The Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards that a person can receive. The history of the Nobel Prize dates back to the 1901. Nobel, Alfred Bernhard is the founder of the Nobel Prize. Nobel, Alfred Bernhard was an inventor, chemist, engineer, writer, and a businessman. He had no children or wife to will his fortune, so he decides to establish an award to honor people for their achievements in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine, Literature and Peace. Later in 1969 the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences will be added. This paper will discuss the process in choosing a winner. I will also discuss about some of the recipients of the Noble prizes and where they receive them. I will also discuss some of the controversial persons as well. The Nobel Prize is a very prestigious award full of history, made to honor men and women for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. Nobel, Alfred Bernhard is the founder of the Noble Prize. He was born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden. At the age of 4 his parents move to Russia and sent him to private tutors were he quickly master chemistry and became fluent in English, French, German, and Russian, and Swedish. At the age of 18, he spent a year in Paris studying chemistry. Then he moved back to Russia to work at his father's factory making military equipment for the Crimean War. After the war his father’s factory became bankrupt, this misfortune lead the family to move back to their home in Sweden. There Alfred soon began experimenting with explosives. In 1864, when Alfred was 29, his younger brother Emil and four others were killed in a large explosion in the family's Swedish factory. Intensely distressed by the incident, Nobel set out to improve a safer explosive. In 1867, he patented a mixture of nitroglycerin, what he named â€Å"Dynamite. † In 1888, Alfred's brother Ludvig died while in France. A French newspaper mistakenly published Alfred's obituary instead of Ludvig. The paper condemned Alfred for his invention of dynamite. Provoked by the event and disappointed with how he felt he might be remembered, Nobel set aside a bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes to honor men and women for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and for their work in peace. On December 10, 1896, in Sanremo, Italy Nobel passes away at age 63. After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel gave 31,225,000 Swedish kronor (equivalent to 250 million US dollars in 2008) to fund the prizes. On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will in Paris. When it was opened and read after his death, the will caused a lot of controversy both in Sweden and internationally, as Nobel had left much of his wealth for the establishment of a prize. His family opposed the establishment of the Nobel Prize, and the prize awarders he named refused to do what he had requested in his will. There was much debate about the legality of Nobel’s will since it wasn’t written by an attorney, he made it himself and had four witnesses sign. The awarders waited till they knew the outcome of the legitimacy of his Will. It took five years before the first Nobel Prize could be awarded in 1901. In this will Nobel’s assign four different awarders institutes or Academy to choose qualified persons. The first was the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for Physics and Chemistry. The second is the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute for Physiology or Medicine. The third is the Swedish Academy for Literature. The last was a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Parliament for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel’s biggest request for this award is that best candidates wins regardless of their race. It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be a Scandinavian or not. † (Alfred Bernhard Nobel) This was very important to Nobel that the prize is awarded to the person or persons that has help improved mankind. The Nobel Organizational S tructure is comprised of several organization and institutions, with their own tasks and purposes. The following organizations work together to carry out the process of financing to informing the public. The following organizations are the Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize awarding institutions, Nobel Foundation Rights Association, Nobel Media, Nobel Museum, and the Nobel Peace Center Foundation. The Nobel Foundation is in charge of financing the Nobel Prize, in accordance with the will of Alfred Nobel. The Nobel Prize Awarding Institutions has the task of selecting the Nobel Laureates (someone who has won a prize for their achievements), is entirely controlled by the Nobel Prize awarding institutions. These Nobel Prize awarding institutions are mention earlier in this essay. The Nobel Foundation Rights Association is in charge of informing the public regarding the Nobel Laureates and their achievements. The Nobel Foundation Rights Association was established in 1999. This non-profit association has an overall function as the overseer for the following units: Nobel Media manages and develops media rights connected with the Nobel Prize, in the areas of TV and web production, distribution, publishing and events to reach a global audience. Nobel Museum displays a century of creativity through the Nobel Prize and the achievements of the Nobel Laureates. The Nobel Museum is located in the Old Town in Stockholm, Sweden. Finally the Nobel Peace Center Foundation is an institution aimed at presenting the Nobel Peace Prize and the work of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates. It is comprised of five persons elected by the Norwegian Parliament. The Nobel Peace Center is located in Oslo, Norway. Each year at the beginning of October the Nobel Laureates are announce. Then on 10 December which is the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, they receive their prizes from the Swedish King. They receive a Nobel diploma, a medal, and 10 million Swedish crowns (US $1. 6 million) per prize. All Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, except for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. So how does one a person get nominated, in order for a person to become a nominee they must be chosen by one of the awarding institutions or be nominated by a Nobel Laureates. The process for the nominee is very long. First they must receive a l etter from the awarding institutions, they usage send out about three thousand letters to candidates in Sept. Then the candidate must respond back by February, the following year. Then the awarding institution screens the candidates, and by the beginning of October the Nobel Prize Laureates are announce. And on December 10th of that year they receive their Nobel Prize of their field. In 1901, the first person to receive the Nobel Prize was Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen for the discovery of the X-ray. He was a â€Å"German physicist, who, on 8 November 1895, produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range today known as X-rays or Rontgen rays, an achievement that earned him the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. Squire's Fundamentals of Radiology) Along with Wilhelm Conrad there are many other great people that have received the Nobel Prize like Albert Einstein, for his many contributions to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect (lights are particle form and not a wave). Then there is President Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905, for his efforts in mediating the Russian-Japanese dispute. In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting world peace and helping the needed. Mother Teresa deserves Nobel's Peace Prize because she promotes peace in the most fundamental manner, by her confirmation of the inviolability of human dignity†. (President of the World Bank, Robert MacNamara) Mother Teresa really brings goodness in people. There have been controversial Nobel Peace Prize awarded to people in the past for example in 2009, President Barack Obama, â€Å"for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples†(The Nobel Peace Prize 2009). The Past Peace Prize laureates were divided, some saying that President Obama deserved the award, and others saying he had not yet earned it. Due to the fact that he was nominated only 11 days after he became president. Another controversial person who is currently a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize is Bradley Manning, the U. S. Army private charged with the biggest leak of classified information in U. S. history. According to news sources PVT Manning reason for leaking the classified information was to expose the wrongs he seen in documents and videos done by the Army in the Iraq war. He is currently in a military prison awaiting trial. The Nobel Prize is full of history of great men and women that have contributed to help mankind in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine, Literature, and Peace. I believe that Alfred Nobel would be proud of the good that has come out of the recognition of the Nobel Prize. To promote peace and well fair to mankind. To recognize man and women for their outstanding achievements to help mankind. Before this research paper I thought there was only a Nobel Prize for peace only, but now I am more informed about the whole process and history. Works Cited Novelline, Robert. Squire's Fundamentals of Radiology. Harvard University Press. 5th edition. 1997. Schà ¼ck, H. et al. Nobel. The Man and His Prizes Edited by the Nobel Foundation â€Å"The Nobel Peace Prize 2009†. Nobelprize.org. 7 Mar 2012 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes

Graphic Novel Deconstruction Essay

This essay will deconstruct Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel The Sandman Volume#1 Preludes and Nocturnes (1991), in order to gain an understanding of narrative is presented through the use of image. It will also comment on the codes and conventions within the chosen text. Preludes and Nocturnes is the collection of eight comics in the Sandman series, with Neil Gaiman writing for a regular series for the first time. As such Preludes and Nocturnes is somewhat a work in progress, as the creative team honed their work. If read from cover to cover you will see a marked improvement in the writing over the course of the volume culminating in a much more tightly wound climax than at the beginning. The first chapter Sleep of the Just is a good place to start looking at the panel construction of the narrative. On the page (Tab. 1) we see the first three panels over-laying the fourth panel. The first two panels are narrow and rectangular and the third is square. The gutters are very narrow and not a lot is happening in the panels. This indicates that panel-to-panel, not a lot of time has passed between transitions. However rather than use moment-to-moment transition the creators have used subject-to-subject as a method of keeping a moderate pace for the reader to become interested in what they are seeing on the page. This is continued throughout the eight panel page. Alternatively, the creators could have shown the first two panels as one, allowing the dialogue to take place straight away as the car pulls up to the mansion. The panel could then be expanded showing the mansion in more detail and allowing for the removal of panel three completely. We already know the man is here for a reason, therefore we make an assumption he will leave the car and knock on the door. ) This would potentially allow for the removal of Panel Four, going straight to the man knocking on the door and the door being answered. This would then clear up what is a relatively cluttered page and make the narrative much more direct. Dialogue and pacing are used to high degree throughout this chapter sometimes appearing cluttered and confused, and sometimes this is compound by the unusual panel shapes employed. However this has been used to great effect (Tab. 2) The thin oddly constructed/shaped panel’s one and two, are almost seen as though they are slices of Burgess’s insanity and obsession. Subject-to-Subject transitions are used to aid pacing in what otherwise would be a lengthy a page due to the amount of dialogue. Although the majority of the spoken word is short, there is a lot of it to read. A six panel page is probably right for this instance however more conventional panel shapes would probably aid the reader more. The caption box in the first panel is used in parallel to what is in the picture; the reader doesn’t actually see the words of the spell tolling in his head, but they are given a sense of the psychological effect it takes on Burgess. On the very next page closure is used perfectly. Burgess demands for the being to come forward and with each chant, that being becomes more corporeal with the end result, the creature arriving in the room. The dialogue used is interdependent to the imagery. Without one or the other the reader wouldn’t be able to pick up the full picture of what is happening. To speed this page up you could probably remove the panels with Burgess and just have the three panels of the creature appearing with the dialogue situated around him, as if surrounded by people. In (Tab. 3) we can see a classic example of moment-to-moment transitions, twelve panels depicting and old man dreaming of becoming young again as he walks along a dark corridor before realising he is in a nightmare of his own making. Twelve panels on a fifteen panel page seems like a lot, however it serves to really ramp up the tension in the terms of the narrative as this is a turning point for the whole story. Interestingly the transitions used serve as the opposite to what is actually happening; the de-aging process of decades in just a few seconds or minutes intensifies the dream/nightmare feel. For the sake of quicker pacing you could perhaps take a few panels out here and there, showing a larger passage of time between the transitions and the de-aging process, however you would then run the risk of losing the tension build up. An interesting point to note is the dialogue for Morpheus, his speech bubbles are jagged black items with white text, that serve the purpose of defining his character as not of this earth and more important than any other speaker. (Tab. 4) poses some interesting issues. Panel 1 bleeds in from the top of the page to the half-way point with the next two panels over laid. However here is where it can get confusing for a reader who reads from left to right on a single page. Panels 4-6 do not follow the traditional design of a comic book. Rather than continuing the dialogue under panels 1-3 they extend onto the next page and initially this is confusing as the readers first thought is to go down the page. It is almost as if the writer wants you to stop and think for a moment. This layout is continued through panels 7-13 and in panels 10-12 the structure becomes jagged indicating Cain’s fractured mind finally snapping and lashing out at his brother Abel, the word â€Å"IRVING † capitalised and coloured in red accents this. This section uses several different types of panelling ranging from aspect-to-aspect (panels 1-4 7-8) subject-to-subject (5-6 9-13. ) This unusual layout has been created because of the opening dialogue, Lucien the Librarian stating that â€Å"It has been a strange century. † The creators probably felt that they could accentuate this by creating this page layout. It would have worked much better if it had been done over a single A2 sheet but restrictions prevent this so readers would have to be careful to make sure they read the page right. It would flow better if the panels with Cain and Abel had been left out entirely or at least placed on a separate sheet. Again closure is shown on the final panel with blood spatter getting that message across loud and clear. (Tab. 5) brings good examples of word specific text in subject-to-subject panels, also note the colour change to black and white, given in context with each panel it conveys the message that all is well and the world is resting. The use of Morpheus’s coat as a panel enveloping Arkham Asylum is used to indicate that he is back in control of the dream realm and is repairing the damage done by his captivity. Throughout the Preludes and Nocturnes there has been a constant improvement in the way it is presented and written. In particular as the narrative continues, there are subtle changes in colours, from really quite dark to eventually ending up with a white background as Morpheus goes about his quest to right the wrongs done to him. The writers also moved to more traditional conventions of comic books in respect to panelling moving away from the sometimes claustrophobic and cluttered panels in the early chapters to the more familiar boxy panels that most sequential art uses, however that is not to say the gothic inspired artwork doesn’t have its place, in the early stages of the story, entrapment and imprisonment were key themes. As the creative team honed their skills the works became more coherent and easier to understand. It is easy to see why this series is so popular.

