Effects of Social Networking on Empathy and Relationships Free Essay Example, 1750 words

Every individual usually spare some time to talk about himself or herself on the social networks like on Facebook and this provides the perfect opportunity for one to share his problems with the people who care and from there, one can get solution to his problems and find ways of overcoming the challenges of life (Mitcham, 2005). The social network, therefore, provides the platform where individuals share their life experiences, and when a person finds out the solution to his problem from a similar story from a friend, they empathize with one another. From social networks, individuals are also able to build up relationships. These results from the fact that people move towards one another understanding another s interesting and can, therefore, build a strong and long-lasting relationship. Through these activities, individuals share and understand their moral obligations in societies (Leydesdorff Bornmann, 2000, pp. 2040). Despite having numerous positive changes in human society, t he use of social media has also impacted negatively to the daily living of people. Too much indulgence in the sites, may change an individual s behavior and negatively change their moral conduct through the imitation of the behaviors and cultures portrayed in the social media (Castells, 2010). The social network has become one of the sites where privacy and personal information is given the least of attentions and the erosion of the private lives is increasing at a faster rate as the number of social sites increases in number (Mitcham, 2005). Individuals reveal much of their personal information such as full names, birth dates, who our family members are, our life experiences, hobbies, and interest. We will write a custom essay sample on Effects of Social Networking on Empathy and Relationships or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page This kind of disclosure of very personal information can make the user vulnerable to crimes such as theft. The same applies to companies where most managers usually do a background check on the social network before hiring an employee.

Green Housekeeping - 1467 Words

Good afternoon my name is Andrew Lloyd current CEO of the Luxor hotel Melbourne and we are here today to emphasise the importance of operating at high standards of performance and implore environmentally and socially sustainable practices, in particular the section of housekeeping. It is the Luxors aim to operate in quality service in economic growth, employment retention and environmental protection. It is out initiative to comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations, actively improve out environmental performance and reduce our impact and create environmental education and awareness for our staff and customers. The reason the Luxor hotel Melbourne is actively going â€Å"green† is for a number of reasons, the first being†¦show more content†¦A study conducted by Bohdanowicz shows that and average hotel produces more than one kilogram of waste per guest per day and that approximately thirty percent of this waste can be reused or recycled. The first step to minimising waste management within the context of house keeping is by implementing an extensive waste management system to sort recyclables from general waste, Bohdanowicz (2005) claims that such an implementation can minimise unsorted waste from three kilograms per guest per night to half a kilogram. Another prominent example of how the Luxor Melbourne can minimise their waste output is by offering their unwanted furniture, linen and towels to charities or those who are less fortunate who would put the materials to better use and minimise operational costs. The final aspect of the Luxor Melbourne will be focusing on to create a sustainable hotel environment is its energy consumption. According to Gossling (2005 pp.426) â€Å"the average energy consumption per bed per night in hotels is in the order of 130 mega joules† to facilitate energy intense facilities such as restaurants and pools. Gossling’s (2005) studies have determined that major hotels can emit on average 20.6kg of carbon dioxide per night, which is a staggering number in which the Luxor Melbourne hopes to diminish. The LuxorShow MoreRelatedTechnological Aspects of Eco-Innovation746 Words   |  3 Pagesleads to green growth that includes cleaner production, sustainable management and also development of green products and technology. However, SMEs is constrained by lack of resources, knowledge and capability and by realizing the significance of fully exploring the potential for eco-innovation and green entrepreneurship among SMEs, the project strived to identify green business opportunities for the participating companies.(ASIEC Indonesia, 2011) 2.1.1 Cleaner Production Good Housekeeping CleanerRead MoreThe Hospitality Industry : A Broad Range Of Fields Within Service Industry Essay1632 Words   |  7 Pagesmonitoring assets. What is Housekeeping? 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After existing outside of the boundaries that society imposes for the majority of her adult life, Sylvie is unableRead MoreTraining at Al Manshar Rotana Hotel1263 Words   |  5 PagesAssistant Manager (EAM) at the hotel, I fully understand the importance and experiential value of those in executive management positions becoming familiar with the operation of this hotel in every facet, from the Engineering Department to the Housekeeping Department, and all departments in between. I look forward to learning more as time goes on, and to cooperating with each of the departments in the Al Manshar Rotana Hotel. Through my promotion to EAM I will seamlessly embrace additional responsibilitiesRead MoreHouse Keeping3357 Words   |  14 PagesManagement considers the business of keeping a place clean and in good repair to be vitally necessary for a hotel to command a fair price and get repeat business. Areas of Housekeeping responsibilities: The general public tends to think of the housekeeping as the department that makes the bed, empties the ashtrays and wastebaskets, tidies up the bathroom and leaves fresh towels. The truth of the matter is that it takes more manpower to accomplish housekeeping’s almost countless functions thanRead MoreEco Friendly Housekeeping3828 Words   |  16 PagesCertification Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...10 8. Eco Friendly Concept†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 9. First World Ecotel†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.............12 10. First Ecotel In India†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..13 11. Housekeeping †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦13 12. Housekeeping and Eco-Friendly†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..............15 13. Eco Friendly Amenities Products and Processes†¦15 14. Eco Friendly Housekeeping †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.17 15. Eco Friendly Products†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...18 16. Suggestions and Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..19 17. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...20 18. Reference†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreEssay On Cleaner Production948 Words   |  4 Pagesassets, and human capital. Cleaner production activities include measures such as at preventing the production of waste while increasing efficiencies in the uses of energy, water, resources, and human capital. They include better administration and housekeeping, substitution of toxic and hazardous materials, process alterations, and reuse of waste items. At its heart, the idea is about the anticipation, instead of the control, of contamination. How is it used? The idea of cleaner creation addresses the

