One of the five articles mentioned Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

One of the five articles mentioned - Essay Example Violent media is an authentic tool that provides tough mental exercises and the children will learn the merits and demerits of violence to enable them to adapt to real-life situations. Gerard argues accordingly and treats violence as an asset for the healthy growth of children. Unless the child knows what darkness is, the beauty of the light will never be appreciated by it. Children must know the prevailing realities in the present violence-prone society and adjust their life-patterns accordingly. Gerard Jones begins the essay with a heavy stroke of the hammer. At the first reading the reactions like—justification for violent media? Exposition of children to violence? Incredible!—are normal. Gerard’s love for violence goes in tandem with his love for children—this in short is the message ingrained in the essay, and said intelligently. Gerard’s advice to the children is, remove thorn with the thorn. It is easy for the parents to make the children submissive by injecting repeated doses on morality, but it requires guts to tell a child, retaliation is the best answer when you are attacked. A brave child of brave parents will be happy at the recollections of the past, as to how he challenged the vicissitudes of life. No one is defeated in life unless one admits defeat and the child that has been sensitized about the values of violent reactions will have the last laugh. The best educational institution on this Planet Earth is the college of self-education, where your mind is your principal and your initiatives are your professors. The highest challenge is to face the realities of life and not avoid or duck them. The motivating factor for the author to pen this essay and come out in support of violent media is his own childhood when he was carefully prevented from having the firsthand knowledge about the dark sides of life. Children should know that there

Apitalism in the ourse of the 16th Century Essay

Apitalism in the ourse of the 16th Century - Essay Example Protection of private property was never so legally simplified before the advent of capitalism and the legal implications of private ownership suggested greater independence of private property owners and provided clear protected ownership that could be legally validated. Capitalism brought in the standardization and integration of property rules increased trust in economic transactions and laid down the risks of ownership with possibilities of insurance against such risks. Loans and borrowing became easier as personal credit history could be checked and there was an increased standardization and transferability of statements documenting ownership of property (Levi-Faur et al, 2005). This specification of property limits and rules and regulations of ownership indicated a smoother flow of property between individuals and enabled a well-defined role for companies so that they could easily operate in national and international markets. The concept of capitalism has often been criticised by the fact that ownership of enterprises shows the division between the employer and the employee as the profits seem to go to the employer and is not shared by the employees. The growth of multinational companies is thus a direct influence of capitalism and the changing global economy has also been directly shaped by the spread of capitalism across society and nations. In fact, the world today could never have been the same without capitalism and considering this, it is important to examine why and how capitalism first emerged in the 16th century and what are the social, historical and political implications. Capitalism is often contrasted to feudalism on the one hand where a monarch has ownership of property and socialism or communism on the other in which means of production are owned by the community collectively (Sweezy et al 1976).