Discuss the importance of the Sahara and the Indian Ocean in ancient Essay - 3

Discuss the importance of the Sahara and the Indian Ocean in ancient African history - Essay Example The Saharan region, especially Egypt, has provided historical information necessary for enhancing studies involving progressive and evolvement in traditional African societies. Most archaeological activities are concentrated in this region because the evidence has not suffered significant distortion from human activities. Most archaeological studies have concentrated on the Sahara and Indian Ocean. Studies on Saharan traditional communities have focused on urbanization, stateless societies and trade activities (Wendorf 3). These studies provide vital information required for understanding the historical background of Africa. The notion of an African continent being divided by the Sahara desert is not a priority of the past historical studies. Most historians viewed the region as an intermediate area beyond which lay the land for Africans. Europeans described Sahara as an impenetrable land inhabited by the indomitable and hostile Tuareg. Sahara was the last region to be mapped during the European conquest, with most of the regions being less affected by colonization. Studies focusing on the historical aspect of communities inhabiting the Saharan region have emphasized on the various ways in which diseases, technology and foodstuffs have affected the evolvement of the modern communities. Traditional studies link the presence of camels and Islam religion as indication of African connection to global community through trade. Use of camels and spread of the Islam religion were normally concentrated in the Saharan region with the Indian Ocean acting as the connecting channel. Enhancement of trade, introduced in the Saharan region led to the association of other African communities forming a, â€Å"formal, intra-regional economic network† (Wendorf 3). This led to the establishment of traditional trade centers in various regions that coordinated all the trade activities, especially in Egypt where

Evaluate the differences in social relationships on the Internet and Essay

Evaluate the differences in social relationships on the Internet and conventional, face to face relationships - Essay Example ome of interested observers on the same influential nature of internet on the social life of the society have noted that the influential, and the heavy use of the internet may be alienated from the usual social contact. Additionally, they claimed that the internet use may as well predominant the society’s social lives. Although there are numerous, yet partially unknown, negative effects of the internet relationships, there are two main factors for consideration. Considerably, the internet relationship has adversely displaced some of the vital social activities, especially among the communities and individuals who have intensively indulged into the internet as their sure means of communication. In most cases, persons spend a lot of time online interacting that incapacitates them from face to face interaction or activities. Moreover, the internet is an effective venture of displacing the ever known strong ties that had ever been built by face-to-face interactions. It worth notin g that the relationship that has been built out of the internet interactions are of low quality compared to the quality of face to face relationships. Therefore, intensively concentration on the online or the internet relationships weakens or replaces the strength of the face-to-face relationship. Some scholars have proposed that proper use of the internet is actually associated with deterioration of an individual. The use of the internet is blamed of diminishing of an individuals’ social circle; thus, leading to such individuals to depression and high rate of loneliness (Gross et al 75). In the case, of one on one or face to face relationship, an individual may as well get engaged by the other party present in his or her life; thus, breaking any kind of loneliness in either poor or acceptable ways. However, the internet relationship or interactions may be as well beneficial and productive only if such interactions and relationships are kept at their normal navels. Nonetheless, the

How lawyers reason, within field of litigation and how lawyers form Essay

How lawyers reason, within field of litigation and how lawyers form legal argument within field of litigation - Essay Example These supporting tools are of great help in terms of their importance in making the minds of judiciary to decide. II. How lawyers reason, within field of litigation   A. Litigation   The legal professions in England and Wales are divided into two segments a) Barrister and b) Solicitor. Bar Standards Board is the regulatory authority of Barrister. A Barrister must be a member of one of the Inns of Court. These are a) The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn b) The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn c) The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple and d) The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Mentioned courts are located in Central London, which is very near to the Royal Courts of Justice1. In England, public representatives may have the services of a barrister directly. They are there to provide legal advice and assistance in almost all spheres of laws. Barristers are entitled to represent on behalf of their clients in any court of law in England and Wales provided he or she recei ved instructions from his client to plead the case. Before taking up the case of any client, Barrister has to complete a course, which is known as special course2. The Public Access Scheme was introduced in the United Kingdom to liberalize it for public and at a cheaper fee. It further bridges the gap between solicitors and barristers. The role of Barrister and Solicitor is clearly defined in rules of business for the ease of public.    B. Precedent   Legal rulings are known as legal precedents, come from the cases of law. Rulings of the competent court of law are binding until and unless void by the superior courts. We may categorise the precedents into three categorise a) Original b) Binding and c) Persuasive. It can be used in place of statutory law in civil cases, which is familiar as common law. Judges pursue the know principles of superior courts3. Original Precedent Original Precedents are those which have never gone through the legal process ever before. Take the example of London bombing case, which was never heard by the UK Judge as this sort of incident has not been witnessed earlier. Hence, ruling in the mentioned case, is considered as Original Precedent4.    Binding Precedent If a ruling of a competent jurisdiction is the same as it was held in some similar case, this can be treated as binding precedent. For example if a person commits murder and the judge keeping in mind the circumstances, not finds the accused guilty and orders to release innocent person, therefore a case of equal standing can have the same ruling. Judges always try the cases on merits of the case5. Persuasive Precedent Persuasive precedents in fact are the decisions of subordinate courts. The decision has the legal validity provided higher court deems it fit and appropriate. There are circumstances where lower courts take the decision and the higher court did not endorse it taking into account the merits of the case6.    Precedents as Common Law Now, the courts of Engl and and Wales use precedents as Common Law. The extraordinary cases usually try in the competent court of law and their decision is binding. Precedent may be used in a similar case being heard. The rulings of circuit court or the high court are binding. However, rulings of the subordinate courts are not binding since they are challengeable in mentioned superior courts7.   Ã‚   It would not be out of place to mention that number of post 9/11and 7/7 Cases heard in UK courts were â€Å"

International HRM Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International HRM - Term Paper Example Consequently, it also enhanced its sustainability and competitive advantages among other apparent competitors in the market substantially assisting the organization to retain its market share and brand fidelity. Under the leadership and control of Adelia Adolfo, the productivity and profitability level in Calidad was enhanced to a significant extent, making headlines in a leading tourism industry publication of Yucatan's in the year 2010. Calidad became successful in the attainment of 14 new car-rental sites, which facilitated the enlargement of its brand image and its uniqueness in the market among other competing firms. In addition, acquisition of new rental sites also enhanced the efficiency and profit margin of Calidad, thereby amplifying its sustainability in the long run. Moreover, the management also decided to operate internationally, by purchasing the Belizean Auto Rentals (BAR), situated in the neighboring country of Belize. Therefore, to maintain the varied sites of BAR in an efficient and effective way, employing numerous skilled site-managers has become quite essential for Calidad. By employing skilled site-managers, the company intends to facilitate Calidad in broadening its market value and supremacy among other organizational players of the specific region. Due to this fact, the management of Calidad has made an attempt to recruit 10 site-managers, who will be responsible for supplementing the site operations, leading towards the improvement of its corporate image and revenue as it is extremely essential for Calidad to execute its operations in an effective way. The job responsibilities offered for the position of a site-manager will encompass the decision-making as well as strategic designing aimed at facilitating the company’s expansion and thereby will require highly skilled and experienced professionals. It will be a permanent job with 10 vacancies, comprising the liability of handling diverse types of site-related issues and client l iaisons. It is an urgent vacancy and the interested candidates should possess the below mentioned Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs) along with other personal and desired abilities to fulfill the assigned Tasks, Duties and Responsibilities (TDRs). Tasks, Duties and Responsibilities (TDRs) Management and supervision of the day to day actions of a particular site Controlling labor related issues in that particular site Maintaining vigilance over the number of cars, hired by the tourists Maintaining a record of all the tourists, hiring vehicles from the site of Belizean Auto Rentals (BAR) Providing the customer with every piece of requisite information as per their desires and requirements Maintaining both hard and soft copy of the charges of all cars, hired by tourists Preparation of balance sheets and profit and loss statements at the end of each month Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs) Must possess excellent communication skills in English and Spanish An engineering degree in any discipline is mandatory Additional degree such as MBA or any other professional course will be preferred The candidate must have a minimum of 5-10 years experience in a similar field The candidate must have adequate local knowledge regarding the hiring rates of the rented vehicles Desirable Skills Excellent mastery of Microsoft Word and Excel along with other