Mid Term 220 Free Essays

Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Page 1 of 9 MGT220. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (MGT220) gt; TAKE ASSESSMENT: MIDTERM EXAM Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Name Midterm Exam Instructions Always pick the single best answer. Blank answers will be scored as incorrect. We will write a custom essay sample on Mid Term 220 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Multiple Attempts This Test allows 2 attempts. This is attempt number 1. Force Completion This Test can be saved and resumed later. Question Completion Status: Question 1 2 points Sellers generally benefit from e-auctions due to the opportunity to bargain for lower prices. Save True False Question 2 2 points Nokia has entered the mobile gaming world. It markets near-distance multiplayer gaming over __________ and wide-area gaming over __________ networks. Save A. cellular; local area B. Bluetooth; cellular C. GPS; wide area D. WiMax; analog E. Question 3 2 points Using wireless technologies, one can create applications that are not available with wireline systems. Save True False Question 4 2 points Save 2 points In general, which of the following is true about the transmission of confidential and personal information between an RFID reader and a back-end database protect? Save Blogs, mashups, instant messaging, and wikis are examples of A. avatars B. social computing C. virtual worlds D. wireless communications Question 5 http://coursesite. umtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ 9/25/2012 Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Page 2 of 9 A. Those transmissions are sent over secure networks to keep the information secure. B. Information sent via those transmissions is protected using encryption. C. RFID tags do not yet contain confidential or personal information. D. Firewalls are used to protect information in transit. Question 6 2 points Remote administration Trojans (RATs) are a class of backdoors that are extremely dangerous because they enable remote control over the infected machine. Save True False Question 7 2 points Save 2 points A(n) __________ is an analysis of the benefits of using a specific business model. Save Productivity in an enterprise can be measured in terms of: A. the amount of input per amount of time B. the ratio of the amount of output to the amount of input C. the number of units produced D. market share Question 8 A. core competency B. exchange C. RFQ D. value proposition Question 9 2 points A valuable property of e-tailing is the ability to offer customized products and services to individual customers at a reasonable price and quickly. Save True False Question 10 2 points With two-factor authentication, two types of information are used to verify the user’s identity, such as passwords and botnets. Save True False Question 11 2 points One of the worst and most prevalent crimes is identity theft, which has been made worse by widespread electronic sharing and databases. http://coursesite. umtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ Save 9/25/2012 Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Page 3 of 9 True False Question 12 2 points Directories and hyperlinks from other Web sites and intelligent search agents help buyers find the best stores and products to match their needs Save True False Question 13 2 points _________ percent of companies that suffer a significant data loss die within five years, according to Freeman Mendel, the chair of the FBI’s 2006 Infragard National Conference. Save A. 7 B. 23 C. 57 D. 93 Question 14 2 points A risk associated with tools that are meant to improve the productivity and quality of life in general is that they can lead to abuses such as intruding on an employee’s or manager’s personal time. Save True False Question 15 2 points Responsibility for internal control and compliance with information security olicies rests directly on end-users. Save True False Question 16 2 points Packet technologies convert voice, video, and data into packets that can be transmitted together over a single, high-speed network eliminating the need for separate networks. Save True False Question 17 2 points Advances in converged networks, SIP, and tools have eliminated the barriers to full integration and interoperabilit y. Save True http://coursesite. umtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ 9/25/2012 Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Page 4 of 9 False Question 18 2 points The software-as-a-service (SaaS) approach is based on the trend for developing applications in-house rather than buying them. Save True False Question 19 2 points A(n) __________ is a method of doing business by which a company can generate revenue to sustain itself. Save A. adaptive strategy B. business model C. electronic commerce Web site D. operations model Question 20 2 points According to the market intelligence firm IDC, organizations with a 1,000 or more knowledge workers lose over $5 million annually because of: Save A. time wasted by employees reformatting data as they move among applications. B. data that is out of context or outdated. C. the inability of knowledge workers to share data with others working on the same project. D. the inability to synchronize data. Question 21 2 points One example of an integrated messaging system is __________, which combines wireless communications, vehicle monitoring systems, and vehicle location devices. Save A. collaborative commerce B. supply chain management C. voice portal D. wireless telemetry Question 22 2 points Which of the following is not accurate regarding businesses that collect data about employees or customers? Save A. The data must be available to auditors. B. Businesses have a legal duty to protect this data. C. The data should be accessible only to authorized people. D. Securing the data from abuse by authorized parties is expensive and difficult. Question 23 2 points http://coursesite. umtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ Save 9/25/2012 Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Page 5 of 9 An example of a mobile enterprise application is sales force automation (SFA), which enables sales force employees to type orders straight into an ERP while at a client’s site. Benefits include a reduction in clerical mistakes and improved supply chain operations. True False Question 24 2 points Save 2 points Information systems can be organized according to organizational hierarchy (e. g. , departmental, enterprisewide, and interorganizational) or by the nature of supported task (e. g. , operational, managerial, and strategic). Save Web 1. 0 was basically organized around each of the following except: A. corporations B. media C. software D. technology Question 25 True False Question 26 2 points Save 2 points Several banks in Japan issued __________ cards to customers. These cards store a template of the person’s palm vein to authenticate the customer’s identity when withdrawing money. Save The ________ suite is the standard used with almost any network service. A. Internet protocol B. Transport Control Protocol C. User Datagram Protocol D. Voice over IP Question 27 A. smart B. RFID C. ATM D. adaptive Question 28 2 points Save Which is the first step in the process of managing business performance? A. Determine how to attain the performance levels. http://coursesite. umtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ 9/25/2012 Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Page 6 of 9 B. Assess where the organization stands with respect to its goals, objectives, and measures. C. Decide on desired performance levels. D. Set the budget for achieving performance or goals. Question 29 2 points Microsoft releases _________ to update and patch vulnerabilities in its operating systems, including Vista, and other software products, including Office 2007. Save A. firewalls B. podcasts C. service packs D. workbooks Question 30 2 points Reasons why managers may not be able to trust their data include all of the following except: Save A. Data are too synchronized. B. Data are out of context. C. Data are outdated. D. Data are so overwhelming that they require weeks to analyze. Question 31 2 points A computer system essentially organizes data into a hierarchy that begins with bits and proceeds to bytes, fields, files, databases, and records. Save True False Question 32 2 points Save Databases are the optimal way to store and access organizational data. True False Question 33 2 points Social network analysis (SNA) is the mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people or groups. Nodes in the network are the people or groups, while the links show relationships or flows between the nodes. Save True False Question 34 2 points Save What is significant about 4G networks? http://coursesite. umtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ 9/25/2012 Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Page 7 of 9 A. 4G has a circuit switched subsystem B. 4G is based purely on the Internet Protocol (IP) C. 4G is the convergence of the features of 2G and 3G D. All of the above Question 35 2 points Save All of the following correctly define the networking technology except: A. WAP is an Internet protocol developed for transferring information on the Internet to and from wireless clients. B. EV-DO is fast wireless broadband access that runs in a Wi-Fi hotspot. C. Instant messaging has become a mission-critical collaboration tool for over 130 million workers in businesses of all sizes. D. Bluetooth is how mobile phones, mobile and fixed computers, and PDAs can be easily interconnected using a short-range RF wireless connection. Question 36 2 points A supply chain is the flow of materials, information, money, and services from raw material suppliers through factories and warehouses to the end customers. Save True False Question 37 2 points A(n) antivirus software is a technology that checks Internet packets sent to nd from a network and enforces access-control policies between networks. Save True False Question 38 2 points The virtual elimination of software-upgrade cycles makes applications perpetual worksin-progress and allows rapid prototyping using the Web as a platform. Save True False Question 39 2 points When dealing with consumer-facing applications, such as online banking and ecommerce, strong authentication must be balanced with ________. Save A. costs B. convenience C. privacy risks D. war driving risks Question 40 2 points Save A wiki is all of the following except: http://coursesite. mtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ 9/25/2012 Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Page 8 of 9 A. a software program B. a discovery tool C. a collaboration site D. a search engine Question 41 2 points Data warehouses are designed as online analytical processing (OLAP) systems, meaning that the data can be queried and analyzed much more efficiently than application databases. Save True False Question 42 2 points Save 2 points Fraud detection is too complex to be handled effectively by intelligent analysis engines using advanced data warehousing. Save What is the technology that enables Internet browsing from wireless devices? A. WAP B. EMS C. WiMax D. WLAN Question 43 True False Question 44 2 points Which of the following factors is not a major type of business pressure on enterprises? Save A. Homogenous workforce B. Powerful customers C. Regulatory compliance D. Terrorist attacks and homeland security Question 45 2 points ___________ support functional managers by providing them with periodic reports, such as weekly sales volume and comparisons of actual expenses to budgeted expenses. Save A. Personal information managements B. Transaction processing systems C. Management information systems D. Enterprise systems http://coursesite. umtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ 9/25/2012 Take Assessment: Midterm Exam Question 46 Page 9 of 9 2 points Mary Kay transformed itself from traditional modes of operation to a business model that enabled rapid growth into new markets by doing all of the following except: Save A. networking various applications so they communicate with each other B. using business service management to connect to consultants. C. sing social computing for marketing D. outsourcing its IT infrastructure Question 47 2 points M-commerce B2C applications are concentrated in three major areas, which include each of the following except: Save A. retail shopping for products and services B. advertising C. mobile portals D. selling digitized content such as music, movies, or games Question 48 2 points Save Data redundancy wastes physical storage media, makes it difficult to obtain a comprehensive view of customers, and increases the costs of entering and maintaining the data. True False Question 49 2 points At a strategic level, the totality of a company’s data resources is nearly irreplaceable. Yet data at this macro-level remains largely overlooked by corporate leadership. Save True False Question 50 2 points Save Why is auditing a Web site important from the perspective of risk? A. It is a good preventive measure to manage legal risk. B. It is a key part of disaster recovery. C. To insure that biometrics were implemented properly. D. It is a necessary corrective action. http://coursesite. umtweb. edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch. jsp? course_assessment_id=†¦ 9/25/2012 How to cite Mid Term 220, Papers

The Science of Shopping free essay sample

9/26/2011 The Science of Shopping Everyday thousands of retail stores throughout the United States open up their stores in the morning for the sole purpose of attracting customers and selling them merchandise. For this assignment I decided to do a store analysis of the retail giant Wal-Mart. To begin with I will evaluate the store layout and design. Next I will explain the visual merchandising techniques used that Wal-Mart uses. Finally I will discuss the problems and recommendations that I have for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has continually been a leader in the retail industry, and it all starts with the layout of the store. From the second that you pull into the Wal-Mart parking lot you are already faced with an important decision, which part of the store you want to enter. The entrance on the left positions you by the groceries, while the right entrance places you by the home goods and school supplies. We will write a custom essay sample on The Science of Shopping or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Wal-Mart utilizes a few different types of layouts, the main layout is a racetrack layout, which provides major aisles that loop around the store and guides customer traffic around different departments within the store. The grocery section of the Wal-Mart, which is on the left and takes up about a third of the store, has a grid layout. The Middle of the store is where Wal-Mart positioned its fashion and jewelry section. While this section fits within the overall race track layout of the store, the fashion/jewelry section has its own free form store layout. The electronics section is strategically located in the back middle of the store, since it is Wal-Marts most profitable section and it makes sure that their consumers have to navigate through the whole store and potentially browse other departments on their way to the electronics. The toy section of the store is sandwiched between the kitchen and home goods and the lawn garden, in hopes that children shopping with their parents will be able to wonder off to the toy section while they shop for home goods. At the front of the store is where they locate their checkout counters and other types of impulse buy items, such as â€Å"As seen on TV† items. While going to Wal-Mart might sometimes seem overwhelming, Wal-Mart does a good job of using visualizing techniques to attract customers to certain areas. Wal-Mart does a particularly good job of highlighting their merchandise. Wal-Mart uses big florescent lights to eliminate the store, as well as using skylights in its stores to make shiny objects even shinier. Along with using the lighting to set the mood, Wal-Mart also uses warm and cool colors to promote a very positive and peaceful mood. Another thing I noticed while I was observing Wal-Mart was that they do not play any music throughout the store. To promote their environment and help keep customer attention, Wal-Mart employees carry walkie-talkies to communicate with each other, because they found out that customers thought the use of intercoms was a distraction. Another thing I noticed about Wal-Mart was that there is no distinct scent in their stores. The sole purpose of a retail store is to try to get the customer to spend as much money as possible, and Wal-Mart is no different. Wal-Mart does an excellent job of using different types of merchandising presentation techniques in their store. At Wal-Mart they use many different types of fixtures to display their merchandise. In Wal-Marts grocery department, they primarily use gondolas to sell their merchandise, where as in the fashion and apparel section they used rounders, four-way racks, and strait racks. Another technique Wal-Mart utilizes is their wall space through the use of vertical merchandising. Since Wal-Mart’s slogan is â€Å"Save Money. Live Better,† they also use tonnage merchandising to enhance and reinforce their pricing image. Wal-Mart not only takes advantage of their merchandising techniques, but they also utilize their feature areas. The feature areas at Wal-Mart are the grocery section, home goods, electronics, fashion/jewelry, lawn garden, auto, and toys. In all of these feature areas, Wal-Mart uses freestanding displays to attract their customers and draw them into that section. Another thing Wal-Mart uses is many of their departments are cash wraps. Most of these cash wraps tended to be things like batteries, gum, candy, and soda. With Wal-Mart being such a large store, many departments also have their own checkout counters that allow customers who are only looking for certain items to be able to get in and out. Wal-Mart also uses end caps on almost every aisle in the store. These end caps are usually impulse buy items that are offering special promotional prices. Another thing that Wal-Mart does is that it shelves their items based on frequency. The most popular items or the items that most consumers buy will be located in the beginning of the aisle and at eye level, while other infrequent items are placed lower on the shelves and more towards the end of the aisle. To accurately keep track of what items need to be restocked or what items are selling the best, Wal-Mart uses a planogram. The planogram they use utilizes SKU’s and will allow for employees to figure out exactly where everything goes and when it needs to be restocked. With Wal-Mart being the leader in retail stores, it is obvious that they must be doing something right. While I was unable to figure out the profitability of space, I was able to find out that their grocery section is the least profitable and that their electronics section is the most profitable. While Wal-Mart is very successful in almost everything they do, there are some areas where they could improve. One area they could improve on is their checkout counters. Even though Wal-Mart has what seems like an endless row of checkout lines, not all of them are in service at once. I noticed that almost every checkout aisle had at least three people waiting in line. With the more people waiting in line, the longer it takes to check out. I noticed that the average checkout time at Wal-Mart was about five minutes per person. Another drawback of the checkout counters is the location of the twenty items or less speedy check out. These were located by only one of the exit doors, and if you parked by the other exit you would either have to wait in one of the other lines or walk all the way across the store to get to your exit after you checked out. Overall, I feel that Wal-Mart does an excellent job of creating an atmosphere that would want to keep their customers coming back. Everyday thousands of customers walk through Wal-Mart’s doors for the sole purpose of buying merchandise, but how do they keep them coming back? For this assignment I decided to do a store analysis of the retail giant Wal-Mart to get a better understand of what they do best. To begin with I evaluated the store layout and design. Then I explained the visual merchandising techniques used that Wal-Mart uses. Finally I discussed the problems and recommendations that I have for Wal-Mart. After performing the store analysis, it became apparent that Wal-Mart has spent a lot of time and effort on keeping customers satisfied and providing an excellent shopping atmosphere.

