English Literature Essay Example

English Literature Essay Whilst death is one of the central themes explored by the Pardoner in the General Prologue and Pardoners prologue and tale, it is clearly one amongst many others, such as gambling, swearing and sin. The sins are all alluded to in avarice, gluttony, sloth, wrath, pride, sloth, and perhaps more indirectly, envy. However, death is perhaps the most immediate effect of these other themes, and is central to the plot, the characters and the audience. Chaucer creates these themes using the irony between what appears and what is, religiously charged imagery and the position of he who should practise what he preaches but does not, in the Pardoner. Some critics suggest that the Pardoner does not fear the death he frightens other with in his sermons, because he is already spiritually dead.The first point that the Pardoner makes is that his theme is always one that the love of money is the root of all evil. It is ironic that while he preaches that, he seeks monetary returns for his homily; his e fforts should be driven by the desire to do good, but instead are more immediate and material.My theme is alwey oon, and evere was -Radix malorum est Cupiditas (47-48)But first, quod heI wol both drinke and eten of a cake (35-36)The use of the conjunction both before a tale is told signifies the priorities in the mind of the Pardoner that his own carnal indulgence precludes any spiritual efforts. This is also the Pardoners own marked admission and Chaucer uses the effect of the rhyming couplets to enforce this (winne/sinne).For myn entente is nat but for to winne,And nothing for correccioun of sinne. (117/118)It is all of this contempt for what he preaches that shows the Pardoners complete indifference to death. It would appear that this lack of consideration comes from the knowledge that everyone will eventually die, and particularly the more immediate eventuality of death within a medieval context. It would therefore follow that the Pardoner himself is spiritually dead, and no lo nger has the conscience of though which allows him to scrutinise his behaviour. He is so far into damnation that he gives up on trying to escape it, and instead commits himself to the enjoying of the flesh and material life.I preche nothing but for coveitise (147)The Pardoners inability to know death first surfaces openly in his prologue when he says that the souls of those damned by his false pardons may go blackberrying in Hell for all he cares. His false consciousness prevents him from detecting the enormity of his sin, and this coincidentally enrages the murderous instincts of Harry Bailey, who has previously told the pilgrims he fears he one day will kill because of his wifes nagging. In this instance, his ire is aroused precisely because the Pardoners failure to realize the terrible danger he is in.I rekke nevere, whan that they been beried,Though that hir soules goon a-blakeberied (119-120)The potentially tragic outcome, in which both the Pardoner and Oure Hoost would come to know death, is prevented by a pilgrim we have been told knows death very well: the knight. This mans war experience appears to enable him to detect the necessity for his intervention, and that intervention lays the spectre of deaths imminent arrival among the pilgrims. However, by inducing the Host to kiss the Pardoner, he brings both men into direct contact with that which would have been deadly to them a moment before. This socially innoculates them against the threat that they will bring death to the pilgrimage.Before moving into his tale, the Pardoner digresses into a long sermon on sin, particularly the kind of dreadful acts caused by drunkenness, quoting authorities such as Seneca, Lot and Herod and using exclamation within his rhetorical homily.drinken over hir mightThurgh which they doon the devel sacrifise (182-183)Corrupt was al this world for glotonye (218)The Pardoners attack is on gluttony, of which drunkenness is a part stems from an argument that the sin of Adam and Eve arose from their wish to eat the apple from the tree of knowledge thus creating all sin from gluttony. Like a salesman, the Pardoner wants to qualify why the audience needs what is for sale before it is offered. Food and drink is also ironically has connotations of the Communion with wine and bread. It is the eating of what was forbidden that caused sin and therefore death in the first place, and it is the death of Christ that brought the redemption of others. The mention of death raises the tale of the three rioters, which is about death. In essence it is that type of tale, favorite in folk-lore, which depends on a trick, in this case a double meaning for death which we understand but the rioters do not.1 The rioters seek death, ironically to kill him.They succeed in the first part of their task and find death, yet it is he who kills them. Based on the premise that they are guilty of killing each other, it is sequitur to conclude that death resides in all three of the rioters. This is of course spiritually true. The three rioters are already spiritually dead, drinking before the first belle clinks and showing disrespect to the elderly. The only life within them is that of the material world around them in food and drink. It would also seem, therefore, that the Pardoner is suggesting here that one dies when they are spiritually devoid.No lenger thanne after Deeth they sougbte (486)The old man that points the rioters in the direction of death is the single developed character in the story, a grotesque figure who waits to die out of extreme weariness for life. When he tells the rioters that he wishes to die, he claims that he walks on the ground, his mothers gate, and asks to return to the earth (in the form of a decayed corpse). This conforms to the idea of rebirth, as the old man asks to return to the earth (his mothers womb) presumably to be born once again. However, for the old man this is only his second choice. He would prefer to exchange bodies with a young man, but can find no man willing to trade. He suffers the misery of a man who does sees no hope for redemption. He does not consider the possibility of heaven and Christian redemption, but rather adheres to ideas of earthly reincarnation. Quite significantly, this is the only expression of any spirituality contained in the Pardoners Tale. The Pardoner has little concern with actual religious matters and makes no real reference to Christianity. His concern is money, and the Christian religion is only the means to achieve this end.Which I am wont to preche for to winne (175)Lo how I vanisshe, flesh and blood and skin!Allas! Whan shul my bones been at reste (446-447)The death that the rioters find is no more than the physical enactment, of the spiritual death that they have already undergone. The rioters attempt to go out in search of death in order to slay him is not the act of public-spirited vigilantes, but a sign of moral deadness, as well as a grotesque parody of Christs st ruggle to overcome Death, which brought about, of course, not the elimination of physical death, but the release of man from the certainty of eternal damnation.Til Crist hadde boght us with his blood again! (215)The accumulation of detail, particularly the old man, serves to bring increased irony, even poetic and religious depth to the exemplum that then follows its familiar course to the disaster. The story is an exemplum illustrating both that Radix malorum est cupiditas and the wages of sin is death.The Pardoners Tale is rife with allusions to the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, and conversely to the association between the unredeemed dead and the corruption of the body. One way of looking at the quest of the three rioters may be as a search for eternal death, that is, death without any possibility of resurrection through the addition of physical death to their already dead spirits. Such a death represents the triumph of body over spirit, or the reduction of man to his bodily component alone, not susceptible to resurrection. As Lidridge points out, The bodily resurrection of the dead was one of the doctrines that most concerned theologians from the origins of Christianity throughout the middle ages. 2The tales actual characterisation of sin stresses spiritual corruption and this is especially represented, as so often was so in Medieval times, through the body. The rioters indulge the senses and rhetoric (through apostrophe and exclamatio) depicting cycles of eating and drinking in terms of excrement, urine and therefore physical alongside spiritual degradation. Again, as was so in Medieval England, a quest is sought to conquer the ultimate corruption of death (the cadaver tombs and exempla of death bed scenes), but the purpose of the rioters is to slay death in order to allow them to pursue a life of self-indulgence.And we wol sleen this false traitour Deeth.He shal be slain, he that so many sleeth (413-414)Thus, the plot of the tale; characters i n their relation (the old man, the young boy and the innkeeper); the characterisation of death through the spiritual death of the Pardoner himself, the spiritual and actual death of the three rioters and their friend; are all synonymous with death the moral of the story being the triumph of death over sin. Throughout, the use of diction and imagery with either implicitly or explicitly restates spiritual and incorruptible values and the truth above any other emphasise the only real way to destroy death, as Christ did. It would therefore seem that whilst Chaucer within the Pardoner explores a number of different themes, each of them returns to death and thus death is the central theme which the Pardoner explores.

