The Dilemma Of Walt Disney - 3251 Words

Founder ’ s Dilemma of Walt Disney 1 Founder Introduction and Background Walter Elias Disney, also known as Walt Disney was born in Chicago Illinois December 5 th 1901, to Elias and Flora Disney. During his younger years he worked in his father’s farm, delivered newspapers, worked for a rail road, and was a Red Cross volunteer during World War I (Warner, 2014) . But he is most commonly known as a cartoonist, filmmaker, amusement park designer, and one of the most innovated business men of the 20 th century (The Imagineers, 2010) . Walt Disney had a natural artistic talent to draw from the time he was a young boy, but he didn’t start as a great business man. Before moving to California, and before starting Disney Studios, he lived†¦show more content†¦At one point, he was so poor that he didn’t have $1.50 to get his only pair of shoes back from the s hoe maker, and had ranked up a $60.00 debt with the Greek restaurant next to his apartment. The owner of the restaurant told him that he couldn’t come back until he paid the debt. The restaurant owner went to see Walt a few days later, and Founder ’ s Dilemma of Walt Disney 2 found him seatin g on the floor of his apartment eating beans out of a can, he felt bad for Walt and told him to come back and eat at the restaurant whenever he wanted (Warner, 2014) . However, Walt Disney once said that had it not been for all of the kick in the teeth that live had given him; he would not have been successful (The Imagineers, 2010) . In hopes of getting back on his feet, Walt Disney move to California in 1923, and in late 1923 he and his bother Roy pulled funds together and open the Walt Disney Studio, with the help of Roy who was more business savvy than Walt, the studio started with great success. Walt was free to focus on the animation, and Roy made sure the business made money. But the real succe ss and what made Walt Disney famous was the presentation of Mickey Mouse to the world. But this major even didn’t happen until Walt had some issues

Essay on Snow White - 2913 Words

Snow White The film that the Disney Company claim to be the start of it all, the 1937 classic, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, has been one of the most successful theatre releases of all time. Re- released almost every decade since it?s premier, the first ever-animated feature film seems to have appealed to audiences of all generations. Synopsis The story begins in fairytale fashion, as a book opens, and the viewer can read the introduction to the film. A princess (The protagonist) imprisoned in the castle by her evil stepmother, she dreams someday a prince will rescue her. All is well until the stepmother asks her magic mirror ?Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all to which the mirror replies that she is†¦show more content†¦Sometime later after word of the princess in the Forrest has spread all over the kingdom, a prince visits. He feels inclined to kiss her, waking her from the spell, and they ride off into the distance, and they lived happily ever after. Do the comedic portrayals of the 7 dwarfs in Disney?s Snow White detract from the romance tragedy and morals of the original story? The original story of Snow White, as written by the brothers Grimm, was taken by Walt Disney and stripped to suit his filmic style when he came to produce his first animated feature. In essence Disney?s Snow White is a musical based on a classic story. Utilising this popular genre guaranteed a reliable return of investment. He realised the potential of the dwarfs as animated characters, but this report will analyse whether they forward the plot successfully or detract from the story entirely. Narration is unrestricted and the result is universality, the viewer knows more about the story than the characters. The plot is narrated through means of a linear objective construction that forms a strong sense of cause and effect. For example the Evil Queen is angered because the magic mirror proclaims that she is not the fairest in the land, and so she sets out to kill the one who is fairer than she. This one cause then leads to Snow White being in danger, running away, meeting the dwarfs and being poisoned by the apple. Some have said that this type of narration does not allow for alternativeShow MoreRelatedThe Tale Of Snow White1775 Words   |  8 PagesFurthermore, earlier in the tale when Snow White is initially discovered and presumed dead, because of her beauty, the dwarves could not bring themselves to bury her and thus they persevered her in a crystal clear casket (Grimm p. 246). Therefore, it is because of her beauty that Snow White is not buried alive and this teaches the reader, particularly young girls, that possessing beauty can be protective and save their lives. Overall, the emphasis that fairy tales place on physical appearance canRead MoreSnow White And The Seven Dwarfs1385 Words   |  6 PagesMany children know the classic 1937 Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs†, but the tale is much different from the Brothers Grimm version, â€Å"Snow White†. Before this tale was modified by Disney, it was much darker. This story, and many other stories were also much more grim before Disney changed them. In interpretations of Walt Disney’s â€Å"Snow White† and the Grimm brothers â€Å"Snow White†, there are definitive comparisons that can be made, the history behind the Grimm brothers contribute toRead MoreComparing Grimm’s Fairytale Snow White to Snow White, by Denise Duhamel1586 Words   |  7 Pages As a child, I was told fairytales such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs every night before I went to sleep. Fairytales are an adventurous way to expand a child’s imagination and open their eyes to experience a new perspective. Modernizations of fairytales typically relate to a specific audience, such as adolescence, and put a contemporary spin on the old-aged tale. Instead of using whimsical themes heavily centered in nature, the contemporary poems connect with the reader in a more realisticRead MoreSnow White Story Telling1811 Words   |  8 PagesSnow White Once upon a time, as a Queen sits sewing at her window, she pricks her finger on her needle and three drops of blood fall on the snow that had fallen on her  ebony  window frame. As she looks at the blood on the snow, she says to herself, Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. Soon after that, the Queen gives birth to a baby girl who has skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. They name her SnowRead MoreSnow White By The Brothers Grimm1639 Words   |  7 PagesSnow White The story of Snow White is a cautionary tale that has been written by many. Each time it has been told, the authors had a different interpretation of how it should be. The two variations that I will be focusing on are The Brothers Grimm’s story and Walt Disney’s film. Although the fairytales are written and filmed by different authors, they share a common theme and two symbols. The theme that is present in both Grimm’s and Disney’s versions is that evil will always be punished. The symbolsRead MoreSnow White Essay1416 Words   |  6 Pages roles, and desires. At the same time, Disney offsets the deprivation with the pleasure of scopophilia and inundates the viewer with delightful images, humorous figures, and erotic signs. (Bell 33) This concept reached a new high with Disney’s Snow White, which made huge leaps in terms of animated film evolution. Disney spent thousands of dollars on testing new film techniques such as colored gels and improved sound and film synchronization (Bell 35). This new sense of realism surely added toRead MoreSnow White And The Huntsman861 Words   |  4 PagesWhen comparing Snow White And The Huntsman to the Disney version of Snow White, it is shown that the Huntsman left out a lot of key points of the story. The Disney version seems to be more of a flowery story, where Snow White And The Huntsman is more of a modern version of the fairy tale characters. In Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs Snow White ends up falling in love with the prince and living happily ever after. In Snow White And The Huntsman Snow White finds she is in love with Huntsman. TheRead MoreSnow White Role Models Essay1271 Words   |  6 PagesA role model is a person looked to by others as an example to be imitated. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a movie about a young girl whose stepmother, the queen, fears Snow White will be more beautiful than she is. The Queen tries to get rid of Snow White by having her killed. When this fails the queen goes after Snow White herself. Many people view Disney princesses as good role models for young children. Disney princesses are not good role models. Disney princesses make it seem like it is okayRead MoreEssay on Analytical Interpretation of Snow White639 Words   |  3 PagesAn Analytical Interpretation of â€Å"Snow-White†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the story of Snow-White, Competition is played out in numerous ways. As the famous saying goes-only the strongest survive and to the victor go the spoils. There were a few power struggles going on even under the primary plot. This is one way to describe some of the seemingly bizarre or extreme motivations that push the story to a grisly, but happy ending.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first queen apparently dies in childbirth (but do we really knowRead MoreEssay on Envy and Beauty in Snow White1215 Words   |  5 PagesEnvy, Beauty, and Snow White Few people can grow up within todays society without knowing the tale of Snow White. From the Grimm Brothers to Disney, it has been told and retold to children throughout the ages. However, what is often overlooked are the true meanings within the story. Fairytales typically have underlying messages that can be found written between the lines, generally in terms of the key themes. Snow White discusses the themes of envy and beauty, and shows how humans obsessions

