because we live in this society where these meanings have been created. A child like Isabelle, who was discovered in November 1938, she was, isolated most of her life. She was forced to live in isolations because of the embarrassment it caused her grandparents. Isabelle spent most of her time with her mother, who was deaf and mute. So this means Isabelle didn’t get a chance to hear or talk to anyone. Therefore she didn’t learn how to communicate. But, when she did communicate it was a form of body expressions. When she was discovered she acted like a wild person, because she feared them. When she was discovered her caretakers started to acquaint her with the social world. This would involve her learning the meanings of the social society, which she had no clue of before because of the isolation. This shows how humans are trained to ac... Free Essays on Sociology The Ego And Rational Thought The seemingly paradoxical roles of ego and rational thought can be seen as both opposing functions, and complementary functions, both ultimately of equal importance, and both necessary for the formation of a balanced human being. The ego can be seen as the primal garden. It contains within it the seeds for rational thought and the grounds from which rational thought may proceed. Rational thought itself, therefore, is the fruit born of ego. Only after the ego has brought forth the existence of rational thought can the next process occur - the formation of the concept of self-realization. Although identifying the motivational force behind behavior has been micro-philosophized for thousands of years, with various schools of philosophy arguing about what, exactly, motivates the human being to action - egoism to please self, or altruism to please others being primary arguments - the actual underlying motivation for ethical conduct continues to be the same motivation observed by the Ancients. Aristotle observed that love begets love, that the good coming from a person begins first with a core of self-love which is then extended outward. Intertwined within all of the actions, he observed, is a desired state of happiness as opposed to a state of pain. In acting virtuously, one experiences a sense of happiness. Although the term egoism has developed distasteful flavors over the centuries, ego remains the primal garden that can then be tended by the conscious thought. Ego, even in its most primitive stage, knows well the opposing concepts of pain and pleasure. They are simple concepts to understand. Like a finely balanced scale with neither tray holding a disproportionate share of motivational fuel, the ego provides first a form of science of in which it perceives a need to preserve itself. It provides functions and maneuvers that are not necessarily in need of conscious thought. After this stage, the r... Free Essays on Sociology The information learned in this class has helped me a lot, and probably will continue to help me throughout my life. I learned a lot of things.  · about cultural diversity, and that people of the Arapesh are gentle, warm, receptive, non-aggressive, contended, and trusting people  · again about cultural diversity, the Mundugumor are an aggressive group of people, men and women are violent, competitive, and jealous.  · a lot about subcultures, there is a subculture called â€Å"straight-edge† that condone a sex, drug, and alcohol free lifestyle  · in comparison to subculture, a counterculture is something that goes against regular culture (for example, anarchists and punks)  · each society and culture creates its own mores, values, norms, traditions, and taboos, and the rules for â€Å"breaking† those  · about socialization and the effects of isolation (Anna, Isabelle, and Genie from Ch. 5)  · parental characteristics such as level of education, religious orientation, economic status, cultural heritage and occupational background can influence a child’s personality  · many of our aptitudes result from inherited qualities or from a combination of hereditary and environment  · that adolescence is a group on its own, in the social level due to working laws, education, and the juvenile justice system  · a lot about social stratification (the ranking of individuals or categories of people on the basis of unequal access to scarce resources and social rewards) and the effect it has on prejudism, racism, ageism, and sexism  · when I was studying for a test a few chapters ago, I learned a lot about the social structures and characteristics of animals, with help from my sister. Kait is a Vegan, and was explaining to me who a â€Å"chicken farm† works. The average wingspan of a chicken is 32 inches, but they are kept in cages that are only 16 inches, often times several are put into one cage, as many as physics will allow. Since they ... Free Essays on Sociology Sociology is a sense of human behavior and human nature by looking at societies and social relationships. There are many different ways to look at sociology; we can look at human behavior in its habitat or human behavior with other humans. We are social beings in the society we live in, we follow social meanings, and we are social actors which change our realities of everyday life. Social meaning is a product of which is assigned by members of a group. People make what we know what is meaning. Meaning doesn’t exist out there by itself; we as a group of people give things meaning. Would we as babies know what is right and wrong, no we are taught those things as we age. Also there are different meanings in different societies. If we go to the east people sit on the floor, but in the west it wouldn’t be considered appropriate. This is because meanings have more then one way of looking at it; people who give the meaning may have different views. This is very significant because we as people don’t understand these rules have not existed out there, they were created by us. We follow these rules because we live in this society where these meanings have been created. A child like Isabelle, who was discovered in November 1938, she was, isolated most of her life. She was forced to live in isolations because of the embarrassment it caused her grandparents. Isabelle spent most of her time with her mother, who was deaf and mute. So this means Isabelle didn’t get a chance to hear or talk to anyone. Therefore she didn’t learn how to communicate. But, when she did communicate it was a form of body expressions. When she was discovered she acted like a wild person, because she feared them. When she was discovered her caretakers started to acquaint her with the social world. This would involve her learning the meanings of the social society, which she had no clue of before because of the isolation. This shows how humans are trained to ac...

