Romantic Illusion and Vulgar Realism Essay Example

Romantic Illusion and Vulgar Realism Paper Gryndal - Professor - English 2328 14 November 2006 Romantic Illusion and Vulgar Realism In the short-story â€Å"Editha,† by William Dean Howells, Howells presents the movement in literature from the idealistic romantic period into modern realism showing the conflict that exists between these ideologies through the expression of sexual dominance. Howells uses the expression of sexual dominance from the highly romanticized views of war to show the catalyst for the conflict between the two forms. The story begins with an air of impending war showing Editha’s romantic views of war in general and her belief in the glory that wars bring those who fight them. Editha was â€Å"a girl who embodied all the nonsense about the heroic romanticism of war†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Carter, 231) This deeply romanticized idea of the hero leads her to involve her lover, George. Initially she approaches George in a reserved manner as she â€Å"put a guard upon herself against urging him, by any word or act, to take the part that her whole soul willed him to take, for the completion of her ideal for him. (392) Eventually, though not completely intentionally, she expresses her full nature and focused sexual energy, unguarded, upon her lover; â€Å"her womanhood upon his manhood, without knowing the means she was using to the end she was willing. † (392) As stated by Free, â€Å"Howells implies that merely by expressing her feelings about the war Editha satisfied her own romantic sense. â €  (Free 2) Continuing this manipulation of her lover to its climax, Editha makes even their courtship contingent upon his submission to her belief in this letter to him: â€Å"George: I understood-when you left me. We will write a custom essay sample on Romantic Illusion and Vulgar Realism specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Romantic Illusion and Vulgar Realism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Romantic Illusion and Vulgar Realism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer But I think we had better emphasize your meaning that if we cannot be one in everything we had better be one in nothing. So I am sending these things for your keeping till you have made up your mind. â€Å"I shall always love you, and therefore I shall never marry anyone else. But the man I marry must love his country first of all, and be able to say to me, ‘I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honor more. ’ â€Å"There is no honor above America with me. I have never expected to say so much, but it has come upon me that I must say the utmost. Editha. (394) The letter, wrapped in red, white, and blue ribbon and a package full of all the things, including the engagement ring, that George had given her, were made ready to send to him. This letter exemplifies Editha’s resolve in her romantic thought, fully expecting her lover to yield to her. Unable to resolve the reality of war with her romantic ideals, Editha fanaticizes of her lover returning home le ss a man, †with an empty sleeve†¦Ã¢â‚¬  so that he should be dependant on her and, â€Å"†¦should have three arms instead of two, for both of hers should be his for life. (397) She expresses clearly her need for dominance over her lover, as Furia states, â€Å"with her two arms Editha will have a clear superiority†. (Furia 1) Even after Editha’s mother sternly corrects her manipulation of George saying, â€Å"I guess you’ve done a wicked thing,† (394) she continues, as if unable to consider any view other then her own. George’s death, killed almost immediately in the first wave of combat, causes her a great grief of â€Å"fever that she expected of herself† (398) while at the same time â€Å"she was not even delirious† (398) as she did not expect, nor â€Å"did it last very long. (398) Editha’s inability to accept the reality of this undesired consequence further strengthens her fixed romantic views and her i nability to deal with reality, â€Å"She had visions of him returning heroically home, with some slight wound to testify his courage,† (Carter, 231) however, he did not return home at all, sinking her into a deep, but short-lived depression. â€Å"In the exultation of duty laid upon herit buoyed her up instead of burdening her. † (398) Ultimately, this is where Howells adeptly shows the real superficiality of romanticism. Traveling with her father to her mother-in-law’s home, dressed prideful â€Å"tall and black in her crapes which filled the air with the smell of their dyes,† (399) Editha is unprepared for the reality that Mrs. Gearson, her mother-in-law, presents to her. Mrs. Gearson ends their conversation saying, â€Å"’I thank my God they killed him first, and that he ain’t (sic) livin’ (sic) with their blood on his hands! ’† (399) She continues to express her disdain for Editha’s prideful black clothes, â€Å"’What you got that black on for? †¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢take it off, before I tear it from your back! ’† (399) Mrs. Gearson shows Editha’s delusion for what it is and manages to â€Å"nearly to destroy Edithas idealism. † (Piacentino 6) Through out the story Howells has shown numerous examples of Editha’s romantic views and her expression of dominance over her lover, however, it is not until t he final paragraph that he shows the true inability of Editha to depart from her romantic ideals and accept any form of reality. In the closing scene, Editha, recanting the encounter with her mother-in-law to the artist painting her portrait, finds relief in the artists words: â€Å"But how dreadful of her! How perfectly—excuse me—how vulgar! † (400) with that word, vulgar, Editha â€Å"began to live again in the ideal. † (400) †By finding Mrs. Gearsons world vulgar, a world which Editha has always shunned, she can continue to live on in the non-world of the superlatives. † (Englehart, 5) All is right in Editha’s world now, regardless how it may be in any one else’s world. The shallowness of the romanticism leaves us with only †inscrutable silence of the Cheshire cat, content within herself, but unable to communicate with the neurotics that surround her. † (Bellamy 5) This is the superficiality of romanticism; to live in one’s own world without concern for anyone else within it. Howells shows how romanticism and realism simply fail to coexist. †What he was really doing was placing this drama within the context of the larger drama taking place in late nineteenth-century Americathe conflict between the worlds of romantic llusion and of vulgar realism. † (Englehart, 5) Works Cited Bellamy, Michael O. â€Å"Eros and Thanatos in William Dean Howellss `Editha. † American Literary Realism, Vol. XII, No. 2, Autumn, 1979, pp. 283-87. MLA International Journal. Gale. Carter, Everett. Howells and the Age of Realism. Hamden, Connecticut: Arcon Books, 1966. Engelhart, Carl W. â€Å"Howells EdithaToward Realism † American a-Austriaca, edited by Klaus Lanzinger, Wilhelm Braumuller, 1974, pp. 3-9. MLA International Journal. Gale. Free, William J. â€Å"Howells `Editha and Pragmatic Belief. Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. III, No. 3, Spring, 1966, pp. 285-92. MLA International Journal. Gale. Furia, Philip. â€Å"Editha: The Feminine View. † American Literary Realism, Vol. XII, No. 2, Autumn, 1979, pp. 278-82. MLA International Journal. Gale. Howells, William Dean. â€Å"Editha. † The American Tradition in American Literature. Ed. George Perkins and Barbara Perkins. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 391-400. Piacentino, Edward J. â€Å"Arms in Love and War in Howells `Editha. † Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 24, No. 4, Fall, 1987, pp. 425-32. MLA International Journal. Gale.