Natural language processing Free Essays

A survey of related studies was conducted by the researchers in order to provide more insight into the research in the field of an experimentation and to get support of the Borer-Moore string searching algorithm as a relevant string matching algorithm that can be integrated with Natural Language Processing method and why it creates a better string searching process. The available literature related to the research work has been reviewed and presented under two distinct heads biz. String Searching Algorithm ii) Natural Language Processing 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Natural language processing or any similar topic only for you Order Now 1. String Searching Algorithm There are many existing string matching algorithms, and each is efficient and effective in one way or another. It is worth noting that string is used interchangeably with text. It is a sequence of characters that may be a set of alphabet. The researchers have selected the Borer-Moore string matching algorithm because it is used in most software applications. String matching algorithms work by matching two strings, the main string and the pattern. The main string is larger than or equal to the pattern that is the text being searched. Borer-Moore String matching algorithm works by comparing from right to left. It is fast because it skips some of the characters. It is efficient because with each failed attempt to match between the search string and the pattern, it uses the gathered information from that attempt to rule out as many positions where the pattern does not match. REF_002] It becomes faster if the set of alphabet is larger and the pattern is longer The current areas covered by natural language processing are automatic summarization, coherence resolution, discourse analysis, machine translation, morphological segmentation, named entity recognition, natural engage generation, natural language understanding, optical character recognition, sentence breaking, sentiment analysis, speech recognition, speech segmentation, topic segmentation, word segmentation, word sense disambiguation, information retrieval, information extraction and speech processing; some other are stemming, text simplification, text-to-speech, text-proofing, natural language search, query expansion, automated essay scoring and truncating How to cite Natural language processing, Essays