Effects of Video Games

Introduction The society has been immensely influenced by the technological changes, which are reshaping some of the activities. The emerging technologies in one way or another have affected every member of society, irrespective of age.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Effects of Video Games specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Video Games have had the greatest influence on the lives of children. Children no longer appreciate the outdoor games as was before, as most of their time is spend indoors playing video games. Although this trend may have a positive impact on the lives of the concerned children as far as their knowledge of computer is concerned, there are various negative impacts. Various educationists have confirmed that outdoor plays are very important to the development and growth of children. It helps them develop socially as they meet with their friends and learn to share discussions, get involved in physi cal activities and develop physically through such games. The paper talks about some of the negative effects of computer games (Finkel, 1995). It is established through research that computer games do not help children grow academically. In fact, computer games contribute to inactivity of body cells, which might lead to oversight hence causing diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. Moreover, indoor games contribute to poor academic performance among students because most of the time is spend on useless games that do not offer any academic lessons.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lastly, computer games lead to the development of antisocial behavior whereby a student is not interested in interacting with his or her peers. Overweight Available literature shows that more children are growing obese owing to the fact that they spend little time exercising and engage frequently with th e computer. Research shows that children who take part in physical exercises are more healthy, intelligent, and active in class. The study conducted by American Heart Association proved that children are contracting heart diseases mainly because of lack of physical activity. The research indicated that the number of obese children increased by four percent in 1974. Those affected were children aged six to eleven years. However, the percentage increase could not be compared with the study conducted in 2006 whereby the increase rate was seventeen percent. As from 1971 to 2006, the number of adolescents thought to be obese increased from 6.1 percent to 17.6 percent. The percentage increase was shocking. Furthermore, the increase was attributed to lack of physical activity and video games (Wiegman, van Schie, 1998). Overweight is a costly condition that leads to a number of illnesses among school going children. According to experts at the University of Michigan, obese children have hi gher risks of contracting diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, and high blood pressure.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Effects of Video Games specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other illnesses associated with overweight include high cholesterol levels in the body, hyperlipidemia, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, gastrointestinal malfunctions, early adolescence, and finally mental problems. Studies show that obese children tend to have a low sense of worth and despair. As AHA records show, obese children are likely to be obese when they attain the adulthood age. This would even cause more problems because they would be exposed to a number of diseases. A study conducted by Media Literacy Clearinghouse indicated that children had developed a habit towards computer games. Video games had gained relevance among children aged eight and eighteen years to an extent that the rate at which children played computer games rose from an average of 26 minutes in 1999 to 73 minutes in 2009. Generally, the rate at which children interacted with the computer daily rose from six hours in 1999 to seven hours in 2009. A report compiled in 2004 at the University Hospital of Zurich revealed that a strong link between obesity and video games exist. It can be concluded that video games do not help children in any way but instead it affects their health. Video games interfere with the children’s eating habits because such children would tend to consume food with high calories. In this regard, parents need to monitor the behavior of their children as regards to physical fitness.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More School Performance In the United States, a study conducted to ascertain the effects of computer games on the performance of students proved that PlayStations and other video games such as Xbox Video affects the concentration of children in class. Furthermore, the study revealed that children who are like using playing video games could not compete favorably with those who prefer physical games. One of the researchers was quoted saying that the performance of students who engage in physical exercises will always improve with time. Boys are affected more by the new trend since they would rarely improve in class. Their performance would always remain stagnant for a period. Moreover, boys cannot develop skills that would help them to read and write well in case they are allowed to interact with the computer frequently (Sakurai, 1984). It should be noted that video games might not necessarily cause poor performance among school going children but the time spent in watching the games or p laying them would consume the time that a student would be expected to read, do some homework, and write a good composition. Definitely, a student would register a poor grade in case he or she does not engage in a serious research. Video games have a tendency of instilling negative reading attitudes to students. This is because a student would find reading a storybook or solving a mathematics problem boring. Video games are very fast and demand a higher concentration unlike other academic activities that need time for conceptualization. In a joint study conducted in Australia, researchers concluded that video games affect the performance of students in many ways. Students who spend time playing video games would always perform dismally in class. In fact, the study revealed that computer games do not help children perform well in any of the subjects. This is because students who spend time watching and playing computer games would always score low in each subject. This research contr adicts some of the assumptions that computer games help children to perform well in some subjects. The Australian study revealed that there is no single positive correlation between academic performance and computer games. Effects on Social Relationships Video games are known to influence the cognitive and educational dexterities of children. Moreover, the games can as well as define the children’s social relationships. In a traditional setting, the relationship between the child and the parent or other senior members of society is clearly defined. The video games have changed meaning that social relations are no longer the same. Studies indicate that video games, especially those that are violent, reshape the behavior of children. Moreover, video games could contain some sort of competition and aggression, which affect the reasoning of children. In the current society, the rate at which conflicts occur in society has increased. Youths are currently violent because of the new games. The main objective of video games, according to Nintendo and Sega Genesis Center, is violence. Any game played by children via the computer does not have anything new other than violent content. The companies specializing in selling computer games would convince parents that the games are non-violent but in the real sense, they are not. A study conducted in 1998 confirmed that many children, over 80%, were familiar to a violent game referred to as Duke Nukem. Unfortunately, only 5% of parents were aware of the game meaning that children are access even those games that are supposed to be accessed by only the adults. This trend affects the social life of children. In 1999, students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado engaged in a destructive demonstration mainly because of the influence of computer games. Students shot at their fellow teens and other people because they experienced it through video games. Such kind of behavior is destructive because it could lead to social anomy (Griffith, 1999). Studies across the world indicate that violent video games increase an individual’s hostility and aggression. Aggressive games would lead to a habit whereby students prefer to play the games rather than engage in physical exercises. This is even related to overweight. Children who are used to video games tend to be indifferent and unresponsive to the sufferings of other children. They would easily bully their fellow students without mercy. References Finkel, S. (1995). Causal analysis with panel data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Griffith, M. (1999). Violent video games and aggression: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 4(2), 203-212. Sakurai, S. (1984). Construction of the Social Desirability Scale for Children. Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 32(2), 310-314. Wiegman, O., van Schie, E. (1998). Video game playing and its relations with aggressive and pro-social behavior. British Journal of Social Psychology, 37(2), 367- 378. This essay on Effects of Video Games was written and submitted by user Ackbar to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Fascinating Stories About the Greek God Cronos

Fascinating Stories About the Greek God Cronos The Greek deities Cronos and his wife, Rhea, ruled the world during mankinds Golden Age.   Cronos (also spelled Kronos or Kronus) was the youngest of the first-generation Titans. More significantly, he sired the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. The first-generation Titans were children of Mother Earth and Father Sky. Earth was known as Gaia and Sky as Ouranos or Uranus. The Titans werent the only children of Gaia and Ouranos. There were also the 100-handers (the Hecatoncheires) and the Cyclops. Ouranos imprisoned these creatures, who were Cronos brothers, in the underworld, specifically in the place of torment known as Tartarus (Tartaros). Cronos Rises to Power Gaia was not happy that so many of her children had been locked up in Tartaros, so she asked the 12 Titans for a volunteer to help her out. Only Cronos was brave enough. Gaia gave him an adamantine sickle with which to castrate his father. Cronos obliged. Once castrated, Ouranos was no longer fit to rule, so the Titans awarded ruling power to Cronos, who then freed his siblings the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclops. But soon he re-imprisoned them. Cronos and Rhea The Titan brothers and sisters married one another. The two humanoid Titans, Rhea and Cronos, married, producing the gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus. Cronos was told that he would be deposed by his son, just as he had deposed his father. Cronos, determined to prevent this, used extreme preventive measures. He devoured the children to whom Rhea gave birth. When Zeus was about to be born, Rhea gave her husband a stone wrapped in swaddling to swallow instead. Rhea, clearly about to give birth, raced to Crete before her husband could tell she had deceived him. She raised Zeus there safely. As with most myths, there are variations. One has Gaia giving Cronos a horse to swallow in place of the sea and horse god Poseidon, so Poseidon, like Zeus, was able to grow up safely. Cronos Dethroned Somehow Cronos was induced to take an emetic (exactly how is debated), after which he vomited out the children he had swallowed. The regurgitated gods and goddesses got together with the gods who hadnt been swallowed- like Zeus- to fight the Titans. The battle between the gods and Titans was called the Titanomachy. It lasted a long time, with neither side having an advantage until Zeus re-freed his uncles, the Hecatoncheires and  the Cyclopes, from Tartarus. When Zeus and company won, he shackled and imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus. Zeus released Cronos from Tartarus to make him the ruler of the underworld area called the Islands of the Blest. Cronos and the Golden Age Before Zeus came to power, mankind had lived blissfully in the Golden Age under Cronos rule. There was no pain, death, disease, hunger, or any other evil. Mankind was happy and children were born autochthonously, meaning they were actually born out of the soil. When Zeus came to power, he put an end to mankinds happiness. Cronos Attributes Despite his being fooled by the stone in swaddling clothes, Cronos is regularly described as wily, like Odysseus. Cronos is associated with agriculture in Greek mythology and honored at a harvest festival. He is described as having a wide beard. Cronos and Saturn The Romans had an agricultural god named Saturn, who was in many ways the same as the Greek god Cronos. Saturn married Ops, who is associated with the Greek goddess (Titan) Rhea. Ops was the patroness of wealth. The festival known as the Saturnalia honors Saturn.