Experiment Techniques Essays - Laboratory Equipment, Free Essays

Experiment Techniques Essays - Laboratory Equipment, Free Essays INTRODUCTION The purpose of this experiment is, first and foremost, to familiarize you with the operation of the analytical balance. Because all analytical determinations are (directly or indirectly) based on the measurement of mass, learning the correct balance technique is vital to the success of your experiments. Additionally, you will use the balance to demonstrate the need to dry samples and standards prior to analysis. Among the techniques, analytical technique stands out as a practically versatile, useful and important skills that have be learn by every students. Analytical skills is comprised of qualitative and quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis deals with finding out which substances are in analytical sample and quantitative analysis determines how much of each substance is in the sample. Analytical techniques analysis has many applications in industry, medicine, biochemistry, physiology, geology, oceanography, and environmental science. In addition, analytical techniques teaches special skills and techniques which have relevance for physicians, engineers, and many other professionals. Micropipettes are used to measure and deliver accurate volumes of liquid. The difference between the two is that micropipettes measure a much smaller volume, starting at 1 microliter . Micropipettes are used in various laboratories, including microbiology, environmental sciences , medical, academic, and research labs . Basically, micropipettes come in three different sizes of varying capacity. They are P20, P200 and P1000. The sizes are noted on the top of the plunger button . Size Micropipette Range of volumes measured P20 0.5-20l , P200 20-200l , P1000 100-1000l . Liquids are never drawn directly into the shaft of the pipette. Instead, disposable plastic tips are are attached to the shaft. There are two sizes of tips. The larger blue tips are used for the P1000. The smaller clear tips are used for the P20 and P200. Micropipetting is an important skill that plays a very active and critical role in the molecular biology laboratory. It is imperative for a person handling micropipettor to know the correct way of using it so that accurate and precise results are achieved. A spectrometer is any instrument used to probe a property of light as a function of its portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically its wavelength, frequency, or energy. The property being measured is usually intensity of light, but other variables like polarization can also be measured. The first step in this process is to direct light through a fiber optic cable into the spectrometer through a narrow aperture known as an entrance slit. The slit vignettes the light as it enters the spectrometer. In most spectrometers, the divergent light is then collimated by a concave mirror and directed onto a grating. The grating then disperses the spectral components of the light at slightly varying angles, which is then focused by a second concave mirror and imaged onto the detector. Alternatively, a concave holographic grating can be used to perform all three of these functions simultaneously. This alternative has various advantages and disadvantages, which will be discussed in more detail later on. Mass spectrometry (MS), arguably the most important analytical spectroscopic tool of modern times, because It is used to understand the fundamental atomic and molecular processes and at the same time t hose of immediate relevance to events within cells. As a technique, it helps to control processes in chemical and biological industries, diagnose diseases, discover new drugs, protect the environment and explore mysteries of nature. An analytical balance is so sensitive that it can detect the mass of a single grain of a chemical substance. Thus, if a method of direct weighing is used, the substance ought to be added to the tared container which will hold it, NEVER directly to the pan or even to weighing paper placed on the pan. The container used should be completely dry and at room temperature, never at an elevated or reduced temperature. Even slight temperature differences can produce APPARENT changes in mass of the container. Finally, the container ought to be completely dry, inside and out. All that having been said, here are some images showing various correct ways of carrying out weighings using an analytical balance. Laboratory balances are important for both resolution and a ccuracy. Conclusion While using some lab instruments such as micropipette, balances and spectrometry , accurate and