Accounting - Internal Controls and SDLC

Questions: 1. You are a Systems Accountant working as an independent consultant. You have been approached by a local small wholesaler who has grown significantly since they opened their business 5 years ago. You have been employed to provide a report to the business that outlines the following: Differences between a cloud based accounting system and a traditional accounting system Advantages of a cloud system Potential areas of concern around cloud accounting Within the report the business would also like you to compare (in table format) 3 potential cloud accounting systems that would fulfil the following: GL, AR, AP, Payroll for 20, Inventory and reporting Dashboard Secure Bankfeeds Also provide details of any additional features that you believe may benefit the business. Compare and contrast the cost of using these systems, and make a recommendation to the business based on your analysis. 2. You have recently started in a new organisation as a Financial Accountant. Part of this role involves supervising the Accounts Payable department. You have early concerns around Internal Controls within the existing process. You have decided to undertake an initial internal audit of the AP process, specifically focussing on accuracy, completeness and validity of the process. The scope of the investigation is to review: a) Master file data b) Purchase transactions c) Purchase returns d) Purchase discounts e) Payments Provide a report to your manager, the Financial Controller, identifying potential internal control risks that may exist in each of the areas above (a-e). You must also recommend appropriate Internal Control measure to mitigate the risks. 3. HTH Corporation has been growing rapidly, as has their technology. Systems have been added on an as-needs basis which has resulted in a patchwork quilt of over 20 best of breed legacy systems. Many of these legacy systems are over 10 years old. To improve the quality of their business-decision information, HTH has decided to implement a solution that will bring their disparate systems together in one seamless dataflow. Using the framework provided in step 1 of the SDLC, provide HTH Corporation with a summary (no more than 1000 words) of what they should do next. You can use headings and subheadings as part of your summary. Include in your answer an overview of who from HTH Corporation should be involved and any outcomes/ deliverables that HTH should expect from this step. Answers: Executive summary: There are a number of differences when it comes to traditional accounting systems and the cloud based accounting system. Audit refers to the through examination of all the internal controls and assessing their adequacy and whether they are operating and whether they are able to detect the material misstatements. Further, there are a number of accounting packages that could be implemented in the business system. But the system to be used must be assessed and then the appropriate action must be taken. Cloud and traditional system of accounting: The following are the differences between cloud accounting and traditional accounting: 1. Cloud based accounting entails a huge amount of savings and they are immediately seen whereas the traditional accounting involves huge outlay of costs. 2. In the cloud based accounting system, the accounts are kept online and can be retrieved using the internet but under the traditional based accounting, there is no such possibility. 3. The cloud based accounting system is more flexible when it comes to accessing the information while travelling whereas the same cannot be done in the traditional accounting 4. The cloud based accounting system has some of the added features and additions but the same are not present in the traditional accounting system 5. The cloud based accounting system can update and upgrade the system automatically but the same is not possible for the traditional based accounting system 6. The cloud based accounting system backs up all the information online but the same is not possible under the traditional accounting system. 7. In terms of back up, the cloud accounting backs up all the processes online. There is a single source of information that is continuously backed up so as to avoid the risk of the data loss whereas under the traditional accounting, the backups are done manually. The following are the merits of the cloud based accounting systems: 1. It saves money 2. It provides the financial information in the real time 3. There could be an effective and an efficient way of collaborating with the accountants, managers, partners and the other staff that belong to the different locations. 4. The degree of fraud is reduced with the help of the cloud based accounting system 5. The efficiency of the accounting system is increased when cloud based accounting system is used. Risks and the controls for the purchase system: The following are the risks that are involved: 1. Disagreement among the employees 2. The controls may have been over written by the management 3. The controls may have been designed in such a way that they are good for the handling of the routine tasks but are somewhat not adaptable for the non-routine tasks 4. Errors of humans 5. The cost of the controls may be so huge that they are way beyond the benefits that they provide. The following are some of the controls that could be in place in the purchase system: All the procedures must be authorised and the responsibility of the people must be kept so that there is no place for any error An appropriate procedure must be defined out for the purchase system Segregation of the duties The orders being placed for the purchases must be authorised by the appropriate authority The orders for purchase must be approved by the competent authority when the goods are received The store manager must sign the receipt of the goods as and when received The purchase orders should be approved only by the senior most officials. The GRN must already be numbered before for the purposes of periodic accounting The purchase orders and the GRNs must be signed along with the invoices that have been raised by the suppliers The mathematical errors must be taken care of The amounts entered into the ledger of purchase must be reconciled with the general ledger so that there is no room for any error An independent person must check the amount that has been recorded in the journal of purchase All the records of the goods that have been received must be forwarded to the department of accounts payable The charts of the accounts must be kept in place The procedures must be in place for the recording of the purchases as soon as the physical goods have been received. System analysis: Systems development life cycle is concerned with the development of the system through the various stages of the information systems development project. This includes a number of stages such as the feasibility study, system analysis etc among others. The following are the benefits that are involved: The management learns from the various experiences in respect of the projects The management learns from the strategies that are involved in development The management leans from the common mistakes that it does The routine tasks are standardised Creativity is used to solve the normal problems in order to reinvent the whole model Reduction of the risk of failure More than half of the projects are run over the planned schedule and the budget Around one fifth of the projects are implemented within the time frame given and the budget is exceeded in all of them. The analysis of the system refers to the specification of the requirements of the system. The person who does the analysis of the system is the system analyst. He is the one who is responsible for the work of the analysis of the system. The following are the common responsibilities that are associated with the work of the system analyst: 1. System analysis: it is very important for the system analyst to know the working of the activity of the business. The analysts has to gather all the information and the requirements that must be there in the system so that all the requirements of the users are fulfilled. 2. System designing: in this, the system has to be designed along with the development of the application 3. Designing and programming: in this stage, the analyst performs as the programmer and he writes the codes so as to implement the design of the proposed application. The system analyst is required to handle a huge amount of responsibilities and it is due to this reason, he must possess the skills so that his responsibilities can be fulfilled in the most efficient manner. The system analyst must also possess the following information: 4. The working knowledge of the business module so that the analyst can imbed the features of the same in his application. But for this, he must know the general functioning of the business 5. The analyst must be very skilful at all the stages of the development so that there could be an efficient interaction between the users and then the stated requirements must be extracted. 6. The system analyst must possess the problem solving skills so that there could be a definition of the alternative solutions and solutions for the various problems that occur as and when the stages of the development are progressed. The analysis of the system must be done in order to define the requirements of the organization and this could be done through a variety of ways and methods. The information that is gathered by the system analysts are gathered either manually or through the use of the computers. The collection of the information is very important and could even affect all the major decision of the organization 7. Requirements defining: the system analyst must undertake interviews with the users, observation, walkthroughs etc, and questionnaire so that he can understand the exact requirements of the user. 8. Requirements prioritizing: each and every user has his own set of requirements and perceives the information in a very different way. But the limitation here is that it is not possible due to the limitation on the capacity to satisfy the requirements of the users 9. Facts gathering: after the needs and the requirements of the users have been determined, the necessary information and the useful information is collected. The system analyst then starts developing the system with the help and involvement of the users. The users from time to time keep on helping the system analyst so that the system could be developed faster. 10. Evaluating the system: the system undergoes continuous monitoring and makes it better and user friendly for the users so that they could use the same with the utmost ease. 11. Solving of problems: the analyst should have the in depth knowledge of the business and therefore, must provide the alternative solutions to the management. The analyst must present some of the flexible alternatives to the management that they have a variety of options to choose from. 12. Specifications drawings: during the process of system analysis, the analyst must lay down the points that are not technical. The managers should draw the specifications that are useful for the managers. The specifications and the requirements drawn must be in detail and presentable. The following are the deliverables for the system analysis: Programs, reusable modules and the objects Files and the databases Records and the transactions Data dictionary Procedures Schedules and timings Interfaces Data requirements Revised cost benefit analysis The recommended designing alternatives The recommended implementation techniques The preliminary system test plan The management summary of the system that is proposed to be developed The index to the related material The requirements of the network and the telecommunications The controls of the system Conclusion: The cloud based system must be used since it has a number of advantages. Also, there are a number of controls that must be kept in place so as to ensure that the organization is safe and that there is no mis-statement. And even when there are mis-statements, they do not go undetected. This is mainly due to the reason that the misstatements can affect the confidence of the people that believe in the financial statements and when there are misstatements, they will no longer know whether to believe in them or not. Audit is concerned with the detailed examination of the financial statements. The main aim of audit is to give an opinion on the reliability of the financial statements and keep the confidence of the investors intact in the financial statements. References: Accountantnextdoor.com, (2015). Advantages and disadvantages of cloud accounting to a small business | Investment and Small Business Accountants. Retrieved 18 January 2015. McCarthy, D. (2013). Out of the Office: Cloud-Based Accounting vs. Traditional Accounting | Compass EAST. Compasseast.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015. opentuition.com, (2015). Internal Control Systems. Retrieved 18 January 2015. Price, D., VIPs, L. (2012). Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing To Accounting Firms - CloudTweaks.com. CloudTweaks.com. Searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com, (2015). What is systems development life cycle (SDLC)? - Definition from WhatIs.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015. Umsl.edu, (2015). Deliverables in Analysis. Retrieved 18 January 2015.