Concentration an Reaction Rate essays

Concentration an Reaction Rate essays The aim of this investigation is to see how the concentration of a reactant in ratio to the reactor affects the rate of a reaction. When hydrochloric acid and Thiosulphate react together sulphur is liberated this means that as the reaction goes on the solution will become yellow and will change from being transparent to translucent to opaque. The sulphur is formed as a solid but not in the usual precipitation way. Na2 + S2 + 2HCL 2NaCl+SO2 + S2 +H2O To time the reaction I will draw a black cross on a piece of plain paper on which the beaker of reactants will be placed (HCL and Thiosulphate). When the chemicals come into contact with each other I will start timing with a stopwatch and will stop timing when the cross is longer visible through the beaker from above. A chemical reaction between to chemicals can only happen if their molecules can collide into each other. Out of many collisions there will be a few successful collisions, which means that the two molecules will exchange electrons and that means that they have reacted. These molecules have to hit each other in the right direction and at the right speed; in short the rules for a successful collision are specific and complex. But if the number of collisions per second increase so will the number of successful collisions increase. This means that the rate of the reaction has increased. For a reaction to occur you also need the required activation energy which means that if there isnt enough the reaction wont take place although catalysts can lower this. Concentration of acid or thiosulphate If you increase the amount of energy in a group of molecules the reaction rate will increase. When you give energy to molecules they tend to move about a bit more. And this means that if they are moving rapidly from place to place they are going to have a lot more collisions and because they are having lots of collisions the chances are that they will have...

Cars Versus Motorcycles

Cars versus motorcycles In the united states many people buy cars and motorcycles. Some people prefer driving cars rather than motorcycles. Both are very popular types of transportation these days. Cars and motorcycles have many differences in their cost, convenience ,safety, comfort and maintenance. The first difference between cars and motorcycles are the cost. For example, people need to pay a lot of money if they want to buy or lease a car. However, motorcycles are cheaper to rent or buy. Also, cars are more convenient than motorcycles. For instance, cars can transport many people but motorcycles do not do it. Also, cars have air condition and people can listen music while they drive. Other, advantages have a car is another person can drive for someone when he is drunk. Motorcycles are most popular in young people because is most exciting, easy to parking and avoids traffic. The second important difference is safety. For example, cars have seat beats and air bags can protect the drivers. However ,in motorcycles, people only can use helmet, so drivers are fragile. Also, cars have a cage most protectors in case of accident than motorcycles. Although, the car insurance is the most expensive than motorcycles it covers all damage. Also, people in motorcycle need to use sunglasses for protect their eyes. In case of terrible accident people in motorcycle died, so cars are most safety. Other essential differences are comfort and maintenance . Motorcycles do not have comfort because seats are very awkward. However ,cars have soft seats and if it is raining people will not get wet. When people need to change oil and tires, it is very expensive. Also, cars are most difficult to repair and use a lot of gas. However ,motorcycles are too easy repair because do not have a big motor. Motorcycles are not difficult to maintain. In conclusion ,cars and motorcycles are very different in their cost, convenience, safety, comfort and maintenance. A lot of people buy cars or motorcycles, it is a very common type of transportation . Each person buys a vehicle that they like for their features.

