Who Is The Categorical Imperative - 882 Words

Carl Zimmer, wrote an essay â€Å"whose life would you save?† that asks why humans make the decisions they make and the philosophy behind it. Zimmer explains that Kant believed that pure reason alone could lead us to moral truths. He declared that it was wrong to use someone for your own ends and that it was right to act only according to principles that everyone could follow. For the sake of understanding who Kant is and his views, the philosopher Kant was a German philosopher and a deontologist; he believed that consequences don’t matter because moral judgment is contained in the act alone. He suggest the Categorical Imperative which means that morality is derived from rationality and all moral judgments are rationally supported. So, just as rational thought leads us to an objective reality, so to as there is an objective morality we can locate through the same process. Kant believes that the Categorical Imperative is a universal moral law that holds up regardless of context and circumstance. What’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong. The Categorical Imperative is divided into three maxims. The first is universality, which means that you should only do something if it would be okay if everybody did it all the time. You would know if what you were doing is correct if you would be okay with everyone else on the earth doing the exact same thing. The second maxim is that every human being must be treated as an end rather than a means to an end. You are never allowed toShow MoreRelatedKants Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Moral803 Words   |  4 PagesFundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals is the categorical imperative. The conception of an objective principle, in so far as it is obligatory for a will, is called a command (of reason), and the formula of the command is called an Imperative. (Abbott, 30) An imperative is something that a will ought or shall do because the will is obligated to act in the manner in which it conforms with moral law. The categorical imperative is an obligation by the will to act so that the action canRead MoreKantian Ethics And The Categorical Imperative Essay1581 Words   |  7 PagesEnlightenment Era German philosopher discusses his most famous ethical theory, the â€Å"Categorical Imperative.† The â€Å"Categorical Imperative† is a proposed universal law in stating all humans are forbidden from certain actions regardless of consequences. Although this is the general definition of this ethical theory, the Categorical Imperative† exists in two above formulations, A strict interpretation of Categorical Imperative and a more liberal interpretation. This Kantian moral theory shapes almost allRead More Kants Categorical Imperative Essay1537 Words   |  7 PagesKants Categorical Imperative Deontology is the ethical view that some actions are morally forbidden or permitted regardless of consequences. One of the most influential deontological philosophers in history is Immanuel Kant who developed the idea of the Categorical Imperative. Kant believed that the only thing of intrinsic moral worth is a good will. Kant says in his work Morality and Rationality â€Å"The good will is not good because of what it affects or accomplishes or because of it’s adequacyRead MoreTheory Of Morality As A System Of Hypothetical Imperatives Essay1540 Words   |  7 PagesHypothetical Imperatives†, Philippa Foot argues against Immanuel Kant, that morality exists in hypothetical imperatives rather than categorical imperatives. For Kant, categorical imperatives alone serve as moral commands, and it would be impossible for a moral system to be based on hypothetical imperatives because such imperatives serve as means to ends and result from maxims that cannot be universalized in to perfect duties. Despite this, Foot holds that acting on many hypothetical imperatives can be morallyRead More Kants Fundamental Principles Of The Metaphysics Of Moral Essay792 Words   |  4 PagesFundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals is the categorical imperative. â€Å"The conception of an objective principle, in so far as it is obligatory for a will, is called a command (of reason), and the formula of the command is called an Imperative.† (Abbott, 30) An imperative is something that a will ought or shall do because the will is obligated to act in the manner in which it conforms with moral law. The categorical imperative is an obligation by the will to act so that the action canRead More Kant and the Categorical Imperative Essay897 Words   |  4 PagesKant and the Categorical Imperative Kant tried to develop a theory of ethics which relied on reason rather than emotion. While he was not anti-religious, he wanted an ethical system which was not clouded by religion, emotion or personal interpretation. He placed emphasis on motives behind an action rather than, like the Utilitarians, the consequences of an action. He believed that consequences were no guide to whether an action was moral or not. His theory is known asRead MoreKant And The Moral Law1451 Words   |  6 Pagescare about that child s well-being and because we are motivated by the moral law to do what is right. Kant would disagree with those who do the right thing for the wrong reason. We, as a society and individuals in that society, should act in ways not because it’s easy for us or more favourable, but because its right and moral. 