Marketing Analysis of Apple Inc The WritePass Journal

Marketing Analysis of Apple Inc Introduction Marketing Analysis of Apple Inc IntroductionMarket EnvironmentMarketing Approach of AppleDiscussionConclusionRecommendationsREFERENCESRelated Introduction 523 Apple Inc. is known for its innovative ability to gain competitive advantage since 3rd Jan 1977. It was called Apple Computers Inc. and as they have started their penetration in the consumer electronics, they have removed Computers from their name. With a workforce of 46600 FT employees and 2800 temp staff all over the world and the made the sales of $65 billion in 2010. (Annual Reports, 2010) The famous brands offered by the company to the world have been Mac computers, iPod, iPad, and now the hot selling iPhone. Apart from hardware, the company has been very successful in software with the introduction of Mac OS X operating system, and other media software’s like iTunes, iLife and now iWork along with iOS (operating system for mobile phones). (Apple Annual reports, 2010) This report will cover their most talked about brand called iPhone, which has been termed as Jesus Phone, Work like magic or your life in your pocket The hype on the internet has made this product a technological savior and the company is still adding innovative features not to mention the technical issues and challenges, which come with every product in the market. (Campbell LaPastina, 2010) Market Environment There is expectation that iPhone users will be 100 million by 2013 and as in the fig the number is going to be around 450 million in 2013. (Churchill, 2009) The company is facing huge competition from Microsoft and Google from software point of view and from LG, Samsung, Sony , Blackberry are already challenging with their innovative brands. Appendix B helps to understand the market forces as well. The company has gained by the first mover advantage and their 317 stores with more than 10,000 partner stores are supporting the sales of the product. The company is highly dependent on Cingular for their success in USA but the company has made strategic partners all around the world to grow like T-Mobile, China Unicom etc. The company is targeting non corporates unlike competitors, although the company has leverage of Apple’s brand image. The company is able to secure first position in the consumer satisfaction survey done by J.D. Power and associates. (Refer Appendix C) (Tews, 200 9) Figure 1 Smartphone sales (Churchill, 2009) The company is targeting professionals, students between the age of 18 and 35 basically. The company is conscious of its brand and so focusing on fulfilling the corporate social responsibilities as in Fig 2. (Apple Annual Reports, 2010) The company has trained nearly 133k workers on human rights and responsibility of the managers. The company also paid $ 2.2 M in recruitment fee overcharges. (Apple Annual reports, 2010) i) Conducting cross industry focus groups for suppliers. ii) They have launched SEED program to teach english and other professional courses for the workers. By 2009, nearly 14800 workers joined this program, with the help of 500 iMac PCs. iii) The company has made strict principles regarding Human Rights (no discrimination, proper age, holiday, respect); Health and Safety of the staff (Ergonomics, cleanliness, emergency evacuation, injury prevention), Environment Safety (Air and water waste management, waste mgt), Ethics (non disclosure agreement) Management commitment to train the staff, workers feedback. (Apple Annual Reports, 2010) Marketing Approach of Apple McCarthy has presented the marketing mix (4Ps) model to help the managers device a good marketing strategy where the benefits can be exchanged between the pillars of marketing, this was later modified by Booms and Bitner in 1982 (he added 3more Ps )   to cater the requirements of the service industry. (Brassington Pettitt, 2007; Kotler, et al, 2005) The next section will discuss 7p’s of Apple as in figure 3. Figure 3. 7P’s of iPhone (Adapted by researcher) 1. Product: The product would be found in more in 60million pages on internet, with the broadest screen display in all the mobile phones so there is touchscreen keypad as opposed to dialoging keypad in just 2 months after launch. The company decided to use OS X operating system with the same usage as of iPod or Mac although with lot of shortcomings like no expandable memory or replaceable battery or difficult to disable users. (OGrady, 2007) The initial version was not with 3G network support and was later integrated. SWOT analysis of iPhone (figure 4) helps to know the strengths opportunities of the product. The company should develop core competencies on the basis of its strength and should focus on the opportunities which might arise in due time, which the analysis of threats help to safe guard the product development and develop contingency plans. Gradual innovative methods can be adopted by the firm to convert the weakness into strength apart from best use of financial resources. (Brassing ton Pettitt, 2007) The locked iPhone with one network Cingular in US and by other network in Europe is not appreciated by the consumers. Also the cost of unlocked iPhone is quite high in compared to US market, which might have caused reduced sale. The users cant install their software’s which is another software leverage strategy of Apple, so they have to use only Apple software’s (iTunes, Mobile Me) or QuickTime players. The company is utilizing the iPod ecosystem to leverage the iPhone thereby supporting its online music revenue system. The display of PC based websites with same display made this product different from others. (O’grady, 2007) Fig. 4 iPhone SWOT Analysis Use of FaceTime with 2 cameras is a new innovative idea like in 3G phones, Retina display, but the new iOS is slow than expected by the compass and GPS is helpful when lost. Uses of App Store help the users to get application on their phone and Apple takes 30% of that revenue. (Marshal, 2010) 2. Price: Apple in this case adopted the â€Å"best fit segment† pricing strategy (skimming), where the early adopters were targeted who are less price sensitive and want to receive the benefits of new technology. It allows more cash flow for the company and also conveys benefit perception to other target segments. The company started off with selling the product at $599 (8GB) and $499 (4GB) and later reduced the price of 8GB to $399 and discontinued 4GB model significantly. The company wants to target the mainstream users and cant reply on early adopters (young techno savvy, professionals) for future growth. They tried skimming and versioning strategy. (Apple Annual Reports, 2010) 1. Skimming: This is high pricing strategy but can attract risk of low sales and piracy (Kotler et al, 2005) but Apple has safeguarded itself by marketing before it actually emerged in market by enhancing its brand value under top 20. (Sliwinska et al, 2008) 2. Versioning: This strategy involves charging different prices for same products from different target segments. So the company implemented temporal price discrimination where it charged the prices depending on the desire of the customers to pay for the iPhone. Probably due to good profit on each unit from willing customers and they want to gain high volume sale from the larger customer base they had developed. They have structured this in different countries and adding more features. As they reduced the prices by $200 in just 60 days, after consumer complaints, they issued some $100 store credit to early buyers. (Sliwinska et al, 2008) With the market domination of Symbian phones to 35 Million in H2 2007 and success of N95 and E series boosted the sales by $172 Million against Apple products. Microsoft, RIM has a strong hold in the N.American market, while Nokia is having a larger share in EU. The company started charging $72 to $130  Ã‚   for 18-24 months contract in Britain and Germany; in addition they have to pay  £269 for iPhone in Britain. So the customers had paid $566 compared to $399 in USA. In France, the company tied up with Orange and charged $590 for 8GB along with a monthly package of â‚ ¬50 to â‚ ¬120 or they can buy iPhone over $900. (Sliwinska, 2008) Figure5. Price Comparison (20072010) (www.apple.com, 2010) But the company should understand that European market has 60% of pay-as-you-go customer that is why the company failed to meet their target of 10 Million units but sold nearly 400,000. The company has already launched iPhone3G ($99 for 8GB in USA  £419 in UK) and iPhone4 ($199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB in US  £499 for 16GB,  £599 for 32GB) as shown in figure 5. The company is still adopting the vertical building strategy, as in iPods which is related to iTunes and help the company to control the digital music and video market. Total 73.73 Million units were sold and only 1.3 million were the original iPhones, it has been a huge success but not as anticipated. They are expecting 82 Million units by 2012 as in figure 6. (Oliver, 2009) Figure 6 Predicted Sales (Oliver, 2009) 3. Promotion: Apple has been most aggressive in terms of promotion as seen in figure 7, some examples are: Fig 7. Strategy of promotions (Kiprin, 2009; Apple Annual Reports, 2010)) 1. The company started with 4 TV commercials during the launch to flaunt the innovative gadget (original iPhone) which can fulfill all needs of entertainment and information sharing device. The company is focusing now to advertise their Face Time feature and recently launched 4 more TV ads. in July 2010. (Chris, 2010) 2. The press releases and blogs were posted and iPhone was in 60 million web pages across web. The news created rumors and the Advertising Ages Marketer award winner (2003) company was again ready to offer new generation product after iPod. The company made successful relations with media firms and Steve (CEO) shares new ideas with public during occasions as suggested in fig 7. (Williams, Mullin., 2008) 3. With the support of 317 stores across the world (233 in USA, 84 outside USA) which contributed around 17% of profits. The company has done strategic partnership with Starbucks to offer free iTunes Wi-Fi music at 600 locations, which can later be downloaded from computers. Even the new iPhones 5 reveal the easiness to find people around the city, location of friends and other features which reflect the social integration aspect of the device. (Apple Annual Reports, 2010) Fig 8. Apple Online marketing (Kiprin, 2009; Apple Annual Reports, 2010) The company is already spent $5.5 billion (increase of 33% compared to 2009) due to expansion in the retail segment. (Apple Annual Report, 2010) 1. The company uses all forms of advertising to gain attention, they appear on a regular basis on newspapers, TV, billboards etc. Like Macworld Expo (conventions to launch products), coverage of major channels like Fox, MTV and Rolling Stones, Maxim etc. In-store promotion and awareness helps in personal selling where the users can touch and test. The company site is quite impressive with promotion codes issues to consumers from time to time. 2. Cross Promotions: the channel partners like Sprint, Orange, Vodaphone etc. promote iPhone packages on their websites and from printed booklets. 3. Search Engine promotions; the company spend money on Adwords (Google marketing), Pay Per Click campaigns. The company purchases the keywords like iPhones, mp3phones etc. Banners and promotions on other sites is a regular from Apple. (Sliwinska et al, 2008) 4. The company sends email to iPod users, carrier consumers, and uses RSS feed of their promotions and events and blogs are done regularly. (Williams and Mullins, 2008) 4. Place: The company is using the locations as shown in fig 9 for selling the product. Fig 9.   Distribution locations ((Kiprin, 2009; Apple Annual Reports, 2010) The company followed the hybrid distribution strategy and engaged the telecommunication service provider’s stores along with their online and own stores. So the customers are forced to enter into a contract for 18-24 months. The company is using two level channel for distribution of their product. (Jobber Fahy, 2009) The company has done tie-ups with Cingular as they have a customer base of 58Million and out of which around18million are already with iPod. So its good strategy to benefit both companies of exclusivity in USA. Although AT T never wanted to spend much money on advertising but they end up spending $18 billion in 2009. As seen in the figure 10, the products are assembled in China (due to cheap labor) and then supplied to warehouses and regional stores. The company is clever to use the use the touch points of established networks (Vodaphone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile etc.) (Jobber Fahy, 2009) 5. People: The company wants to be in direct touch with the consumers and when they feel it, they will buy it strategy. With only $99, 1hour/week for 1yr help the users to meet the experts at Genius bars for technical support and information, conducting over 50000 sessions / week. The sales assistant is available on appointments to find the right product for right needs at the new gather place. This helps the company generate word of mouth marketing and product awareness and brand building. The sales team is trained to give awareness, rather than giving a sales pitch. Also the CEO has impressive presence in front of media to market the brand. (Ireland et al, 2009) 6. Process: Alain (2008) has given some insight about the process of Apple. He says CEO, Steve Jobs is working closely with the design and development team during the whole development process.   