World Population an Example of the Topic Economics Essays by

World Population In 2004 world population reached the amount of 6.4 billion people. According to the information, publicized by U.S. Census Bureau, in 2004 total number of people living on our planet was 6,375,006,404, and in 2005 this number came up to 6,451,429,868 people. Therefore, in 2004 average population change totaled +76,423,464 people, and the index of average annual population growth was 1.18% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). Need essay sample on "World Population" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed According to the information from one of the most popular online information databases the World Factbook publicized by Central Intelligent Agency, currently (June 14, 2007) population of the world has already exceeded 6.6 billion people (CIA, 2007). National demographers inform that in 2007 the index of average annual population growth is estimated to reach 1.17% and average population change is expected to amount to +77,430,945 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). It is necessary to say that lately both index of average annual population growth and average population change have a strong tendency to decline. Thus, in 1950 population growth rate was at the level of 1.47%, in 1963 it peaked at 2.19%, and after this peak the rate started decreasing. At that, annual increase of world population peaked in 1989, reaching +87,823,244 people, and now it is also slightly decreasing (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). Nevertheless, world population is still growing quite rapidly. Specialists predict that in 2050 there will be 9,404,296,384 people living on earth, though by that time average annual population growth rate will have gone down to 0,49% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). It is estimated that world population can hypothetically grow up to 90-125 billion people. References: World Facts. (2007, June 14). CIA. Central Intelligence Agency. World Population Info. (2007, June 17). U.S. Census Bureau. Online International Database.

Superhighway or Road to Nowhere essays

Superhighway or Road to Nowhere essays What impact, if any, is the use of computers and other digital technologies having on the learning process of todays student? To what extent or degree are we as teachers responsible, or should be responsible, for the proper integration of technology into our classrooms? Research and inquiry into this realm have proposed both positive and negative aspects to computer versus traditional learning. There are, without question, cultural and educational benefits and dangers of technology and computer usage for students. As educators, we have a significant role to play in ensuring equal access to technology, and in realizing its full educational and creative potential. Public debate about the impact of new digital technologies have been marked by a kind of schizophrenia which often accompanies the advent of new cultural forms. On the one hand, these new forms are seen to have enormous positive potential, particularly for learning; on the other, they are frequently seen to be harmful to those who are regarded as particularly vulnerable. In both cases, it is children - or perhaps more accurately, the idea of childhood - which is the vehicle for many of these aspirations and concerns. This was certainly apparent in the early years of television. Amid current fears about the impact of television violence, it is interesting to recall that television was initially promoted to parents as an educational medium. Likewise, in the 1950s and 1960s, television and other new electronic technologies were widely seen to embody the future of education: they were described as teaching machines. Even here, however, hopes of a utopian future were often balanced against fears of loss and cultural decline. Television was seen both as a new way of bringing the family together, and as something which would undermine natural family interaction. The medium was extolled as a means of nurturing c...

Studies on the Economic Effects and Bans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Studies on the Economic Effects and Bans - Essay Example Most drugs are considered illegal since they have a way of causing significant side effects not only to the person abusing them but also the other people who directly interact with him or her. However, in any circumstance, cigarettes are still allowed whether an individual is hawking them or is just in their possession. There is a sort of regulation that has been put in force in purchasing the good. Age sixteen is the minimum age allowed for an individual to buy this particular commodity. However, it has been revealed by a number of researchers that greedy shopkeepers violate this policy by selling it before trying to find out the age or even identity of the buyer. Most individuals are always against smoking due to the irritating smell and are also scared of the health implications that accompany the act. When an individual begins the act, not only does he cause harm to himself but also results to environmental pollution and makes other people directly interacting with them to smoke. This is what is referred to as passive smoking and it can result to great harm to the internal body. As each year passes by, the smoking habit has greatly increased resulting to a proportional increase in passive smokers. Aware of the incoming disaster, the U.K government is in turn about to present to the queen a proposed bill that bans cigarette smoking in several public places. ASH, which stands for Action on Smoking and Health is a lobby for anti smoking whose mandate is to easily communicate with a market of their choice on the adverse effects of smoking. To achieve this, it closely works with â€Å"cancer research U.K†. Both companies professionally join forces to get rid of illnesses caused by smoking. ASH also worked with â€Å"you goo† company in carrying out prospective researches. It also issued ASH the research questionnaires. As a normal company, the main Aim of ASH it to ensure a global village free of tobacco harms. It can therefore be referred to as a public health campaigning charity organization. The ASH therefore is seen as an organization that doesn’t necessarily support the use of tobacco but is keen at dealing with the aftermath of its abuse. It can therefore be deduced that this organization is aware that completely banning cigarette smoking is hard n hence decides to focus more on how to deal with the aftermath. On the other hand, after taking my time to read an article written by Russell, I noticed called â€Å"The Facts† I noticed the authors artistic nature of pointing out the reasons behind the smoking ban. I noticed however that the studies selected by Russell take a one-sided trend and omits very significant points. In studying the smoking ban, one of the main agendas was to put solid proof to table as to why bans are relevant for business. It was discovered from a research made in California that there was a slight revenue increase of 5% after the ban was imposed. The study however fails to recognize the fact that the fact that at that very moment an overwhelming economic growth was being experienced by the country. The study also was keen at giving the exact number of businesses that strictly banned smoking. Several businesses were a part of the study yet most of them had put the ban under operation long before the study was conducted. The most affected businesses were the likes of bowling alleys, bars, bingo parlor, etc hence they were completely left out of the