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 105

Summary - Essay Example as an agent of black culture was unquestioned, being rejected by the people he represented, at time when they were required to be struggling for each other, was a rejection while being in the minority (Adelt, 2010, 13). Remarkably, this is what brought his feelings of being black twice. This photograph is one of a black man in a sea of white rock and roll fans. Although this combination of audience was one B. B. King was not accustomed to and one that he was not comfortable with, the photograph shows him greeting the fans showing that he was appreciative of the opportunities that presented themselves. The photograph on page 25 is the B. B. King’s â€Å"Indianola Mississippi Seeds† album cover. The cover photograph was of a watermelon curved out in the shape of a guitar placed in from of an old amplifier. At a time where there were still purist in the music industry, the photograph expressed the need to remain true and the guitar gave a clear rock reference. This image is not fixed to any racial construct. Post WW II Germans and Europe at large had a respect for jazz and blues and American artist found a growing audience. This was revealed by the shift in the racial construct of blues and what they represented, restriction. The American Folk Blues Festival brought Memphis Slim and other African American blues performance to both Germany and other European countries (Adelt, 2010, 78). This was an attempt at modernizing Germans with African American blues. This was a noble cause however, they were not fully prepared to accept an art form that had primarily been performed black to a black audience and were not yet ready to accept a primitive form of art while wanting to be modern. This complicated dialogues of racism in that in rejecting the blues, which served as an anti-racist strategy they, we in fact being ignorant and rejecting the artist that sang the music, which could be viewed as a form of prejudice or ignorance of the things that transpired among

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 36

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example t refreezing, in the context of your planned change, can be achieved through trainings with an intention of facilitation comprehension of the importance of the planned change. As explicated by McMurray et al (2009), such an approach would reduce fragmentation and hence facilitate adoption of a patient-centered approach to care. In doing so, patient-centered approaches will be adopted and subsequently absorbed within your organization. Jacqueline, I agree with your discussion particularly your observation that asking the right questions during evaluation will establish the practicability of the planed change. In my organization for instance, asking assessing the costs of the planed change helps establish the adequacy of available resources. I also agree that stability can be achieved through refreezing. Dr. Carol Huston (2013e) elucidates refreezing as a process involving adoption of the implemented changes as the norm or their absorption into organizational culture. Viewing change of implemented processes as part of the organizational culture ensures consistency and in doing so, stability is achieved. Dr. Carol Huston (2013e) also posits that evaluation should be a continuous and cyclic process. In this viewpoint, I agree with your observation that evaluation should be

Brazilian Literature Essay Example for Free

Brazilian Literature Essay For a long duration, Dom Casmurro, Machado de Assis’s novel has moved its readers to opening a debate on if Santiago’s wife, Capitolina, had been faithful to Santiago. The narrator was believed to have loved his wife since their childhood. His mother, who later passed on had wanted the narrator to become a priest thus avoid getting married to his girlfriend. They later got married but later starts to suspect the wife of an affair with Escobar, a close buddy of his. Escobar later on perishes in an accident and the narrator’s wife got a baby boy, Ezekiel. The conflict of the narrator reaches climax as the people around him indicates that the born child resembles Escobar. The narrator is left sad with this as he accuses his wife of infidelity and longs for revenge while on the other hand trying to prevent himself. The supposed infidelity of the narrators wife is not the main issue, but the most debated issue in this novel is the manner in which reader is positioned by the novel in asking or deciding the himself question or just his version of the issue. In order to respond to such questions, one is expected to view the events in the novel in order to take position. The whole narration comes out from the narrators view point as he converts the subjectivity into mere fiction. In the novel, the reader of the novel is enticed by the narrator, Casmurro into his confidence as well as being manipulated to condemn Capitu, his wife. This makes the reader perceive him as a person who took the responsibility of his wife’s death and the other reprehensible behaviors of the life he lived there after (Joaquim, Maria). There are several clues in the presumed eyewitness’s account of truthfulness. But closely looking at the clues given by the narrator leaves one to finalize that the narrator is living a lie and the way in which the desire he expresses in trying to fill in the central existence of his, fails since the fact of the life he is living is in a lacunae which he is not in a position to have it in the story of his life. Casmurro, right from start, portrays himself as the figure with authority in the story and starts to manipulate the audience. The insight into Casmurros personal traits is portrayed in the first chapter as in â€Å"DO titulo† (the title) he tries to link to audience with the way in which he got his nickname Dom Casmurro. He goes ahead to inform the reader not to find the meaning of the word Casmurro in the dictionary, however, he indicates that it implies tight-lipped person who is withdrawn within himself. On the other hand, the name is a old fashioned Portuguese word defined by the dictionary as obstinate, bull-headed or fearful, withdrawn, aloof, dour and gloomy(Scott). The narrator is believed to have gotten his nick name from a young gentleman within his neighborhood who was feeling being insulted by Casmurro. This name, Dom Casmurro was given to the narrator during one of his journeys by train to Engenho Novo. On the way, he met the young man who was reading some poems for him. Tired, Casmurro fell asleep even without getting what the young man was reading for him in his poems. The following day, the man whop felt ignored stated calling the narrator ‘Dom Casmurro’. Because of the narrator’s humble nature, Dom was used in a belittling manner. The entire neighborhood saw the name Casmurro as being fitting to him so much that it got stuck. Casmurro makes the nickname the title of his story after giving it definition for the audience as well as discrediting it with a lot of humor. He goes ahead to portray himself as a real gentleman and an honest man. Looking at the meaning of the name in the dictionary leaves on to start questioning the truthfulness of the narrator (Assis and Gledson 246). The narrator, who just refers to himself as Dom Casmurro, is reluctant in identifying his true identity. The audience only learns later on that Casmurro’s real name is Bento Santiago. The narrator does not want to assume this identity but prefers to remain just as Dom Casmurro. He later tries to recall all the happenings of his earlier life hoping to go on with reorganizing his life the way it used to be. As he gives introduction of his memoirs, he talks of some recollections which he refers to as charming and sweet. As the narrator promises to provide a faithful narration of his earlier life, he also posses the expectations of having the reader taking his story as true but not consider issue outside the meaning of his narration. The question the reader is left asking himself or herself is whether he or she can believe whatever the narrator is saying. With this said it is clear that Casmurro wants to relinquish the influence of the story as well as leaving the whole story in the reader’s hands. He does this by inviting the audience to have the gaps in the story filled. But the reader is left with little chance to do so since he is making sure that the reader adopts to his views and ignores the questions out side this. But the reader can condone the narrator’s behaviors if he decides to expose them. In trying to tell the story from his own point of view, the narrator wants to create a link of trust as well as establish confidence with the audience. But he has indicated to the reader a number of his fault as well as discounting the sternness with unwarranted explanations for behaving in that manner. Casmurro comes out to be unable to keep the needed control over the audience in the chapter. In order to fill in this gaps the reader, can do so by taking the case of the narrator has been in long defense of himself. By misleading the reader in the initial narration, Casmurro conflates Bento Santiago with Dom Casmurro. The narrator is sufficient distinct from bento Santiago and needs to be another character. As in the events which follow this, the narrator used the name Casmurro as the persona in the narrative to give picture of his life and allow him to relinquish the responsibilities that could be associated with Santiago wants life. The real truth of the story lies in the gaps left for the reader to fill which appears to be the responsibilities of the reader, thus the reader has to choose the role to play. The name Casmurro does not appear as the most suitable title for this story since it does not flow with the ideas of the story. The slum This is a novel which takes one back to the history of a naturalistic movement of Brazil, in which the major characters are slum residents in the Botafogo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro which contributed to a great part of the social problems experienced in the society. This kind of live has disordered the slums growth and development for many years. One of the main characters, Joao Romao arrives in a scene of the slum yarning for money and more power. This indicates how the powerful have concentrated resources to them selves forgetting the poor ones in the slum. The rich and powerful society of Brazilian as alienated from the Brazilian culture leaving the poor to struggle on their own. Many people, in the initial setting are exposed to the harsh slum live. The rich are depicted as being greedy merchants who like associating them selves with the Portuguese (Joaquim 254). The roles of the women in the slum include being submissive family heads, prostitutes, subjects to the rich and objects. There is a lot of racism exhibited considering the way the blacks are treated by the Portuguese and the Italians. Bertoleza, a slave grocer living in the ghetto, represents the many people fighting to make survival. She sells ox baits and fried fish. She is a symbol of the many slum dwellers who are in their situation because of being black which is seen as the cost of working all day long for the masters. She works hard despite the low wages she raises from her job. Development in the slum is indicated when she intents to use some of the money she earns to purchase an earth strip for expansion of her business and built a house for herself as she is tired of the informal house she lives in the centre of the Rio de Janeiro slum. The slum people have created a social macrocosm. Very early in the morning the slum live starts, the residents open not their eyes but their infinity of doors and allied windows. The characters exhibited to in the slum as fighting, working, copulating, singing or even singing. The slum comes out as a place where the blacks as well as the mulattos are ever engaged in scrambles with the Portuguese and Italian in order to move up from the bottom line of the social food chain. This indicates a live that lack social pathologies, violence, sordid betrayals, illicit sexual relationships, lesbians and homosexuals as well as cheap prostitution business, illicit liquor, increased drug abuse and small organized crimes associated with increasing juvenile delinquency. The Portuguese civilians in the slum represented by Jeronimo and his wife find a group of people represented by Rita Baiana and Firmino who are the poor residents of the slum in the normal slum social groups. The story of the slum is also concerned with the love affair of Romao, a land owner in the slum who gives out everything as well as his Brazilian wife in order to win a white lady and those of his land tenants ending up destroying several lives including those of spitfire Rita Bahiana and Jeronimo and his own too. He had risen from being a proprietor of a small business to a slum dog lord. This represents the urban discontent, is portrayed to have its people having some personal traits which exhibit rampant materialism as well as souls which are restlessly shaped and influenced by great ambition and desire to gain power and immediacy. The social vices exhibited in the slum are as a result of the poverty associated with the slum which has driven its people to desire for more than what the society they are living in can offer. These are exhibited as the characters of most slum dwellers who survive at any opportunity, given the chance to find their breakthrough. The people with money in this society have taken the advantage of the situation to get cheap sexual satisfaction from the Poor’s wives. The near by neighborhood of Portuguese is seen as being rich one. The interaction of the Portuguese with the slum dwellers starts is believed to bring some changes to the slum. It is due to this that the slum dwellers start to have closer relationships with the Portuguese who employ them in better jobs. Others get into personal relationships or even marriage with the Portuguese attracting better packs for their lives as the presence of the Portuguese increases in the slum. They start get interest of developing the slum into a better environment where they would invest. Some developments are portrayed when some of the rich slum people like Romao establishes a quarry and goes ahead to in invite Jeronimo to help in its management. With so much rivalry developing in the slum due to hatred and envy of some Brazilian getting associated with the Portuguese, the slum is burned down at some point. Later on, it is built up with some improvement in the building structure by the middle class society thus eliminating the initial state of poverty and disorganization experienced by the slum dwellers before. This changes the former kind of live style that the slum dwellers had adapted. As the intermingling of the Brazilians with the Portuguese increase, the level and standard of living went up. The former slum dwellers started to live in better houses. The number of marriages between the two societies increased and more investments were started in the former slum area which had developed into better residential area. After the slum is burnt and some new houses are developed by the middle class, most of the vices exhibited initial by the slum society are not any more. The cases of illicit sexual relationships, fights and poor housing are replaced by a society which has burning desire for development, as the middle class society starts to put their interest for investment which turns the once unhealthy society into a meaningful livelihood suitable for human settlement. Other characters exhibited by the Brazilian slum live include the people’s despair, the slum excitement, and the perfumes. The dwellers of the slum always have the ever burning desire to live the lives of the neighborhood which is full of luxury. The slum itself is perceived as an organic unit, with all sorts of live present there. After the development, the slum starts to fills with urban college students and artists who also contribute to its gentrification. The slum life was initially portrayed as full of sadness and tragedy as seen in its naturalism but with these developments some sense of lively hoods have started to be seen. Another major development of the slum is the manner of ownership that is shown before and after the burning and housing of the land. Initially, the bigger percentage of the slum land was owned by some few individuals such as the slum lord, Joao Pomao who is seen as one of the big hypocrites and who exhibited a lot of control over the slum many landless. After the recreation of new houses most of the land was owned by several middle class people. Work Cited Caldwell, Hellen. The Brazilian Othello of Machado de Assis. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1953. Joaquim, Maria. Machado de Assis. Dom Casmurro, Berkeley: University of California Press. 1953. Scott, Infanger. Living a Lie: the Silence of Truth in Dom Casmuro, Vanderbilt University, 2002, viewed on 13 July 2009 from http://www. umassd. edu/cas/portuguese/lyinginportuguese-texts/scott-livingalie. doc Assis, Machado and Gledson, Joao. Dom Casmurro. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 246.