Food Insecurity. Definition, Reasons, Causes and Status Essay

Food Insecurity. Definition, Reasons, Causes and Status - Essay Example In the discussion, the focus will remain on reviewing what food insecurity denotes, what causes it and the consequences that accrue thereof. The discussion is based on a critical evaluation of peer-reviewed literature beginning with the definition and then discussing what causes it, and how it emerges in the developing world. Defining and Contextualizing Food Insecurity The Context of Food Security Since the 1970s, the term food insecurity has been differently used to refer to numerous related but often diverse concepts. Yu, You, and Fan (2010) argue, â€Å"there are various descriptions of food security plus the concepts of food security that have evolved, in the previous 30 years, to reflect the transformation in official policy thinking† (p. 30). This variant understanding of food security and insecurity has been explored by Clay (2002) since the World Food Conference initiated a discussion of food security in the early 1970s, both at the national and international level. A s shall emerge hereunder, food security encompasses questions of food supply, food availability, food price stability, geographical locations and typology of available food (Bernstein, Crow and Johnson, 1992, pp. 34 - 71). However, to understand the term food insecurity, it is essential to first contextualize the term food security. According to the United Nations, food security should be defined as â€Å"all people at all times having both physical and economic access to the basic food they need† (Clay, 2002, p. 4). According to UN figures, nearly 1 billion people in the world today are not guaranteed that they can access, afford and always find adequate food. For these 2 billion people, they may not be hungry and in critical need of food, but they cannot guarantee that they will have anything to eat tomorrow to sufficiently sustain their health. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (2013), â€Å"a total of 842 million people in 2011–2013, or about one in eight individuals globally, were anticipated to be suffering from chronic hunger, regularly not getting enough food to conduct an active life† ( ¶7). While this figure is relatively lower when compared to the 868 million people reported between 2010 and 2012, and while the number of undernourished people has reduced with 17% from what was recorded between 1990 and 1992, food insecurity is still a major global problem. As such, they are insecure about the source of their requisite diets, where to find food, when and whether such food would be affordable when accessed (Curtis, Hubbard and Shepherd, 1988, 37). This context thus introduces the dynamics of food security, a complicated process determined by numerous factors from poverty levels to climatic conditions, from geography to governance, from education and awareness to culture (Grigg, 1993, p. 21; Curtis, Hubbard and Shepherd, 1988, p. 61; Bernstein, Crow and Johnson, 1992, p. 69; Kent, 1984, p. 23). The key question, therefore, is about guarantee that food will be available when needed, as well as which type of food will be avai

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case Study - Essay Example Keywords: moral awareness, ethical dilemma, utilitarianism, ethical decisions, ethical approach, moral judgment CASE STUDY ETHICAL DILEMMA Problem Karen Hathaway is in a dilemma trying to decide who shall be the best candidate who deserves the promotion, among the three managers who are vying for the same position. All of the potential candidates are highly qualified for the coveted position in the company. The decision she has to make is very critical in order to ensure that the company is placed in the hands of only the best manager. She is being pressured by her superior and upper-management people to promote their own bets. She has also been informed by her immediate superior that making the wrong decision would not be good, either internally or externally, and will affect her work performance and credibility. Karen is now facing an ethical dilemma on who among the three candidates is most worthy to receive the promotion. Input The three candidates are the following: The first ca ndidate is Carmen, who is 34 years of age, an African American, recently divorced and, a single parent to an only child. She graduated in the lower half of her college class in Northwest State. She has been with the company for four years and in the industry for eight years, with average performance ratings, but is notable for her high energy level. As a superior, she has experienced some difficulties in managing her staff. Aside from this disadvantage is also her child’s poor health condition. Clinching the promotion will be a big help to manage her financial condition. In the event that Carmen gets the promotion, she will be the first African-American female manager at this level. Karen has known Carmen only a short time, but she has never had problems with her and they have become friends as Karen has once baby-sat Carmen’s daughter during an emergency. The drawback in promoting Carmen will place Karen in a tight situation as she might be accused of having biases an d favouritism. The second candidate is Ralph, an American, 57 years of age, married with three children and graduated top half in his class from a private university. He has been with the company for twenty years and in the industry for thirty years. He has been classified as a steady performer in the company, receiving mostly average ratings, with average to very low energy level. He was lauded in his work performance when he was able to produce many of the company’s top sales performers in the past. He has been not been promoted from his current position because of his refusal to relocate. This promotion would be his last before retirement, and his colleagues believed that he should be next in line because he has earned the position as an employee of the company for 20 years. In fact, one senior manager stopped Karen in the hall and said â€Å"You know, Karen, Ralph has been with us a long time. He has done many good things

Exposure to Light at Night increases the risk of Breast Cancer Article

Exposure to Light at Night increases the risk of Breast Cancer - Article Example Female breast principally entails of lobules which are the milk-producing glands, the tiny ducts that transport milk to the nipple from the lobules, the fat tissues referred to as the tumor, the connecting tissues found around the lobules and ducts, lymphatic and blood vessels the other part of the killing phrase is cancer. Riley observes that cancer is a word given to a disease where abnormal cells split with no control and are capable of leaving tumor to attack other tissues (Riley 36). These cells can multiply through the body through blood and lymph systems. Breast cancer is a cruel tumor that originates from the cells of the breast. A cruel tumor is a collection of cancer cells with the intention growing into the immediate tissues stretch to far-away parts of the body. These occur nearly entirely in women, however, men may catch it, too. A study investigated whether exposure to light at night-time increases the threat of breast cancer, this is likely by suppressing the standard nocturnal creation of melatonin by the pineal gland and this in return, could boost the discharge of estrogens by the ovaries (Schernhammer 1563). Such disclosure is related to the rising risk of breast cancer among women. In simple terms, light exposure through the night suppresses melatonin creation. In a case-patients aged 20–74 years, were diagnosed in three years, particularly from November 1992 to March 1995. They were regularly matched depending on 5 year age group. A person was used to physically interview and gather details on sleep behaviors, bedroom lighting, and surroundings in a decade before diagnosis and lifetime profession history. Odds ratio and ninety-five percent self-assurance intervals were approximated by use of restrictive logistic falling off, with alterations for other possible hazard factors.  Ã‚  