Speech Recon Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Speech Recon - Assignment Example It is not unreasonable to assume therefore that in the future advanced speech recognition software will govern more and more of our common day to day activities (Li, 2004). One particular aspect that it is likely to replace is the job of the drive thru order taker. Everyday, tens of thousands of orders are placed and received by a human being; however, the fact of the matter is that there is no reason why speech recognition software would not be capable of doing the exact same task. Further, technical support automation is already something that has experienced a great deal of success. As such, it would not be a stretch to assume that at some point, calling your banking institution, cell phone provider, or electrical company could all be handled by speech recognition software; with a human only acting as a last resort back up for very complex and convoluted issues. Authors and futurologists have long feared the time in which computers/robots will take over a high number of jobs from humans; thereby stripping humanity of its wherewithal and ability to perform certain functions on their own. In the same way, having voice recognition software conceivably performing a majority of customer care/relations jobs will doubtless have a negative effect on consumer satisfaction as the consumer feels as if their business is unworthy of the time it would take a â€Å"real human† to answer their questions. In the end, the technology in and of itself is not a bad thing; however, its application if overused is troubling for the

Attachment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Attachment - Research Paper Example nt scientific articles and reports on the influences of parents and caregivers on brain development, their relationship to theorist and application to ECE (Early Childhood Education), and how these relationships and applications help answer my question. The articles study brain development after birth from a socioeconomic, environmental, dietary, social class, and strata points of view. In 2004, researcher Brenda Jones Harden explores developmental procedures at cognitive levels in â€Å"Safety and Stability for Foster Children: A Developmental Perspective† (Harden, 2004). Phyllis Porter’s 2007 â€Å"Early Brain Development: What parents and caregivers need to know!† argues that children brought up in environmentally poor households like unmaintained orphanages become familiar to less sounds, colors, images, socializations, and visions. Jednorà ³g, et al, wrote â€Å"The influence of socioeconomic status on children’s brain structure† in 2012 to determine the effect of parental SES (Socioeconomic Status) on children’s brain development (Jednorà ³g, et al., 2012). Theresa Hawley and Megan Gunner 2000 edition of â€Å"Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development† involves the latest developments in brain studies on children, which have shed light on how a child’s brain keeps on budding and developing â€Å"postnatally† (Hawley and Gunner, 2000). Michelle Loman and Megan Gunnar’s 2010 article â€Å"Early experience and the development of stress reactivity and regulation in children† theorizes that infants who spend early parts of their childhood in institutes, or endure abuses from their parents, caregivers, or siblings of origin are in jeopardy of building emotional and interactive issues echoing illnesses of emotion and attention control. Lastly, Daniel A. Hackman  Martha J. Farah say SES is related to mental accomplishments all through a child’s life in their 2009 research article â€Å"Socioeconomic status and the developing brain.† Hawley

Is Any Version of the Identity Theory of Mind Acceptable?