The meeting of board management is done every month, where the marketing proposal and other problems are discussed. 10-3-1: The designers follow the pixel perfect approach where there are no fillers and 3 designs are selected out of 10 and perfected until they arrive at 1 out of total 10. The company conducts different type of meetings: 1. Paired design: this is done 2 times a week to discuss the features and technical specs of the product. 2. Brainstorming: This involves discussion on any and every idea that comes in your mind and put in the table for discussion. There are no rules to free thinking. (Alain, 2008) 3. Production: This involves giving a proper structure to the innovative ideas and arranging deadlines for the same.   (Alain, 2008) The CEO doesn’t frown to discard a product at the last minute. and there are Pony Meetings every 2 weeks, where the client discuss the requirements with designers, so they can work according to the needs of the consumers. The sales are handled in stores (Apple and partners) by the professional team and training sessions also help with sales promotion activities. (Alain, 2008) 7. Physical Evidence: The Company has a good packaging strategy which makes the product look attractive and stylish on the shelf. The company has Apple Care service to resolve the problems and services offered by the company, geniuses’ bars to meet the direct customers and teaching them to make better users. (William, Mullin, 2008) Discussion Cladbun (2007) has pointed out the application development by 3rd party is not allowed is a drawback. But the company has been successful in allowing the third party developers to develop innovative software’s like making the iPhone work as a remote and the car can be fully operated by sitting outside the car and similar applications help the company to share profits from other developers and are unique business model implementers. This is also adopted by Amazon recently. (Marshal, 2010)     The utopian vision to create the convergence device from Apple is under serious controversy, even though they have filed 200 patents but LG claimed that they copied their design Apple Inc. lost claim for IPHONE trademark against Infogear. The company has reduced their marketing expenses by using the retailer outlets all around the world and invested that money to open their own 317 stores all around the world, this has helped the company to get the sales revenue similar to   the mat urity stage of the product life cycle even though the product is at the introduction phase. The company might be planning to have more strategic partnerships as they have done for iPods with Nike, Volkswagen etc. where the iPods was given free with each unit purchased. (Williams and Mullin, 2008) The company with China Unicom is doing excellent with 100,000 sales in first 3 days and 200,000 pre orders for iPhone 4 as compared to 5000 order for original iPhone, even there is a restriction of wi-fi feature due to government rules. The company is giving iPhone for free with the $43, 2 months contract, which they haven’t done before (Ong, 2010); this shows that the management is conscious of the social and economic factors of the target market. They have to do similar during their launch or other high populated countries. The process used by the firm is towards perfection which should be implemented by every firm to gain competitive advantage. (Gosnay Richardson, 2008) Conclusion It has been observed that the company has maintained strong sales and developing new markets and also adding the value of the brand with more features and third party software’s available for the users. Although with lot of technical limitations the company has experienced good sales with the help of strategic partners and intensive advertising. The company is spending lot of money on all the channels of promotional mix, however the company should give more emphasis on website advertising to reduce the costs. The company is well known for innovative ideas and thereby inspiring others to develop innovative ideas along with their service to the society by following CSR approaches. The last section of the report present the recommendations which can be utilized by the managers for effective marketing of iPhone. Recommendations This strategy must have lost early adopters and loyal customers and reducing the price by 66% in 1yr is not good way to treat customers and forcing them to sign contract with AT T, O2, Vodaphone or T-Mobile, which resulted in slowing down of sales and even though 3.3 million iPhones were sold in 8months but only 2million contracts were signed with ATT. (Adapted by researcher) Another mistake is the launch of iPhone after 7 months in UK, Germany and France; almost after 1yr in other Western Europe like Sweden, Austria even in Canada, Brazil etc. So a good product has adopted a bad strategy. They could have delayed the product launch or decreased the prices only after 1yr or should have started with $399 only.   (Vertygoteam, 2010) The company should find ways to differentiate the product in China but as cheap players and mobile phones even pirated iPhone is available so its difficult to maintain the brand image. Also Wi-Fi is disabled due to government restrictions but the Chinese love colors so the back side of the iPhone should be available in trendy colors. There is enough scope for people in China with 470 Million users. (Research and Markets, 2010) India is also a good market with population reaching 1.3Billion, and company can earn if they sell at similar price offerings due to economy of scale. But they are offering at $800, which is expensive even for Americans. The company has to be find ways to challenge dual and triple sim phones available in India and cost around $100. Even on $50 phone from Nokia, the company is investing heavily on marketing but iPhone wants to establish with poor marketing requires careful planning. (Rhiain, 2010) The company is offering unlimited bank width to the subscribers which will overload the network, so company should also invest in expanding the bandwidth along with aggressive marketing investment, especially in growing markets with poor infrastructure like India as 44% of revenue comes from non-US market. (Annual Reports, 2010) Olive (2009) views that company will sustain the market forces with the help of media integration, games and sophisticated software. However, company could include Mobile commerce, user generated print media production and 3D games to attract more customers. The company should understand the social forces and use it to target the customers. Rising prices, decrease income, world financial crisis affect the buyer’s purchasing power. Old age customers are free and can be the target market, so they can be connected with their grandchildren. The company can create advertisements devoted to elders in this case. Another target market can be singles who can utilize their free time for entertainment purposes when they feel lonely, as they dont have family obligations and enough financials. With the increasing migration of citizens from one country to other, even American and Britishers are moving   to developing countries due to lost cost living. So this can be another target market for Apple, where they are away from their country but feel connected with the product from their country. (Gosnay Richardson, 2008) The users cant forward any contact or use blue-tooth with other phones, ringtones needs to be purchased and difficult to use the speakerphone in cars. (Squarejp, 2010) The company should find ways to rectify it to make it more suitable for customers. REFERENCES Alain, 2008, You can’t Innovate like Apple [Available at] pragmaticmarketing.com/publications/magazine/6/4/you_cant_innovate_like_apple [Accessed on 24 Nov 2010] Apple Annual Reports, 2010, Annual Report [Available at] http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1 [Accessed on 24 Nov 2010] Brassington Pettitt (2007) ‘Essentials of Marketing, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall Campbell,H.A. LaPastina,A.C., 2010,How the iPhone became divine [Available at] www.agendainc.com/media/ipho0710.pdf [Accessed on 25 Nov 2010] Churchill,S., 2009, 100M by 2013[Available at] dailywireless.org/2009/03/24/smartphone-users-100m-by-2013/[Accessed on 20 Nov 2010] CSR Report, 2010,   Supplier Responsibility [Available at] http://images.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/SR_2010_Progress_Report.pdf [Accessed on 20 Nov 2010] Gosnay Richardson (2008) ‘Develop your Marketing Skills,’ KP Jobber Fahy (2009) ‘Foundations of Marketing, McGraw Hill Kiprin, B., 2009, Apple iPhone Strategy [Available at] slideshare.net/bkiprin/apples-iphone-launch-marketing-strategy-analysis-2858373 [Accessed on 28 Nov 2010] Kotler, Wong, Saunders Armstrong, (2005) ‘Principles of Marketing’, Prentice Hall Marshal,K., 2010, As Apple tablet looms, Amazon Kindle adopts App Store revenue split [Available at]appleinsider.com/articles/10/01/20/as_apple_tablet_looms_amazon_kindle_adopts_app_store_revenue_split.html [Accessed on 24 Nov 2010] Oliver,S., 2009,   iPhone sales predicted to top 80 million by 2012 [Available at] appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/19/iphone_sales_predicted_to_top_80_million_by_2012.html [Accessed on 23 Nov 2010] O’grady,J.D., 2007, Appropriability, Proximity, Routines, [Availanle at http://www2.druid.dk/conferences/viewpaper.php?id=1675cf=9%20{^ [Accessed on 20 Nov 2010] Ong,J., 2010, China Unicom iPHone4 sales hit 100k [Available at] appleinsider.com/articles/10/09/30/china_unicom_iphone_4_sales_hit_100k_in_first_four_days.html [Accessed on 25 Nov 2010] Research and Markets, 2010, Chinese Mobile Market [Available at] researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=542976 [Accessed on 20 Nov 2010] Rhiain, 2010, Nokia C2 unleashed with Doubnle Sim [Available at] http://conversations.nokia.com/2010/06/03/nokia-c1-unleashed-with-double-sim-functionality-photo-gallery/ [Accessed on 29 Nov 2010] Sliwinska,D., anasinghe,J., Kardava,I., 2008, Apple Pricing Strategy [Available at] http://christophe.benavent.free.fr/IMG/pdf/AINI_2008_Apple_s_Pricing_Strategy.pdf [Accessed on 20 Nov, 2010] Squarejp, 2010,iPhone problems http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2489656 [Accessed on 29 Nov 2010] Tews,J., 2009, Smartphone Customer Satisfaction survey [Available at] http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2009224 [Accessed on 26 Nov 2010] Vertygoteam, 2010, iPHone Strategy Mistakes, vertygoteam.com/iphone_marketing_strategy.php [Accessed on 2 Dec 2010] Williams,A., Mullin,R., 2008, The handbook of field marketing, Kogan Page Publishers Appendix A. Marketing Mix Appendix B Porter 5 Forces 5 Forces Model (Adapted from Kotler et al, 2005 Apple Annual Reports, 2010) Porter 5 forces model helps to understand the marketing forces which affect any company brand. According to the above model: i)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Supplier power is quite strong as it has support of big companies like AT T, Orange, Vodaphone which are helping in the sales and also using their touch points to give products to the customers. They have enough financial capability to support the company. The low cost assembly unit in China is also helping to keeps the cost low. (Williams and Mullins, 2008) ii)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   New Entrants: The threat is quite high due to other big brands competing at the hardware, design and software level. Google and Microsoft want to capture the mobile software market. (Twes, 2009) iii)  Ã‚     Substitutes: Everyday there are more products coming in the market from communication medium like SKYPE, VOIP etc and smartphones, PDA and Chinese mobile are common everywhere, unless the company is innovative, they can’t stand in the market. (Kiprin, 2009) iv)  Ã‚   Rivalry: it is quite intense as all the mobile phones have dominance in their region and it will be difficult for iPhone to take over the market. All big brands like Sony, Nokia, LG etc. have enough funds to fight for the target market. (Williams and Mullins, 2008) v)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Buyers position is little week as the smartphones are made by manufacturers and the consumers have choices but there is no good replacement for iPhone which comes with its unique features. (O’grady, 2007) Appendix C.   Consumer Satisfaction survey (Tews, 2009)