Errors, Uncertainties, and Measurements Essay Example for Free

Errors, Uncertainties, and Measurements Essay Measurements are all subject to error which leads to the uncertainty of the result. Errors may come from systematic errors (deterministic error) or random error (not deterministic error). In this experiment, the group measured the diameter of sphere using different kinds of measuring devices (foot rule, vernier caliper, and micrometer caliper) in order to achieve accuracy in the scientific measurements. After experimenting, it was revealed that the micrometer caliper has the lowest percentage of error. 1. Introduction In the early days, people used mostly human body parts for measuring. And because the measurement depended on the body size and length of the person measuring, it often leads to varying measurements which leads to inaccuracy and errors in the measurements. In the following years, a better system of units of measurement was developed – the metric system. The metric system is an international decimalized system of measurement, first adopted in France in 1791. Numerous measuring instruments have this system of measurement. Aside from meter sticks and ruler, the vernier caliper and micrometer caliper also use this system. The vernier caliper is a measuring device which takes advantage of a vernier scale, a scale used to provide very precise measurements. The vernier adds an extra digit of accuracy to any measurement, allowing it to be highly accurate. Like other calipers, a vernier caliper has an L-shaped design with a movable arm which can be adjusted to allow the object being measured to fit between the arms, and a measurement to be taken. It has two scales – main scale and vernier scale. The main scale is fixed while the vernier scale can slide along the main scale as the movable arm is shifted. Measurements are taken by looking for the mark on the main scale which is just to the left of the zero on the vernier caliper for the first measurement, and then looking to see which mark on the vernier caliper comes most closely into alignment with a mark in the main scale. Micrometer caliper is a calibrated screw device for finding exact measurements in which an object to be measured is to be enclosed between two jaws, one fixed while the other movable by means of a fine screw. When the jaws are just touching the object, the distance between the jaws can be read on an associated scale, ofteh to an accuracy of 10 -4. It uses the principle of a screw to amplify small distances that are too small to measure directly into large rotations of the screw that are big enough to read from a scale. Most micrometers have their readout right on the handle of the instrument. This experiment aims to achieve the following objectives: (1) to study errors and how they propagate in simple experiment, (2) to determine the averge deviation of a set of experimental values, (3) to determine the mean of a set of experimental values as well as set of average deviation of the mean (4) to familiarize the students with the vernier caliper, micrometer caliper, and foot rule, (5) to compare the accuracy of these measuring devices, (6) and to detemine the density of an object given its mass and dimensions. 2. Theory Significant figures are very essential in science. Each recorded measurement has a certain number of significant digits. Calculations done on these measurements must follow the rules for significant digits. The significance of a digit has to do with whether it represents a true measurement or not. Any digit that is actually measured or estimated will be considered significant. Placeholders or digits that have not been measured are not considered significant. There are rules in determining the significance of a digit. First, digits from 1-9 are always significant. Second, zeroes between two other significant digits are always significant. Also, one or more additional zeroes to the right of both the decimal place and another significant digit are significant. Lastly, zeroes used solely for spacing the decimal point are not significant. Least count of any precision instrument is defined as the least distance travelled by it. For a micrometer it is measured in the following manner. Least count (L.C) of a screw gauge = Pitch/ Number of circular scale division. Pitch and Number of circular scale divisions are the two factors determining the least count of Micrometer. 3. Methodology In measuring the diameter of the sphere provided, the group was given three measuring devices. To determine the average deviation and mean of a set of experimental values as well as the diameter of the sphere, the group was given the three measuring tools to study the measurement and its errors. First, the group determined the least count of the vernier caliper, micrometer caliper and the foot rule then we made ten measurements for the diameter of the sphere using the foot rule. After completing the ten measurements, the group then calculated the mean diameter of the sphere by adding all the independent measurements and divided it to 10. Next, the group calculated the deviation (d) of each measurement of diameter from the mean diameter. After getting the deviation of each measurement, the group calculated for the average deviation (a.d). The average deviation is the sum of the deviations (d) divided by the number (n) of observations.

Consumer and Organisational Buying Behaviour Assignment :: Business and Management Studies

Consumer and Organisational Buying Behaviour Assignment Choose two adverts from the press (newspapers or Magazines) one of a high involvement good and the other of a low involvement good. Compare them while identifying the various techniques used in consumer behaviour to communicate the message. You may contact the producers of the advert. High Involvement Good: Residence Relevant Advert: Ad for Apartment in Tigne’ Point. Low Involvement Good: International Telephone service Relevant Advert: Ad for OneVoice Low-cost International phone cards International phone calls are nowadays an everyday necessity for many people living in the Western world, whether for business purposes or to keep in touch with partners, friends or relatives abroad. This is especially so in Malta since practically every Maltese person living here has relatives who have emigrated, a substantial expatriate community exists and because of the small size of the island and total absence of most raw materials, almost every kind of business necessitates frequent international phone calls. Besides, as the OneVoice advert I have chosen clearly demonstrates, international phone calls have become as affordable (and as necessary) to many people living in Malta as low cost basic food stuffs and drinks. Hence in Malta one can now consider an international phone call service as a low involvement good since most people living locally have to resort to it quite frequently and do not think much about it beyond selecting a cheap, reliable, value for money service. The OneVoice advert thus makes quite a huge issue of price and implied value for money by publicizing the cheapest rate very prominently against a bright red background and stating the service’s other desirable features against a bright green eye-catching background. The advert in fact has just the right mix of the saturated colours green, yellow, cyan, orange and red to capture attention without overwhelming people and causing visual fatigue. There is also an adequate amount of blue which is considered a rather relaxing colour associated with class and high quality and with the limitlessness and peace of sky and water. This mix of various, bright colours (a) ensures that every potential client’s tastes is, somehow, catered for at least visually (b) is locally associated with festive seasons (Christmas, Carnival, summertime) spring, fun and plenty and so gives a certain â€Å"feel good† factor to using OneVoice even though at the end of the day OneVoice is just another basic international telephone service. Conversely no indication of price range is given in the advert for Tigne’ Point properties although it is obvious that it is aimed at the international yachting community and other extremely affluent, rather