Is Any Version of the Identity Theory of Mind Acceptable? Identity theory argues that the mind is identical to the brain and that mental events are identical to brain events, ultimately the theory enlightens materialism in that everything is physical and to further precision it enlightens material monism in believing that only material substances and their states exist (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 65). To some extent it exemplifies physicalism that humans are fully material beings that can be explained using ideally complete physics which it is essential to point out do not currently exist. The theory in summary states that when we experience something in our minds it will be identical to an event in the brain, for example pain will be experienced at the same time as the firing of c-fibres in the brain (Gareth Southwell, 2009, http://www.philosophyonline.co.uk). In this essay I will further discuss the different versions of the identity theory such as type-type and token-token. And I will prove that despite strengths such as explaining why changes in the brain through injury or otherwise accompany alterations in the mental functioning no version of the identity theory of mind are ultimately acceptable due to its inability to explain the locations of thoughts or emotions, the subconscious or conscious states, the qualia of experiences or the intentional mental states with further critique by the American philosopher Kripke. There are two types of identity theory and the first one I will discuss is the type-type identity theory. This theory believes that any given mental state will be identical to a brain state (K. T. Maslin, 2009, 68). This theory tries to identify the connection of mental phenomena with physical processes in the brain. This theory utilises the discoveries of science as identical with the possible connections of mental states with brain states, it states that the discovery of water as an element of oxygen and hydrogen as well as the identification of physical phenomena such as lightning with the pattern of electrical discharges it can connect the experience and feeling of pain with the physical process in the brain and central nervous system of the firing of C-fibres. The extension of this theory places impetus on reductionism. This is where it is argued that the meanings of different mental and physical phrases exactly match at their core concepts. This can be explained in terms of wat er and H20, two groups of phenomena that appear numerically contrasting turn out to be one set of existents and not two. Ultimately they state that mental and physical concepts will turn out to be a single type of property described by two different terminologies. They believe the true nature of phenomena can be provided by the base to which it is reduced for example pain can be reduced to the behaviour of neurons in the central nervous system. The second type of identity theory is the token-token identity theory. This believes there are individual differences in people and animals for brain and mental states (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 70). It states that while token mental states are identical to token physical states in different individuals they may be different types of states, for example pain may result in c-fibre stimulation in one individual and z-fibre stimulation in another (Dr Crawford, 2009, 3). I personally think that this theory tries to explain the differences in individuals minds in extension of the pain example I believe this theory tries to explain the different threshold in pain for different individuals, whilst it still may be the same mental thought and brain reactions it takes some people more whilst others less pain to trigger the stimulation of their corresponding fibres whether it be c, x or y. Firstly I will discuss the strengths of these theories in explaining that the mind is ultimately the brain. Firstly it is a simple theory, with fewer assumptions and only requiring to explain the physical it makes itself more preferable and leaves less loopholes open for critique. It also removes the mind body interaction problem, whereas before there was a requirement to explain the mental to physical causation the theory states that the mental is the physical so it only requires the physical to physical causation to be rationalised and not the non-physical with the physical. Another strength is provided by scientific discovery in the use of PET or MRI scans that show that specific areas of the brain light up during specific mental functions, some of these connections were identified by Borca and Wernicke over a hundred years before the creation of these state-of-the-art scanning techniques, this displays the connection between mental and brain states (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 70). Howev er probably the most powerful of all strengths to the identity theories is the ability to explain why changes in the brain due to injury, disease, illness or otherwise results in the alteration of mental functioning. The same happens along the evolutionary scale where increases in brain sizes resulted in the increase of intellectual capacity. Because the mind is the brain when the brain is modified the mind is modified (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 66). There were some earlier objections to this theory as well where critiques stated that because mental states are different to brain states analytically they must be different but theorists quickly dismissed this stating that the non-synonymy of expressions flanking an identity sign does not automatically rule out the truth of the identity claim in other words just because the expressions or terms are different doesnt meant they cannot possibly have the same identity. To take this further the theorists state that it all depends on what you are referring to, underneath the different vocabulary the facts relate to a single reality. The example of the morning and evening stars supports this idea that while the vocabulary and specifically adjectives used to describe the star differ they ultimately refer to the same thing the planet Venus. This can also be applied to the lack of knowledge as dismissible critique using Smarts concept stating that you may know about one thing but nothing abou t another doesnt mean they cannot possibly be the same, for example you may know about water but not recognise the compound of H20 but this doesnt mean they are not the one and single entity (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 74). The strengths identified in the collective identity theories show some serious connections identified and supporting evidence presented in proving the mind is identical with the brain. However I believe there are some serious and unsurpassable flaws in the arguments of the identity theorists that result in its ultimate demise. Firstly, the issue of the mental and the spatial arises (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 74). Whilst it is easy through the use of scanning, the location of brain processes can be easily identified during various tasks it is almost impossible to identify the location of a thought or emotion, in other words mental states are different to brain processes.. Secondly, there is a weakness in the connection between mental states and brain processes on the subconscious level (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 76), to extend this we mean that things like the natural functioning of the nervous system as well as any other system in your body such as digestion or breathing, these all have brain st ates that tell the body what to do however they do not have any connectable mental state because we do not think about them in any way. This shows that some things only have physical properties and hence not everything has a mental and a brain state fundamentally disagreeing with the identity theory. Thirdly is the issue of qualia which means the quality of a conscious experience (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 79). Whilst we may know what part of the brain there is activity in during a particular mental state there is no way we can access the qualia of that experience, for example if we had a pain we can identify this by the firing of c-fibres in our brain state but there is no way we could identify where that pain is, this means that while we experience thoughts and sensations they must exist in other forms than just physical properties of brain states and processes. One day science may be able to identify the qualia of an experience but at the moment we can only identify the mechanical proc ess and cannot explain mentality or consciousness. Another critique of the identity theories emphasises the importance of dreams, beliefs, desires and many more intentional states that do not exist, they possess a representational content and the theorists believe that brain states are fully mechanical processes in brain states that cannot posses any representational content, this requires the drawing of the conclusion that brain states cannot be identical with intentional mental states (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 80). The final main critique of all identity theories is due to Saul Kripke who used Descartes sixth mediation as inspiration for his argument in stating that because we can genuinely imagine mental states without brain states then they are not identical at all, what something may look like is not essential to its being but its inner constitution is for example something may be a clear liquid in appearance but it may have as much chance in being vodka as it is water the only way to identify it is to reduce it to its inner constitution H20 (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 90 and J. J. C. Smart, 2000, http://plato.standford.edu/entries/mind-identity). The mere possibility of occurrence of mental states without the connecting brain states means they cannot be identical. Ultimately there is a lot of physical to mental approaches and connection that cannot be disproved in the same way they cannot be approved and this draws the conclusion that you cannot discover the truth about reality on the basis of what one does and does not know (K. T. Maslin, 2007, 67). In conclusion despite all the strengths of the identity theories such as the discoveries of science with PET and MRI scans and the explanation of changes in the brain resulting in changes in mental functioning ultimately the weakness in locating or explaining thoughts, emotions, dreams, desires, the subconscious or any qualia of experience, representational or otherwise, mean its mechanical approach ceases to advance and that is why I believe the mind is not the brain. Bibliography Crawford, Dr Sean. 2009. Lecture Notes Week 3: Mind Brain Identity Theories, University of Manchester: Blackboard. Maslin, Keith T. 2007. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, Second Edition, Malden, MA: Polity Press. Gareth Southwell, 2009, Identity Theory, http://www.philosophyonline.co.uk/pom/pom_indeitity_introduction.htm

Sexual Selection and Sexual Conflict Essay -- Mating Biology

Charles Darwin characterized sexual selection as â€Å"variance in the number of mates†. The purpose of sexual selection is to perfect the secondary sexual characteristics, which are the morphological differences between the two sexes. On the other hand the primary sexual characteristics are the differences between the reproductive genital systems of the two sexes. Sexual selection instead of adapting the individual to the environment, like natural selection, it does enhance traits involved in mate acquisition. Sexual conflict, on the other hand, occurs when males and females have different reproductive interests and deriving from the urge of sexual reproduction. This is boosted by promiscuity when males and females have several partners. (www1, www2, www4) Futuyma (1998) defines sexual selection as â€Å"selection that arises from differences in the mating success (number of mates that bear offspring)†. Sexual struggle can be divided into two categories. The first category is the struggle between individuals of the same sex (generally males) in order to be victorious against their rival by killing it or make it retreat. In this category the females remain passive. The second category is the struggle between individuals of the same sex but this time this happens in order to attract individuals of the opposite sex. There are also some theories for the existence of sexually selected traits. There is the intrasexual selection, in which males compete aggressively with each other for access to the females. It includes weapons such as horns, antlers, tusks and spurs, which are examples of sexual dimorphism. Weapons are mainly male characteristics and some possible explanations for their existence are: protection against predators, used for co... ...he same sex as they compete for mates and also between the sexes as individuals choose their partners. Sexual conflict arises because strategies that maximize the fitness of one sex can reduce the fitness of the other. To sum up, sexual conflict can lead to sexually antagonistic co-evolution, in which one sex evolves a favorable trait, which is countered by a countering trait in the other sex. (www5, www6) Works Cited †¢ http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~otto/PopGen500/Discussion3/Overheads.html http://bio.research.ucsc.edu/~barrylab/classes/animal_behavior/SELECT.HTM#anchor460576 : http://aarongoetz.netfirms.com/My%20Articles/SexualConflict-bookreview-atg.pdf†¢ http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/21967.php http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470015902.a0003669.pub2/abstract †¢ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/npg.els.0001718/abstract