Whirlpool Credit Scandal Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Whirlpool Credit Scandal - Term Paper Example The financial arrangement was very profitable since the firm was earning an interest rate income of 18% to 22%. The â€Å"open end† notes worked like credit cards that are used for a single purchase. The company during the 1990s expanded its business to include the sale of dish antennas. At the time this was a unique opportunity by targeting homes in rural areas that did not have access to cable television. These dish contracts were the focus of controversy. The company claims that the problems were a misunderstanding, but in reality it seemed that the actions of the salesmen of the company were calculated and were performed intentionally to mislead the customers. The root of the controversy was based on the customer’s claim that the salesmen told them that the dish antennas were financed on the three year basis, when in reality the company was offering a financing term of five years. The no money down financing offer that the company offered to finance the acquisition of antennas was an initiative that served a social purpose. It helped a lot of poor and lower middle class citizens in rural regions improve their quality of life. Satellite television provided access to hundreds of channels. Rich people could acquire the Dish antennas by paying cash because the $1124 cost was insignificant to them. The problem with these contracts was that they were deceiving customers by hiding the fact that accumulated interest would increase the contract length to five instead of three years. The end result of the Dish antenna contract was that it hurt the economic well being of poor people by keeping them in debt for an extended period of time. One of the lessons to be learned from this case study is that people should carefully read the terms of the written contracts instead of trusting the word of deceptive salesmen. The economic benefit of the case was that the Whirlpool National Financial Bank created a financial tool that allowed poor people and persons wi th bad credit access to expensive Dish satellite equipment. The purpose of the â€Å"open end† notes was to facilitate the acquisition of satellite television to American citizens of all social classes. The salesmen of the company entered into unethical behavior when they misled buyers into thinking that the Dish equipment debt would be liquidated in a term of three years. The controversy with the financing became a legal matter. The customers were within their right to seek legal action because they entered into financing contracts under false premises. The executive management team of Whirlpool realized that the company was facing a major legal problem. Lawsuits are an undesirable outcome for companies due to the financial costs associated with the legal process and because the news of a pending lawsuit against a company hurts the corporate image of a firm (Referenceforbusiness, 2012). The out of court settlement that Whirlpool signed to resolve the conflict is the first st ep towards fixing the situation. The firm must now take corrective actions to ensure the problem does not continue to occur. An alternative solution for the company is to restructure its credit offering to eliminate the clause that converted the contract into a five year term. It is not reasonable to charge a customer for five years to acquire a consumer good in the technological industry. The firm should limit its financing terms to a maximum of two years. A way to ensure that the company can keep the monthly payments low for the customers is by lowering the acquisition cost of the Dish antennas. There is more money to be made in the servicing contracts than in sales of equipment. A second solution that should be implemented in conjunction with the first solution identified is to start a new