The ancient cultures of the world Essay Example for Free

The ancient cultures of the world Essay Food plays a very important role in the development of civilizations and cultures. The cultures that were able to come up with abundant food supply were able to raise large populations that aided in them being able to control large empires. The less sufficient populations were easily conquered by the others. It is clear that food played an important role in all of this. Yet, as the world turns, there is less and less emphases being placed on being able to control food supply as countries all over the world are able to trade with each other for food items. Dominance is no longer hinged on the amount of food but in other matters. The role of food is not being understated but rather just reduced in rank as other important matters take precedence pursuant to the fact that food supply has more or less been secured especially in the developed countries and cultures. 1. The ancient cultures of the world such as the early Native Americans, Incas, Mayas, Egyptians, etc. , all ate what was available from the land around them. For example, each early Native American tribes had a specific diet based on the geography of the region of the United States they were located in. Culture, however, did have an impact on how and why many early civilizations ate the foods that they ate. Some early Native American tribes ate buffalo because it was not only a source of food, but also a source of clothing and shelter. Culture in some instances has affected what certain religions can and cannot eat. For example, Muslims and Jews cannot eat pork, while Hindus cannot eat meat. In the US, freedom and equality has allowed many different cultures to practices what they wish. Many different types of food cultures are evident throughout the United States. US society, though, has changed some of those practices and made them more practical and efficient to fit society’s needs. For example, instead of spending all day cooking for a certain religious holiday, a family can go out and buy the foods they need already cooked and ready to eat. This is something that does not often occur in other parts of the world, but fits in with the convenience of US society. It is interesting to point out, however, that while it is argued that culture plays a big role, religion perhaps exerts a bigger role. The abundance of meats and pork in those regions would have made these ideal foods that were convenient and could sustain the growing population much easier than alternative foods that were often tied up with rituals. Perhaps, the better perspective would be that food is connected to culture and not to necessity or geography. 2. Food began as fuel for the body in its simplest form, but has transformed into an important part of culture and religion. I think culture and geographical location play a very important part in the foods that we eat. Foods beginnings were very natural, but the changes in the way we harvest, grow and prepare foods have changed food to a very unnatural process. It does seem as though food has always played an important part in the culture and religion of society. Food in the United States seems to be on a path to becoming less important in the religious and cultural values as we have so many different cultures that are being combined into one society. I feel that the informality of meals in today’s society is changing the way that we look at food as a part of our daily lives. Meals were times for family in the past and now, it seems like we are always in hurry and trying to eat when we can, rather than making it a social or cultural event. The change that food has had in culture over the years can be attributed to its abundance. As so aptly pointed out, food has become less important and less part of society as a cultural event because of the abundance. In a country that has no problem with food supply, the United States, by ensuring a steady supply of food, has diminished its cultural and social impact. 3. I believe that geography had a lot to do with what people ate historically. Because traveling was so much more difficult, it was impossible to go around at the rate we can so they were stuck in the region that they lived. I think a lot of food customs were built that way. Back then though, I believe that it was â€Å"natural† because they hunted and gathered wild plants and animals instead of raising them how we do now. Historically, all of an animal was used. Every edible part was eaten and all the non-edible parts were used in some capacity. I think that idea paired with the animals being wild made it natural. Nowadays, I totally agree that it is an unnatural, but essential process. We do need the food to survive and with the population of the world, there is no chance all the wild animals would be enough to eat off of and to preserve. I do believe that the foods we eat has everything to do with the culture we were brought up in. Watching the video Bugs for Breakfast totally proves this point. Eating is just as much important to cultures as the special traditions. Heck, most traditions involve eating traditional food. There is no way to separate food and culture. We don’t eat for just necessity like the past. We eat for pleasure. Food is appreciated differently these days according to the difficulty that we have had acquiring it. Hunter gatherer communities made sure that every part of the kill was used because there was no guarantee when the next kill would be. Yet, as man learned how to domesticate and raise food, the priorities became difficult and man now had a luxury to refuse the parts that they don’t want.