Pediatric radiography discussion Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Pediatric radiography discussion - Case Study Example Other destructors such as TV, video games, or movies on tablets or phones can also be used to help the child remain destructed for a while. This is the simplest and least expensive immobilizing method since it uses equipment found in most departments. Devices used include tapes, sheets or towels, compression bands, sand bags, covered radiolucent sponge blocks, stockinettes and ace bandages. After each procedure, it is required that the item is either disposed or be cleaned with bleach if coated with vinyl. The tapes should be twisted so that the adhesive surface is not against the skin. Gauze pads can also be placed between the skin and the adhesive tape. For small infants and young children, a 4 inch ace bandage can be used effectively. On the other hand, 6 inch ace bandages work well for older children and they are best used to immobilize legs. They look like midevil torture devices and they are rarely used since parents do not like to see their children put in them. The method uses the Pedia-poser chair that provides fast, gentle and secure immobilization of infants through 4 years old. In this device, the patient is secured only once and the chair rotates to quickly position for different views. It is simple and reliable, therefore, child friendly for pediatric positioning. One is able to adjust the chair back to the height of the child. Non-stretchy Velcro straps can be used by the stronger toddlers to secure their arms in different views. This is a faster, easier and commonly used method where the parent is used to position the child or hold the child in position. This works best for extremity exams like an elbow. The devices used in this method include gloves and aprons worn by the parents in case their anatomy slips in the exposure. During pediatric radiography, proper immobilization and high mA, short exposure time techniques are used and applied to reduce the motion unsharpness. Also, accurate

Ecomonics Assignment - Questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ecomonics - Questions - Assignment Example C) Zero opportunity cost. D) Constant opportunity cost. E) Infinite opportunity cost. 3) Which one of the following would lead to an increase in the demand for hamburgers? A) a rise in the price of French fries, a complement of hamburgers B) a decrease in consumer income if hamburgers are a normal good C) a news report that hamburgers can cause skin diseases D) a decrease in population size E) a new fad hamburger diet 4) The marginal cost (MC) curve intersects the   A) AVC and AFC curves at their minimum points.   B) TC and TVC curves at their minimum points.   C) ATC and AFC curves at their minimum points.   D) ATC, AVC, and AFC curves at their minimum points.   E) ATC and AVC curves at their minimum points. 5) Total cost is $20 at 4 units of output and $36 at 6 units of output. Between 4 and 6 units of output, marginal cost A) Equals average total cost.   B) Is less than average total cost.   C) is greater than average total cost.   D) Equals to average variable cos t.   E) Equals average fixed cost. 6) Marginal cost ________. A) Increases at low outputs until it reaches its maximum value, then remains constant B) decreases at low outputs and increases at high outputs C) is constantly decreasing, but as output increases it decreases by smaller and smaller amounts D) is constantly increasing, but as output increases it increases by smaller and smaller amounts E) decreases at low outputs until it reaches its minimum value, then remains constant 7) A consumer choosing between apples and oranges is at her best affordable point. Then the price of apples decreases. If both apples and oranges are normal goods, which one of the following statements is true about her new best affordable point? She will consume more apples and fewer oranges.   B) She will consume more apples, and we cannot tell whether she will consume more or less oranges.   C) She will consume fewer apples and fewer oranges.   D) She will consume fewer apples and more oranges.à ‚   E) She will consume more apples and more oranges. 8) If income decreases, the budget line   A) becomes flatter.   B) Shifts leftward and parallel to the original budget line.   C) becomes steeper.   D) Shifts rightward and parallel to the original budget line.   E) Shifts parallel either leftward or rightward depending on whether the goods measured on the axes are normal or inferior. 9) A consumer's best affordable point occurs   A) at a point that cannot be determined.   B) Inside the budget line.   C) Outside the budget line.   D) On the budget line.   E) At a corner on the budget line, with only one good consumed. 10) Larry consumes only beer (B) and chips (C). If beer is measured on the vertical axis, the relative price of chips in terms of beer is all of the following except: A) the magnitude of the slope of the budget line B) equal to the opportunity cost of 1 bag of chips C) the real income in terms of beer D) PC/PB E) the inverse of the relative price of beer in terms of chips 11) When the price elasticity of demand is ________, demand for the good is elastic.   A) greater than 1 B) between 1 and zero C) equal to infinity D) equal to zero