4) The Categorical Imperative: We see that Kant establishes that a moral action effectively consists of a moral intention motivating that action. Therefore, doing theRead MoreA Critique of the Categorical Imperative1689 Words   |  7 PagesA Critique of the Categorical imperative Immanuel Kant was without doubt one of the most influential Philosophers of his time. He was born in Koinsberg, Prussia on the 22nd of April 1724, and died on the 12th of February 1804 at the age of 79. Throughout his life Kant contributed his ideas to many major fields of Philosophy; however his biggest contribution was to the realm of ethics, when he developed the concept of the categorical imperative. He first introduced this idea in 1785 in a book he titledRead MoreThe Ethical Philosophy Of Immanuel Kant1532 Words   |  7 Pageswield reason and rationality as morally autonomous beings. These obligations manifest to Kant in the distinctive forms of the Categorical Imperative. The Categorical Imperative is an unconditional demand of an action regardless of context or circumstance. For Kant, this was an absolute moral law that stands as do X objectively as you are obligated to. The Categorical Imperative must be known a priori, meaning knowledge that is independent of experience or justification. However, judgement itself cannotRead More Philippa Foots Hypothetical Imperatives Essay1261 Words   |  6 PagesPhilippa Foots Hypothetical Imperatives Philippa Foot finds trouble with the arguments of Kant, who said that it was necessary to distinguish moral judgments from hypothetical imperatives. Although this may have become an unquestionable truth, Foot says that this is a misunderstanding. Kant defined a hypothetical imperative as an action that addresses what should or ought to be done. He believed that the necessity of performing a certain action was based on other desires. This particular

Preventing Mass School Shootings Essay - 1424 Words

In order to solve the problem of violence in schools, we must first find out who the problem is. Being that not every teenager is prone to participate in such violent acts as what happened at Columbine, there must be specific environment imposed on a particular biology to turn a teenager into an Eric Harris or a Dylan Klebold. These are not normal, healthy teenagers, and they don’t just become killers overnight. They become killers because they are already deeply disturbed individuals who can be sent over the edge by all sorts of innocuous influences. Violent teens often have specific characteristics that put them at high risk for committing these crimes. These high risked students may display some of the following traits. First,†¦show more content†¦(Juhnke et. Al., 1999) Although substance abuse does not cause students to be violent, students under the influence of psychoactive substances often fail to think logically and experience increased impulsivity. Th erefore a strong correlation exists between substance abuse and violent behavior. Undoubtedly, all these risk factors by themselves will not identify every violent student. However, the risk factors can be used as an aid in assessing students at risk of violence behavior. What Causes Violence? Assessing potentially violent students is one thing, but determining what is causing these high-risk teens to act out is another. Numerous reasons have been suggested as to why teenagers kill. One possibility could be the media. This includes music, movies, books and video games. Social science research conducted over the past 40 years supports the conclusion that viewing violent television programming has negative consequences for children, and the research suggests three factors in which watching violent television programs can impact young viewers. (Aidman, 1997) These factors say that media violence can encourage children to learn aggressive behavior and attitudes, media violence can cultivate fearful or pessimistic attitudes in children about the non- television world, and media violence can desensitize children to real-world and fantasy violence. One very controversial music artist made headlines when the Columbine massacre occurred. From day one,Show MoreRelated We Must Work to Prevent Mass School Shootings Essay1394 Words   |  6 Pages There have been many horror stories in the news about mass shootings at schools. The public, and even the president of the United States, is asking if anything can be done to prevent these tragedies. There are many theories on why students kill their peers at schools; these range from increased violence in video games and movies to bullying troubles at school. Almost always, the perpetrator suffers from some form of mental illness (Khadaroo). Because of this, motives for these crimes areRead MoreHow Laws Towards Violence And Schools Should Be Conceived? A Way That Will Implement Strategies And Methods Essay1321 Words   |  6 Pagesbeen an increase of violent situations occurring within the school setting. Due to this increase, laws have been enacted in order help minimally alleviate and help respond to the violence that occurs within schools. However, violent events within the schools is still a major problem encountered by educators, administrators, parents, and students. The common acts of violence that occur range from simple threats all the way to mass shootings and suicide. Unfortunately, the current laws simply cover actsRead MoreSchool Shootings : Causes And Consequences Of School Shootings895 Words   |  4 Pages School Shootings â€Å"An average of 9,289 people shot dead by a gun, or 774 a month, 178 a week, 25 a day, or a little more than one per hour,† statistics from (Sandy Hook Effect Articles.) School shootings are one of the most tragic events, from Columbine in 1999 to Sandy Hook in 2012, to many more recent ones today. Colleges to high schools and even to elementary schools, there is always a threat and a possibility of having a shooting. While shootings are not predictable, schools should stillRead MoreGun Control: The Prevention of Mass Shootings Essay1415 Words   |  6 Pagesshould be banned to prevent mass shootings and lower crime rates, while being supported by history and the constitution. An ever increasing emphasis on the prevention of mass shootings has presented the option of gun control and bans. Mass shootings have occurred many times throughout history, but have become more prevalent as the spread of information increased through new forms of media. Two recent mass shootings are at Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary School. At Columbine, Dylan KlieboldRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Sandy Hook School Shooting1520 Words   |  7 PagesOn the morning of December 14, 2012, a lone shooter entered Sandy Hook elementary school and killed 26 people. This heinous crime is America’s deadliest mass shooting at a grade school and the fourth-deadliest mass shooting by a single person. Throughout the country, American citizens were mournful and regretful as media outlets released the details of what transpired. Police investigators, media reporters, and American citizens were left wondering how could this have happened and how could we haveRead MoreTh e Debate Over The State Of Texas Essay1369 Words   |  6 Pagesparticularly on the