Defining Np Scope Of Practice Nursing Essay

Defining Np Scope Of Practice Nursing Essay This original research was conducted in a large teaching hospital in the North West of England that examined ward-based Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) and aimed to clarify their roles and expectations in patient care and how they impact the clinical practice. Study participants (which consist of five ANPs, 14 ward-based nurses, and five patients) were observed and invited to participate in interviews. The roles and skills of ANPs were observed and gathered from the interviews. ANPs were described as pivotal in the management of patient care and served as an invaluable link between the medical and nursing team. They frequently translated medical information for nurses, patients and other allied healthcare professional to make sure that the plan of care was well understood and provide further explanations if necessary. ANPs were observed to be confident practitioners, good information resource and by using their technical knowledge and skills served as a role model to support the nurses and junior doctors to enable them to be more efficient in providing care. In addition, ANPs were found to be less intimidating than doctors and more approachable in resolving care issues. Meanwhile, ANPs were faced with a number of challenges and have to ove rcome skepticism from other health professionals who have different views on the ANP role expectation and scope of practice. ANPs perceived that their education had not adequately prepared them for their clinical role. ANPs have great impact in nursing practice and patient care. Although the study strives to clarify the role of the ANPs, the findings regarding the role of ANPs are not clearly defined and lack consistency that may lead to role conflict and overload. Running Head: How are acute care nurse practitioners enacting their roles in healthcare teams? A descriptive multiple-case study This multiple-case study conducted in two-university affiliated teachings hospitals in Quebec, Canada aimed to understand how cardiology acute Care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) enacted their roles in healthcare teams. Data were collected from interviews, field notes, documents and time and motion study of NP activities. The work activity pace was faster before noon due to patient care demands. Participants in one hospital believed that NP role was not an integrated role of medical and nursing components but an expanded role because they assumed more expanded nursing role components than the medical role. In addition, NPs needed to consult with physicians for patient care decision making that were within their scope of practice. They did not have that much authority in regards to decision making due to lack of structures to formalize the organizational role. There were also inconsistent messages about the role expectations to attempt to formalize the prescriptive authority of NPs which had not been approved by the medical advisory board. On the other hand, participants in the other hospital believed that NPs enacted their role more in the medical component since the medical directives and prescriptive privileges had been approved by the medical advisory board. NPs had greater autonomy in their role and prescriptive authority. It was also noted that NPs participated very little in nursing activities such as implementing nursing care plans or use of clinical care pathways. In both hospitals, the largest role component was the clinical role. The transfer of prescriptive and decision-making authority must be addressed to enable NPs to work their full scope of role to optimize patient outcomes. Clarifying role structures were expected to enable the NPs enact their role in healthcare team and prevent role confusion. Running Head: Defining NP scope of practice and associated regulations: Focus on acute care This review of literature was conducted to define the NP scope of practice (SOP) with emphasis on NPs in acute care setting. Documents were gathered from different resources including National Council of State Board of Nursing (NCSBN), individual state board of nursing, and NP scope and standards of practice. According to Federation of State Medical Boards (2005) and NCSBN (2009), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“SOP is a set of rules, regulations and boundaries within which a fully qualified NP may practiceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . It defines what activities a profession can undertake. Both practice acts (state regulatory board form of statutes approved by legislators) and its rules and regulations define NP SOP and require approval from legislators to become law. The Consensus Model for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) Regulation was developed to resolve different issues concerning inconsistent APRN education and licensure requirement across jurisdiction and issues in certification. It helps stand ardize regulations for APRNs. Professional regulators are working together in implementing a consistent SOP for NPs in all jurisdictions. According to American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), NPs are licensed independent practitioners that provide nursing and medical services emphasizing on health promotion and disease prevention. In addition, NPs have a collaborative practice agreement with the physicians. However, regulations are different from state to state NP SOP are not clearly defined and further clarifications are needed especially as it pertains to NPs working in acute care to ensure that NPs are practicing according to their education, training and competency as evidenced by the certifications they hold. Running Head: NURSE-DIRECTED INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE CATHETER-ASSOCIATED URINARY TRACT INFECTION This research focuses on the evidence-based practice guidelines conducted at the University of Colorado Hospital as a quality improvement project to initiate a nursing-driven approach to reduce the incidence of catheter-associated urinary tract infection and improve patient outcomes. A catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common cause of healthcare-associated infection. It is a major health concern leading to prolonged hospital stay and increased healthcare cost. Evidence-based use of indwelling urinary catheter (IUC) must be enforced to reduce the prevalence of CAUTI. In this project, an intervention design was implemented to evaluate the nurse-driven intervention incorporating evidence-based guidelines. The goal is to decrease the prevalence CAUTI by emphasizing health education on specific unit-based nursing practice. Improving the nursing care by educating the nurses regarding insertion, management and early removal of IUC to ensure the best practice and expanding this education to ancillary services (eg. rehabilitation and transport staffs) were found to positively impact the CAUTI rates. Focused unit interventions such as providing education on postoperative catheterization, use of bladder scanner to check for urinary retention to minimize IUC reinsertion, and encouraging early removal of the urinary catheter were found to decrease the catheter days and prevent infection. Providing education by infusing the best evidence into current practice are important interventions to raise awareness. Incorporating evidence-based guidelines and strategie s by focusing of nursing-driven interventions can improve patient outcomes.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Essay -- Crib Death SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a mysterious phenomena that has managed to confound science so far. SIDS is defined as the sudden death of any infant or young child that is unexpected by history and in which a thorough post mortem examination fails to demonstrate an adequate cause (Hunt & Brouillette, 1987). It is the leading cause of death in infants in developed countries occurring at a rate of almost 2 per 1000 births. It most often occurs in infants between the ages of one month and eight months with the highest occurrence in the 4-6 month range. Several behaviors have been associated with this syndrome such as prolonged sleep apnea, increased risk of breath inspiration pause, excessive periodic breathing, diminished ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia, and impaired arousal response to hypoxia, but none of these have stood out as the definitive cause or as a screening device (Hunt & Brouillette, 1987). Instead it appears SIDS may be the result of a collection of factors tha t in the right circumstances results in infant death. This paper will examine some of the factors that appear to be associated with SIDS as well as some hypotheses on the cause. Recent findings have shown that one cause of what has been labeled SIDS is suffocation or carbon dioxide rebreathing (Kemp et al, 1993). Technically this is not SIDS but it is often misdiagnosed as the cause of death if the physical scene is not examined, and it may also be a significant cause of SIDS. It seems that the practice of placing infants in the prone position, common in America and Europe, may be detrimental to the infant’s well-being. Studies of rabbits placed in this position on various surfaces have shown death to ensue as a re... ...s in human hypothalamus in relation to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Progress in Brain Research: 93, 167-188. Lagercrantz, H and M. Ranold. (1991) Hypoxia and Neuropharmacology of Breathing. Developmental Neurobiology of Breathing, New York. pp. 661-679. Naeye, R., J. Olsson and J. Combs. New Brainstem and Bone Marrow Abnormalities in Victims of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. J. Perinat.: 9, 180-183. Ponsonby, A., T. Dwyer, et al. (1993) Factors Potentiating the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Associated with the Prone Position. N. Engl. J. Med. :329, 377-382. Schechtman, V., R. Harper, and D. Southall. (1992) Sleep State Organization in Normal Infants and Victims of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Pediatrics; 89, 865-870. Ward, S., D. Bautista and T. Keens. (1992) Hypoxia Arousal Response in Normal Infants. Pediatrics: 89, 860-864.

The Progression of the Medium Change between the Painting with the Digi

The Progression of the Medium Change between the Painting with the Digital Image Albert Borgmann, in his Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life, devises the â€Å"device paradigm† as an illustration of the pattern into which the stuff that defines technological existence falls. Even though Borgmann writes his book in 1984, it is of value to examine the paradigm in context of current developments of technological society. It becomes a question of whether the device paradigm is still applicable to the current technological setting, or if it is truer now than even before. It is thus taken into consideration in light of the specific instance of the thing, as Borgmann uses it, that is a painting prior to the modern period. The specific thing of a painting is contrasted to the technological device of a digital image. The progression of the medium change between the painting to the digital image will be examined as well as the skill it takes to produce them. Availability of these is observed, along with the consequence of such a metamorphosis in the essence of the thing and device. First, however, Borgmann states the thing as a pretechnological object in the Heideggerian sense. The thing gathers the fourfold, being earth, sky, mortals, and divinity. Thus it is something which reveals the world in all its aspects. In this case, a painting of the medieval times is one which is created by a master. The master has undergone a lifetime of training under another master, and the business of the arts is under the guild system. A single painting would take many weeks to complete, and all instruments in its creation are known instinctively to the master. The pigments are hand ground and prepared, as are the brushes and th... ...into a commodity of affluence, and that is what produces disengagement. Affluent commodities disengage in their diversion from focal things, which result in detachment from reality and detachment from the world. As the world is revealed through technological devices, it is no longer a world of humanity, but a world of technology and its devices. Such an existence deteriorates into loneliness and depression, both of which are detrimental to the being of humanity. In truth, it can be said, by line of the preceding argument, that technological existence may well bring about the extinction of the human race, unless it is counteracted. This counteraction, may, as Borgmann claims, lie in a counterbalance of focal things and practices. Works Cited Borgmann, Albert. Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1984.

Mpf System

In 2011, Hong Kong people aged up to 65 and above total for 13 per cent of the population that is a rapidly growing in ageing population. The ratio is evaluated to increase in 19 per cent by 2021 and will up to 30 per cent by 2041. According to this investigation, the Hong Kong Government first introduced the MPF concept in 1995 to assure that every citizens working in Hong Kong prepare the financial provision while they are retirement.In August 1995, Hong Kong Government announced a major stage in enacting the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (â€Å"MPFSO) (Chapter 485, Laws of Hong Kong) to provide a formal project of basic retirement protection. The MPFSO submits the framework for the building a system of privately managed, employment-related MPF schemes for members of the workforce to form financial benefits for retirement.The MPFA was settled on September 17, 1998 to regulate, monitor and direct the operation of the MFP system. There is only about one-third of the wor kforce of 3. 4 million people had some join of retirement protection before the achievement of the Mandatory Provident Fund System in December 2000. But now, closely to 90 per cent of the working population are already joined in retirement protection.There is a large and elderly population without enough savings will enhance a huge burden on the society if the number of ageing people rises up. MPF is build mainly to support the basic retirement protection to the working population by saving. The main feature of this system include coverage all employees and self-employed people who are over 18 and under 65 years old, not including specifically exempt under the MPFSO, are included by the MPF system.An employee and his/her employer are both needed to contribute five per cent of the employee’s monthly relevant income as mandatory contributions for and in respect of the employee, subject to the minimum and maximum relevant income levels for contribution purposes. An employee if e arning below the minimum level of relevant income (HK$6,500 per month or HK$78,000 per year) is not forced to give but may they can elect to do so by way of making voluntary contribution.Despite of the employee’s choice, the employer must contribute five per cent of the employee’s relevant income. The purpose of maximum standard of relevant income for contribution is generally at $25,000 per month or $300,000 per year. Both employers and employees can also due voluntary contribution in excess of the statutory mandatory amount. Self-employed persons also need to contribute five per cent of their relevant income as mandatory contributions, depend on the minimum and maximum standard of their relevant income for contribution purposes.As the beginning of the MPF System in December 2000, the MPF legislation has been reviewed in the light of operational experience in order to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of the system continuously. With the enactment of the MPF Schemes (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 on June 21, 2012, a statutory regulatory control to enhance the regulation of the sales and marketing programmers of MPF intermediaries will be in place on November1, 2012 and the Employee Choice Arrangement will be announced on the same day.Further initiative are being undertaken to strengthen the MPF System, including the development of proposals to enhance flexibility in withdrawing MPF benefits. MPF fees and charges have come down slowly as a result of MPFA’s contribution to streamline administrative procedures, enhance fee transparency and expand the market competition. According the Employee Choice Arrangement in place, we all hope that the management handling charges would be reduced in future.