Psychology Prediction Essay

According to one of my favorite philosophers, Yogi Berra, Its hard to predict, especially the future†. He’s right but it doesn’t stop many people from trying. In fact predicting the future is essential to many aspects of our lives – in business, and beyond. Many professionals have the need to accurately predict outcomes of the future to be successful in their jobs. And many have occupations where predicting the future actually is their job, one way or another. As an analyst at Gartner, I am of course a good example of this. Some of this is common sense. Some is controversial. Some goes completely against what most think and against what people are taught even at organizations who train people to do predictive type jobs. But it works for me. Here are my ten guiding principles for accurate prediction: 1.Care about being right. This sounds obvious but circumstances and other requirements often get in the way. Professionals whose job involves making predictions face pressures to have an opinion, no matter what, and to generate visibility. This can lead to quickly formed opinions and overstating and over hyping things. While these things may in fact need to be part of a strategy, they do not have to be the primary goal. Tempering such behavior by placing the goal of being right at a higher priority is one of the real keys to accurate prediction. You can’t be afraid to be wrong, but you can’t place being right at lower priority and expect to be good at predicting. 2.Be an â€Å"innumerate†. Be extremely skeptical of any numbers. Many believe that numbers don’t lie. They don’t of course, but people do. And they state the numbers that they want to state to make their case. And they get things confused. Numbers are more useful in looking back at history than in predicting (looking back at history is helpful and numbers can help). Be especially wary of survey data. Often the questions are poorly formed and the respondents not necessarily knowledgeable. There is no substitute for talking directly to people to make sure that you understand context and that they understand the question. And follow-up is possible. 3.Ask yourself â€Å"Why are they telling me this?† Understand the motivations of sources of information. Everyone you meet has some type of agenda. Sometimes it is truly to educate you, usually not. It is critical to understand what the source of information wants you to think to put the information into context. 4.Ask yourself â€Å"What would I do†? Put yourself in the shoes of the CEO or key decision maker of the entity if possible. This is a key tool to predicting how companies and organizations will behave. If the prediction is about that company, this is the major key. If it is more general, putting yourself in the shoes of multiples and playing out scenarios is helpful. 5.Recognize that most of the time, you will know less than your sources. The world is full of specialists. Depending on circumstance, you may know as much as your sources but there is almost always someone who is more of an expert than you. So you need to develop strategies for assessing the credibility and honesty of a source. A useful tactic is to lead a discussion towards an area in which you do know a lot and test the source’s honesty and credibility. This can help determine what weight to give the source 6.Don’t jump to conclusions. Whenever possible take your time. When pushed for an opinion, it is best to say â€Å"if I had to have an opinion I would lean towards x†, but not highlight these types of things as â€Å"predictions†. 7.Find â€Å"bubbles†, conventional thinking and poke at assumptions. Try to understand why most people have a certain belief and figure out what assumptions they have. Look for misunderstandings, confusion, motivations and social trends. 8.Get information you’re not supposed to have. Basic networking is essential to knowing your subject and to getting information you’re not supposed to have (Obviously those subject to â€Å"insider trading† types of issues need to tread carefully here). Listen for slip ups. Put the pieces together. Fill in the holes. Speculate. 9.â€Å"You’re only paranoid if you’re wrong†. Explore conspiracy theories. While they usually won’t be the prediction, the exercise of examining possible conspiracy theories often is fruitful. Remember At the very least there is bound to be some aspect of the theory that has some truth to it and may point the way towards a good prediction. However, it is far more likely that stupidity or laziness, rather than conspiracy, is the cause. 10.Constantly test, validate and refine. Every chance you get to talk to a person whose opinion you respect, test new theories. Every chance you talk to a source of information, test your theories and gauge their reactions. Be open to tweaks.