Strategic Planning Essay

Strategic Planning Essay Introduction: Planning is the most important thing for all organization. A successful plan means a successful mission to goal of a business or organization. It doesnt matter the organization big or small. Plan will bring you to face the challenges and opportunities. This will enable to deliver more effectively to meet the needs of target people and strengthen the organization. Planning is the first step towards sustainable funding. Planning should be creative process, simple and straightforward that brings demonstrable benefits. The process of making systematic decisions about proposed future outcomes, the process includes evaluating an organization and the environment in which it operates, establishing long-term goals, and mapping a plan to achieve the goals that have been identified. Strategic planning assumes and incorporates the likelihood of a changing environment that will require adjustments in the identified goals and the process of achieving them. Strategic planning process: Environmental Scanning Developing the environmental scanning structure. The environmental scanning process. Searching for information resources Selecting information resources to scan. Identifying criteria by which to scan. Determining special actions to take on the scanning results Scanning for the institution. Evaluating the process. Key stages of strategic planning process: There are several key stages of strategic planning process: Develop Vision and Mission Business and operation analysis Develop and select strategic option Establish strategic objective Strategy execution plan. Establish resource allocation Execution summary â€Å"Strategy can be seen as an on going ‘positioning process for an organization and strategic planning can be seen as a separate activity reviewed at periodic well- defined intervals†. Strategy involves achieving a competitive advantage for an organization in meeting the needs of customers and fulfilling the expectations of stakeholders. â€Å"An organization with an ‘active strategy will have a ‘plan on which to base its decisions. This plan may be in the form of a written document, or it may be a way of approaching matters as they arise†. Example: In the case of Marks Spencer in the late 1990s, its surveys showed that customer satisfaction did fall over a period of months, but there were a combination of factors causing problems, including a general recession in High Street shops in 1998. Other possible problems for MS that were out limited TV advertising, its supply lines were relatively expensive, and it had difficulties with its product range and with the presentation of its clothes. Although the company recorded profits of over  £1 billion in 1997 and 1998, there was a 23 per cent drop in profits in November 1998. The CEO left the company in 1999 and there were further changes in senior management in the following two years. Major credit cards became accepted, product ranges were altered, product presentation was reviewed and a TV advertising campaign was undertaken under the slogan ‘Exclusively for everyone. (Tim Hannagan, Mastering @Strategic Management, 2002, Palgrave, New York, pg 60) Task 2: Involvement of stakeholders in the strategic planning process. Stakeholders are involved in the effects of strategic management because the actions and the development of the organization will result in change in their circumstances in one way or another. Stakeholders can be described as individuals and groups who are affected by the activities. It can be argued that the most important stakeholders are those who have the most to lose from the organizations actions. It is also important for an organization to be able to assess the power of these groups to influence events and the attitudes of the most powerful groups individuals. Stakeholders include a range of people involved with a company: The shareholders- who own the company and receive dividends. Financial bodies such a banks- who fund organizations in one way or another, and receive added value through interest or by other means. The employee- who receive some of the added value through their pay. The management- who receive added value through their pay and other benefits. The government- which receives part of the added value in the form of taxes. The customers- who consume the results of the value added to a commodity or service through the value chain. The mission and the objectives of an organization have to be developed taking into account the interests of the organizations stakeholders. Stakeholders Expectations Shareholders Financial return Creditors Interest, Creditworthiness, Prompt payment Suppliers Payment, long-term orders Employees Pay, stability, job satisfaction Managers Pay, benefits, power and control Customers Supply of goods and services, quality Government Taxes, employment, economic growth Strategic Management In terms of strategic management the major issue is to identify the relative power of the various stakeholders so that it is clear which of them is the most important to satisfy. On the one hand, it can be said that form any organization the customer comes first, second and third because comes without the customer the purpose of the organization will not exit, on the other hand, there may be other stakeholders who if not satisfied have the power to bring the organization to an end. For an example, Creditors have the power to close an organization if they are not paid, and employees can bring a company to its knees by withdrawing their labour. Every organization has to decide which are its most influential stakeholders and balance out their interests. Task 3: SWOT analysis of an organization: SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis is an important tool for auditing the overall strategic position of a business and its environment. Once key strategic issues have been indentified, they feed into business objectives, particularly marketing objectives. The key distinction: Internal and External Issues. Internal Issues: Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors. For example, an strength could be specialist marketing expertise. A weakness could be the lack of a new product. External Factors: Opportunities and Threats are external factors. For example, an opportunity could be a developing distribution channel such as the internet, or changing consumer lifestyles that potentially increase demand for a companys product. A threat could be a new competitor in an important existing market or a technological change that makes existing products potentially obsolete. (S)trengths: Diversifying away from areas of major threat to more promising opportunities. Focusing on modifying weaknesses in spots of significant opportunities. Taking defensive measures in areas of threat where you are weak. (W)eaknesses: Make mind up which weaknesses need to be addressed as a priority. Other weaknesses have got to be accepted and respected until time and resources let find a solution. Some weaknesses can be developed into strengths or opportunities. For instance, it might be feasible to turn a shortage of production capacity into increased value for your product. (T)hreats: Build successful relationships with suppliers and customer. Cultivate good employee relations. Ensure clear and reasonable contracts with suppliers, customers and employees. Procure insurance against evident debacles. Make realistic contingency plans to deal with potential. Establish the right types of service contracts for key personnel. Invest in legal protection for intellectual property. Task 4: The differences between balance scorecard, scenario planning, cost benefit analysis and sensitivity analysis. Balance scorecard: The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals. Kaplan and Norton describe the innovation of the balanced scorecard as follows: The balanced scorecard retains traditional financial measures. But financial measures tell the story of past events, an adequate story for industrial age companies for which investments in long-term capabilities and customer relationships were not critical for success. These financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation. Examples: Department Areas Finance Return on Investment Cash Flow Return on Capital Employed Financial Results (Quarterly/Yearly) Internal Business Processes Number of activities per function Duplicate activities across functions Process alignment (is the right process in the right department) Process bottlenecks Process automation Learning and Growth Is there the correct expertise for the job Employee turnover Job satisfaction Training opportunities Customer Delivery performance to customer Quality performance for customer Customer satisfaction rate Customer percentage of market Customer retention rat Scenario Planning: Scenario planning where choices can be screened by matching them to possible scenarios. This is a ‘what if? approach based on possible changes in the organizations environment. This leads to the formation of contingency plans in order to meet the requirements of each of these possible scenarios. For this approach to be useful, the strategic manager has to recognize the onset of the elements of a particular scenario so that the appropriate contingency plan can be introduced. Tim Hannagan, Mastering Strategic Management, 2002, Palgrave, New York, pg 60 Scenario planning or scenario thinking is a strategic planning tool used to make flexible long-term plans. It is a method for learning about the future by understanding the nature and impact of the most uncertain and important driving forces affecting our world. â€Å"Change has considerable psychological impact of the human mind. To the fearful, change is threatening because it means that things may get worse to the hopeful, change is encouraging because things may get better. To confident, change is inspiring because the challenge exists to make thing better â€Å"King Whitney, Jr.† Cost benefits analysis: A cost benefit analysis finds, quantifies, and adds all the positive factors. These are the benefits. Then it identifies, quantifies, and subtracts all the negatives, the costs. The difference between the two indicates whether the planned action is advisable. The real trick to doing a cost benefit analysis well is making sure you include all the costs and all the benefits and property quantify them. Example of a Cost Benefit As the Production Manager, proposing the purchase of a $ 1 million stamping machine to increase output. Before present the proposal to the Vice President, know the need some facts to support suggestion, decide to run the numbers and do a cost benefit analysis. Itemize the benefits. With the new machine, it can be produced 100 more units per hour. The three workers currently doing the stamping by hand can be replaced. The units will be higher quality because they will be more uniform and be convinced these outweigh the costs. There is a cost to purchase the machine and it will consume some electricity. Any other costs would be insignificant. Calculate the selling price of the 100 additional units per hour multiplied by the number of production hours per month. Add to that two percent for the units that arent rejected because of the quality of the machine output. Also add the monthly salaries of the three workers. Thats a pretty good total benefit. Then calculate the monthly cost of the machine, by dividing the purchase price by 12 months per year and divide that by the 10 years the machine should last. The manufacturers specs tell what the power consumption of the machine is and get power cost numbers from accounting then figure the cost of electricity to run the machine and add the purchase cost to get a total cost figure. Now subtract total cost figure from total benefit value and analysis shows a healthy profit. Sensitivity analysis: Sensitivity analysis is a method for testing the degree of sensitivity of a system or models variables by applying incremental changes. The system can be physical or notional and represent the whole project or major element the analysis determines which variables are the most significant having the most impact on results and so helps the selection of the optimal settings or best solution. A technique used to determine how different values of an independent variable will impact a particular dependent variable under a given set of assumptions. This technique is used within specific boundaries that will depend on one or more input variables, such as the effect that changes in interest rates will have on a bonds price. Sensitivity analysis is a way to predict the outcome of a decision if a situation turns out to be different compared to the key prediction(s). Example: An analyst might create a financial model that will value a companys equity (the dependent variable) given the amount of earnings per share (an independent variable) the company reports at the end of the year and the companys price-to-earnings multiple (another independent variable) at that time. The analyst can create a table of predicted price-to-earnings multiples and a corresponding value of the companys equity based on different values for each of the independent variables. Conclusion: Strategy can be seen as an on going positioning process for an organization and strategic planning can be seen as a separate activity reviewed at periodic well defined intervals. References: http://www.yourdictionary.com/business/strategic-planning horizon.unc.edu/projects/seminars/futuresresearch/stages.html http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Steps-Effective-Strategic-Planning-Processid=588763 Tim Hannagan, Mastering @Strategic Management, 2002, Palgrave, New York, pg 60 Tim Hannagan, Mastering @Strategic Management, 2002, Palgrave, New York, pg 50, 51 Kaplan and Norton http://www.businessballs.com/balanced_scorecard.htm Tim Hannagan, Mastering @Strategic Management, 2002, Palgrave, New York, pg 60) http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/tools/scenario-planning King Whitney, Jr. http://management.about.com/cs/money/a/CostBenefit.htm http://www.maxwideman.com/issacons1/iac1112b/tsld002.htm http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sensitivityanalysis.asp

Lord of the Flies :: essays papers

Lord of the Flies Artificial Restraints in Lord of the Flies "GOLDING PUTS SO MANY ARTIFICIAL RESTRAINTS ON HIS STORY IN ORDER TO EMPHASISE HIS POINT, THAT THE WHOLE THING COMES OUT TOO NEATLY AND, IN FACT, REDUCES THE POWER OF HIS MESSAGE." I think that, while the boys experience immense bad luck due to the author, the story still proves its point. It is still possible though, that the bad luck of the boys could have been experienced in real life. I think that without this bad luck, the point of the story wouldn’t be as great, because without the restraint’s Golding placed on the boys, life on the island would have been too easy for the boys. The major constraint that Golding puts on the boys is the personality clash between Jack and Ralph. From the beginning, when Ralph is elected leader, Jack hates Ralph, and towards the end of the book, the feeling becomes mutual. Without Jack and Ralph’s problems, life would have been easy, and the ‘darkness of man’s heart’ would not have been conveyed to the reader. Jack shows ‘the darkness’ and if he and Ralph had just been friends, there would never have been an opportunity for Jack to show this darkness which lurked beneath the surface. Golding also uses the dead pilot conveniently against the boys - the way in which he is caught in the trees just in the right position to be caught by the wind and look like the beast and the way the wind picks up after Simon has let him down from the trees and carries him out to sea, so that the other boys cannot see that it wasn’t a beast. The author uses the boy’s fear against them, and although this could possibly happen in the situation, Golding uses it as a weapon against them, their morale and their companionship. I think that the boys split up and go to Jack because of the fear - he can kill the beast, he can get them meat, and if they ever get upset, he can start a dance and all will be fine.

Coming to Terms Essay

In â€Å"A Look at the Intersection of Fine Dining and Fast Food†, Brenda Falk discusses the differences and similarities in fast food and fine dining. Her main focus throughout the article is the new found overlap in these two dining techniques. She also seems to feel that soon these two dining techniques could easily become one known as â€Å"quick casual†. In this article she jumps around from point to point whether it be reasoning behind certain dining styles, types of changes in these styles, or how they affect each other. Her argument was based fully on fast food restaurants adopting ideas from fine dining restaurants . Falk inserts an inordinate amount of her own feelings on the topic and doesn’t analyze the subject as well as she should have. She focuses mainly on the fast food business while lacking in her analysis of fine dining. She also should have made the paper more about what caused the changes in the restaurant business instead of the changes themselves. In the essay Falk has many examples of foods and restaurants that have changed and became noticed for their modern style, such as Panera Bread and Chipotle. She appeals to a large audience by adding examples many people can relate too. On the other hand, her article is extremely biased in multiple ways. She makes too many generalizations that may not particularly be true in some cases. For example she states, â€Å" the fact that people today hate to make choices, preferring to have the best of both worlds†¦ † (Falk,33). This may not be exactly true for everyone. She uses the previous quote to support her argument in saying that since people are so indecisive quick casual would be a good alternative. Another instance is when she states, â€Å"There are significantly more calories at table service restaurants† (Falk, 35). The prior quote shows her bias towards dine-in restaurants because she only uses negative examples of fine dining. Furthermore, her essay is very restricted. She aims her essay towards adults and college students with her use of language and examples of certain restaurants; But a lot of her writing makes you think otherwise. The core of her essay is stating that quick casual is the new alternative to fine and fast food dining. Though she never takes into consideration the ideas of being a vegetarian or that college students have dining halls or even the fact that not all people eat out. She had good arguments but they did not affect the people they were meant to affect. One of her main argumentative statements is at the very end of her essay when she says, â€Å"The country is focused on problems with obesity and poor eating habits †¦.. until major changes are made, food prepared at home will almost always be healthier than food eaten away from home† (Falk,36) . These type of statements should have been more prominent in the essay, she only brings up this type of conflict in the last paragraph and nowhere else. By tying in the eating at home or the obesity aspect more, she would have had a strong argument. As mention earlier, if she touched on all the aspects possible that would have made her essay more relevant Some of her most outstanding focuses were â€Å"Trend Mapping† and the â€Å"Trickle Down Theory†. Trend mapping helps culinary experts predict which menu items will be popular in the future. The trickle down theory helps quick casual restaurants enhance their menu with more fine dining dishes. These ideas help customers make smart choices. I was impressed with her inclusion of these two innovations because they go right along with her topic and fit into the main idea . Even though her essay was poorly structured at some points, there were also some good points throughout. I feel that her style was very laid back and readable because she used places her target audience have been and can relate to, as examples. Brenda Falk creates this article with the objective of describing the many similarities between the food industry and that the in between â€Å"quick casual† style is the most convenient. She successfully describes these similarities and elaborates on the new innovative style but never fully creates a legitimate argument. If she discussed more on the topic of eating at home or the factor of money or even brought in some positives of fine dining, that could have created a stronger argument. She has a great sense of organization and style but needs to focus more on her analysis of the topic.