Anti-dumping case of Vietnam Catfish in US market

Anti-dumping case of Vietnam Catfish in US market Abstract The â€Å"Vietnam Catfish war† was a famous yet controversial case in recent trade disputes. The U.S. Anti-dumping law protects American industries from supposedly unfair import competitions (Lindsey, 1999, p.2). On June 28, 2002, the coalition Catfish Farmers of America (CFA) and eight individual fish processors filed an anti-dumping petition against imports of â€Å"certain frozen fish fillets from Vietnam† under the US. Anti-Dumping Law to the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) (Le, 2004, p.1). Over one year after the original investigation conducted by the US. DOC, the case was finally concluded with the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of fish fillets from Vietnam. The range of the duties is between 37 and 64 percent on value of imports (Reynolds & Su, 2005, p. 40). This is what the US. Government said, is it true that the Vietnamese government subsidizes Vietnamese firms in Mekong Delta to unfairly gain a better market share in the U.S.? Or is it just the result of domestic political lobby in the U.S.? This paper will try to discuss related issues surrounding the story of that catfish war. The paper will go through the steps used in the class: issue, rules, analysis, and conclusion (I.R.A.C). Introduction the ISSUE Raising catfish is an important source of income for households residing in the Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam for more than 50 years (Nguyen, Nguyen & Phillips, 2004, p.20). Catfish is also produced in the Southern United States where it is a major source of income for fish farmers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana (Hanson, 2005, p.1). In 2002, aquatic products represented 12 percent of total exports from Vietnam, and export value frozen fillets (mostly catfish) is 18 percent of the total value of aquatic exports (VASEP website). The increase participation of cheaper Vietnamese catfish in the U.S forced the Catfish Farmers of America (CFA) to lead a move to halt catfish imports. First, Vietnamese products were forced to be labeled as â€Å"Tra† and â€Å"Basa† instead of â€Å"Catfish†. Second, on the ground that Vietnamese government subsidized Vietnamese catfish farmers, in January 2003, the U.S. Department of Commerce ruled in favor of the antidumping claim and established duties ranging from 37 to 64 percent on imports of frozen catfish from Vietnam (Reynolds & Su, 2005, p. 40). In July 2003, the U.S. International Trade Commission ratified the ruling. As a result, Vietnamese exports of catfish to the U.S. plummeted, almost being shut down completely. Other facts According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the catfish industry is the largest farm-raised fishing sector in the U.S. In 1999, it accounted for 80 and 64 percent of aquaculture production in volume and value, generating 440 million U.S. dollars (Hanson, 2005, p.1). The delta of the Mekong river, in South Vietnam, also provides a good hab itat for catfish. Known as Basa and Tra, Vietnamese catfish raised in ponds and cages that are placed in the river itself. In 1996, two years after the trade embargo of US. against Vietnam was lifted, Vietnam started exporting frozen fillets of Basa and Tra to the U.S. with sales of a few hundred tons and initially marketed as â€Å"Chinese sole†. West Coast Chinese restaurants responded allowing Basa to take one percent of the US. catfish market (Nguyen, Nguyen & Phillips, 2004, p. 22). The level of exports increased significantly in the early 2000s, reaching a market share in U.S. consumption of catfish of 8.4 percent in 2000 and 19.6 percent in 2002 (Hanson, 2005, p. 4). Also between 2000 and 2002, Vietnamese production capacity expanded by 100 percent, and approximately 50 percent of Vietnamese Tra and Basa was sold in the U.S. market.

IKEAs International Strategy and the Establishment of New Stores Research Paper

IKEAs International Strategy and the Establishment of New Stores - Research Paper Example One of the key policies of the IKEA group is that it does not target the rich and instead sells to the smart (Crampton 2008, n.p). The interpretation of this is that it struggles to minimise the prices of its goods as much as possible. This means that the production has also to minimise costs. According to (Bowman 1988, p. 67) this strategy may have two implications; an increase in market share due to the competitive prices or a reduction in market share due to the reduced quality caused by a reduction in production costs. This is illustrated by the quality of the IKEA goods that cannot be described as the best (Thomson 2009, p. 184). The disadvantage is that the customers are not satisfied with the goods. In one case, a customer claimed that he was happy with none of the products from the store (Scholes 2010, p. 5). In the end, the reduction in price may turn out to be a disadvantage as the group loses customers due to poor quality. A large number of firms offering the same services in the market makes it a competitive market. This means that the group has to have competitive prices in accordance with product value if it is to compete successfully (Doyle 2011, p. 258). If IKEA was the only player in the market it could increase prices without value addition. However, due to the market conditions, the company is able to offer cheap and quality goods which is an advantage. A key part of the IKEA’s strategy is to act as the market’s low-cost leader (Jacobsen 2009, p. 144). The idea is to balance low margins with high volumes by driving the prices down.

The Life in Thailand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Life in Thailand - Essay Example My native country is Thailand, which means â€Å"freedom†, and we call our country â€Å"Prathet Thai†. Buddhism and other religions and beliefs have a great influence on Thai art and way of life. In Thailand, the two main cultures are the ‘court one’ and ‘Ramvong.’ The court one culture is based on Buddhist values with the elements of Hinduism. Ramvong, on the other hand, is a folk culture with traditional songs and dances about the belief in spirits, tales, ceremonies of the agricultural cycle and the cycle of human life. This type of culture also includes crafts like the manufacture of household goods, wood processing, home silk weaving, wickerwork, rattan, and many others. The court culture is represented by Thai classical theater also known as "Khon". The performance is accompanied by traditional Thai music orchestra called "Phi Phat†. Typical Thai architecture is represented by Buddhist monasteries, frescoes in the temples and statu es of the Buddha. The culture in Singapore resembles a mixture of primarily British, Chinese, Indian, and Malay cultures. For a long time, Singapore was a colony of Britain, because of this the European culture got a great prevalence within this land. There are four state languages in Singapore: English, Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil. The most interesting and unusual thing about Singaporeans is their obsession with food. Food is the main topic that people discuss during small talks. A lot of festivals, exhibitions, and excursions are devoted to food.