The Effect of Red Cabbage in Sperm Quality of Mus Musculus Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Red Cabbage in Sperm Quality of Mus Musculus Essay Our human species is not exactly known for its willingness to comply with divine instruction. But when God said unto them â€Å"Be fruitful and multiply†, they were more than eager to comply. They took the task to heart. They turned a duty into a pleasure. The majority of couples had no problem. A minority, however, were distressed because of delay or inability to conceive and bring forth children. Medicine tried to help them to conceive naturally. There remained, however, a group who could not reproduce naturally without assistance. Infertility affects more than 80 million people worldwide. In general, one in ten couples experiences primary or secondary infertility, but infertility rates vary amongst countries from less than 5% to more than 30%. The increasing prevalence of infertility cases is becoming a major public health problem in developing countries (WHO, 2002). The term â€Å"infertility† refers to inability to conceive after having regular unprotected sex. Infertility can also refer to the biological inability of an individual to contribute to conception, or to a female who cannot carry a pregnancy full term (Medical News Today, 2009). Though infertility was traditionally considered a woman’s issue, research has demonstrated that approximately 40 percent of infertility is due in part or entirely to male factors (Essay Empire, 2012). More than 90% of male infertility cases are known to be due to low sperm quality. In 30 – 40% cases of sperm abnormality, the main cause remains unknown but the rest could be due to health problems such as chronic disease, lack of nutrition, genetic abnormality and environmental factors. One of the contributing factors that affect sperm quality is the formation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) (Abdul Aziz, Farid and Mahanem Mat Noor, 2010). Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are highly reactive oxidizing agents (free radicals). They have long been known to be a component of the killing response of immune cells to microbial invasion (Paul Held, 2010). They are formed at various organs including the testes. Previous studies explained that testicular cells are well equipped with enzymatic and low molecular weight antioxidants to maintain redox homeostasis and prevent the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). On the other hand, excessive formation of ROS may over-ride antioxidant defenses and results in oxidative stress that induced permanent damaged to testicular cells. Oxidative stress consequently results in abnormal sperm production and function. Therefore, natural antioxidants could possibly be able to minimize generation of an excess ROS and subsequently protect the testicular damage (Abdul Aziz et. al. , 2010). In recent times, the field of â€Å"green medicine† has witnessed a renaissance of interest as drugs of herbal origin are relatively inexpensive, accessible, and onsidered to be safe compared to synthetic counterparts (Parek and Chanda 2006; Venkatesh and Krishnakumari 2006). Drugs of herbal origin therefore, remain the main source of active drugs from a natural source and are still indispensable in the traditional field of alternative medicine for treating a number of diseases. According to the World Health Organization (1996), about 80% of the world’s population depends on alternative medicines. Red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L; Fam, Brassicaceae) is a commonly used dietary supplement that is rich in anthocyanins such as, cyanidin-3diglucoside-5-glucoside derivatives with various acylated groups connected to the diglucoside, mostly sinapoyl esters (Wu and Prior, 2005; Lo Scalzo, R. , Genna, A. , Branca, F. , Chedin, M. and Chassaigne, H. , 2008). Also, the presence of natural antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, ? -tocopherol and ? -carotene, lutein, and so on has been reported in the red cabbage extracts (Jagdish Singh, Upadhyay, AK. , Bahadur, A. , Singh, B. , Singh, KP. nd Mathura, Rai 2006). Many reports link Brassica vegetable intakes with reduced risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer. The beneficial biological properties of these vegetables have been partially attributed to their dietary antioxidants. Despite the widespread use of red cabbage as dietary supplement, there is no literature on pharmacological evaluation of its effect on sperm quality. Present study was therefore undertaken to identify whether the extract of Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L. show any effects on sperm count, sperm morphology and sperm motility.

Essay on Romantics and Merchants in The Merchant of Venice :: Merchant Venice Essays

Romantics and Merchants in The Merchant of Venice  Ã‚   Shakespeare's comedies usually follow a clearly defined pattern. He presents a conflict, and the characters eventually resolve the conflict in a relatively happy ending, which involves marrying off the hero and his entourage to the heroine and her companions, leaving the villain outside the "magic circle" of protagonists. In The Merchant of Venice, Antonio is presented as the hero, and Shylock the villain, but neither is within the circle of marriages at the end of Act V. In fact, Antonio's depression exposed at the beginning of the play seems unresolved at the end, and he goes on his melancholy way, as he supposes he must. Can The Merchant of Venice, then, be considered a true comedy? The strongest argument discounting Merchant as a true comedy is that though Antonio appears to be the major protagonist in the story, he is also as far outside the magic circle as his villain, Shylock. While Bassanio, Portia, and their associated parties marry off at the end of Act V, Antonio is left to his ships and his money, still going about his depressed way. At the beginning of the play, Antonio expresses his dissatisfaction with his situation to his friends. "I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano, a stage where every man must play a part, and mine a sad one" (I.i.81-83). Throughout the play, and Shylock's relentless pursuit of his macabre repayment, Antonio remains in this dreary, defeated state. He seems almost too eager to end his suffering at the hands of his debtors and his apparently lost business. "Grieve not that I am fall'n to this for you," he tells Bassanio in court, "for herein Fortune shows herself more kind than is her custom: it is still her use to let the wretched man outlive his wealth, to view...an age of poverty, from which ling'ring penance of such misery doth she cut me off" (IV.i.278-284). He begs the court to make no more attempts to save his life, comparing such futile endeavors to abate the flood waters or question the wolf's killing of sheep (IV.i.71-84). Completely resigned to his grisly fate, he announces, "I am a tainted wether of the flock, meetest for death. The weakest kind of fruit drops earliest to the ground, and so let me" (IV.i.116-118). Even in Act V, after the dispute with Shylock is decided in Antonio's favor, the melancholy merchant plays no role in the resolution of the play.