Over the counter drugs and household chemicals essays

Over the counter drugs and household chemicals essays Name 6 over-the-counter products (OTC) that contain: Antihistamines: any of various compounds that counteract histamine in the body and that are used for treating allergic reactions (as hay fever) and cold symptoms (Merriam- Webster Online, 2003). The previous 6 over-the-counter medications are considered antihistamines according to the definition because they all counteract histamine and are typically the choice at the drugstore in the cold Cough Suppressant: this helps with a persistent annoying cough. It acts by suppressing the cough reflex in the throat and lungs so that the mucous or irritation there won't trigger coughing. There are no likely side effects. (AskDrSears.com, 2003). These are considered cough suppressants because they attempt to temporarily relieve the symptoms of cough and dry and itchy results of Nasal Decongestant: help if you suffer from common nasal allergy symptoms such as a stuffy, runny nose and red and watery eyes. These medications are generally available in many forms including pills, liquid- These drugs are considered nasal decongestants because they help to relieve the stuffy nose and head symptoms of common allergies. Antibacterial Drugs: chemical substance derivable from a mold or bacterium that kills microorganisms and cures infections. These are considered antibacterial drugs because they are prescribed by a doctor when a patient has a nasty cold caused by bacteria that can be cured with a chemical derived from mold. Antiviral Drugs: Drugs used to create infections caused by viruses. This is shown most commonly in the every-year flu epidemic. Every ...

Free Essays on Lord Of The Flies Journals

Chapter 1: Today was the weirdest day of my life. I just finished making my way through a jungle after I was in an airplane that was shot and crashed. It was storming, but now it’s a little nicer outside, and me and my buddy Piggy were just discussing the fact that we are all children here on this island, and there are no adults!! Actually, it was then that I discovered that Piggy was a geek, and neither I nor anyone else really liked him. I was elected chief then and my first big decision was to sent children out to investigate whether or not they are really on an island. This kid named Jack seems pretty cool, him and I are the oldest, and therefore the two main leaders. But†¦ I am the King! Chapter 2: I decided that I should call another meeting. So I blew on the conch, and the littluns all came. It seems pretty fun being on this island so far, I’m sure enjoying it. But, I also had to take some charge. So I set out a few rules, and I really don’t care if anyone else likes them or not. Everyone thinks that there is some sort of beast on the island. I’m really not sure if there is one or not, but I sure hope there isn’t. But if there is, I will take care of it. After all, I am a man! I can get the job done! Piggy has made a few good points, but I really don’t care what he has to say. Right now, I think that our only chance to get rescued is by fire. Chapter 3: Right now, Simon and I just got finished building a hut. I’m sick of being the only one around here who does everything. The littluns don’t help at all. I think that building huts is way more important than hunting. But Jack sure doesn’t think so. I also think that there should be a signal fire burning all of the time for the sake of getting rescued. Chapter 4: Earlier today when I was swimming in the bathing pool I saw some smoke in the horizon. I looked at the mountaintop, but the signal fire had gone out. When ... Free Essays on Lord Of The Flies Journals Free Essays on Lord Of The Flies Journals Chapter 1: Today was the weirdest day of my life. I just finished making my way through a jungle after I was in an airplane that was shot and crashed. It was storming, but now it’s a little nicer outside, and me and my buddy Piggy were just discussing the fact that we are all children here on this island, and there are no adults!! Actually, it was then that I discovered that Piggy was a geek, and neither I nor anyone else really liked him. I was elected chief then and my first big decision was to sent children out to investigate whether or not they are really on an island. This kid named Jack seems pretty cool, him and I are the oldest, and therefore the two main leaders. But†¦ I am the King! Chapter 2: I decided that I should call another meeting. So I blew on the conch, and the littluns all came. It seems pretty fun being on this island so far, I’m sure enjoying it. But, I also had to take some charge. So I set out a few rules, and I really don’t care if anyone else likes them or not. Everyone thinks that there is some sort of beast on the island. I’m really not sure if there is one or not, but I sure hope there isn’t. But if there is, I will take care of it. After all, I am a man! I can get the job done! Piggy has made a few good points, but I really don’t care what he has to say. Right now, I think that our only chance to get rescued is by fire. Chapter 3: Right now, Simon and I just got finished building a hut. I’m sick of being the only one around here who does everything. The littluns don’t help at all. I think that building huts is way more important than hunting. But Jack sure doesn’t think so. I also think that there should be a signal fire burning all of the time for the sake of getting rescued. Chapter 4: Earlier today when I was swimming in the bathing pool I saw some smoke in the horizon. I looked at the mountaintop, but the signal fire had gone out. When ...

Dicussion 13 703 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dicussion 13 703 - Assignment Example I have discovered this from the fact that the framework I am using in studying my clinical problem has been and can be used in many other studies that will deal with different issues. Additionally, I have learnt that it is possible to harmonize knowledge from different disciplines in one compressed tool such as the one I am using my project. To continue growing in knowledge, I will endeavor to keep conducting scholarly research in order to acquire new insight into different nursing ideas. Additionally, I will seek to read and review scholarly studies conducted by other nurses. To apply the knowledge I shall acquire in a clinical setting, I shall use nursing guidance manuals and code of ethics in order to delimit the scope of the application. To evaluate the translation of that knowledge to see if it is effective, I shall try it on different clinical problems checking the ones in which it work and the ones it does not. Finally, I shall request my peers to help in reviewing its successes and shortcomings in order to uphold objectivity in evaluation (Marlaine,

Design an e-Business System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Design an e-Business System - Essay Example Proper communication remain essential in ensuring the minimisation of errors; hence improvement of the business process. The utilisation of an internet based system for establishing links between salesmen, customers and suppliers remains essential in improvement of the processes. The different stakeholders will access information from a central source, and share information from the same centre. This sharing can effectively improve business processes and increase the company’s market share. Objectives The main purpose of the subsystem remains ensuring quick transfer of information and sharing between various stakeholders. The system aims at improving the business process and increasing efficacy of the process of making sales and manufacturing. Improvement of these processes can result in increased sales owing to the reduced time taken in making orders and delivering supplies. The application of the system objectives can ensure the company sales increase significantly, ensuring the company achieves significant growth. Background Avitz Bike is a UK based manufacturing company which specialises in different types of bikes for different markets globally. While the company experiences a considerably good market share, stiff competition has resulted in reduced market share over the last 5 years. This reduction has been attributed to the duration taken before bikes are delivered to customers. The company relies heavily on sales made through different retailers across the United Kingdom. While the utilisation of retailers has continuously provided sufficient market-share, improvement in the selling process remains inevitable as the company seeks to increase sales. The utilisation of an E-business system seeks to ensure the company reduces the delivery time for most products. This would effectively increase the current sales volume, consequently increasing the market share. The company has adopted the E-business strategy to eliminate the lengthy supply chain, pre sent in the current strategy. Description of the business process The process of receiving orders within the business involves direct communication with retailers, through telephone, electronic data exchange of facsimile. The retailers first make contact with sales managers, to negotiate on different product prices, before making orders to the company. The orders are then subjected to a validation process, which includes verification of various order requirements as stated by the retailer. This validation process results in acceptance or rejection of the order. Following the validation of different orders, required parts can be orders to enhance the assembling of the requested bike. The customer specifications determine how the distributors deliver bikes to various retailers. When utilising process, the company does not make direct contacts with the customers making the process lengthy. The company utilises an information system developed in 1997, built on LAN with Windows NT as the client-server system. The current system contains information regarding customers, suppliers, bikes and other physical attributes of company products. Some of the information contained within the system remains available to specific departments, an aspect which causes delays. Problems and solutions in project that the company is facing The company faces a number of challenges resulting from the current business process and information systems. The biggest problem

Criminal Investigations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Criminal Investigations - Research Paper Example From the research it is clear that for local people who are born and reside in Abu Dhabi, the criminal clearance always involves a check for any criminal records within the UAE. For foreigners who intend to work in Abu Dhabi, the security clearance involves a check for criminal records within the UAE as well as their country of origin. This is always important for most firms as well as government employees who want to be careful in terms recruiting people with a clean criminal record. Most government departments that have jobs that are sensitive want to know that they are employing people who don’t have the high potential of being criminals. Private organizations also ask for this security clearance when they feel that the position they want to fill is a sensitive position that needs to be filled by a person which can be trusted. This paper declares that the Criminal Investigation Department also acts s the manager for the repository of the data and information for the criminal records. The Criminal Investigation Department keeps all the data records about all criminal records and criminal investigations. This data reserve for criminal records helps in a number of ways with regard to curbing crime. First, it helps with the criminal investigations. The data kept by the Criminal Investigation Department in Abu Dhabi is always important in criminal investigations because they act as the basis of criminal investigations. They also provide with a database for security clearances as described above.

Argument Essay Essay Example for Free

Argument Essay Essay As students we all have been challenged to do our best. Throughout our lives we have been labeled with our grades; in high school, the ones with low grades were left alone in misery, while the ones with higher grades were praised as the leaders of this horse race. Then, the question that comes into mind is: is it right to categorize students, does grading contribute to educationa? It is assumed and stated in the philosophy of the current educational system that grading encourages learning and without it students would not study. That is far from being true and also expresses another flaw of our education system. The system is based on fear: the basic motive for students to study is fear of low grades. Furthermore, because the grades are the main criteria for passing courses, students do not study: they just develop methods of cheating. Thus, without learning the subject, they keep passing. Since grades received in exams are more important than learning the subject matter, all students have to do to pass their courses is memorize how a specific problem is solved. Without knowing why such a method is used, students cannot apply their ability to solve the problem to daily life. However, they pass exams without learning why, how or what of the matter. Another disadvantage of grading is that grades of a student are not updated. That means the grades of a student for the first year of school will still be valid in the last year, whether his knowledge about the subject has improved or deteriorated. Considering all the factors that affect a student’s exams and marks, even a small incident may have a great impact in the long run. Apart from these problems, which can be virtually solved by optimizing and improving the grading system, the most important defect of the system cannot be repaired without changing the whole system. The grading system causes inequalities, superior-inferior relations, classifications and even conflicts. It may be maintained that societies of the modern world are structured on these basic principles, but the fact that something exists does not justify it. Moreover, the people grown up in such an education system will not be able to see the other side of the walls, or will be afraid even to take a glimpse. To sum up, grading students is not a good practice and should be abolished. It is clear that education, especially education during childhood, has a great effect on one’s life. And if you bring the children up in conditions of conflict and competition, they will look for conflicts in the future too.