Market Orientation Benefit an Organization Essay

Definition of Market Orientation : A business approach or philosophy that focuses on identifying and meeting the stated or hidden needs or wants of customers. See also product orientation and sales orientation. ‘Market orientation†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ perspectives include the decision-making perspective, market intelligence perspective, culturally based behavioral perspective, strategic perspective. Developing a Market Orientation: An Organizational Strategy Perspective. International Journal of Research in Marketing, and customer orientation perspective. Corporate culture, customer orientation, According to them, the marketing concept is a business philosophy, whereas the term market orientation refers to the actual implementation of the marketing concept. They added that â€Å"a market orientation appears to provide a unifying focus for the efforts and projects of individuals and departments within the organization.† On the other hand, the market orientation as ‘the organization culture that most effectively and efficient creates the necessary behaviours for the creation of superior value for buyers and, thus, continuous superior performance for the business. As such, they consider market orientation as an organisational culture consisting of three behavioral components, namely, i) customer orientation, ii) competitor orientation and iii) interfunctional coordination. Product Orientation : A business approach or philosophy in which whatever a company makes or supplies is the focus of the management’s attention. See also market orientation and sales orientation. Customer Orientation : 1. General: A party that receives or consumes products (goods or services) and has the ability to choose between different products and suppliers. See also buyer. 2. Quality control: Entity within a firm who establishes the requirement of a process (accounting, for example) and receives the output of that process (a financial statement, for example) from one or more internal or external suppliers. An organization’s strategy that combines all of its marketing goals into one comprehensive plan. A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business. The marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan 1. General: A motivating force that compels action for its satisfaction. Needs range from basic survival needs (common to all human beings) satisfied by necessities, to cultural, intellectual, and social needs (varying from place to place and age group to age group) satisfied by necessaries. Needs are finite but, in contrast, wants (which spring from desires or wishes) are boundless. See also Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. 2. Marketing: A driver of human action which marketers try to identify, emphasize, and satisfy, and around which promotional efforts are organized. Sales Orientation : A business approach or philosophy that focuses on promoting sales of whatever a company makes or supplies, through marketing and sales calls. See also market orientation and product orientation.

Cylinder Deactivation Variable Engine Displacement

Cylinder Deactivation Variable Engine Displacement What is cylinder deactivation? It is a method used to create a variable displacement engine that is able to supply the full power of a large engine under high load conditions as well as the fuel economy of a small engine for cruising. The Case for Cylinder Deactivation In typical light load driving with large displacement engines (e.g. highway cruising), only about 30 percent of an engine’s potential power is utilized. Under these circumstances, the throttle valve is only slightly open and the engine has to work hard to draw air through it. The result is an inefficient condition known as pumping loss. In this situation, a partial vacuum occurs between the throttle valve and the combustion chamber- and some of the power that the engine makes is used not to propel the vehicle forward, but to overcome the drag on the pistons and crank from fighting to draw air through the small opening and the accompanying vacuum resistance at the throttle valve. By the time one piston cycle is complete, up to half of the potential volume of the cylinder has not received a full charge of air. Cylinder Deactivation to the Rescue Deactivating cylinders at light load forces the throttle valve be opened more fully to create constant power, and allows the engine to breathe easier. Better airflow reduces drag on the pistons and the associated pumping losses. The result is improved combustion chamber pressure as the piston approaches top dead center (TDC) and the spark plug is about to fire. Better combustion chamber pressure means a more potent and efficient charge of power is unleashed on the pistons as they thrust downward and rotate the crankshaft. The net result? Improved highway and cruising fuel mileage. How Does it All Work? In a nutshell, cylinder deactivation is simply keeping the intake and exhaust valves closed through all cycles for a particular set of cylinders in the engine. Depending on the design of the engine, valve actuation is controlled by one of two common methods: For pushrod designs- when cylinder deactivation is called for- the hydraulic valve lifters are collapsed by using solenoids to alter the oil pressure delivered to the lifters. In their collapsed state, the lifters are unable to elevate their companion pushrods under the valve rocker arms, resulting in valves that cannot be actuated and remain closed.For overhead cam designs, generally a pair of locked-together rocker arms is employed for each valve. One rocker follows the cam profile while the other actuates the valve. When a cylinder is deactivated, solenoid controlled oil pressure releases a locking pin between the two rocker arms. While one arm still follows the camshaft, the unlocked arm remains motionless and unable to activate the valve. By forcing the engine valves to remain closed, an effective â€Å"spring† of air is created inside the deactivated cylinders. Trapped exhaust gasses (from previous cycles before the cylinders were deactivated) are compressed as the pistons travel on their upstroke and then decompressed and push back on the pistons as they return on their down stroke. Because the deactivated cylinders are out of phase, (some pistons traveling up while others are traveling down), the overall effect is equalized. The pistons are actually just going along for the ride. To complete the process, fuel delivery for each deactivated cylinder is cut-off by electronically disabling the appropriate fuel injection nozzles. The transition between normal operation and deactivation is smoothed by subtle changes in ignition and camshaft timing as well as throttle position all managed by sophisticated electronic control systems. In a well-designed and executed system, the switching back-and-forth between both modes is seamless- you really don’t feel any difference and have to consult the dash gauges to know that its happened. Read more about cylinder deactivation at work in our review of the GMC Sierra SLT flex-fuel, and see the instant fuel economy it generates in the GMC Sierra test drive photo gallery.