issues of mass shootings and gun control. When it comes to gun control laws, opinions are unequivocally divided between republicans and democrats. Republicans venerate and sharply defend the Second Amendment of the Constitution as right of the people to defend themselves, while Democrats yell desperately for gun restriction laws and even a change to the Second Amendment, these with the purpose of getting guns out of the streets and preventing other mass shootings. The difference on perspectivesRead MoreSchool Shootings : School And Community Violence Trends And Reviewing Evidence On Best Practices Essay1564 Words   |  7 Pages Abstract School shootings have generated great public concern and fostered a widespread impression that schools are unsafe for many students; this article counters those misapprehensions by examining empirical evidence of school and community violence trends and reviewing evidence on best practices for preventing school shootings. Many of the school safety and security measures deployed in response to school shootings have little research support, and strategies such as zero-tolerance disciplineRead MoreThe Crime Of Gun Control1632 Words   |  7 PagesIs there a more heinous act than to kill a child? After an event like a school shooting, our anger drives us to seek different ways to prevent a similar event from ever happening again. In an attempt to do so, we focus on guns as the cause of the problem and try to put more regulations in place. Who would not want regulations on gun ownership and establish places where guns are prohibited, like schools, if it would prevent or help reduce th ese crimes from happening? However, statistics have shownRead MoreThe Violence Of Public Schools871 Words   |  4 PagesIn recent times, several mass shootings have occurred in several places. Sadly, public schools in America have been venues for these mass shootings. How do we reduce these shootings? How do we ensure that the lives of our kids are safe? These are the questions parents all over America are asking. A lot of suggestions have been made to the government concerning the issue of mass shootings. Some say government have to ban the purchase of guns, others say there should be background checks, while othersRead MoreThe Issue Of Gun Control1303 Words   |  6 Pagesyear of 2014 a young man Travon martin passed away and it became a question of gun control. Gun laws are the cause of much of the violent crime in the United States and it needs to change who Is illegal interactions transportation of guns and mass shootings around the United States. Many people question the guns around our society and people asking the cause of or having a gun. We have gun control to protect our amendment to bar arms and for other people’s safety and questions. Here is how people

Literature Review of Cloud Computing Services †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Literature Review of Cloud Computing. Answer: The concept of Cloud computing has emerged as the revolution which can be implemented by the business organizations for the execution and attainment of the varied objectives and targets such as delivery of computing services to the connected servers and the networks, storing, safety and security of databases, networking. Cloud computing consists of the software and systems which can be utilized by the entities in a number of operations, analytics. Cloud providers are the name which has been accustomed to the institutions that provide these services and an amount or a kind of fees has been charged by the service providers which are based on the usage of the systems and the mechanisms. According to Baiju (2014) Cloud storage is the mechanism where the data is stored, backed, maintained and managed. It is a facility for the service users of storing their data and files online and after that they can access those files from any corner of the world. As per the survey it has been found out that more than 800 business corporations have gained competitive advantage by the adoption of this service. A number of small and large business corporations have been waiting since long for the systems like cloud. Despite the system has been proven advantageous for the business corporations many of the business corporations have confusion and a doubt regarding the adoption of this system for carrying out the operational activities and storing the confidential files. The below carried out research report has been presented by the Help-desk LLC and this research has been focused on defining the system and also determination of cloud computing. A brief description has been provided about the concept of Cloud computing. The concept has been considered as the same it was in earlier times with a slight change in the name has done. This concept has been found to be adopted and utilized by the entities from last many years. As per the research many of the business corporations are been ob served who are making use of this mechanism. There is a server which is linked with a number of computers and desktops which are networked to the server. There is also another system which has been used and is known as hardware layer and which is also typically referred to as "the network," or "the information systems." The cloud system has minimized the need of networking in the offices at a greater extent. A numerous benefits are there which can be attained by the adoption of this system and from them one of the biggest aid is to the network as it can be easily accessible from anywhere and anyone one can have access to the Internet, this makes the company in running mode for 24/7. Also it can be accessed from any of the device or mechanism which can be made easily available i.e. laptop, iPad, mobile phone, etc. The best suitable example is Google Docs. This is one of the most common use of cloud computing service by an individual or a business entity i.e. this system will be made in use while submitting of the confidential and important documents to Google Docs via the Internet. Moreover there is another suitable example which can describe the functioning of this system; it can be used by average small business person. The owner of the small scale business wont be having big investing amounts in the establishment of an in-house network and also the entire business operations should running for a short period of time. So here the service of cloud computing can be used as the expenses will be on the usage of the system and the service. The expenses are basically pay-as-you-go means as per the use and are also based on the amount of storage space and computing power that you use. The below mentioned are the elaborated advantages and drawbacks of cloud computing: Most economical Introduction of the cloud computing services has brought reduction or minimization in a number of expenses which were earlier incurred by the business organizations. The mechanism does not even require huge investments and heavy expenses to be spent by the entities on the establishment and setting up. The expenses are too low as the system does not involve any kind hardwares, equipment and infrastructure to be fixed within. Also no expenditure is to be made for the installations of the desktops, laptops or some type of device to access the Internet (levelcloud. 