Analysing Structure Of Stories Literature Essay

Analysing Structure Of Stories Literature Essay This chapter focuses on the structure of stories in different mediums. Storytelling and the development of media have alternately influenced each another, and each new medium has established a new kind of storytelling. A story is more than actions and events. The sequence of actions and events according to a meaning creates a specific kind of structure. A storys structure is not the meaning of a fixed order but more the rules and the ways of combinations of events that creates a meaning. Therefore, understanding a storys structure is important in the narrative development process. Transmedia storytelling The structure of each medium allows for a different performance and affects how the meanings of stories are created and shared. Performativity need not be solely on the stage. Auslander stated that we live in a mediatized world, and that performance has spread across media, infecting the other media with performative spontaneity from both performers and audiences (Auslander, 1994). The stories we have heard, seen and read in a single medium have not lacked impact, but incorporating several media offers a whole new experience as Jenkins mentioned about transmedia. Transmedia is a term coined by Henry Jenkins to describe how stories can be told across media in such a way as to take advantage of what each medium do best. As Jenkins stated, Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story. (Jenkins, 2007) With transmedia experiences, where it is basically impossible for someone to have expertise in every medium, we may actually see a strengthening in the individual media as authors and artists focus on their expertise and return to specializing and mastering their medium of choice (Davidson, 2008). This means that the choice of media is not by content of the story but more by the expertise. Although the term transmedia emerged in the 21st century, the characteristics of transmedia can be identified in the wayang tradition. Mrà ¡zek stated that the media or the arts are more like artistic techniques than materials, or more like musical instruments than sound waves. He stated that the media in wayang narration, dialogue, puppets and puppet movement and their particular ways of working and functioning are creations of an artistic tradition, rather than universal, pre-existing categories (Mrà ¡zek, 2005). Puppet movement and puppet compositions, narration, dialogue, and music are combined and used to build the whole of the performance. Narration and dialogue appear to be in a class apart because they both use verbal language; but the case is not as simple. During both of them, the puppets are on the screen, and both the narration and the dialogue closely interact with the images. In the case of the dialogue, this is immediately obvious: it is the characters, acted by pu ppets on the screen that are represented speaking; the voice and the words are fused with them. In the case of narration, the interaction with the visual image is also close; the narration describes the scene and the characters and their actions, and is always closely juxtaposed to the visual images. Dialogue and narration are never quite purely verbal media they are connected to the visual images and constantly interact with them. However, if we want to see the separation between the media more clearly, we can look at the structuring of the performance in time. There is a very clear separation into three kinds of moments that what could be called: Narration moments Dialogue moments Puppet-movement moments During the puppet-movement moment the opening of the audience is represented in the medium of puppet movement, and there is no dialogue and no narration; then the dalang or the puppeteer narrates (the puppets are immobile, arranged into pictorial composition), and then comes the dialogue, during which the dalang only moves the hands of the puppets. The moments are represented by periods of music. In each of the moments, one medium comes to the fore, even though it is not necessarily in any pure form, that is, the other media may play a minor function. The media themselves are rarely clearly separate, but the different moments (in each one medium predominates) are (Mrà ¡zek, 2005). In this study, the web is used as a medium to revive traditional storytelling with puppets. Virtual worlds cannot substitute the rich experience of performing with real puppets and a face-to-face audience. But instead this study wants to ponder the potentials of the web and its design for this field. This study is also inspired from statements from Brenda Laurel. The performative nature of the web, one type of hypertext and hypermedia on computers, has led Brenda Laurel to look at computers as theater. For Laurel, computers have the capacity to represent action in which humans could participate (Laurel, 1993, p. 1). The readers are performers within the hypertextual narrative, shaping the actions and outcomes by the choice they make. A part of this study also focuses on the structure and process of narrative in hypermedia, in particular the web, and explores the potential application to support telling stories. Hypermedia refers to dynamic multimedia objects that have hypertextual aspects. As Landow and Delany stated, hypermedia is a multimedia extension of hypertext that is more complex and interactive, integrating visual and auditory experiences as well as text and links to give more contextual synthesis of the information explored (Delany Landow, 1994). For example, a web page with java scripting and interactive graphics, videos and sounds is a hypermedia object (Davidson, 2008). A characteristic of hypermedia is non-linearity structure, which allows us to navigate through an information space using associative linking. This leads to idea of intertextuality as we describe in the next section. Intertextuality Intertextuality refers to the numerous implicit references in each text to other texts. No text is written completely isolated from other texts and can stand entirely by itself. Hyperlinks in hypertexts and hypermedia documents emphasize such intertextuality in a way that is impossible in printed texts: they can lead directly from the hyperlinked terms, phrases or images to other contexts in which the same terms, phrases or images are meaningful, whether inside or outside the given hypermedia work itself (Delany Landow, 1994). Intertextuality can also be understood as the process of drawing on ones experience with multiple texts and making connections between these various texts and the present text being experienced (Davidson, 2008). Long and Strine illustrated how the process of experiencing a text necessitates that the audience brings an intertextuality to bear in order to understand the text being experienced (Long Strine, 1989). When we read a book, we bring our intertextual experiences of all the other books we have read to play with the current text itself, and from this playfulness, we assemble a deeper meaning of the text(s) involved. The appreciation of traditional textual objects, such as novels and films, is dependent to a certain measure on the decoding of intertextual references to other media in these texts. Thus, the pleasure of consuming these texts can be seen to be contingent to a certain extent on the users ability to identify and decode these allusions. This intertextual element also exists in new media, especially since media content is increasingly brought to the consumer through different channels simultaneously. Intertextuality can be found in wayang tradition also. For example, a character is used not only in one story; he or she can appear in different stories with different meanings and actions. A story is a part of another story or a story is a biography of an actor from another story. For this study, we want to use this characteristic in the system to provide a suggestion to children when they want to combine or connect stories. A theme of a story or actors in a story will be proceeded to bring out suggestions. With this kind of suggestion, the process of story-building is expected becomes simplified. Structure of a story Stories impose a structure on the events that we narrate so that listeners (including the storyteller) can understand them, and thereby gain some particular perspective on the events (Polanyi, 1989). A schema of narrative composed of four characteristics: setting, character, theme and plot (Davidson, 2008). Event schemas or scripts are knowledge structures which even very young children use to organize their general knowledge about events. Scripts also guide childrens comprehension and their recalling of stories about familiar events (Hudson, 1988). A storys structure as a topic of education fosters the ability to detect a meaning by reading. Models for developing good stories have been proposed for thousands of years. Around 2300 years ago Aristotle wrote his treatise called Poetics, in which he focused on tragedies, or serious drama. Many aspects of poetics are useful for authoring multimedia stories as well; the most important being the plot. According to Butcher, Aristotle said that [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] for by plot I here mean the arrangement of the incidents [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] But most important of all is the structure of the incidents [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] so the plot, being an imitation of an action, must imitate one action and that a whole, the structural union of the parts being such that, if any one of them is displaced or removed, the whole will be disjointed and disturbed.; and every story must have a beginning, middle and end (Aristotle, 2008; Lee, 2001). In the next section, a structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film, focusing on Gustav Freytags analysis of ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama is discussed. The discussion continues by analyzing the geometric structure variations of stories. Freytags Pyramid Freytags Pyramid (see Figure 3.1) is a way to analyze a plot that consists of five elements in an ascending and descending manner, introduction (exposition, inciting moment) rising action climax falling action denouement (catastrophe, resolution) (Freytag, 1900). In the introduction, the plot, characters, and complications are introduced. This leads to the rising action, or the events that lead to the climax of the plot. At the point of highest dramatic tension, or at a major turning point in the plot, the audience finds the climax. This decisive moment in the narrative is when the rising action is reversed to falling action. The falling action, then, is made up of the events that follow the climax and lead to the denouement. The final outcome, result, or unraveling of the main dramatic complication is called the denouement. The denouement may involve a reversal in the protagonists fortunes, usually as the result of a discovery (recognition of something of great importance previo usly unknown) by the protagonist. Figure 3.1. Frytags dramatic pyramid Frytags dramatic pyramid can be used to analyze the dramatic structure of wayang performance. Wayang performance in general has three acts: Pathet Nem, Pathet Sanga, and Pathet Manyura. The performance usually starts at 9.00 pm and will be end at 4.00 am. The following part describes the structure of a wayang performance in detail: Act One (Pathet Nem) Pathet nem is symbolizing childhood, performed from 9 pm until midnight, and consists of 6 scenes: Jejeran Raja: symbolizes that the baby begins to be accepted and nurtured by his mother. Paseban Jawi: symbolizes a child who is already getting to know the real world. Jaranan: symbolize the immature nature of children. Perang Ampyak: symbolizes a child who has begun to mature. Sabrangan: symbolizes a child who has grown but his character is still dominated by emotions. Perang Gagal: symbolizes a person who does not yet have a definite purpose in life. Act Two (Pathet Sanga) Pathet sanga is symbolizing adulthood, performed at midnight until 2.00 am, and consists of 3 scenes. In this act, the hero is thinking about problems, and subversive clown figures enter and dispense wisdom and ribald humor. Bambangan: symbolizes a person who has begun to obtain knowledge. Perang Kembang: symbolizes a growing adult. Jejer Sintren: symbolizes a person who has set a goal in his life. Act Three (Pathet Manyura) Pathet manyura is symbolizing seniority, performed from 2.00 am until 4.00 am, and consists of 3 scenes. This act contains resolution of conflict/problem with many battles. Jejer Manyura: symbolizes a person who already knows the purpose of his life and is close to achieving his dreams. Perang Brubuh: symbolizes a person who has reached his life goal. Tancep Kayon: symbolizes a person who has died. In this study, it is of interest to look at the process of performance of the wayang story rather than at the dramatic structure of wayang stories. The story of wayang is performed in a linear process, always starts from act one, continues with act two and ends with act three. But there is still a possibility to change the storys sequence for some stories. In wayang there are four types of play or Lakon: Standard play (Lakon Pakem) is played strictly following rules from the book. Improvisation play (Carangan) is played following the rules with improvisation. Contemporary play (Sempalan) is played completely out-of-the-book. Biography play (Lakon Banjaran) is played covering a biography of a certain figure. Wayang stories besides having the linear structure also have a non-linear structure, e.g., a contemporary play. This situation gives us an opportunity to perform wayang stories in a medium