Accountability of public health service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Accountability of public health service - Essay Example This paper provides an insightful study of the accountability issues involved in the British National Health Service organisation. The National Health Service is basically the most renowned government backed health care systemIt is the free provision of complete health care from the UK government to the general public that provides funding for its operations. The organisation is run by the Department of Health under the supervision of Secretary of State for Health. As it is a government funded and publicly run health service organisation, the accountability and answerability concerns are of utmost importance in the organisation. Hence, this paper investigates into the accountability requirements in the British National Health System and the types of accountability involved therein.Accountability has been defined several times with several meanings and perspectives such as Ijiri (1983), Robinson (2002), Sinclair (1995) etc. According to Mulgan (2000, p555), "complex and chameleon-like term", which calls for the usage of term as ever changing and available in various forms and ranges. In much simpler words, we can define accountability as the notion of being accountable and answerable for the deeds and doings. Accountability is involved in many forms in various aspects of human lives. For instance, an organisation is accountable to its shareholders, and a minister is accountable to parliament etc (Mosley 2000). Accountability is essential in the sense that it creates a sense of responsibility and sets a value framework for the actions to be performed. Accountability in public health service is of enhanced importance because of the nature of operations it conducts. If the funds provided by the government are to be allocated completely to the desired beneficiaries and if the prescribed operations are to be performed in the best manner, some necessary accountability measures need to be taken. Such strategies need to be undertaken so as to combat misuse of resources, ensure abidance to defined rules, and enhance efficiency in the health care system. Schedler (1999) says that answerability is the vital component of accountability, which refers to the notion of being answerable for the deeds and decisions. Accountability is pre-eminently important in public health service, because it the utmost responsibility of any government in the world to make the provision of best medical and health care facilities to its people. Any lack of accountability can lead to the corruption, mal-practice and misuse of the resources on the part of the government personnel. Brinkerhoff (2001) refers to the following types of accountability that should be enforced in public health care system: Financial Accountability It makes the public officials accountable for their use of financial resources of the organisation with the help of various tools such as accounting, auditing, and budgeting etc. As public health care system is funded by ministries, the government needs to enforce control measure using predetermined budget for specific facilities and setting limit standards for spending power granted to different levels of authority. This type of accountability is needed to reduce the corruption among public officials in the health sector. The Audit Commission and National Audit Office can take National Health Service bodies under investigation but not much of the information is disclosed outside the organisation. However, the recent reforms introduced by the government require the NHS bodies to publish and disseminate the organisation's annual reports plus their business plans. This counts for an enhanced accountability in financial aspect because the uses and outcomes of financial resources can ea sily be analysed through the financial statements. Managerial Accountability Managerial accountability lies in measuring the performance of the organisation in terms of the results achieved out of its various operations. The personnel can be made accountable through the

Economics - Economic Policy - Discuss and critically evaluate the Essay - 1

Economics - Economic Policy - Discuss and critically evaluate the rescue and stimulation packages by the UK Government since the start of the credit crunch in 2007 - Essay Example It is in this backdrop, we analyze the factors leading to the crisis and the efficacy of the rescue and stimulation packages introduced by the UK government to improve the situation. According to the Banking Guide it has been an episode of financial instability that was, arguably, the most serious since the 1930s. It states â€Å"The risks of negative equity (where mortgages are greater than the value of the property) became a reality and mortgage defaults hit record highs. Banks have lost the trust which is a pre-requisite to the efficient functioning of credit markets†. The table as given in Appendix I shows the fall in the world’s major equity markets since June 2007, and the cumulative change from 30-6-2007 to 10-10-2008 in the case of ‘FTSE All-share Index’ of the UK is negative by 40.9%. The habit of borrowing by the individuals and corporate bodies ingrained predominantly in the US culture at a staggering level which over the period of time made the financial structure in the country vulnerable. As a lighted  match to a  train of gunpowder, the subprime crisis acted as a trigger for the collapse of the leading banks. The cases of isolated bad debt in the banking system could be a normal phenomenon. However, when it has become impossible to quantify the bad debts in the nation as a whole, the system became victim to the crisis. This unprecedented phenomenon has arrested the flow of capital and liquidity, fundamental to the banking system. It is a vicious circle and the banking system has been clogged up completely due to growing suspicion among the market players. The bank finance locked up in subprime mortgages and housing development projects has paralyzed the system as a whole. The bailout plan was formulated under the Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, who h ad been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs earlier.

Magnetic storage devices

Magnetic storage devices INTRODUCTION: Magnetic storage and magnetic recording are the term that refer to the storage of data on a magnetized medium. Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetization in a magnetizable material to store data and is a form of the non volatile memory. Using one or more read/write heads the information is accessed . Magnetic storage stores data by magnetizing microscopic particles on the surface of the device, whether its a disk or it is a magnetic tape. There are several typesof magnetic storage devices such as: Hard Disks, Floppy Disks, and Tapes. They can use Random Access or Sequential Access memory. Some magnetic storage devices can be moved from computer to computer and some cant. Some of them can be easily broken, and some are not, but most are sealed with a protective case. Magnetic storage media and devices store data in the form of tiny magnetised dots. These dots are created, read and erased using magnetic fields created by very tiny electromagnets. In the case of magnetic tape the dots are arranged along the length of a long plastic strip which has been coated with a magnetisable layer (audio and video tapes use a similar technology). In the case of magnetic discs (e.g. floppy disc or hard-drive), the dots are arranged in circles on the surface of a plastic, metal or glass disc that has a magnetisable coating. HISTORY: Oberlin Smith was the first one to publicize magnetic storage in the form of audio recording on a wire in 1888. He filed a patent in September, 1878 but did not pursue the idea as his business was machine tools. The first publicly demonstrated magnetic recorder was invented by Valdemar Poulsen in 1898. Poulsens device recorded a signal on a wire wrapped around a drum. In 1928, Fritz Pfleumer developed the first magnetic tape recorder. Early magnetic storage devices were designed to record analog audio signals. Computer and now most audio and video magnetic storage devices record digital data. Magnetic storage was also used for primary storage in a form of magnetic drum, or core memory, core rope memory, thin film memory, twistor memory or bubble memory at old times. Unlike modern computers, magnetic tape was also often used for secondary storage. Magnetic recording classes Analog recording Analog recording is based on the fact that remnant magnetization of a given material depends on the magnitude of the applied field. The magnetic material is normally in the form of tape, with the tape in its blank form being initially demagnetized. When recording, the tape runs at a constant speed. The writing head magnetizes the tape with current proportional to the signal. A magnetization distribution is achieved along the magnetic tape. Finally, the distribution of the magnetization can be read out, reproducing the original signal. The magnetic tape is typically made by embedding magnetic particles in a plastic binder on polyester film tape. The commonly used magnetic particles are Iron oxide particles or Chromium oxide and metal particles with size of 0.5 micrometers. Analog recording was very popular in audio and video recording. In the past 20 years, however, tape recording has been gradually replaced by digital recording. Digital recording Instead of creating a magnetization distribution in analog recording, digital recording only need two stable magnetic states, which are the +Ms and -Ms on the hysteresis loop. Examples of digital recording are floppy disks and HDDs. Since digital recording is the main process nowadays and probably in the coming future, the details of magnetic recording will be discussed in the rest of the project using the HDD as an example. Magneto-optical recording Magneto-optical recording writes/reads optically. When writing, the magnetic medium is heated locally by a laser, which induces a rapid decrease of coercive field. Then, a small magnetic field can be used to switch the magnetization. The reading process is based on magneto-optical Kerr effect. The magnetic medium are typically amorphous R-Fe Co thin film (R being a rare earth element). Magneto-optical recording is not very popular. One famous example is Minidisc developed by Sony. Domain propagation memory Domain propagation memory is also called bubble memory. The basic idea is to control domain wall motion in a magnetic medium that free of microstructure. Bubble refers to stable cylindrical domain. The information is then recorded by the presence/absence of bubble domain. Domain propagation memory has high insensitivity to shock and vibration, so its application are usually in space and aeronautics. Magnetic Storage Devices: The read/write capability of computer disk drives requires the relative motion of a magnetic media and a read/write magnetic head. Physical contact between the media and the head occurs during loading and unloading cycles. Tailoring the mechanical properties of the media and the head has become critical in order to minimize damage and loss of data. This application note is focused on the mechanical properties of the head slider. The tested head sliders are composed of an Al2O3-TiC composite with a thin 10 -20nm diamond-like-carbon protective overcoat. As shown in Figure 3, the slider surface is composed of two phases, Al2O3 and TiC. The Hysitron Tribo Scope was the first instrument to report hardness differences for two material phases used in head sliders. The TriboScope is a quantitative depth sensing nanoindenter that can be interfaced with a scanning probe microscope to provide This imaging capability distinguishes between phases in a composite material, making it possible to select the phase in which the indentation is to be performed. Once theindentation is performed, the surface is imaged a second timeto characterize the indent. The applied force and the penetration depth of the indenter into the surface are measured simultaneously. The lighter regions in theimage correspond to the TiC phase while the darker regions can be attributed to the Al2O3 phase. The insets in Figure 1 show the indentations made in each phase. Both indentations were performed at the same peak applied force of 50Â µN. Types of magnetic storage devices There are basically two type of storage devices Removable storage devices Fixed storage devices Fixed storage devices Fixed hard drive A hard-drive built into the case of a computer is known as fixed. Almost every computer has a fixed hard-drive. Fixed hard-drives act as the main backing storage device for almost all computers since they provide almost instant access to files (random access and high access speeds). Removal magnetic storage devices Portable Hard Drive A portable hard-drive is one that is placed into a small case along with some electronics that allow the hard-drive to be accessed using a USB or similar connection. Portable hard-drives allow very large amounts of data to be transported from computer to computer. Many portable music players (such as the iPod classic) contain tiny hard-drives. These miniature devices are just not much bigger than a stamp, but can still store over 100MB of data! Magnetic Tape Magnetic tape is a large capacity, serial access medium. Because it is a serial access medium, accessing individual files on a tape is slow. Tapes are used where large amounts of data need to be stored, but where quick access to individual files is not required. A typical use is for data back-up (lots of data, but rarely only accessed in an emergency) Tapes are also used and in some batch-processing applications (e.g. to hold the list of data that will be processed). Floppy Disc A removable, portable, cheap, low-capacity (1.44MB) storage medium. Floppy discs are random access devices used for transfer small amounts of data between computers, or to back-up small files, etc. Access times are slow. Almost every PC used to have a floppy disc drive. These are obsolete now, having been replaced by higher capacity technology such as CD-ROMs, DVDs and USB memory sticks. Zip Disc A removable and portable storage medium, similar in appearance to a floppy disk, but with a much higher capacity (100MB, 250MB or 750MB). Zip discs are random access devices which were used for data back-up or moving large files between computers. Another obsolete storage device, zip discs were a popular replacement for floppy discs for a few years, but they never caught on fully before being superseded by cheaper media like CD-ROMs and CD-Rs Jaz Disc A removable and portable storage medium based on hard-drive technology, with a large capacity (1GB or 2GB). Jaz discs are random access devices which were used for data back-up or moving large files between computers. Discs were expensive to buy and not very reliable. Like the Zip disc, this system never really caught on and was superseded by far cheaper and more reliable and cheaper technology. Overview The Zip system is based loosely on Iomegas earlier Bernoulli Box system; in both systems, a set of read/write heads mounted on a linear actuator flies over a rapidly spinning floppy disk mounted in a sturdy cartridge. The linear actuator uses the voice coil actuation technology, related to modern hard drives. The Zip disk uses smaller media (about the size of a 9 cm (3Â ½) microfloppy, rather than the Compact Disc-sized Bernoulli media), and a simplified drive design that reduced its overall cost. This resulted in a disk that has all of the 9 cm (3Â ½) floppys convenience, but holds much more data, with performance that is much quicker than a standard floppy drive .The original Zip drive had a data transfer rate of about 1 megabyte/second and a seek time of 28 milliseconds on average, compared to a standard 1.44MB floppys 500kbit/s (62.5KB/s) transfer rate and several-hundred millisecond average seek time. Todays average 7200RPM desktop hard drives have average seek times of around 8.5-9ms. Early generation Zip drives were in direct competition with the Super Disk or LS-120 drives, which held 20% more data and could also read standard 3Â ½ 1.44MB diskettes, but they had a lower data transfer rate due to lower rotational speed. The rivalry was over before the dawn of the USB era. Compatibility Higher capacity Zip disks must be used in a drive with at least the same capacity ability. Generally, higher capacity drives also handle lower capacity media. However, the 250MB drive writes much more slowly to 100MB disks than does the 100MB drive, and its unable to perform a long (i.e., thorough) format on a 100MB disk. The 750MB drive cannot write to 100MB disks at all, though they are the cheapest and most common of the three formats. The retroreflective spot differs on the three media sizes such that if a larger disk is inserted in a smaller capacity drive, the disk is immediately ejected again without any attempt being made to access the disk. Current usage As of 2007, common uses of magnetic storage media are for computer data mass storage on hard disks and the recording of analog audio and video works on analog tape. Since much of audio and video production is moving to digital systems, the usage of hard disks is expected to increase at the expense of analog tape. Digital tape and tape libraries are popular for the high capacity data storage of archives and backups. Floppy disks see some marginal usage, particularly in dealing with older computer systems and software. Magnetic storage is also widely used in some specific applications, such as bank checks (MICR) and credit/debit cards (mag stripes). Future A new type of magnetic storage, called MRAM, is being produced that stores data in magnetic bits based on the GMR effect. Its advantage is non-volatility, low power usage, and good shock robustness. However, with storage density and capacity orders of magnitude smaller than e.g. an HDD, MRAM is a niche application for situations where small amounts of storage with a need for very frequent updates are required, which flash memory could not support REFERENCES http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/tape2.html http://www.everspin.com/technology.html http://www.crocus-technology.com/pdf/BH%20GSA%20Article.pdf http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218000269 A.V. Kimel, A. Kirilyuk, P.A. Usachev, R.V. Pisarev, A.M. Balbashov, and Th. Rasing, Ultrafast non-thermal control of magnetization by instantaneous photomagnetic pulses, Nature, 435, 655 (2005). F. Hansteen, A.V. Kimel, A. Kiriluyk, and Th. Rasing, Femtosecond photomagnetic switching of spins in ferrimagnetic garnet films, Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 047402 (2005). GUPTA J.B, Electronic devices and circuit, 3rd edition

Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Essay

A tell-tale heart – essay The gradual descent into insanity is a common characteristic of Edgar Allan Poe as an auteur. This being one of Poe’s shortest stories separates itself from his other literature as it draws its focus onto the irony of the stalking, and confession of the murder of an old man. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ explores the mind of a mentally unstable and delusional individual on his descent to madness. In doing so the short story touches upon the contrasts between the rational and irrational. The ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ presents two physical settings. It is clear from the narrator’s perspective that there is a change of setting. â€Å"Observe how healthily – how calmly I can tell you the whole story†, the narrator then continues, â€Å"It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain†. This passage indicates that the story that is narrated, is told in retrospect. The passage can be interpreted as being the narrator attempting to justify his murder and convince the reader that he is not mad as he can tell the story calmly and sanely. The passage can also be perceived as being directed towards the police officers that are introduced at the end of the story. In doing so the narrator might also try to convince the police officers that his deed was justified and necessary. The theme of insanity is shown through the narrators descend into madness. The narrator states that â€Å"very gradually – I made up my mind to take the life of the old man† which marks the beginning of his descent. It is made clear to the recipient of the story that the narrator believes he is sagacious in his lurking. However, the narration gives the impression that he is a madman. The narrator says â€Å"I undid the lantern cautiously-oh, so cautiously – cautiously† and also says â€Å"I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily† and â€Å"you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily†. The narrator’s reiterations present a sort of vocal tic which adds to his characteristic of being mentally unstable and mad. The story explores the contrasts between the rational and irrational. The theme of rationality is shown through the narrator’s attempts to rationalize his actions. The premise of the narrator’s suffocation of the old man is the ‘evil eye’ he has. Whenever the narrator gazes at the â€Å"dull blue† eye he experiences chills through â€Å"the very marrow† in his bones. This suggests that the old man’s eye terrifies him. It does, however, seem very unlikely that the old man has an inhuman eye â€Å"no human eye – not even his†. The rational explanation for the appearance of the eye that the narrator is fixated about, is that the old man is suffering from cataract. The disease bears a close resemblance to the eye of a vulture. This is proven by the narrator’s very similar description of the eye’s â€Å"pale blue, with a film over it† and â€Å"a dull blue, with a hideous veil†. This can also explain why the old man is never woken up or is disturbed by having the light shone into his â€Å"evil eye†. This is because he might be lacking vision in one eye. The narrator attempts to convince the reader that he is cunning and wise when observing the old man in his bed. The narrator’s irrational nature is emphasized in this passage where he very slowly enters the bedroom with only his head and lantern â€Å"It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed†. The use of irony in the short story adds to the narrator’s complete unawareness of his own instability expressed through his lack of rational perception. The narrator contradicts himself implicitly. He states that he â€Å"loved the old man† and that â€Å"he had never wronged me†. This implies that he had no quarrels with the old man and therefore had no motivation for murdering him. He then contradicts himself by being excited by the old man’s â€Å"uncontrollable terror†. The theme of irony is also shown when the narrator hears the old man’s â€Å"groan of mortal terror† and recognizes the feeling. The narrator â€Å"knew the sound well†, he had experienced them himself being â€Å"welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me†. This can be interpreted as the narrator explaining that he suffers from terrors which indicates that he has been or is feeling fear to the marrow of his bones and has experienced something horrific. This is also supported by the symbolism of the narrator burying the old man underneath the floorboards, which can be interpreted as him repressing his emotions and hiding them and then eventually being welled up when he confesses the murder. However, it is vaguely explained and remains a mystery to the readers. This corresponds well with the characteristic of the narrator which is only described implicitly. The narrator’s gender is not revealed. This might be because the gender of the narrator is not important to the story and that Edgar Allan Poe has written the story in such a way that the common reader assumes the gender of the narrator to be male. The most prominent ironic situation is the narrator’s own sagaciousness and over-acuteness that end up being the reasons for his confession to the police officers. His own hypersensitivity betrays him. This also supports his irrationality as he had confirmed the death of the old man when he felt his heart. He is however still convinced that the beating heart belongs to the â€Å"stone dead† man. This also shows his descent into madness as he perceives the noise as being a ringing in his ears, but then convinces himself that it is â€Å"the beating† of the old man’s â€Å"hideous heart†. He contradicts himself in this passage where he has previously described himself as cunning but is unable to correctly identify the source of the beating heart. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is a story that largely focuses on the inability of the narrator to judge his own state of sanity. This is further supported by the narrator frequently being deceived by his own senses and even contradicting himself which diminishes his reliability. The topic of repressed emotions and the border between sanity and insanity is addressed by interpreting the narrator’s behavior and actions. This determines that the narrator is indeed a madman.