Tips to Increase Parental Involvement in Education

Tips to Increase Parental Involvement in Education True school reform will always begin with an increase in parental involvement in education. It has been proven time and time again that parents who invest time and place value on their child’s education will have children who are more successful in school. Naturally there are always exceptions, but teaching your child to value education cannot help but have a positive impact on their education. Schools understand the value that involved parents bring and most are willing to take the necessary steps to help boost parental involvement.   This naturally takes time. It should begin in elementary schools where parental involvement is naturally better. Those teachers must build relationships with parents and have conversations about the importance of maintaining a high level of involvement even through high school. School administrators and teachers are continuously frustrated in an age where parental involvement increasingly seems to be on the decline. Part of this frustration lays in the fact that society often places sole blame on the teachers when in truth there is a natural handicap if parents are not doing their part. There is also no denying that each individual school is affected by parental involvement at varying levels. Schools with more parental involvement are almost always the higher-performing schools when it comes to standardized testing. The question is how do schools increase parental involvement? The reality is that many schools are never going to have 100% parental involvement. However, there are strategies that you can implement to increase parental involvement significantly. Improving parental involvement in your school will make teachers’ jobs easier and improve student performance overall. Education Increasing parental involvement begins with having the capacity to educate parents on the ins and outs of how to be involved and why it is important. The sad reality is that many parents simply do not know how to be truly involved with their child’s education because their parents were not involved with their education. It is essential to have educational programs for parents that offer them tips and suggestions explaining how they can get involved. These programs must also focus on the benefits of increased involvement. Getting parents to attend these training opportunities can be challenging, but many parents will attend if you offer food, incentives, or door prizes. Communication There are many more avenues available to communicate because of technology (email, text, social media, etc.) than what there were just a few years ago. Communicating with parents on a continual basis is a key ingredient to increasing parental involvement. If a parent isn’t going to take the time to keep track of their child, then the teacher should make every effort to inform those parents of their child’s progress. There is a chance that the parent will just ignore or tune these communications out, but more times than not the message will be received, and their level of communication and involvement will improve. This is also a way to build trust with parents ultimately making a teacher’s job easier. Volunteer Programs Many parents simply believe that they have minimal responsibilities when it comes to their child’s education. Instead, they believe that it is the primary responsibility of the school and of the teacher. Getting these parents to spend a little time in your classroom is a fantastic way to change their mindset on this. While this approach will not work for everyone everywhere, it can be an effective tool to increase parental involvement in many cases. The idea is that you recruit a parent who is minimally involved in their child’s education to come up and read a story to the class. You immediately invite them back again to lead something like an art activity or anything in which they are comfortable. Many parents will find that they enjoy this type of interaction, and their children will love it, particularly those in early elementary school. Continue to involve that parent and give them more responsibility each time. Pretty soon they will find themselves valuing their child’s education more as they become more invested in the process. Open House/Game Night Having periodic open house or game nights is an excellent way to get parents involved with their child’s education. Don’t expect everyone to attend, but make these events dynamic events that everyone enjoys and talks about. This will lead to increased interest and eventually greater participation. The key is to have meaningful learning activities that force parent and child to interact with each other throughout the night. Again offering food, incentives, and door prizes will create a bigger draw. These events take a lot of planning and effort to do them right, but they can be powerful tools for building relationships, learning, and increasing involvement. Home Activities Home activities can have some effect in increasing parental involvement. The idea is to send home activity packs periodically throughout the year that requires the parents and child to sit down and do together. These activities should be short, engaging, and dynamic. They should be easy to conduct and contain all materials needed to complete the activity. Science activities are traditionally the best and easiest activities to send home. Unfortunately, you cannot expect all parents to complete the activities with their child, but you hope that the majority of them will.

CYBER ATTACK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CYBER ATTACK - Essay Example The opponents may utilize it to attack and disrupt communication and the information flow (Schiller 6). The major types of cyber attacks include DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) and using computers hijacked and infected with viruses to target websites (Apps). However, according to Apps, a new type of cyber attack which involves overwhelming data centres and crashing websites has evolved. The attackers are majorly nation states, criminal gangs, and diehard activists seeking a chance to hit their enemies. Apps further reiterates that the goals of the attackers include political activism, providing data theft distraction, extortion and some attackers just want to showcase their hacking skills. Prevention of cyber attacks requires the vulnerable parties to understand the critical assets that need protection and enhance the available security solutions for better detection of possible attacks and real-time response (Shackelford 267). Cyberspace vulnerabilities raise tremendously important legal questions. In defining the legal issue, it is vital to know what constitutes an adversarial attack in cyberspace. While there is no clear statement in international law that outlines legally acceptable or unacceptable cyber defensive actions, there are legal principles that establish the rights to counter a cyber attack as a valid legal response to acts of aggression (Carr

Z-ch12 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Z-ch12 - Case Study Example The main advantage is that it encourages relationship building that greatly facilitates in overcoming workplace conflicts and work cohesively. The major disadvantage is that lot of time is wasted on non core activities that delays the project outcome. It also increases the overall cost of the project which may or may not generate ideas with great market potential. In Clay Street, the most relevant aspect is the need to develop mental models for assigned tasks through activities that highlight the importance of cohesive team processes for optimal productivity. The length of time in Clay Street becomes irrelevant to wider goals and objectives of the team which is to evolve highly creative solution to the given problems. The various activities and processes help to develop a consistent environment of integrated work which relies on creative inputs from team members coming from diverse background. Moreover, it also helps inculcate mutual respect and confidence on the cultural competencies of members that are judiciously exploited by facilitators and team leaders to enhance team processes and its outcome. The constant interaction and critical thinking over the pros and con of the problem and tentative solutions also promote lateral thinking. This is important because often new perspectives and solution evolve not as well defined processes but as i nstances of ‘eureka moments’ could emerge as breakthrough ideas with immense potential. Hence, time is not as important as the fact that team members constantly brainstorm the problems and look for out of the box solutions. The core idea of Clay Street is to give freedom to team members to evolve new ideas through various processes and states that is evaluated from diverse perspectives. Moreover, they are encumbered with the failure because they are motivated to look at failures as first step to success. This is hugely critical issue that promotes creativity and equips team