Physiological Psychology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physiological Psychology - Assignment Example It answers to stress by augmenting the heart rate and flow of blood to the muscles. It encompasses quick response and hence concerned with â€Å"fight or flight†. Parasympathetic nervous system, encompass cranial nerves (nerves of brain) and also the lower spinal nerves i.e. nerves of sacral region. Action of this system counteracts the sympathetic actions by increasing digestive secretions and decreasing the heartbeat. It is concerned with â€Å"rest and digest†. It is evident that ANS encompass afferent pathways that includes information from the viscera and brain and hence maintains the homeostasis. It has both sensory and motor neurons to carry the information to and from the brain and spinal cord. An action potential along the axon is dependent on influx of sodium ions and efflux of potassium ions. The phases of action potential are: rising phase- In the resting state the inside of the neuronal cell is polarized (-70mv) as compared to its outside charge. Therefore, it is polarized. Excitatory neurotransmitters like aspartate and glutamate released from their pre-synaptic neurons attach to post-synaptic dendrites, sodium channels open up leading to influx of positively charged sodium ion gradually more and more sodium ion channel open up resulting in positive charge inside the cell (+40mv inside cell) and the cell is said to be depolarized. Falling phase- sodium ion channels are closed and potassium ion channels open up as a result potassium being an intracellular ion moves out through these channels and by this process there is a net loss of positive charge as potassium is positively charged ion. Myelinated axons prevent the back diffusion of ions to outer space and ensure a fast and rapid conduction of action potentials. Myelinated neurons contains nodes of Ranvier, through this action potential jumps, this is called salutatory conduction. The

The Internet Speed and Wi-Fi Coverage at Camps and Dormitory Research Proposal

The Internet Speed and Wi-Fi Coverage at Camps and Dormitory - Research Proposal Example For instance, when some users are browsing the internet while others are downloading files such as music, movie or game, the internet connection becomes slow. Time of day also contributes to slowing down the overall speed of the internet. It is notable that when many users are online, internet connections as well as access points could become overloaded leading to delays in the response (Underdahl, 2009). Generally, when everyone is using the internet simultaneously, there would be a decrease in internet speed. The internet could also be slow because of malware/spyware infection in the machines which might be secretly utilizing the internet bandwidth. Spyware could slow the system by way of interfering with the browser and monopolizing the internet connection. Spyware essentially monitors the users’ internet usage and keystrokes, and this adds delays. This problem could be amplified whenever there are several programs of spyware which run simultaneously. The internet connectiv ity could be lost completely if the spyware/malware problem turns out to be severe enough (Purdy, 2010). Computer viruses could also result in poor internet connectivity. ... Other than slow speed of internet, weak Wi-Fi coverage is also an issue. Wi-Fi is simply a technology which enables an electronic gadget to connect to the internet or to exchange data wirelessly with the use of radio waves. Wi-Fi essentially offers wireless high-speed internet as well as network connections. Wi-Fi uses radio frequency (RF) technology, that is, a frequency that is in the electromagnetic spectrum related to radio wave propagation (Kazmeyer, 2011). It is notable that the foundation of any wireless network is an access point (AP); a device that broadcasts a wireless signal which computers could detect and then tune into. It is necessary for devices and computers to be equipped with wireless network adapters so as to connect to an AP and join a wireless network. In our dormitory and camps, there are various devices and applications which are supported by Wi-Fi including mobile phones, video game consoles, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops and operating systems s uch as Android, Windows 7 and Vista. Although there are Wi-Fi enabled devices at our dormitory and camps, there is weak Wi-Fi coverage. The devices can only connect to the internet when within a limited and short range of a wireless network. The coverage of interconnected APs, or hotspots, extends on an area of just 10 square miles – this is a very small area to meet the wireless needs of everyone residing in the camps and dormitories. Routers which integrate a cable modem or a digital subscriber line (DSL) and a Wi-Fi access point was set up at our dormitory and camps in order to provide internet access as well as internet working to every device that is connected to them, either through cable or

