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.