that supports non-linear structures, e.g., the web. Before the exploration of story structures which are appropriate with the authoring tool is proceeded, the variation of story structures will be discussed in the next section. Geometric design structures of stories Every story has a structure that can be visualized as a process. Linear stories have linear processes; non-linear stories have non-linear processes. Ten geometric structure variations from Samsel and Wimberly is explored in this section: sequential, branching, conditional branching (branching with barriers, branching with forced paths, bottlenecking, branching with optional scenes), exploratorium, parallel streaming, worlds, and multilinear (Samsel Wimberly, 1998). Sequential (Linear) Sequential structure is the basic building block of both interactive and linear media projects as shown Figure 3.2. User navigation follows a strictly defined procedural path one after another. The user cannot jump from node A to node C, for example, without having first traveled across node B. Figure 3.2. Sequential structure Sequential with Cul-de-Sacs Sometimes a linear sequence of nodes can diverge into isolated nonlinear deviations offer the user the choice to step off the procedural path into areas that in no way fulfill the critical objective of the piece. Such digressions are called cul-de-sacs usually puzzles, games, or sidebars that explore the themes of the work, but in no way affect the outcome of the story or objective of the work. The interesting thing about a cul-de-sac is that its entrance is also its exit, as shown in Figure 3.3. This applies to interactive cul-de-sacs as well and is especially important for the software designer who is trying to help us tell an interactive narrative. An interactive corporate training title, for example, might have a node that demonstrates a crucial concept. Several key words or phrases within that node may be hot. Clicking on one of the words might send the user to another node that shows that word, along with its definition. This sidebar or footnote has no impact on the training lesson itself. It is only there to enhance the users understanding of the key words and phrases contained in the material. Once the user has finished reading the definition, he or she has only one option to return to the lesson. Figure 3.3. Sequential structure with cul-de-sac (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.25) Many childrens edutainment CD-ROMs, such as Mindscapes The Animals! use sequential storytelling techniques e.g., a trip to the zoo and link them to archived data (Samsel Wimberly, 1998). A child can travel through the story and click on an object within a scene. This action will transport the child to a cul-de-sac a self-contained node of information such as a video clip of a lion, a photograph of a pelican, an audio clip of a monkey, or a text description of a polar bear. Once the information has been delivered and digested by the child, it can either replay the information or return to the main body of the zoo story. The cul-de-sac simply enhances the user experience. Branching In an interactive program, branching offers the most rudimentary course of extending how users navigate throughout the program. In a typical branching structure, the user is presented with several choices or options upon arriving at certain predesignated Forks in the road. Based on which path the user chooses, the program follows a new node of content. Figure 3.4. Traditional branching structure Branching structures are popular because they easily demonstrate the fundamental concept of interactive theory user choice. Namely, when confronted with a path decision, the user must choose one from several options A, B, or C in order to proceed to the corresponding node, as shown in Figure 3.4. The danger of branching structures is that they can spiral out of control very quickly. Author Neal Stephenson refers to this type of structure as the tree of death, where the story line keeps forking until there ends up being an unmanageable number of outcomes (see Figure 3.5). Figure 3.5. Extended branching structure (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.26) Conditional Branching: Branching with Barriers A subset of branching is conditional branching, which requires the user to abide by the rules of a predetermined condition along the branch in order to proceed through the program. Often, these conditions are puzzles or other obstacles that are slapped down in the middle of the application. The user is forced to solve the puzzle before he or she can continue (see Figure 3.6). Figure 3.6. Branching with barriers structure (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.27) Conditional Branching: Branching with Forced Paths Conditional branching often limits user choice in other ways. While appearing on the surface to offer many choices and options, the program will often continue regardless of the users actual choice. In essence, the program offers the illusion of choice without actually allowing the user to alter the program in any way. The validity of interactivity is strictly limited by the choices offered by the writer. Figure 3.7. Branching with forced path structure (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.28) A branching structure as seen in Figure 3.7 using forced paths or critical paths offers the end-user more options and/or more paths to choose from, but only one solution advances the story. Conditional Branching: Bottlenecking Another type of condition placed on branching structures (especially when the structure is used in an interactive narrative) manifests itself as bottlenecking. Bottlenecking is when various branching nodes are brought back into the spine of the story in order to rein everything in. This is a crucial structural procedure when you consider the exponential possibilities created by traditional branching structure (see Figure 3.8). Figure 3.8. Branching with bottlenecking structure (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.29) When the various story nodes are folded back so that they converge into a single story spine, the interactive narrative becomes more manageable. This type of design structure has been implemented in a number of popular media games and interactive movies over the past several years, including Origins popular Wing Commander series (Samsel Wimberly, 1998). Conditional Branching: Branching with Optional Scenes Sometimes the user gets to choose between alternative scenes that spin out from and return to the primary spine of the application whether that spine is a story (as in an interactive narrative) or an objective (as in an informational multimedia application such as a training title). Alternative scenes are commonly found in education and training programs, where it is necessary to demonstrate numerous concepts (see Figure 3.9). Figure 3.9. Branching with optional scenes structure (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.29) Exploratorium Exploratorium is empowering structures that allow the user to pause during the program to explore a world within a world. Many interactive storybook titles utilize exploratoriums from the humorous Living Books titles, Arthurs Birthday and Just Grandma and Me to Disneys Pocahontas Animated Storybook to simulated environments such as Imergy/Simon and Schusters Star Trek Captains Chair (Samsel Wimberly, 1998). The exploratorium structure can be seen in Figure 3.10. Figure 3.10. Exploratorium structure. Letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H are hot spots or entertainment click-ons imbedded into program (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.32). Parallel Streaming Parallel streaming describes many states or paths that exist simultaneously at various levels within the same application. In an interactive narrative, this type of structure allows the writer to create a single linear story, while allowing the user to switch between perspectives, paths, or states. The user can then experience the same series of events from multiple points of view (see Figure 3.11). Figure 3.11. Parallel streaming structure (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.33) Worlds When two or more environments are interconnected by a common thread be it a theme, goal, mission, or story we have the basis for a world structure. Add to that world series of predefined events or tasks that the user trigger/accomplish in order to move the story or mission forward and you have a design structure that works very well with interactive media programs (Samsel Wimberly, 1998). In a world experience, exploring the surrounding is just as important (and fun) as completing the story or achieving an objective. This poses a unique set of problems for the writer. Figure 3.12. World structure. Notice that the world is in the shape of funnel (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.36) The player is free to roam through an enchanting environment in search of clues to the story. The act of exploration is just as important as the act of discovering the narrative. Each activity has equal merit. The player advances the story by triggering certain author-defined events. Exploring all the worlds, uncovering all the clues, and interacting with all the triggers leads the player to the end of the game (see Figure 3.12). Another way to look at a world structure would be an overhead view, as if looking down into the center of a funnel or cone. The plot points or tasks that user must accomplish are represented by the eight outer nodes. The eight inner nodes in the carousel represent the next set of tasks (see Figure 3.13). Figure 3.13. Carousel entry into a world structure (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.37) Multilinear or Hypermedia Another type of design structure, known as multilinear (see Figure 3.14), either encompasses every type of user path imaginable or no path at all. The World Wide Web, hypertext fiction, MUDs (multi-user domains), MOOs (Multi-user object-oriented environments), and many simulations are good examples. Multilinear structure demands a different kind of involvement from its user than do puzzles, branching games, or linear narratives. That is because it is the users themselves who must traverse their own unique paths through an environment. The writer sets the boundaries and rules of interactivity, but the users must chart their own course through the material. Hypermedia structures, in much the same way as the World Wide Web or a hypertext fiction title, allow the user to become an interactor a facilitator of the story. While surfing the web, the user decides which homepage to start from and selects which links to follow through the electronic universe. User action determines a pathway through the material. Similarly, hypertext fictions are about the journey as much as they are about the narrative that waits to be pieced together. Figure 3.14. Multilinear and hypermedia structure (Samsel Wimberly, 1998, p.39) Relevance to the research One of the lessons that has been learned from this section is that the sequence of events and actions is important in a story. This sequence leads the reader to follow a dramatic flow of the story. There are causal connections between the events or ideas in the story and these connections tend to be related to the main elements of the story. Through these comprehension processes, readers develop an understanding that extends beyond words and sentences, to reach comprehension of paragraphs and extended text. This knowledge forced the researcher to design a space for children to learn and to practice in building a storys sequence in order to support them their narrative development. A good plot and dramatic story structure of a story will keep the readers curiosity and their emotional engagement. When a user accomplished a task by using a computer, she/he followed a certain sequence process which is offered by the system. The actions and events of the system and user build a kind of story. It is needed to keep the user attention and their engagement with the system in order to reach their goals. Therefore, the researcher found that the knowledge of the storys structure and the dramatic flow can be used to design interaction between user and system. Summary This chapter introduced a conceptual thinking of transmedia storytelling from Jenkins which described how stories can be told across media in such a way so as to take advantage of what each medium does best. The stories we have heard, seen and read in a single medium have not lacked impact, but incorporating several media offers a whole new experience. A schema of narrative composed of four characteristic: setting, character, theme and plot. The four characteristics are the building blocks of narrative. Event schemas or scripts are knowledge structures which even very young children use to organize their general knowledge about events. This chapter has explained the dramatic structure from Freytag and explored ten geometric-structured variations of stories from Samsel and Wimberly: sequential, branching, conditional branching (branching with barriers, branching with forced paths, bottlenecking, branching with optional scenes), exploratorium, parallel streaming, worlds, and multilinear. In wayang tradition, multiple non-linear structures can be found within wayang stories. The audience can follow its own combinations of presented and remembered additional stories according to their own experiences and knowledge. This study focuses on analyzing whether the same character in different stories can enable a similar multiple storylines as well. The concept of intertextuality in this context will be used to provide suggestions for children to help them to build multiple storylines by character.