Planned Obsolescence

Planned obsolescence is the industrial tactic of designing, manufacturing, and distributing a product with an inadequate lifespan, as so it will become obsolete specifically to force the consumers to buy the latest generation of said product. These products are put into practice before the next generation is even fully functional; companies like Apple are most famous for doing this. Planned obsolescence has been in use since the beginning of the Great Depression and for the past eighty years the ethical grounds of companies and the reliability of their products has been argued.As 20th century economist Victor Lebow says in his article on consumer capitalism, Price Competition in 1955: Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption†¦ We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing pace. (Lebow, Price Competition in 1955) Planned obsolescence goes hand and hand with conspicuous consumption, the act of spending money to acquire luxury goods and services in order to publicly exhibit ones economic power.The 1950s was a time of immense consumption of household goods and services. Tupperware and kitchen appliances were products of vast majority that persistently improved and with conspicuous consumption, was bought. Car commercials today take advantage of American consumers with their annual announcements of new models. Every model is designed with the motive it will be bought. A model only a year older than the one previous can be expected now to include an MP3 playing stereo with hands free cell phone capabilities as well as higher miles per gallon and durability.Although the auto industry is trusted most with reliable products they are still infamous for their use of technical obsolescence. Technical obsolescence is when the cost of repairs is u nparalleled with replacement cost. It can be tremendously cheaper to replace a nine or ten year old car rather than repair frame and axel damage from wear and tear or even an accident. (The Daily Green) Style obsolescence also plays factor when the definition of what an attractive product is changes, therefore newer models are made in order to provide a more aesthetically pleasing ppeal. Marketing has always been driven by aesthetic design. By continually introducing fresh designs whilst retargeting and discounting the others, corporations can do what is called â€Å"riding the fashion cycle. † The fashion cycle is the repeated introduction, rise, popular culmination, and decline of a style as it progresses through various social strata. (The Daily Green) A certain style of dress is primarily aimed at high income worth and then steadily re-targeted to lower income segments.In the beginning of the Ugg craze, Uggs were going at incredibly high prices and as years pass they depr eciate in value. The same cycle happens for designer brands like Coach or Vera Bradley. The fashion cycle will repeat itself in cases when an obsolete product that was once stylish regains popularity and ceases to be obsolete. (New Vision Ireland) Think of the Miami Vice suits, shoulder pads and parachute pants, trends of the 80s that no longer exist yet styles like oversized tops, fingerless gloves, miniskirts and huge earrings have found themselves back in the limelight.As advanced as the public feels technology is, with the idea of planned obsolescence in manufacturers’ minds, everything is built with a fail safe for producers. Obsolescence by depletion is a form of planned obsolescence used in products like home printers. The color printer is useful for consumers who need to print photos and graphics/charts for presentations, but other than that, there is not always a need to print color. An owner can choose to print only black with their colored ink jet printer except at a price.Despite the owners’ indications that they want black and white prints, the color cartridge, at a smaller amount than normal, will be used in order to deepen the shade of the text or graphics. So that leads to the question, can’t one just take the color cartridge out? Unfortunately not, in order for the printers to function properly all the cartridges must be in place even if one cartridge is out of ink completely it still has to be left in. In the long run people who print enough black and white will pay the cost when the colored ink needs replacement. Castle Ink Cartridges & The Daily Green) In some cases notification may be combined with the deliberate disabling of a product to prevent it from working. Printer manufacturers like EPSON are infamous for employing proprietary smart chips in their ink cartridges to prevent them from being used after a certain threshold even though the cartridge still contains usable ink. Some companies have developed a version o f obsolescence in which the product reports to the owner on when it is time to buy a replacement.Pool water filters are known to display replacement messages at predetermined times and some disposable razors have color changing strips to mark blade dullness. Whether consumers are notified before the product has truly depreciated or the product simply deteriorates more quickly than is required, planned obsolescence is the result. (New Vision Ireland) Systemic obsolescence is the intentional effort to make a product obsolete by altering the structure in which it is used in such a way that it makes its continued use problematic.Newer software is frequently introduced that is incompatible with older versions. One example of systematic obsolescence is Microsoft Corporation’s termination of support for Microsoft’s older OS services in order to meet the needs of the support for newer versions. Another Microsoft example would be their recently launched Internet Explorer 9 Web Browser that is not compatible with Windows XP even though Internet Explorer 8 is. Software is not the only technology affected by planned obsolescence; oftentimes hardware developers will prevent a product from being backwards compatible with older models. New Vision Ireland) Back in the early 1990s Nintendo launched the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) to precede its first gaming system the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in order to make the NES obsolete. The processing power and other capabilities of the SNES overthrew the NES and made the massive NES game library out of date because the SNES could not play the old cartridges. Those who wanted to play earlier games have to keep both systems around. (The Daily Green) In more recent times, Sony launched their console for the seventh generation consoles, the PS3.The PS3 greatly outshone the PS2 but like the SNES later models were unable to play PS2 discs. With the introduction of PS3 and its Blu-ray disc reader consum ers have begun to accept and love Blu-ray. The most concentrated opposition in the next-generation â€Å"optical video disc format wars† is between HD-DVDs and Blu-ray. Not only a format for HD video and audio, Blu-Ray is a higher-capacity storage format than HD-DVD. HD-DVD at this point is being out sold by Blu-ray. Blu-ray has not yet been considered a planned obsolescence movement yet because it still is too new of technology. (Computer Info Web)Today’s leading seller in products on the market is Apple electronics. Apple has designed products from computers to the world famous iPhone. Planned obsolescence is big in design schools and designers need to understand its workings in order to fulfill a longing career in today’s economy. Steve Jobs, the now deceased CEO of Apple, understood the importance of design in relation to selling product. An advertising magazine warned in 1928, â€Å"An article that refuses to wear out is a tragedy for business,† Stev e Jobs understood the necessity to make products obsolete and he implemented it into his products.The original iPods had less appealing designs and as the years passed. Later, Apple came out with much more attractive looking products built with more innovated advancements, but still made to be replaced within a year. (New Vision Ireland) In 2003, the Neistat Brothers made a video of them going around sharing the story of how their iPod battery only lasted 18 months and explained how Apple did not have a replacement option and they would have to buy new iPods. They took the company to court and sued on the account that Apple planned the batteries to die after a certain period of time.Before Steve Jobs passing his legacy was to leave four years of new products for the company, blueprints for a new iPod, iPad, iPhone and MacBooks were put in place and permission for new futuristic Apple headquarters was secured by Jobs in June. (Daily Mail) Without planned obsolescence there would be n o malls. There would not be any products or designers. There would be no need for architects and salespeople or even service workers all around. The ideas of planned obsolescence, although beneficial in fulfilling our needs as humans, depreciate the overall lifespan of the products we use.It is debatable whether companies are to blame, but in the end the consumer is still the ones who replace these intolerable products. Works Cited â€Å"Consumerism: Planned Obsolescence – New Vision Ireland. † New Vision Ireland. NVI, n. d. Web. 10 June 2012. . â€Å"HOT Web Resource for Computer Info, Maintenance , Information Technology, Security, Training, Outsourcing: Blu-Ray. † http://www. computerinfoweb. com. Computer Info Web, n. d. Web. 10 June 2012. . Howard, Brian C. Planned Obsolescence: 8 Products Designed to Fail. † The Daily Green. The Daily Green, Aug. 2011. Web. 10 June 2012. . Koep, Gregg. â€Å"Not Buying Anything. † Notbuyanything. com. Not Buy Anything, 30 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 June 2012. . Lebow, Victor. â€Å"Price Competition in 1955. † Journal of Retailing Spring 1955 (1955): n. pag. Print. < http://classroom. sdmesa. edu/pjacoby/journal-of-retailing. pdf> â€Å"Printing Monochrome Pages Using a Color Printer. Castle Ink Cartridges. Ed. Adam Haigh. N. p. , 16 Feb. 2010. Web. 10 June 2012. . Ubeda, Joan. â€Å"The Cutting Edge. † News. The Cutting Edge, 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 June 2012. . Gardner, David. â€Å"Steve Jobs’ Secret Legacy: Dying Apple Boss Left Plans for Four Years of New Products. † Mail Online. Daily Mail, 8 Aug. 2011. Web. 14 June 2012. .