IT for education and learning Essay

As we all knew, Information Technology has been well-developed for years. Nowadays, lots of youngsters would study online via the Internet, such as finding academic materials for doing project, submitting assignments to the online learning environment of their schools and so forth; therefore, people started to think what features of information technology can facilitate with education and learning. In particular, people would call this kind of learning as â€Å"e-learning†. According to D. R. Garrison (2011)1, e-learning is â€Å"formally defined as electronically mediated asynchronous and synchronous communication for the purpose of constructing and confirming knowledge. † The foundation of this technology is the Internet associating with communication technologies. So how would e-learning affect our education and learning? My ideas are as follows. First and foremost, online games are suitable for using within a learning environment as they are based on the theories of situated learning, motivation and learning by doing. What is online game? A. Rollings and E. Adams (2006) 2 introduce online game is a technology for connecting players together over computer networks like on the Internet. Online games can provide large simulated conditions in the real world for learners to solve problems and deal with others. They not only increase learners’ motivation and engagement but also enhance the learning experience and recognition. Additionally, they also provide free trainings that allow mistakes and errors so that the cost can be lowered. They can also increase the chance of communication such that they would have better coordination and communication skills. Take military and emergency services as an example, like America’s Army, it offers soldiers a virtual but real environment to have trainings. To be more specific, the soldiers are required to work as a team and accomplish the missions. It can build up the team spirit and let them enter into the real situation. Secondly, in accordance with Athanassios Jimoyiannis (2012)3, online game is beneficial for people to learn languages. Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) is one kind of the online games that involves multimedia and gaming elements to act as a story to let learners contribute their own ideas and action as if they took place in real time. ARGs are usually built around social networking system, which is an online platform, with Web 2. 0 technology, that focuses on building up social networks or social relations among people by sharing posts and doing real-life connections, like Facebook and Twiiter, in which learners can interact with others and form alliances. Therefore, through these kind of games, learners are able to gain appreciations for colloquial meanings, verbs and so forth. Thirdly, there is another technology that cannot be omitted – Learning Management System (LMS), like OUHK Online Learning Environment. It works as a platform for students to access multi-media study materials and participate in a wide range of learning-related activities through the use of a computer and an Internet access. Furthermore, students can obtain updated information about courses and programmes that they attend to, participate in online discussions with their peers and tutors, submit assignments, do exercises and self tests and monitor their own study progress through the web-based instruction. As a result, we can see that online learning environment can facilitate with E-learning for people to enhance their studies. And the advantages that LMS brings us – management of personal knowledge and learning resources, collaboration and instructional support – can enhance people’s critical thinking and decision-making. As a final point, people like youngsters, not like the previous generation, would not only receive what their teachers give them but find other sources through search engines, such as Google and Bing, themselves. They prefer videos, audios and interactive media; in the meanwhile, some scientists claimed that using graphics and colours can stimulate people’s brains to memorize and strengthen this ability. That’s why tutors would love to express their ideas through PowerPoint to their students nowadays. Simple and clear structure of PowerPoint slides can offer the content ideas with few lines in bullet form to students. Moreover, visual and auditory media can be added to make the materials more appealing. It not only improves the audience focus, but also engages multiple learning styles, for instance, students can read the materials through their mobile phones. However, if people get addicted to Internet uses, e-learning might become a severe obsession that they would get lost in the real life, like virtual world is â€Å"pulling† them from the real life. Dr. Charles O’Brien, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, claimed that getting addicted to Internet uses like online games will become an official disorder because more and more people are going to do studies on it. There was a case last year in South Korea, where the couple, who had a real baby, was so involved with the virtual baby and doing things with the virtual baby, thus they neglected their real live baby and the baby died. Therefore, people’s self-restraint and the cooperation between teachers and parents (for youngsters) are undeniably required if e-learning becomes more and more popular in the world. (870 words) Reference list: 1. D. R. Garrison (D. Randy)(2011), E-learning in the 21st century a framework for research and practice, New York : Routledge 2. Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams (2006), Fundamentals of Game Design. Prentice Hall. 3. Athanassios Jimoyiannis (2012), Research on e-learning and ICT in education, New York : Springer 4. Alan J Daly (2010), Social network theory and educational change, Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard Education Press 5. John D. Sutter,† Is ‘gaming addiction’ a real disorder? †, CNN, linkage retrieved from: http://www. cnn. hk/2012/08/05/tech/gaming-gadgets/gaming-addiction-dsm/index. html 5. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=NdDmp_Ak1no.

External Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry Essay

Economic †¢ Market analysis by Insight Research predicts that telecommunications-industry revenue will reach $1.2 trillion by the end of next year, and grow by a compounded rate of 5.9 percent to $1.6 trillion by 2010. †¢ Telecommunication remains an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry’s revenue has been placed at just under 3% of the gross world product. †¢ Mobile phones have had a significant impact on telephone networks. Mobile phone subscriptions now outnumber fixed-line subscriptions in many markets. Sales of mobile phones in 2005 totaled 816.6 million with that figure being almost equally shared amongst the markets of Asia/Pacific (204 m), Western Europe (164 m), CEMEA (Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa) (153.5 m), North America (148 m) and Latin America (102 m) †¢ In terms of new subscriptions over the five years from 1999, Africa has outpaced other markets with 58.2% growth †¢ Size matters in telecom. It is an expensive business; contenders need to be large enough and produce sufficient cash flow to absorb the costs of expanding networks and services that become obsolete seemingly overnight. Transmission systems need to be replaced as frequently as every two years. Big companies that own extensive networks – especially local networks that stretch directly into customers’ homes and businesses – are less reliant on interconnecting with other companies to get calls and data to their final destinations. By contrast, smaller players must pay for interconnect more often to finish the job. For little operators hoping to grow big some day, the financial challenges of keeping up with rapid technological change and depreciation can be monumental. †¢ During the late 1990s, the telecommunications industry experienced very rapid growth and massive investment in transmission capacity. Eventually this caused supply to significantly exceed demand, resulting in much lower prices for transmission capacity. The excess capacity and additional competition led to either declining revenues or slowing revenue growth, which has led to consolidation within the industry, as many companies merged or left the industry. Socio-Cultural †¢ Telecommunication is an important part of many modern societies. Good telecommunication infrastructure is widely acknowledged as important for economic success in the modern world on micro- and macroeconomic scale. †¢ On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunication to help build global empires, this is self-evident in the business of online retailer Amazon.com but even the conventional retailer Wal-Mart has benefited from superior telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors. In modern Western society, home owners often use their telephone to organize many home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladesh’s Narshingdi district, isolated villagers use cell phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange a better price for their goods. In Cote d’Ivoire coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly v ariations in coffee prices and sell at the best price. †¢ On the macroeconomic scale, in 2001, Lars-Hendrik Rà ¶ller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth. Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view the relationship as causal. †¢ However from any perspective the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure are undeniable and, for this reason, there is increasing worry about the digital divide. A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly one-third of countries have less than 1 mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have less than 1 fixed line subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of countries have less than 1 in 20 people with Internet access. †¢ The September 11 attack reinforces the need for robust, interconnected networks that have a high probability of survival in the event of natural or man-made disaster. That argues for a consolidated base of carriers operating with agreed-upon disaster protocols Technological †¢ The largest sector of the telecommunications industry continues to be made up of wired telecommunications carriers. Establishments in this sector mainly provide telephone service via wires and cables that connect customers’ premises to central offices maintained by telecommunications companies. The central offices contain switching equipment that routes content to its final destination or to another switching center that determines the most efficient route for the content to take. While voice used to be the main type of data transmitted over the wires, wired telecommunications service now includes the transmission of all types of graphic, video, and electronic data mainly over the Internet. †¢ These new services have been made possible through the use of digital technologies that provide much more efficient use of the telecommunications networks. One major technology breaks digital signals into packets during transmission. Networks of computerized switching equipment, called packet switched networks, route the packets. Packets may take separate paths to their destination and may share the paths with packets from other users. At the destination, the packets are reassembled, and the transmission is complete. Because packet switching considers alternate routes, and allows multiple transmissions to share the same route, it results in a more efficient use of telecommunications capacity as packets are routed along less congested routes. †¢ One way wired carriers are expanding their bandwidth is by replacing copper wires with fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable, which transmits light signals along glass strands, permits faster, higher capacity transmissions than tra ditional copper wire lines. In some areas, carriers are extending fiber optic cable to residential customers, enabling them to offer cable television, video-on-demand, high-speed Internet, and conventional telephone communications over a single line. However, the high cost of extending fiber to homes has slowed deployment. In most areas, wired carriers are instead leveraging existing copper lines that connect most residential customers with a central office, to provide digital subscriber lines (DSL) Internet service. Technologies in development will further boost the speeds available through a DSL connection. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers, many of which are subsidiaries of the wired carriers, transmit voice, graphics, data, and Internet access through the transmission of signals over networks of radio towers. The signal is transmitted through an antenna into the wire line network. Other wireless services include beeper and paging services. Because wireless devices require no wire line connection, they are popular with customers who need to communicate as they travel residents of areas with inadequate wire line service, and those who simply desire the convenience of portable communications. Increasing numbers of con sumers are choosing to replace their home landlines with wireless phones. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data transmission and better Internet access that should make them competitive with wire line carriers. One technology is called third generation (3G) wireless access. With this technology, wireless carriers plan to sell music, videos, and other exclusive content that can be downloaded and played on phones designed for 3G technologies. Wireless carriers are developing the next generation of technologies that will surpass 3G with even faster data transmission. Another technology is called â€Å"fixed wireless service,† which involves connecting the telephone and/or Internet wiring system in a home or business to an antenna, instead of a telephone line. The replacement of landlines with cellular service should become increasingly common because advances in wireless systems will provide data transmission speeds comparable to broadband landline systems. †¢ Changes in technology and regulation now allow cable television providers to compete directly with telephone companies. An important change has been the rapid increase in two-way communications capacity. Conventional pay television services provided communications only from the distributor to the customer. These services could not provide effective communications from the customer back to other points in the system, due to signal interference and the limited capacity of conventional cable systems. As cable operators implement new technologies to reduce signal interference and increase the capacity of their distribution systems by installing fiber optic cables and improved data compression, some pay television systems now offer two-way telecommunications services, such as video-on-demand and high-speed