Musa

Satisfied with the public transport regarding safety, cleanliness, frequency, Station service and Mike. And vast majority of students agreed that Melbourne public transport system work effectively; however, all the students in the survey are international and they believe they must get a travel concession card. Table of contents 1 Introduction 1 Background 2 Scope 3 Aim 4 Hypothesis 2 Methodology 3 Result 4 Conclusion 5 Recommendation 6 Bibliography 7 Appendix 05 10 Australia public transport fare is increasing every year, and for many years were the most expensive overall.Melbourne fares are the most expensive in Australia. Public transport cost is much higher than petrol in the car. Based on primary and secondary research, this report will analyze whether MIT students are satisfied with public transport or not . The aspects are 1 . Money, 2. Usage, 3. Satisfaction 1. 1 Background It has been said that Melbourne public transport service levels are unattractive to those with the opti on of car travel, and as a result public transport is neither convenient nor cheap.What it needs is a planning overhaul and competitive fares. This idea also support by survey â€Å"Melbourne fares are comparatively cheap â€Å". However on the other side, the statistics tell different story about the cost of the public transport. Recent figures from a Federal Government report suggested that the Variable cost' to households of commuting by car is $63 per week in the inner city and $82 per week in the outer suburbs, while the cost of commuting by public transport is Just $36 and $41 per week respectively. Melbourne fares are comparatively cheap† Another survey (Department of Infrastructure and transport, 2013) has shown that Australian use passenger vehicle vastly more than public transport. This survey also shows that , males use more public transport than female o get work or study,but older men prefer public transport and older women prefer passenger vehicle according to survey. In term of satisfaction, Australian satisfied with tram, bus and train. According (Public Transport performance, 2012) that overall satisfaction is increased recent year.It also provided that Australian satisfied bus more than tram and train. When it comes to frequency again bus performed vast more than tram and train. Bus and tram both performed same amount of service, train service is performed 98 percent but it is 1 percent less than bus and tram. Bus performed more in all the section of satisfaction performance. . 2 Scope : This report is limited to three aspects of the broader question â€Å"Are MIT students use public transport? † The aspects are 1 . Money, 2. Usage, 3. Satisfaction.Furthermore, the sample of the research is only 51 subjects. This is due to constraints of MIT students. 1. 3 Tit-n The aim of this report is to find out whether MIT students prefer public transport or not if yes then how often they use and how much they pay. This also depends on the ir satisfaction toward public transport. 1. 4 Hypothesis : This report assumes that MIT students spend more money than the rest of the Australian on public transport. In terms of Public transport use, it is believed that MIT student use more public transport compares to Australian.When it comes to satisfaction both MIT student and Australian are satisfied with public transport. 2 Methodology: This research project was carried out was through a survey. This survey consists of 17 questions and the sample size is 51 who are students from MIT. The nationalities are: Pakistan , India, Vietnamese, China, Nepal. In total there were 39 Male and 12 Female. 3 Results: fig 1 Usage By Gender fig 2 MIT Students prefer Public Transport significantly more than Private, is nine times ore popular than private. So the given pie chart shows that student use more public transport .And the most interesting figure 2 in Bar chart is Female use less public transport than Male. Male use 92% and female use l esser than it is 83%. So female more prefer her own transport. The bar chart shows about the experience of public transport regarding to cost . More MIT Student are reasonably to very satisfy with the cost. While the other major proportion is good, mostly MIT student are satisfied with the cost of the public transport . An the other hand, only 15% student doesn't satisfied with cost. This is the most popular question in our survey .The vast majority 74% MIT student want 50 percent concession on their mike . 8% students demand 40% concession on their tickets. And half of that want 30% concession. Interestingly, not a single student demand concession less than 20%. Melbourne Public Transport Work Effectively Bar chart shows that vast majority of MIT students are agree that public transport in Melbourne work effectively. 76% of the Male student happy with the public transport as same as female students, while one third female are disagree with this statement and half of that male stude nts are also have same opinion.The vast majority of students think that Public transport is cheap to get to MIT. Graph shows that 80% students prefer public transport on car ;however, one fourth of the students prefer car . 4 Conclusion: The aim of this report is to find out whether MIT students prefer public transport or not if yes then how often they use and how much they pay. This also depends on their satisfaction toward public transport. The original hypothesis of this report shows that MIT students spend more money than the rest of the Australian on public transport, which is similar to the result of the secondary research.The reason is that secondary research shows that Australian cost of commuting by public transport is not much higher. The Hypothesis stated that MIT students spend more than Australian and this is what result shows because of more usage of public transport. This Research looked at in terms of Public transport use, it is believed that MIT student use more pub lic transport compares to Australian, which is similar to the findings of secondary research. The Reason is that mostly MIT students have international students and they did not have other option than public transport.Also remarry research static shows that MIT student more public transport as compared to Private. Finally, When it comes to satisfaction both MIT student and Australian are satisfied with public transport, which is similar to the result of secondary research. Because Majority of MIT students are Satisfied with the public transport regarding safety, cleanliness, frequency, Station service and Mike. And vast majority of students agreed that Melbourne public transport system work effectively. 5 Recommendation: It is highly recommended that to the Government must give concession card to the international students .Also frequency of the public transport should be increased. One of the common recommendation from the students to give free internet in the public transport. So, figures make clear for us that public transport is cost saving but fares are only part of the public transport choice equation. Just as important – indeed, probably more important – are ‘convenience' factors such as short waiting times, decent travel speeds, reliable and plentiful service, cleanliness, and friendly staff. One needs a good quality of service as well as competitive pricing. 6 Bibliography: Australian Social Trends. (2013).