Escape From Poverty Essay

Introduction Poverty is a serious situation where the majority of individuals have experienced in their daily life. Poverty is the inability to maintain standard of living. Poverty is hunger and lack of shelter. Poverty is a lack of basic necessities such as clothing, housing, water and health services. Parents living in severe poverty affect the education of young children. This is because they might be selling for their parents to get some money to maintain themselves, or also the parents are unable to pay for their child’s education. Many children are not attending school due to the lack of money for textbooks, uniforms and tuitions. Therefore, some children tend to suffer for a situation they cannot avoid, being poor. Due to this problem, it is the responsibility of the government and family alike to ensure that a child receives an education. Therefore, their education is likely their only escape from poverty. Aims and Objectives The aim of this research is for the researcher to become aware of the factors influencing the education of these children and also to make the public and government officials aware of this serious situation. The main objective of this research is to find some type of solution or help which will benefit both the parents and the children. The people in this village that are of higher standard of living can come together and help the people that are more in need since it is the lives of young children that is being affected. The government should invest their money in this village by helping parents get books, uniforms and paying tuition for the children. Also they should have more job opportunities since many parents are unemployed and without a job they don’t have money to cover the school expenses. Purpose of Investigation The researcher conducted a research on the Factors affecting the education of young children in the village of Trial Farm. Many children in this village  do not have the opportunity of attending school and having an education. This is a serious factor that should be dealt with immediately since it is affecting the lives of young innocent children. In order for the researcher to know the reasons why this is becoming a serious issue, interviews were held, questionnaires were issued out to the different people and surveys were made. This research will help the researcher and the public become aware about the reasons why children stay home and not go to school. Every child has the right to attend school and to become someone in life. However, this is not so in the village of Trial Farm since parents are not capable of sending their young ones in school or high school. This investigation will be like an eye opener to the researcher and to everyone. Method of Investigation In conducting my research on the â€Å"Factors affecting the education of young children in Trial Farm Village† there were numerous methods used. Firstly a survey was conducted, in the form of informal interviews. A total of fifty randomly selected people were asked questions in terms of the reasons why children are not attending school and why the parents are not capable of sending their children to school. The questionnaires were issued to the parents since they are the ones who can state the reasons for their children not attending school. The parents were allotted about ten minutes to complete the questionnaire. According to the respondents, majority of the children are unable to attend school because of the cost of education. For the informal interviews being made, most of the respondents agreed that the area that generated the most is the cost of purchasing books, paying tuition and getting uniforms for their children. The researcher also used secondary data as a method of research. Some information was obtained from newspapers, articles and a website to get statistical information about this research. The website was www.cso.gob.bz.com(government statistics office). Some informal interviews were also attempted to different parents whereby they corresponded very satisfactorily. This was done to get personal views and opinions by parents. Their answers were used to further analyze and study the factors that affect education in this village. Procedures used to collect data The researcher had gone to the village of Trial Farm in order to conduct a research by conducting a survey. The researcher distributed fifty questionnaires to each individual in the village and was given five minutes to answer it accurately. After collecting the questionnaires, the researcher gathered the information and analyzed the information given by the respondents. After analyzing the data collected the researcher presented the findings of the investigation. As a result, the respondents really helped the researcher in the survey being conducted. They gave accurate responds which assisted the researcher in the survey. Presentation and Explanation of Data Figure 1.1 shows the percentage of children both males and females not attending school. The pie chart above shows 20% of females not attending school, 20% of males not attending school due to many causes as the researcher did its investigation in the village of Trial Farm. Therefore, there are 50% of both males and females not able to attend school. Figure 1.2 shows how many parents both Father and Mother do not have a job. As shown above, both father and mother does not have a job. Out of 15 parents there are 10 fathers not employed and 5 mothers not being employed as the researcher did its investigation on unemployed parents in the village of Trial Farm. Figure 1.3 shows that what the people of Trial Farm believe what causes their children from not attending school. As shown above, there are 10 people who believe that unemployment causes their children from not attending school, 6 people believe that poverty causes it and 4 people believe that the government causes the children from attending school. Interpretation of Data In the village of Trial Farm, there are a number of young children not attending school because their parents are unable to pay due to financial need. After analyzing the data being collected, there is a total of 50% of children both males and females not attending school due to many causes.  There are 20% of females and 30% of males not attending school in the village of Trial Farm. Due to this, it is because of their parents not having a job to sustain the family; therefore, it leads to unemployment where it affects the children. In total there are 15 parents both mother and father not employed. There are a total of 10 males and 5 females not being employed. So it leads to several causes that affect the children in not attending school. This leads to unemployment where parents do not have the opportunity to have a job; it leads to poverty where parents do not have enough income to sustain the family and deals with the government. This may cause the children not able to go to scho ol because of transportation; government doesn’t provide a bus for those children who are not able to buy a bicycle to go to school. Government does not help in purchasing textbooks, stationeries and trying to pay half of the tuitions for those children. Finding 1. Poverty affects the life of many; children go to school without breakfast or even enough money to buy a suitable meal for lunch. 2. When it comes to education of a child, some families are unable to afford sending their child because of the cost of education in terms of purchasing textbooks, paying tuitions and the sewing of uniforms. 3. The researcher had encountered that poverty is a situation whereby many families cannot avoid, mainly because they are born into it and they cannot help themselves, therefore, they seek low paying jobs, and force their children to sell for them in order to sustain their life. 4. Conducting the research in the village of Trial Farm, the researcher saw many homeless people wandering around the streets; women and their children, and men. 5. Poverty neglects many things for families; education, proper schooling, and shelter. Recommendation 1. The researcher had seen how sad is to see people living in poor conditions whereby children are unable to attend school. 2. Government together with the Ministry of Education should try to provide a home for many of the disadvantaged children, by giving them an opportunity by sending them to  school and by giving scholarships to those children who are in need of an education because it is very important for a child to get an education so that they would have something to defend themselves in the longer run when they are finding a job. 3. As a country and as a person, we should find different ways to be a supportive system for these people, because they are just like any ordinary people who have hopes and dreams in life. 4. We should help each other to move forward so our country can progress and be a better place to live in. Questionnaire Greetings in the name of the lord! My name is Maritza Vasquez and I am a student of University of Belize, the researcher. The researcher is investigating on the topic â€Å"Factors affecting the education of young children in the village of Trial Farm† hence; I am kindly requesting your assistance by YOU filling out this questionnaire. This questionnaire will assist the researcher by giving accurate and direct data that will be used for my research project. Thank you in advance for your kind assistance. May God Bless you! 1. Do you have a job in order to sustain your family? Yes No If yes what type of job? _______________________ 2. How much do you spend a day? $0-$2 $2- $5 $5- $10   10 & above 3. Are you in need of basic necessities? Yes No If yes, state what basic necessities you are in need of ___________________________________________________________ 4. Have you been helped by other individuals? Yes No 5. Have you ever experienced a financial need? 6. Yes No If yes, state why? _____________________________________________________________ 7. How many children do you have? 1, 2, 3, 4 and above 8. Are your children attending school? Yes No 9. If your child isn’t attending school, state what they do on their free time and why? _______________________________________________________________ 10. Why are you unable to send your child to school? _______________________________________________________________ 11. Have you ever heard your child say that he/she wants to go to school? Yes No 12. If there was an opportunity for your child to go to school, would you let him/her go to school? Yes No If no, state why? ______________________________________________