Internet access. Cable companies are also increasing their share of the telephone communications market both through their network of conventional phone lines in some areas and their growing ability to use high-speed Internet access to provide VoIP (voice over Internet protocol). †¢ VoIP is sometimes called Internet telephony, because it uses the Internet to transmit phone calls. While conventional phone networks use packet switching to break up a call onto multiple shared lines between central offices, VoIP extends this process to the phone. A VoIP phone will break the conversation into digital packets and transmit those packets over a high-speed Internet connection. Cable companies are using the technology to offer phone services without building a conventional phone network. Wireline providers’ high-speed Internet connections also can be used for VoIP and cellular phones are being developed that use VoIP to make calls using local wireless Internet connections. All of the major sectors of the telecommunications industry are or will increasingly use VoIP. Demographic †¢ The telecommunications industry offers steady, year-round employment. Overtime sometimes is required, especially during emergencies such as floods or hurricanes when employees may need to report to work with little notice. †¢ Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations account for 1 in 4 telecommunications jobs. Telecommunications line installers and repairers, one of the largest occupations, work in a variety of places, both indoors and outdoors, and in all kinds of weather. Their work involves lifting, climbing, reaching, stooping, crouching, and crawling. They must work in high places such as rooftops and telephone poles, or below ground when working with buried lines. Their jobs bring them into proximity with electrical wires and circuits, so they must take precautions to avoid shocks. These workers must wear safety equipment when entering manholes, and test for the presence of gas before going underground. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers, generally work indoors—most often in a telecommunication company’s central office or a customer’s place of business. They may have to stand for long periods; climb ladders; and do some reaching, stooping, and light lifting. Adherence to safety precautions is essential to guard against work injuries such as minor burns and electrical shock. †¢ Most communications equipment operators, such as telephone operators, work at video display terminals in pleasant, well-lighted, air-conditioned surroundings. If the worksite is not well designed, however, operators may experience eye strain and back discomfort. The rapid pace of the job and close supervision may cause stress. Some workplaces have introduced innovative practices among their operators to reduce job-related stress. †¢ The number of disabling injuries in telephone communications, the principal sector of the telecommunications industry, has been well below the average for all industries in past years. †¢ The telecommunications industry offers employment in jobs requiring a variety of skills and training. Many jobs require at least a high school diploma or an associate degree in addition to on-the-job training. Other jobs require particular skills that may take several years of experience to learn completely. For some managerial and professional jobs, employers require a college education. †¢ Due to the rapid introduction of new technologies and services, the telecommunications industry is among the most rapidly changing in the economy. This means workers must keep their job skills up to date. From managers to communications equipment operators, increased knowledge of both computer hardware and software is of paramount importance. Several major companies and the telecommunications unions have created a Web site that provides free training for employees, enabling them to keep their knowledge current and helping them to advance. Telecommunications industry employers now look for workers with knowledge of and skills in computer programming and software design; voice telephone technology, known as telephony; laser and fiber optic technology; wireless technology; and data compression. Political/Legal †¢ Telecommunications Act: Enacted by the U.S. Congress on February 1, 1996, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the law’s main purpose was to stimulate competition in the United States telecom sector. †¢ FCC controls the wireless spectrum allocations among the various broadcasters and service providers. This allocation is through a competitive auction at high cost to service providers, which result in an increase of debt burden of these companies, eventually trickling down to consumers. †¢ FCC as a watchdog regulates that there be no monopoly of a single player in the telecom market. Mergers and consolidation among companies is closely watched and evaluated before being allowed Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis 1. Threat of New Entrants – No surprise, in the capital-intensive telecom industry the biggest barrier-to-entry is access to finance. To cover high fixed costs, serious contenders typically require a lot of cash. When capital markets are generous, the threat of competitive entrants escalates. When financing opportunities are less readily available, the pace of entry slows. Meanwhile, ownership of a telecom license can represent a huge barrier to entry. In the US, for instance, fledgling telecom operators must still apply to the Federal Communications Commission to receive regulatory approval and licensing. There is also a finite amount of â€Å"good† radio spectrum that lends itself to mobile voice and data applications. In addition, it is important to remember that solid operating skills and management experience is fairly scarce, making entry even more difficult. 2. Power of Suppliers – At first glance, it might look like telecom equipment suppliers have considerable bargaining power over telecom operators. Indeed, without high-tech broadband switching equipment, fiber-optic cables, mobile handsets and billing software, telecom operators would not be able to do the job of transmitting voice and data from place to place. But there are actually a large number of large equipment makers around. Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia, Alcatel, Ericsson, Tellabs are just a few of the supplier names. There are enough vendors, arguably, to dilute bargaining power. The limited pool of talented managers and engineers, especially those well versed in the latest technologies, places companies in a weak position in terms of hiring and salaries. 3. Power of Buyers – With increased choice of telecom products and services, the bargaining power of buyers is rising. Let’s face it; telephone and data services do not much vary regardless of which companies are selling them. For the most part, basic services are treated as a commodity. This translates into customers seeking low prices from companies that offer reliable service. At the same time, buyer power can vary somewhat among market segments. Customers can be as small as individual residential users like you or me, or be as big as an ISP like America Online or a large university. While switching costs are relatively low for residential telecom customers, they can get higher for larger business customers, especially those that rely more on customized products and services. 4. Availability of Substitutes – Products and services from non-traditional telecom industries pose serious substitution threats. Cable TV and satellite operators now compete for buyers. The cable guys, with their own direct lines into homes, offer broadband Internet services, and satellite links can substitute for high-speed business networking needs. Railways and energy utility companies are laying miles of high-capacity telecom network alongside their own track and pipeline assets. Just as worrying for telecom operators is the Internet: it is becoming a viable vehicle for cut-rate voice calls. Delivered by ISPs – not telecom operators – â€Å"Internet telephony† could take a big bite out of telecom companies’ core voice revenues. 5. Competitive Rivalry – Competition is â€Å"cut throat†. The wave of industry de-regulation together with the receptive capital markets of the late 1990s paved the way for a rush of new entrants. New technology is prompting a raft of substitute services. Nearly everybody already pays for phone services, so all competitors now must lure customers with lower prices and more exciting services. This tends to drive industry profitability down. In addition to low profits, the telecom industry suffers from high exit barriers, mainly due to its specialized equipment. Networks and billing systems cannot really be used for much else, and their swift obsolescence makes liquidation pretty difficult.