Animal Farm The Russian Revolution and Marxism Essay Example

Animal Farm The Russian Revolution and Marxism Essay Example Animal Farm The Russian Revolution and Marxism Essay Animal Farm The Russian Revolution and Marxism Essay Essay Topic: Animal Farm George Orwells novel Animal Farm is a novel that was published in 1945, which notices occasions that are identified with real life situations about the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917. It symbolizes genuine characters like Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. The novels plot is about farm controlled by Mr. Jones who is a harsh owner, misusing the animals, making them work progressively and eat less. Moreover, one day Mr. Jones neglected to feed his family and this prompt a revolution which was an insubordination by the animals, established by Savvy Pigs, toppling Mr. Jones and taking control of the farm. The heroes are Snowball, Brilliant Pig who gives addresses the revolution. The second character is Napoleon, another keen insidiousness pig who killed Snowball through his mystery security dogs and blamed him for injustice. This novel is a critique of Marxian hypothesis as it mirrors his hypothesis of change from Capitalism to Communism by symbolizing the bourgeoisie as Mr. Jones and the low class as the animals. It symbolizes Marxs surplus value idea, changes from the capitalists to the communist ones. Marx is criticized for trusting that in a socialist society there will be no exploiters. The novel is likewise against the activities of Joseph Stalin demonstrating how Stalins socialist system manipulated the poor into working too hard. The novel represents how people were misused in any hope of having potential advantages in their standards of living. Marxs idea of Surplus value is about workers who are abused as they get lower wages in comparison to what they offer. He believes that the exploitation is a consequence of not owning the methods of production. The workers themselves are methods for production who are getting paid not as much as what they offer, and the distinction is the surplus value. In the novel, the old boar talks about the evilness of Mr. Jones, how they endure and how they reproduce. His thoughts are name

How to Convince Your Employer to Pay for Your Education

How to Convince Your Employer to Pay for Your Education Why take out student loans when you could earn a degree for free? You may be able to save thousands of dollars by asking your employer to pay for your education through a tuition reimbursement program.   Benefits to the Employer Employers have a vested interest in making sure employees have the knowledge and skills to help them succeed at work. By earning a degree in a job-related field, you can become a better employee. Moreover, employers often see less turnaround and more employee loyalty when they provide tuition reimbursement for education. Many employers know that education is the key to on-the-job success. Thousands of companies offer tuition assistance programs. Even if no tuition program is in place, you may be able to present a compelling case that convinces your employer to pay for your schooling. Tuition Reimbursement Many larger companies offer tuition reimbursement programs for employees who take courses related to their work. These companies often have strict tuition-related policies and require that employees stay with the company for at least a year. Employers don’t want to pay for your education if you’re going to use it to find another job. Companies may pay for an entire degree or, more often, only for classes related to your job. Some part-time jobs also offer limited tuition assistance. Generally, these employers offer a smaller amount to help offset the cost of education. For example, Starbucks offers up to $1,000 a year in tuition assistance for qualified employees, while the convenience store chain Quiktrip offers up to $2,000 annually. Often, these companies offer financial help as a perk of employment and have less strict policies about the type of courses you can take. However, many employers require workers to be with the company for a minimum amount of time before becoming eligible for tuition reimbursement benefits. Business-College Partnerships A few large companies partner with colleges to provide workers with education and training. Trainers sometimes come directly to the workplace, or employees may in some cases enroll independently in courses from a specific university. Ask your company for details. Discussion Tips If your company already has a tuition reimbursement program or business-college partnership in place, visit the human resources department to learn more. If your company does not have a tuition reimbursement program, you will need to convince your employer to design a personal program. First, decide what classes you would like to take or what degree you would like to obtain. Second, create a list of ways your education will benefit the company. For example, Your new skills will make you more productive at work.You will be able to take on additional assignments.You will become a leader in the workplace.Your degree will improve the company’s professional image when you work with clients. Third, anticipate your employer’s possible concerns. Make a list of problems your employer may raise and think of solutions to each. Consider these examples: Concern: Your studies will take time away from work.​Response: Online classes can be completed in your free time and will give you skills to help you do better work.Concern: Paying your tuition will be expensive for the company.​Response: Actually, paying your tuition may cost less than hiring a new employee with the degree you are working on and training the new recruit. Your degree will make the company money. In the long run, your employer will save by funding your education. Finally, set an appointment to discuss tuition reimbursement with your employer. Practice your why-you-should-pay explanation beforehand and come to the meeting with your lists in hand. If you are turned down, remember that you can always ask again in a few months. Signing a Contract An employer that agrees to pay your tuition will probably want you to sign a contract. Be sure to read this document carefully and discuss any parts that raise a red flag. Don’t sign a contract that forces you to meet unrealistic terms or stay with the company for an unreasonable amount of time. Think about these questions when reading over the contract: How will your tuition be refunded? Some companies pay the tuition directly. Some deduct it from your paycheck and reimburse you up to a year later.What academic standards must be met? Find out if there is a required GPA and what happens if you fail to make the grade.How long must I remain with the company? Find out what happens if you decide to leave before the term is up. Don’t let yourself get locked into staying with any company for too many years.What happens I stop attending class? If health problems, family issues or other circumstances prevent you from finishing a degree, will you be required to pay for the classes you’ve already taken? The best way to pay for an education is to have someone else foot the bill. Convincing your boss to pay your tuition can take some work, but the effort is worth it.

Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance Essay

Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance - Essay Example OCB incorporates behaviours, like volunteering to help each others at the workplace, speaking in the most favourable manner of one’s business organisation and also to the supervisor. These aspects are effective in terms of making different useful suggestions for initiating improvements at the workplace, by voluntarily putting in additional hours to meet up tight deadlines as well as sacrificing self-interests for the betterment of the entire group or the organisation. In overall terms, OCB improves the economic, social as well as psychological setting in the place of work in a way where it supports different task expertise and also can increase the group presentation (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.539). Job satisfaction and employee performance: Creation of significant level of job satisfaction and the corresponding effects on the performance of the employees of business organisations across the globe are regarded as one of the most important concepts in modern times (Williams and Anderson, 1991, p.601). There are significant amounts of research which have shown that there is a close association between the employee performance and creation of greater level of job satisfaction at the workplace (Narang and Dwivedi, 2010, p.1). The meta-analysis based on these researches has revealed the fact that there are close association between the dispositional, attitudinal and relational aspects which are again correlated with the notion of OCB. These relations are known as trait conscientiousness (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.540).... This notion is also known as the leader-member-exchange and by the job satisfaction as well. The meta-analytic research has identified the fact that job satisfaction is regarded as among the most important and the strongest correlates in respect to greater level of performance presented by the employees. In this context, the notion of trait conscientiousness is regarded as the second most important and strongest correlate of greatest level of job satisfaction. These greatest levels of job satisfaction are considered most important among â€Å"the big five personality traits, second only to neuroticism† (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.540). Empirical studies: A meta-analysis in respect to close association between creation of greater level of job satisfaction and employee performance has been conducted by Michelle T Iaffaldano, Paul M Muchinsky (1985). This research has shown that out of 74 empirical studies regarding job satisfaction and effective job performance, it has been f ound that the greater the job satisfaction among the employees, the larger will be the level of performance by the employees in any organisation (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985, p.251). Aggregated studies had been comprised of a size of the sample as 12,192 and 217 satisfaction performances have been found to be correlated. Findings of this research have also shown that, the most efficient predictor of the (measured) true population parameter, the correlation between the degree of job satisfaction and the degree of employee performance has been relatively low (0.17) (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985, p.251). This research has shown that much of this variability in the result has been obtained in the previous research conducted by the same researchers. This has been due to fact

No topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

No topic - Assignment Example Hence, it is advisable that the Christians with the heart of helping the needy should not spoon feed them, but provide them with guidelines on how they can solve their problems and come out of their situations. Bob Lupton, Bart Fikkert, and Melissa Dodson realized that the people being helped had the capacity and capability of doing the things that they were a help. For instance, they observed that persons whose streets were littered and charity works were geared towards cleaning their streets had the capacity including physical fitness to undertake these tasks by themselves. Additionally, they realized that the people who were being helped by charities became lazy to perform tasks that could help them obtain what they were provided with yet they were in positions to do the same. Therefore, these charity works only increased their dependency on handouts from the charity organization or people. These circumstances are different from other circumstances that these authors highly criticized. Obviously, the natural disasters are usually emergencies that people need to be helped out of or help to recover to their normal ways of life. In these cases, Bob Lupton, Steve Corbett, and Brian Fikkert may not criticize persons, organizations, or religions that provide charity to these people. Notably, after a well-coordinated response by the government among other relevant agencies to these emergencies, the affected persons from natural disasters are expected to resume their normal life. Therefore, they are not expected to depend on the charity for the rest of their lives; hence, Bob Lupton, Steve Corbett, and Brian Fikkert may support individuals to provide such groups with charitable services and goods. Relief is an urgent, but temporary aid provided to reduce suffering following a man-made or natural disaster. On the other hand, rehabilitation are is reconstruction steps that are often undertaken immediately after