The concept of Emily Grierson as a trapped individual Essay

The concept of Emily Grierson as a trapped individual - Essay Example Emily Grierson was strongly attached to her father and it was her father who brought her up. Her mother had passed away and she did not have any other close relatives. This aspect of her life led her to live a life of solitude and her life was based upon her relationship with her father. Her father was a proud man who considered him to be superior to all the other people who resided in the town. He kept a distance for the other people and did not intermingle in the social gatherings with people. He instilled similar feelings in his daughter and she was also not very social and restricted to her life within the house. Her father considered all the men who offered to marry Emily not to be up to the mark and rejected all these proposals. This behaviour of the Griersons is portrayed by Faulkner in these words, â€Å"People in our town, remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt, had gone completely crazy at last, believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such.† Thus her upbringing by her father pushed her into solitude and led her to lead a trapped life. Emily’s father was the most important figure in her life and the death of her father shattered her. She became hysteric and was not ready to accept the death of her father. She did not take the condolences of the people and sent them away. It was only by force that her father’s body was buried. This great loss pushed her more into entrapment and she was left alone in her life. The next major character that entered her life was an outsider, Homer Barron who came to visit the town. Emily became greatly attached to him owing to her solitude and loneliness but Barron opted not to marry Emily. She took a drastic step of poisoning Homer Barron and kept his body in her house. The reaction of the people of the town and their criticism for her can also be held accountable for her trapped li fe. The people in the town talked about her behind her back and only visited her out of curiosity to see what was going inside her house. This social alienation served to further prevent Emily from leading a normal life. Emily became totally isolated and did not believe in societal laws and regulations. She developed these believes owing to her entrapped life. She did not consider herself to be a member of the society. She did not allow for the installation of a mail box at her house as she did not want to be linked to the outside world. She also denied paying the taxes in the town and responded to the officials from the city by saying, "I received a paper, yes," Miss Emily said. "Perhaps he considers himself the sheriff . . . I have no taxes in Jefferson." It has been portrayed that the life of Emily Grierson starts â€Å"decaying† in her home in solitude. She began to decay physically, mentally as well as socially. She started losing her looks and was totally cut off from t he social environment of the town. She did not mingle with anyone and thus her life depicted a theme of decaying. She also lost her sanity as she went as far as to kill Homer Barron so that she could keep his body with her. The death of her father is the initiation of her psychiatric issues. This can be seen when she denies that her

Compare three cinematic figures of Jesus Christ Essay

Compare three cinematic figures of Jesus Christ - Essay Example This Jesus is in love with Mary of Bethany, and although she obviously has the look of love in her eyes and he reciprocates the looks, there is something that prevents him to ask her to marry him, but he does not know what it is, when he asks his father about it, Joseph only answers; "I'm just a carpenter, but you Jesus, you are not just a carpenter." Before dying, his earthly father lets him know that he is expected to do something to deliver the people of Israel from the Roman tyranny, yet he does not understand what or why him. "You want me to step out but you leave alone" he tells his father in the grave, he begs God to raise him, he demands Him, and finally, he accepts God's will. It is Mary his mother who tells him about his divine conception and encourages him to follow his heart. That's when he leaves for forty days and forty nights to the desert to fast and meditate about his future. His innocence and great faith are evident in his encounter with Satan, when he tempts him to turn the stones into bread to feed the people of Israel so they won't die he answers: "They die because of the hearts of stone of other men, not because of the will of God." When told by Satan that in order to make people listen he should throw himself from the Temple, and have God's angels come rescue him, "that would get the people's attention." Jesus seems to understand Satan's point of view and he is about to jump, then stops and turns to tell him: "If God wanted to test nature's laws, he wouldn't have sent me." It is through the third temptation that he realizes He is "The lamb of God."

The concept of Emily Grierson as a trapped individual Essay

The concept of Emily Grierson as a trapped individual - Essay Example Emily Grierson was strongly attached to her father and it was her father who brought her up. Her mother had passed away and she did not have any other close relatives. This aspect of her life led her to live a life of solitude and her life was based upon her relationship with her father. Her father was a proud man who considered him to be superior to all the other people who resided in the town. He kept a distance for the other people and did not intermingle in the social gatherings with people. He instilled similar feelings in his daughter and she was also not very social and restricted to her life within the house. Her father considered all the men who offered to marry Emily not to be up to the mark and rejected all these proposals. This behaviour of the Griersons is portrayed by Faulkner in these words, â€Å"People in our town, remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt, had gone completely crazy at last, believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such.† Thus her upbringing by her father pushed her into solitude and led her to lead a trapped life. Emily’s father was the most important figure in her life and the death of her father shattered her. She became hysteric and was not ready to accept the death of her father. She did not take the condolences of the people and sent them away. It was only by force that her father’s body was buried. This great loss pushed her more into entrapment and she was left alone in her life. The next major character that entered her life was an outsider, Homer Barron who came to visit the town. Emily became greatly attached to him owing to her solitude and loneliness but Barron opted not to marry Emily. She took a drastic step of poisoning Homer Barron and kept his body in her house. The reaction of the people of the town and their criticism for her can also be held accountable for her trapped li fe. The people in the town talked about her behind her back and only visited her out of curiosity to see what was going inside her house. This social alienation served to further prevent Emily from leading a normal life. Emily became totally isolated and did not believe in societal laws and regulations. She developed these believes owing to her entrapped life. She did not consider herself to be a member of the society. She did not allow for the installation of a mail box at her house as she did not want to be linked to the outside world. She also denied paying the taxes in the town and responded to the officials from the city by saying, "I received a paper, yes," Miss Emily said. "Perhaps he considers himself the sheriff . . . I have no taxes in Jefferson." It has been portrayed that the life of Emily Grierson starts â€Å"decaying† in her home in solitude. She began to decay physically, mentally as well as socially. She started losing her looks and was totally cut off from t he social environment of the town. She did not mingle with anyone and thus her life depicted a theme of decaying. She also lost her sanity as she went as far as to kill Homer Barron so that she could keep his body with her. The death of her father is the initiation of her psychiatric issues. This can be seen when she denies that her