The Glass Steagall Act - 1722 Words

Despite its humble beginnings in 1844 as a simple general store turned financial firm, the Lehman Brothers greed drove their firm into the ground. It seemed as if Lehman Brothers was indestructible. Surviving through the railroad bankruptcies in the 1800’s, the Great Depression of the 1930’s, two world wars, a capital shortage in 1994, and everything in-between, it seemed the firm was built to last. However its inevitable end started in the early 2000’s with the housing boom after the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act. Over the span of two years, 2003 and 2004, Lehman Brothers acquired a total of five mortgage lenders, including the subprime lender BNC and Alt-A loan specialist Aurora Loan. As the housing boom was under way and the firm acquired these large players its Lehman real estate business’s capital market revenues cascaded 56% over the next two years 2004 to 2006. It was â€Å"a faster rate of growth than other businesses in investment banking or asset management.† (Investopedia) Increasing its revenues by 10% from 2005 to 2006 when they securitized $146 billion worth of mortgages. It went from just being a player in the financial industry to the top dog in the matter of a few short years. Consistently reporting the setting of new profit records year after year. In 2007 its net income record was â€Å"$4.2 billion on revenue of $19.3 billion.† (Investopedia) At the same time, in February of 2007, Lehman Brothers stock had hit its record too at $86.18 a share leaving the m withShow MoreRelatedThe Glass Steagall Act Of 19332039 Words   |  9 Pages In 1999 the United States Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act which finished off the repealing process of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 (Moffett, Stonehill, Eiteman, 2012, p. 114). 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This allowed many banks to make risky investments which ultimately resulted in a large amount of loss. The Glass-Steagall Act was a bill which essentially made it so that banks could not be involved in both investment and commercial banking. When this act was r emoved, it allowed banks to make risky investments with their clients’ moneyRead MoreThe Twentieth Century American Banking System1453 Words   |  6 Pagesinspection by regulators. The Glass-Steagall Act was passed back in the 1933 to separate the conflict between commercial banking and securities activities. The main goal was for these two industries to not take place within the same financial institution. In order to protect the depositor’s money, the American people from another financial crisis. Due to the aftermath of the Great Depression, Congress took the upper hand to regulate the banking system. The Glass-Steagall Act was meant to implement trustRead MoreThe Twentieth Century American Banking System1385 Words   |  6 Pagesinspection by regulators. The Glass-Steagall Act was passed back in the 1933 to separate the conflict between commercial banking and securities activities. The main goal was for these two industries to not take place within the same financial institution. In order to protect the depositor’s money, the American people from another financial crisis. Due to the aftermath of the Great Depression Congress took the upper hand to regulate the banking system. The Glass-Steagall Act was meant to implement trustRead MoreGlass Steagall And The Financial Crisis1565 Words   |  7 PagesGlass-Steagall and the Financial Crisis In May 2012 JP Morgan Chase and Co. stated to the public a 2 billion dollar trading loss, although evidence shows that the loss was far greater. A trader out of the London branch of JP Morgan and Chase Co., Bruno Iksil, dubbed â€Å"London Whale,† had been accruing a huge bet on U.S. corporate bonds based on a flawed derivative or algorithm. He was so confident in his bet that he sold his Credit Default Swaps (CDS), based on his hunch, which is similar to insuranceRead MoreThe Failure Of The Economic Collapse Of Flint, Michigan865 Words   |  4 Pagesmetropolitans continue to grow at exponential rates, the collapse of industrial cities such as Flint, Michigan have been a result of the destructive nature of three economic policy initiatives: The North American Free Trade Agreement, the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, and welfare reform. In this paper I will examine the ways in which federal economic policies have served as a catalyst to the economic stress that led one of America’s historical industrial cities to be faced with a contaminated water supplyRead MoreThe House of Morgan: an American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernov957 Words   |  4 Pageswhen the book was written. There were three significant events that shaped the future of the bank and the banking industry in the United States. In the baronial age it was the Panic of 1907. In the diplomatic age it was the passage of the Glass-Steagall act of 1933. In the casino age it was the development of merchant banking and leveraged buyouts that led to the Crash of 1987. J. Pierpont Morgan’s actions during the Panic of 1907 solidified the bank’s reputation and firmly established it as