2017). Moreover there are some of the expenses which are required to be spent on the implementation and maintenance of the private and the companys own in-house networking and which is very minimum or low. The concept has to be recognized as a vital and significant one for many small scale business corporations too. But there are some expenses which are to be incurred while maintaining the in-house network. Th ese expenses are enormous and it has also been observed that they are increasing day-by-day. Moreover there are other related costs and expenses which are essentially to be incurred by the corporation at the time of installation of the software and hardware upgrades and also the maintenance and providing training on the related topics to the employees. The above mentioned are the services and the responsibilities which are expected to be rendered and to be fulfilled by the service providers of the cloud systems and also the costs and the expenses are to be incurred by them only. Renting vs Owning is the concept which can be referred for developing an understanding which is related to the concept of expenses computing services. The service providers of the cloud computing services are always required to be with an essential and sufficient storage of all the required resources and which are to be utilized by the business client for a monthly or annual fee which has been charged by the service provider at the beginning. And this concept has been referred as similar and which is also common to as the Software-as-a-Service (or SaaS) model is a common concept which has also been found similar to the cloud computing system. In this concept the company is required to pay for the use of the service which can also be said as you pay as you go. Disaster recovery: It has been recommended on a high priority to have a data back-up ready in case of any emergency (Baiju. 2014). Cloud computing tis the system which can be proven as a beneficial option for the business corporations as the system stores and saves the files or the data stored in it and further it can provide the same data in the emergency situation. Flexibility Flexibility is one of the biggest advantages of this mechanism. As mentioned above the business organization is required to pay the amount or the charge for the time duration or for the part of the service which they have used. The business corporations are provided with a limited flexibility for the use of the system and the service for which they have already paid an amount. For example if an individual or a business firm has small capital for investments and starting up a business, so for this scenario the owners can make use of small cloud computing packages and services. Further an increase can be done in the use of the computing services as the business activities and the operations keeps on growing. And after a particular growth in the business income the owners can also opt for a bigger package of computing services. Setting-up of an automatic scale for the essential and required resource for the business corporation has also been done by some of the cloud servic e providers (stratospherenetworks. 2017). Also the business organizations can make necessary changes and modifications in the infrastructure. These modifications can be into making the network private network, public, or a combination of both. Accessibility Access to the data at required moment is very much important. Cloud computing has provided this service to the business organization to access the data regardless of where the company stands or is operating in the world. The employees or the needed one can have access on the data or the operations which are based on cloud computing mechanism. The access will be granted to the desired by just clearing a complicated remote login procedures and which are required for the in- this purpose the most needed tool is a device that can provide access to the data or the information required through the web and an Internet connection which will be controlling the systems. This means the employees or the staff in the organization can have access anywhere and at any-time, from home, office or on the road at a client's office. Sustainability Business are prone to number of issues and risks at any-time. There are a number of issues which can be faced by the business such as a natural disaster which can strike the business at any time. But cloud computing is the mechanism which has emerged as the solution to this problem of risks due to natural disasters. By making use of this mechanism the company can feel risk free as the data which can be pertained to risk is stored somewhere else (Vishwanathan. 