Introduction to Investment Appraisal Techniques

Firms throughout the world expand by starting projects and carrying out investments in different industries and sectors. An important building block in these investments is the analysis and later the evaluation of these projects on the basis of economic, cost and financial data. Investment appraisal techniques provide the financial data and also help managers determine the financial viability of each and every project under consideration. Concepts Related to Investment Appraisal MethodsAlmost all appraisal techniques are based on certain building blocks. These building blocks require estimations and forecasting of present data into the future. For instance future growth rates and interest rates need to be predicted in order to calculate the cost of capital for different projects. Similarly another important estimation is related to the cash inflows and cash outflows for a particular project. This requires the project evaluators or analysts to come up with accurate forecasts for sales , costs and other operating costs.Firms also need to look at the useful or life cycle of the project because that will determine the total net cash flows for a particular project, the time period will also tell the project evaluators about the time horizon of the project so that other economic and market factors could be considered as well while making the decision. Firms also need to plan the type of project evaluation techniques that must be used by the evaluators; for instance with projects that have a short-life span the Pay-Back method should be used to compare the speed with which each project is providing the initial investment.Many of the appraisal techniques must be used together to come to conclusions because of the way the data is presented to evaluators. For instance if a project is giving high returns in the later years but the overall average return is greater than another project that is giving high returns in the initial years than the evaluators might select the lat ter project because it is less risky. Important Investment Appraisal Techniques Pay-Back Period: This method simply calculates the time it will take a project to earn back the amount of money that was initially invested.This technique is extremely important in the comparison of those projects which have similar total life but varying cash flows throughout the life cycle. For instance in a scenario where interest rates are rising then evaluators would want to go for a project which has a lower Pay-Back period. This is because as interest rates increase the cost of capital will also increase and the real value of the returns will fall as we move into the future.Net-Present Value: This method discounts back all future cash-inflows and cash-outflows to the present values; the critical factor in this method is the determination of the discount/interest rate used to bring back the future values to the present. The important thing with this methodology is that it allows businesses to calcu late the real return that they will earn from the project i. e. businesses factor out the inflation or the nominal return that they might get from a project.Accounting Rate of Return: The ARR method provides the evaluators with a percentage that shows a return on the invested amount: say for instance if the ARR is 8% then the project is generating 8% returns annually on each dollar invested. This method does not discount the cash flows but it is helpful in the sense that it explains the potential of the project to generate enough cash flow so that a comparison can be made with other projects on an annual return basis. Internal Rate of Return: This method gives the evaluators with a percentage that shows the projects achieving net present value equal to zero.Essentially, the method calculates the rate at which the projects future calculated return (NPV) is equal to the initial invested amount. This method is extensively used by companies that plan on implementing large-scale projects . This rate gives evaluators an idea of what sorts of costs of capital is acceptable and at which levels or rates can we expect a profit. Value Addition from Appraisal Techniques The appraisal techniques discussed above are an extremely efficient way of substantiating projects and comparing the viability of different projects.The fact of the matter is that when firms want data for different projects while deciding which project to undertake they must objectively evaluate each project and the appraisal techniques provide an effective way of calculating financial data which can be used for analysis. Project Annual Net Cash flow Initial Investment Cost of Capital IRR NPV 1 ? 100,000 ? 449,400 14% A B 2 ? 70,000 C 14% 20% D 3 E ? 200,000 F 14% ? 35,624 4 G ? 300,000 12% H ? 39,000 Calculations for A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H The four projects have a useful life of 10 years. For project 1: Total Cash flow for 10 years: ?1,000,000. IRR: NPV= -? 449,400 + 100,000/ (1+R)1 + 100,000/(1+R)2 +†¦+ 100,000/(1+R)10 = 0. A = 18%; IRR = 18%. By using the trial and error technique we calculated the IRR to be 18%. NPV: -449,400/(1+0. 14)0 + 100,000/(1+0. 14)1 + 100,000/(1+0. 14)2 +†¦+100,000/(1+0. 14)10 = -449,400 + 521,611. 56 = 72,211. 56; B = 72,211. 56 For Project 2: IRR: NPV = -Initial Investment (C) + 70,000/(1+0. 2)1 + 70,000/(1+0. 2)2 +†¦+ 70,000/(1+0. 2)10 = 0; C = ? 293,474. NPV = -293,474/(1+0. 14)0 + 70,000/(1+0. 14)1 + 70,000/(1+0. 14)2 +†¦. + 70,000/(1+0. 14)10 = 71,655; D= ? 71,655For Project 3: Annual Net Cash Flow: IRR: NPV = -200,000 + E/(1+0. 14)1 + E/(1+0. 14)2 +†¦. + E/(1+0. 14)10 = 0; E = ? 38,343. Cost of Capital: 35,624 = -200,000 + 38,343/(1+F)1 + 38,343/(1+F)2 +†¦+ 38,343/(1+F)10 ; F = 11. 00% : through trial and error we calculated the value of cost of capital as 11. 00%. For Project 4: Annual Net Cash Flow: 39,000 = -300,000 + G/(1+0. 12)1 + G/(1. 12)2 +†¦. + G/(1. 12)10 ; G = ? 60,000; IRR (H): NPV= -? 300,000 + 60,000/ (1+R)1 + 60,000/(1+R)2 +†¦+ 60,000/(1+R)10 = 0. H = 15. 1%; by trial and error method we calculated the IRR of the 4th project as 15.1%. Project Selection Based on Available Data The investment techniques that have been used to evaluate the 4 projects have given us some important factors to consider before making the final decision. In light of the data available we suggest that project 3 should be chosen because firstly the initial investment is the lowest amongst all the four projects. Secondly another important factor is that the difference between the cost of capital and the IRR is less than some of the other projects more importantly the IRR is 14% which is the lowest amongst all the four projects.This means that if project 3 is pursued the company the is likely to achieve quick returns and even if the performance of the project is not outstanding due to external factors the company can make substantial returns from the project. The critical factor is that project 3 can b ring in returns far more quickly than other available projects as any returns beyond the 14% mark would be real returns on the investment. Another significant factor would be the saved money from the initial capital that can be used for other projects with similar or even better returns prospects.The cost of capital for this project is also the lowest amongst all other projects; this is also an indicator that change can be absorbed by the company. With project 3 we see that the annual cash flows are amongst the highest if we use the annual cash flow/ initial investment basis for comparison between all the four projects. This also indicates that project 3 is more viable than some of the other projects such as project 1. The only criticism of project 3 is that the gap between cost of capital and IRR is smaller than let’s say from project 1 or project 2.This creates a potential problem if and when interest rates start to increase then the project might become non-profitable in t erms of real rate of return. Conclusion The investment appraisal techniques have become an essential methodology to solve and answer critical questions when it comes to selecting major expansion projects. When companies go to venture capitalists or other financial institutions they must fulfill certain criteria before being given the amount of money they are looking for.Even in the investor industry most investors are required to provide there rate of return requirements before companies or other financial institutions could make tailored products for the investors. It must be emphasized here that companies must understand that other economic data is crucial in relation with the financial data that these appraisal techniques provide. Bibliography: The Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales, Investment Appraisal Techniques, viewed February 5, 2010 < http://financial. kaplan.co. uk/Documents/ICAEW/MI_Ch3_p. pdf> Schuster, Northcott, Gotze, 2008. Investment Appraisal: Met hods and Models, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg Martina Rohrich, 2007, Fundamentals of Investment Appraisal, Oldenbourg Coursework4you. co, Advantages and disadvantages of different appraisal techniques viewed February 5, 2010 < http://www. coursework4you. co. uk/essays-and-dissertations/finance-and-accounting/investment-appraisals/P_F_61_Advantages_and_disadvantages_of_different_investment_appraisals_techniques. php>Course Work 2 Introduction: The dynamics of any industry determine what factors will impact the demand and supply of a particular good or service being bought or sold in that particular market. Some of the major factors that affect the demand for most kinds of products or services include: consumer tastes, income levels, availability of substitute goods and their prices, availability and prices of complementary goods, future price expectations and the general level of literacy of the population and population growth.The other aspect of any market would be the supply side; how do the supply side factors impact the market for goods or services. For instance some major factors include technological advancements, cost of production, the number of suppliers and regulatory framework. A combination of these demand side and supply side factors determines the prices that markets ultimately charge from consumers given that the markets are allowed to function in a free market setting. Technology Market: In particular the Computer MarketWhen we discuss the computer market in isolation we must understand that it is affected greatly by the overall technology market which plays a critical role in determining which new products and services will be offered by these computers and how will these computers be manufactured in the future. Technology has revolutionized the way we do business and other activities around the world. A significant contribution of technological revolution is the machine we call: a computer. From the time of the first computers and up til l today we have witnessed remarkable change.For starters let’s just talk about the change in size of the computers. The point here is that ever since the advent of the computing machine and later the full fledged computer we have since tremendous amount of changes that have occurred along the revolution. These changes have had an impact on both the price of the computer and also on the cost of production of a modern day computer. Demand Side Factors The growth in different technology products such as hand held devices, laptops, desk top computers, I-pods, I-pads, E-books, and PDAs are some examples of what the consumer of today’s world has been buying and accepting for some time.The important factor here is that most technological products are not market oriented rather they are product-led or developed with a perspective of generating enough interest and demand from the market as opposed to the idea of providing products which are required by the market. The demand fo r computers in specific can be divided into two broad categories firstly the demand from the corporate world or offices and secondly from home users who demand desktops. When companies around the globe started to employ and use desktop computers in the 1980s and 1990s; one could see a revolution taking place that would forever change the workplace.These companies converted there existing manual operations on to computers and resultantly we saw dramatic changes in efficiency levels and the ability of companies to become more productive increased many folds. (Samuelson, 2005) This change in the way companies work led to computers becoming a need for majority of the companies in different sectors such as manufacturing, services and primary related industries. The computers, especially desktop computers had become a necessity for companies by mid-90s and onwards. This factor had made computers an important part of any firms capital requirements.(Samuelson, 2005) As far as the households were concerned computers soon after they were being mass-produced in the 80s become a necessity because of the change in the societal factors and requirements at workplace and schools demanded households to have computers at home. During these similar times (80s and 90s) income levels of the middle class households also increased on yearly basis. This was especially the case in the developing countries such as India, China and Brazil. The income levels were also rising in the developed countries which also warranted the increase in demand for computers.We saw that through the 1990s and 2000s the demand for complementary goods and services to the computers also increased. For instance the internet warranted the need for routers, wireless networks and other devices that were mandatory for office work and households. Similarly camera equipment that could connect them to PCs, mobile cables and other many products and services that were used in conjunction with the PCs were being increa singly demanded. We also saw the strength in the demand for substitutes and a consistent fall in their prices.For example a direct substitute of a computer is a handheld device which could be used for most of the purposes that a computer might offer. Even though these substitutes were available yet people ensured that they have at least one personal computer. This strength in demand is a result of the many features that a computer provides over some of its substitutes such as printing options, scanning, and video conference and so on. These added advantages and features have made computers an absolute necessity for the modern home.Another important factor that has played a critical role in increasing the demand for computers is the future expectations of technology and uncertainty. Because people feel that in the near future more emphasis will be given on efficiency and productivity it is imperative to keep up to date with the present technology. The combination of all these factors have created a scenario where by computers have become a part of the daily life of all individuals of the modern age. The internet has only helped the cause of the computers and we see that computers are an essential part of the workplace as well as the home of a particular individual.Supply-Side Factors The technological leap in the latter half of the last century has changed the way work takes place in a typical office of a manufacturing plant today. The reason is simple: the computer and technologies related to the computer. Not only have computers made it easier for companies to make products faster but they have also made companies more flexible and technology hungry. The supply of computers has been increasing at a great pace not only because of high demand but also due to technological changes that are taking place at all times.Between 1990 and 2002 there was a large decline in the prices of computer chips; this in part explains why computers prices were still falling even t hough demand continued to rise during that period. An important factor to understand here is that after the initial increases in the demand in the early 90s soon there was a surplus scenario in the chip market secondly, the rapid change in technology meant that older machines were quickly becoming obsolete hence pushing the prices even further down. (Lipsey and Chyrstal, 2007) Source: http://www.oup. com/uk/orc/bin/9780199286416/01student/interactive/lipsey_extra_ch03/page_01. htm In the diagram above we see that the prices of chips continued to fall between 1990 and 2002 except for the 92-95 period when the prices actually went up slightly the reason for the rise could be explained as the shift in the demand curve to the right as a result of the increase in the demand for complementary software that required high speed computer usage during this time; such as multimedia programs or other gaming and educational programs.The decline in the chip prices also explains the fact that cost of production was also declining rapidly during this time and that more and more suppliers of computers were entering the market. This increased competition for customers meant that prices had an even bigger drop. The increased competition also meant that firms that produce computers try to compete on cost as well as brand image. In an overall analysis of the supply-side of the computer and technology market we would say that prices have had a consistent downward pressure because of declining cost of production and a constant and rapid change in technology.There are a number of other important factors such as the availability of other important devices that have caused the prices of computers to fall down such as cheaper motherboards and RAMs. (Lipsey & Chrystal, 2007) Competition is also an important factor in determining the quality and prices of products such as computers. We see that competition has impacted cost of production by a large amount; many firms that manufacture comp uter and related devices have introduced more and better technologies that are cheaper and faster in processing data.In a lot of ways the market expects and demands computers which are cheaper and faster as we move into the future. This is because businesses and individuals know that computers are meant to reduce the time taken to complete work and achieve this objective in a cost effective way therefore more and more people and businesses demand cheaper computers. Market Scenario: Demand and Supply The market situation is such that the production of computers and the pace of technology have outpaced the overall growth in demand for computers.More importantly the increase in the demand for computers has been in phases when a shift in demand has caused a slight increase in computer prices. The decline in prices is also evident because of transfer of technology amongst different regions of the globe. Many of the developing countries have received technology and cheaper computers from the developed world which has further increased the process of better technological innovation and ever declining prices of computers.There is also a case of understanding that computers are a type of machine that must be renovated or renewed periodically therefore many companies are willing to sell them at lower prices knowing that costumers will buy new machines in the future and they will invest in newer technology. Therefore computer manufacturers have been pursuing brand holding strategies which includes selling computers to buyers at competitive rates.