Victorian England Essay Example for Free

Victorian England Essay When Oliver reaches London he falls into the hands of Fagin who is likened to the devil by Dickens who upon Olivers first meeting is described to be wearing a red cloak and holding a fork in front of a fire, he then continues with a more frightening description, whose villainous-looking and repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair. Dickens cleverly does this as Fagin like the devil tempts people into a life of sin and crime. Even the colours black and red suggest that it was not a nice place, that it was evil and dangerous. Something that Nancy, in the book struggles to break free from like many of the paupers in those situations. Like Oliver, Nancy has a sense of right and wrong, after playing a part of the re-capturing of Oliver she realises what she has done is wrong but it is her loyalties to Sikes and his gang that keep her from taking action sooner. Although she does save Oliver, Dickens keeps the story realistic, when she is discovered to have alerted Mr Brownlow and Rose, Sikes clubs her to death. The one person that ever truly cared for him, who he constantly abused he eventually killed. Dickens based him on typical hardened criminals in Victorian England. Children in Victorian England were intensely used by adult gang members, as pick pockets, prostitutes and even in organised robberies. Once involved in crime there was no escape unless you were very lucky as Oliver was. Oliver is taught to pickpocket and winds up in trouble when he is thought to have stolen from a wealthy man when in fact it wasnt him. Mr Brownlow shows compassion and takes him into his home even though he has been wronged, this is an ideal that Dickens holds dear and tried to vent it through his writing even if he does make it comical when he ridicules the rich by comparing Olivers terrible illness and suffering to Mr Brownlows worrying for his health when he uses a slightly damp cloth. As the future begins to look bright for Oliver you discover that Fagin is not far and he wants Oliver back as he could be a danger to them, this is an example of the never-ending crime cycle in Victorian England. Oliver is captured and forced to help Sikes in a robbery where he is shot and then left presumed dead. Dickens uses this as an example of how harsh Victorian England could be Sikes and his gang had fled when it had gone wrong leaving anything that would slow them down.