How to Collect and Prepare a Hickory Nut for Planting

Of the dozen or so American hickories, shellbark and shagbark hickory trees have shown some promise as edible nut producers. These are the only two Carya species (with the exception of pecan, scientific name  Carya  illinoensis) typically planted for nut production. All the following hickory nut suggestions apply as well to the collection and preparation of pecans. Timing Hickory flowers in the spring and completes nut maturity in early fall. Beginning as early as the first of September and continuing through November, various species of hickory nuts ripen and are ready for collection. Ripening dates can vary slightly from year to year and from state to state by as many as three to four weeks, so it is not possible to use precise dates to determine maturity. The best time to collect hickory nuts, either off the tree or from the ground, is when they begin falling: It is just that simple. Prime picking is late September through the first week in November, depending on the individual hickory tree species and its location within the United States. The hickory nut is perfect when the husks begin to split. Collecting The height of the hickory nut crop in a forest canopy and the thick forest litter below can make it somewhat difficult for the casual collector to gather large numbers of nuts (although its not impossible). Another challenge is harvesting nuts before wildlife does. It is also important to remember that nut availability is never an annual given. Good hickory crops (called mast) of all species are produced at intervals of one to three years, so finding nuts can be a challenge in any given fall season. With that in mind, find forest trees that are open-grown with little forest underbrush. Yard trees or trees near paved areas make for easier collection in urban and suburban areas. Always identify the tree and place tags or mark the bags, so you will know what species you have collected. Storing Storage tests with pecan and shagbark hickory have demonstrated that hickories are like most other nut and acorn species: They should be dried to a low moisture content and refrigerated if not planted immediately. To be specific, Carya nuts should be dried to below 10 percent moisture and stored at around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If stored in sealed containers, the nuts should be able to retain good viability for two years. They will lose half to two-thirds of their ability to germinate after four years. Although hickory needs very little cold over a full season, studies show that viability can be improved by soaking the nuts in water at 70 degrees Fahrenheit for 64 hours. Some nut species need stratification  or a cold period of time to fully improve the germination process. Put damp peat mix or sawdust together with the dried hickory nuts in a polyethylene plastic bag that has a wall thickness of four to ten millimeters. These bags are ideal for storing nuts since they are permeable to carbon dioxide and oxygen but impermeable to moisture. Close the bag loosely and store in the refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit until planting time. Check nuts throughout the winter and keep just barely damp. Planting You can plant unrefrigerated nuts in the fall and let the winter season do what nature does—refrigerate. You can also spring-plant with stratified or cold-treated seed or take a chance on unstratified seed. For ground planting: Great results have been reported with fall seed sowing for hickory, but good mulching is necessary. Mulch should remain until germination is complete. Shading is generally not necessary, but hickory may profit from some  initial shade. Protection from rodents may be required for fall-sowings. For container planting: After determining the proper time to plant, you should place nuts in moderately  loose potting soil in one-gallon pots or deeper containers. The taproot will grow quickly to the bottom of containers and root width is not as important. Containers should have holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. Place hickory nuts on their sides at a depth of one-half the width to about the width of the nut. Keep the soil moist but not wet. Keep the pots from freezing.