Calculating Number of Days - Mathematics

Calculating Number of Days - Mathematics An interest period will involve two dates. The date the loan is given and the end date. You will need to find out from the loan institution if they count the day the loan is due or the day before. This can vary. In order to determine the exact number of days, you will first need to know the number of days in each month. January - 31February - 28*March - 31April - 30May - 31June - 30July - 31August - 31September - 30October - 31November - 30December 31 You can remember the number of days in a month by memorizing the days of the months nursery rhyme: Thirty days hath September,April, June, and November,All the rest have thirty-one,Excepting February alone,Which has but twenty-eight days clearAnd twenty-nine in each leap year. February and Leap Year We cannot forget about Leap Year and the changes it will present for the number of days in February. Leap years are divisible by 4 which is why 2004 was a leap year. The next leap year is in 2008. An extra day is added to February when February falls on a leap year. Leap years also cannot fall on a centennial year unless the number is divisible by 400 which is why the year 2000 was a leap year. Lets try an example: Find the number of days between Dec. 30 and July 1 (not a leap year). December 2 days (Dec. 30 and 31), January 31, February 28, March 31, April 30, May 31, June 30 and July 1 we dont count. This gives us a total of 183 days. Which Day of the Year Was It? You can also find out the exact day that a specific date falls on. Lets say you wanted to know what day of the week a man walked on the moon for the first time. You know that it was July 20, 1969, but you dont know which day of the week it falls on. Follow these steps to determine the day: Calculate the number of days in the year from Jan. 1 to July 20 based on the number of days per month above. You will come up with 201 days. Subtract 1 from the year (1969 - 1 1968) then divide by 4 (omit the remainder). You will come up with 492. Now, add 1969 (original year), 201 (days prior to the event -July 20, 1969) and 492 to come ups with the sum of 2662. Now, subtract 2: 2662 - 2 2660. Now, divide 2660 by 7 to determine the day of the week, the remainder the day. Sunday 0, Monday 1, Tuesday 2, Wednesday 3, Thursday 4, Friday 5, Saturday 6. 2660 divided by 7 380 with a remainder of 0 therefore July 20, 1969 was a Sunday. Using this method you can find out which day of the week you were born on! Edited by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

BUS305, Competitive Analysis and Business Cycles Mod 1 Session Long Essay

BUS305, Competitive Analysis and Business Cycles Mod 1 Session Long Project - Essay Example The organization is likely to bring interesting focus to this economic analysis for few reasons as follows. One is that it is one of the most successful cafà © chains operating across many markets. The supply of the organization is common across different markets and customers have derived customer satisfaction through the entertainment they gain from the cafà © in terms of food, music, ambiance and the association with the brand. Another interesting fact is that the Hard Rock Cafà © is currently owned by the Seminole tribe of Florida which comprise of Native American people. This ownership differs from the conventional forms of business ownerships by large firms and individuals. Economic terms carry varying relevance to different organizations. Within this economic analysis, the terms, â€Å"Resources†, â€Å"Costs†, and â€Å"Markets† will be considered along with their relevance to the Hard Rock Cafà ©. The term â€Å"Resources† refers to â€Å"things you need to survive and thrive† and as people have infinite wants, the resources available are not sufficient to satisfy all these wants. Thus the resources such as Land, Labor, Capital and Entrepreneurship need to be allocated efficiently if economic agents are to maximize the wants which they can satisfy. The relevance of this to Hard Rock Cafà © is that they will have limited capital, suitable locations, good managerial and entrepreneurial talent and good human resource and they need to invest these on most optimum business ventures to maximize their economic gains. While the potential to open cafes or hotels all over the world exists, they have presence only in 36 cou ntries which reflects the implication of scarce resources on business. The term Markets in terms of economics is â€Å"any convenient set of arrangements by which buyers and sellers communicate to exchange goods and services† (Anderton 2002). Relevance to Hard Rock Cafà © is that potential exists for them as a seller to meet their buyers and

World Trade Organization Benefits Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

World Trade Organization Benefits - Assignment Example The past history has seen many wars that erupted due to the hostile feeling for each other that existed between the nations, the element of hostility in the trade and exchange was one of those reasons. After the Second World War, when there was a slight realization of avoiding the atmosphere of trade tension, an international level organization was brought into play which was called General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). W.T.O is a platform that has bridged various nations of the world onto a single platform, it has been in action since 1995, through which they achieve exchange of goods, and material and benefit their own economies as well as the regional economies. It has a pre defined set of rules that are created in the most suitable manner with focus on international peace and trade promotion. The modern world and its citizens have benefited in a considerable amount from this body and it has provided innumerable benefits to the modern industrial era, few of those advantag es and benefits are as follows: Element of peace: The incumbent body in place has made many things possible which would otherwise be not possible. It has given hope for a better world which would be dominated by the peaceful exchange of goods and material, since trade always enables the exchange of good feeling between the two parties, therefore W.T.O in a subsided manner plays the role of peacekeeping and relationship building as well. Trade and exchange opens routes for exploration and harmony. W.T.O while being a very large scale entity has the privilege of bringing about various nations which were long engulfed in chains of hatred and distances. While it was evident in past that many countries could not engage in a bi lateral trade amongst each other due to various reasons, the W.T.O has wiped off that excuse and has engaged many nations in trade relations through means of third party trade and multi lateral exchange on a large scale. The W.T.O provides a platform which in a gen tle manner obliges various nations to start trade which each other regardless of their previous history of disputes and tussles that may have existed in past. History can be dug to find out that many disputes over trade resulted in large scale wars, however on the contrary to that perception; world trade organization provides a platform for resolving all disputed issues pertaining to the trade and exchange. Inclusion of Saudi Arabia: The inclusion of Saudi Arabia is believed to benefit the organization, its partner companies as well as Saudi Arabia itself. For this reason, Saudi Arabia has under gone number of steps that would further ease its process towards the entry into the large international block. Abiding by these laws, it would benefit the Saudi local market and would improve the standard of living and benefit the government, local investors and the citizens. Role of Third party mediator: While some critics may argue that trade and exchange may engulf various nations into di sputes and disagreements, this fear is grounded through the presence of a centralized body in form of W.T.O. It plays the role of mediator and ensures that no party violates the rules or reaches to a level which is unacceptable and beyond the manifesto of the W.T.O accord. W.T.O obliges nations to bring their disputes to the table and strictly prohibits each member from taking any individual action which is against the rules specified. Definition of Rules: An undeniable fact of every business of the world is existence of rules, be it small scale exchange or large scale exchange between two nations or two groups of nations, rules are must for any exchange. The advantage of W.T.O is the fact that it has enabled