Examining Crime And Gender Crimes Committed Criminology Essay

Examining Crime And Gender Crimes Committed Criminology Essay Criminology has treated womens role in crime with a large measure of indifference. The intellectual tradition from which criminology derives its conception of these sexes maintains esteem for mens autonomy, intelligence and force of character while disdaining women for their weaknesses of compliance and passivity. Women who conform as pure, obedient daughters, wives and mothers benefit men and society (Feinman, 1994: 16). Those women who dont, that is are non-conforming, may simply be one who questions established beliefs or practices, or one who engages in activities associated with men, or one who commits a crime. These women are doubly damned and doubly deviant (Bottoms, 1996: 1). They are seen as mad not bad (Lloyd, 1995: 36). These behaviors frequently lead to interpretations of being mentally abnormal and unstable. Those doing the defining, by the very act, are never defined as other, but are the norm. As men are the norm, women are deviant. Women are defined in reference to me n (Lloyd, 1995: xvii). In the words of Young (1990), sexual difference is one of the ways in which normal is marked out from deviant (Young, 1990: ix). So why do these differences exist within the criminal justice system and society as a whole? In order to understand why offending and punishment differs between genders it is important to acknowledge and analyses past perceptions, theories and perspectives from predominant sociologists and criminologists of that time towards women in society. Up until the turn of the century, women were primarily perceived as sexual objects and expected to remain within male dominated ideologies such as homemaker, carer and nurturer taking second place after men (Oakley, 1985: 56). Women who strayed from the norm were severely punished, void of any opportunities to explain their actions. Perhaps interventions from Elizabeth Fry in the early nineteenth century campaigning for women to be housed in separate prisons from men and offered rehabilitation could be marked as the starting point for intense studies being conducted into relationships between women and crime. The conception at that time was that women must be protected from, rather than held responsible for their criminal actions. Unfortunately, such intervention only caused coaxing rather than coercion, that is, women became segregated even more as individual members of their community (Bardsley, 1987: 37). Later in the late nineteenth century, Lombroso and Ferrero (1895) wrote a book called, The Female Offender. Their theories were based on atavism. Atavism refers to the belief that all individuals displaying anti-social behaviour were biological throwbacks (Smart, 1978: 32). The born female criminal was perceived to have the criminal qualities of the male plus the worst characteristics of women. According to Lombroso and Ferrero (1895), these included deceitfulness, cunning and spite among others and were not apparent among males. This appeared to indicate that criminal women were genetically more male than female, therefore biologically abnormal. Criminality in men was a common feature of their natural characteristics, whereby women, their biologically-determined nature was antithetical to crime. Female social deviants or criminals who did not act according to pre-defined standards were diagnosed as pathological and requiring treatment, they were to be cured or removed (Lombroso and Ferrero, 1895: 43). Other predominant theorists such as Thomas (1907) and later, Pollack (1961), believed that criminality was a pathology and socially induced rather than biologically inherited. As Thomas (1967) says, the girl as a child does not know she has any particular value until she learns it from others (Thomas, 1967: 68). Pollack (1961) believed, it is the learned behaviour from a very young age that leads girls into a masked character of female criminality, that is, how it was and still is concealed through under-reporting and low detection rates of female offenders. He further states, in our male-dominated culture, women have always been considered strange, secretive and sometimes dangerous (Pollack, 1961: 149). A greater leniency towards women by police and the justice system needs to be addressed especially if a true equality of genders is to be achieved in such a complicated world . Although it may be true that society has changed since the days of Lombroso and Ferrero, past theories appear to remain within much of todays criminal justice system. Women have so many choices of which they didnt before. It would appear naive to assume that women and crime may be explained by any one theory. Any crime for that matter, whether male or female, may not be explained by any one theory. It is an established and non-arguable fact that males and females differ biologically and sociological influences, such as gender-specific role-playing appears to continue within most families. Its a matter of proportion not difference. According to Edwards (1984), the enemy is within every woman, but is not her reproductive biology, rather it is the habit regarding it into which she has been led by centuries of male domination (Edwards, 1984: 91). Many argue, the main culprit for aggression as seen in many men is testosterone. This hormone appears responsible for much of the male crime, even in todays society of increased knowledge on the subject. In contrast, extensive research over the past twenty-five years done on the testosterone/aggression link focusing on prenatal testosterone predisposing boys to be rougher than girls, concluded it was very difficult to show any connection between testosterone and aggressive behaviour (Lloyd, 1995: 26). Cross-cultural studies of ninety-five societies revealed fourty -seven percent of them were free of rape while at least thirty-three societies were free of war and interpersonal violence was extremely rare (Meidzian, 1992: 74). Based on these studies, it may be evident to suggest that sociological factors and environmental influences appear to have greater credibility in explaining criminal behaviour, whether male or female. As most women commit crimes of a lesser violent nature such as shop-lifting, leniency is given to them from law enforcement officers and judges. It is true that many women use their femininity to their advantage which makes it very difficult to argue equal rights for both sexes (Lloyd, 1995: 56). This unequal position of women in society due to social oppression and economic dependency on men and the state, needs to be addressed. Offences by women remain sexualised and pathologised. In most ways, crimes women commit are considered to be final outward manifestations of an inner medical imbalance or social instability. Their punishment appears to be aimed principally at treatment and resocialisation (Edwards, 1984: 216). The victimisation of women in medicine seems to be for her own good or in her best interests. Changing social and economic conditions, environmental influences, cultural traditions and physiological factors must be taken into account when dealing with crime. It has only been over the last thirty to fourty years that women have empowered themselves and fought for equality within all areas of society. After so many centuries of oppression and inequality, these changes can not be expected to happen over night. It is essential that society be well informed in the quest for justice. Creating a framework that is truly equitable requires a proper understanding of life beyond the courtroom door. The world is infused with gender bias and no single explanation exists for human behaviour or passivity or aggression. A complex interplay of cultural and biological factors makes people as individuals. Behaviour may be changed. All have the potential for aggression and compliance. The view that women are other, inferior and unstable because of their hormones and emotions makes it all too eas y to see them, by their very nature, as unstable, irrational, neurotic and MAD. Bardsley, B. (1987) Flowers in Hell: an investigation into women and crime, Pandora Press, London. Bottoms, A. (1996) Sexism and the Female Offender, Gower Publishing, Sydney. Carrington, K. (1993) Offending Girls, Allen and Unwin, Sydney. Edwards, S. (1984) Women on Trial, Manchester University Press, New Hampshire. Feinman, C. (1994) Women ion the Criminal Justice System, Praeger Publishers, Westport. Lloyd, A. (1995) Doubly Deviant, Doubly Damned, Penguin, Sydney. Lombroso, C. and Ferrero, W. (1895) The Female Offender, Fisher Unwin, London. Miedzian, M. (1992) Boys will be boys: Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence, Virago Press, London. Oakley, A. (1985) Gender and Society, Adlershot Gower, London. Pollak, O. (1961( The Criminality of Women, A.S. Barnes, New York. Smart, C. (1978) Women, Crime and Criminology, Routledge London. Thomas, W. (1967) The Unadjusted Girl, Harper and Row, New York. Young, A. (1990) Femininity in Dessent, Routledge, London.

Immortality Through Verse in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and Spenser’s Sonn

Immortality Through Verse in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and Spenser’s Sonnet 75  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Desiring fame, celebrity, and importance, people for centuries have yearned for the ultimately unattainable goal of immortality. Poets, too, have expressed desires in verse that their lovers remain as they are for eternity, in efforts of praise. Though Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and Spenser’s Sonnet 75 from Amoretti both offer lovers this immortality through verse, only Spenser pairs this immortality with respect and partnership, while Shakespeare promises the subject of the sonnet immortality by unusual compliments and the assurance that she will live on as long as the sonnet continues to be read. Spenser debates with his lover, treating her as his equal, and leaves his opinion open for interpretation as an example of poetic indirection. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 begins with the "whim of an inventive mind," (Vendler, 120) a rhetorical question asking if he should compare the subject of the sonnet to a Summer’s day. After the readers see that Shakespeare does not ask to compare her to anything else, we realize that this one proposed comparison to a Summer’s day is, in his mind, perfection (Vendler, 120). However, in order to truly praise the woman, he must prove that she is "more lovely and more temperate" by deprecating the metaphor (Vendler, 121). Though the metaphor seems sweet at first, the implied answer is "no," and Shakespeare continues as to why she is not even worthy of the best possible metaphor (Colie, 36). His imagery of "rough winds" and the "too hot" sun together with the personification of Summer ("Summer’s lease hath all too short a date") support Shakespeare’s belief that Summer is too short and unpredictable to be compa... ...87. 36-37. Felperin, Howard. "Toward a Poststructuralist Practice: The Sonnets." Modern C Critical Interpretations: Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Ed. Harold Bloom. 1st ed. N New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 103-131. Oram, William Allan. Edmund Spenser. Ed. Arthur Kinney. New York: Twayne, 1 1997. Ray, Robert H. "Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18." The Explicator. Fall 1994: 10-11. Shakespeare, William. "Sonnet 18." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. E Ed. M. H. Abrams. 6th ed. New York: Norton, 1996. 471. "Sonnet 75: Criticism." EXPLORING Poetry. CD-ROM. Gale, 1997. "Sonnet 75: Overview." EXPLORING Poetry. CD-ROM. Gale, 1997. Spenser, Edmund. "Sonnet 75." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M M. H. Abrams. 6th ed. New York: Norton, 1996. 415. Vendler, Helen. The Art of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Cambridge: Harvard UP: 1998.      

You are what you watch! Essay -- Media, Television Shows

Imagine a distant post-apocalyptic future in which a large silver box has just been excavated from the ruins of what was once Los Angeles, a box that contains stack after stack of DVD’s with titles like Survivor, The Bachelor, Biggest Loser, The Swan, Real World, The Apprentice, and Hell’s Kitchen. What might anthropologists conclude about our 21st century society if these shows were their only glimpse into how we lived our lives? Francine Prose ponders this same question in her essay â€Å"Voting Democracy off the Island: Reality TV and the Republican Ethos,† in which she asks not only what future anthropologists might deduce, but, â€Å"for that matter,† what â€Å"contemporary TV-addicted children and adults† might realize if they were to more closely examine their motivation for watching these shows (22). Salman Rushdie, in his article â€Å"Reality TV: A Dearth of Talent and the Death of Mortality,† suggests that we need to examine rea lity television closely because â€Å"it tells us things about ourselves,† and even if we don’t think it does, it â€Å"ought to,† a claim that suggests that if we merely brush off reality television as a fad, we might be missing something inherently valuable about our nature (16). In her essay, â€Å"The Distorting Mirror of Reality Television,† Sarah Coleman suggests that reality television offers a distorted reflection, a â€Å"dark view of humanity in the guise of light entertainment,† a consideration that asks us to see who we are in this distorted reflection of our values (19). The question then is: what do we see when we see ourselves in this â€Å"dime-store mirror† (â€Å"Reality TV† 16)? Whatever the answer to this question might be, the question itself suggests that there is something inherently human about our fascination with r... ...way and be the winner; that it is okay to betray others because winning is everything; that annoying, conniving, hysterical liars are far more interesting than honest, conscientious, selfless people; and that we are not really a nation of communities but a group of individuals fighting for ourselves—all of which suggests on a very deep level that we feel better when we watch people who we deem to be worse off than we are. The saddest lesson, however, might very well be that we are starved for this kind of inherently cruel entertainment because our own lives seem so much duller in comparison, an observation that suggests that what we can learn from Reality TV does not necessarily only apply to our generation, but to those that came before us and those that will follow—including these hypothetical anthropologists who are watching these shows to better understand us.