2017). But this advantage can also turn into negative if the disaster directly hits the cloud computing service. Security of Your Data The cloud computing system have been used by the business organizations for storing the confidential data and also safeguarding the same form various types of risks. But some-times the system fails to protect the data. And this has become as the prime or the main concern which is related to cloud computing systems. In simpler terms, the data or the confidential information that used to reside within the four walls of the business corporation now resides elsewhere and security and safety of the same is must. Addressing the security of the data must be done on priority basis and this is required to be done with care as the data stored in the cloud systems contains trade secrets of a number of business organizations, proprietary lists, files of the consumers and their records etc. There has been an estimate provided by the researchers that more that 60% of the service providers of cloud said that data security should be the responsibility of the end-user, Whereas on the other hand on the basis of another survey it has been inferred that about 35% of the end-users agreed that they should be held responsible for the duty of data security (Sotto, Treacy and McLellan, 2010). And on the basis of both the survey it can be clearly observed that there is a sense of inequality between cloud providers and cloud users about the concept of the security and the responsibility of the same. It should be in the mind of the business corporations who have been making use of the data that their confidential information stored in the computing systems is vulnerable to compromise and is exposed to risk at any-time. Author has described that as the companies and the service providers both have an idea about the risks and dangers they should also be prepared with the proper measures and precautions which are necessarily required to be taken right from the start has been considered as an important step for the business organization. Whereas in case of the small bus iness organizations who do not have adequate resources and right amount of investment for protecting their data from the risks. For this situation the cloud providers should offer a reasonably priced off-site solution which may be right for certain applications. Costs When Under Attack On the basis of the survey and the above research cloud computing is the tool which has to be considered as the low cost incurring mechanism. The system also provides some sought of additional benefits to the business entities. But in some scenarios it can be reason due to which the company will incur a number of additional expenses. For example, if a company's website comes under a distributed denial of service i.e. (D-DOS) attack. The reason behind this attack is that the typical goal of a D-DOS attack is to gobble up resources and which is done for rendering the server incapacitated. If the cloud computing provider has no precautions to fight against the risk of DDoS attacks, when the site is attacked, then service provider will have to simply begin to increase the resources that the site will be requiring during the attack and the cloud provider will charge for the extra resources used and which naturally will bring an increase in the expenses. It is of v ery much significance for the business corporation to ask the provider what kind of provisions they have to protect against this type of attack. Fluctuations in the performance level As the cloud system is globally operated and at a time the system and the applications running on servers for the business organizations are simultaneously used by other business corporations, the same applications are involved in providing the resources to other businesses too. Hence there will be fluctuations in the requirements and the demands made by the each and every user and which will develop impacts on the performance of the business organization and the share of the resources will be also on a varying note. Often, the service providers may claim that the resources available with the business entities are unlimited (azure.microsoft. 2017). This may be theoretically true, but from a practical point of view the hardware scalability is probably limited. In the light of the above carried out research it can be concluded that the concept of cloud computing has to be considered as the most significant concept in terms of storing and safeguarding the confidential data of the business corporations for future references. Moreover it has been also considered as the new concept in the context of maturity and adoption. There has been a number of changes and predictions made under which the business corporations will undergo in the future, in terms of resources, issues, risks, and ultimately best practices and standards. Moreover the prime focus of the research has been provided to the benefits and the disadvantages which have been provided by the system. On-demand services can resonate positively with the current university tight budgets across the nation and other parts of the world. Further the benefits of the transition to cloud computing have been described in this above carried out reserach along with concerns regarding the general impl ementation of this application. Refrences Baiju, 2014, 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud storage, Assessed on 1st May 2017, https://bigdata-madesimple.com/5-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud-storage/. levelcloud, 2017, Advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing, Assessed on 1st May 2017, https://www.levelcloud.net/why-levelcloud/cloud-education-center/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud-computing. stratospherenetworks , 2017, Advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing, Assessed on 1st May 2017, https://www.stratospherenetworks.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud.html. Vishwanathan, P, 2017, Cloud computing and is it really all that beneficial, Assessed on 1st May 2017, https://www.lifewire.com/cloud-computing-explained-2373125. Sotto, L.J., Treacy, B.C. and McLellan, M.L., 2010. Privacy and Data Security Risks in Cloud Computing.World Communications Regulation Report,5(2), p.38. azure.microsoft, 2017, What is cloud computing, Assessed on 1st May 2017, https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/what-is-cloud-computing/

Medical Ethics Essays (2944 words) - Medical Ethics,

Medical Ethics Medical Ethics ? Bioethics comprise every possible aspect of health care, medical, moral, social, political, religious, legal and financial? (Weiss 3). This includes the questions raised by new research. It takes a look at the results of that research that is used on patients. It takes into consideration contemporary ideas of personal freedom and human dignity. It deals with growth in medical services available in the United States and the sky rocketing cost. Bioethics also deals with the medical advances in technology that has reshaped traditional medical ethics. Medical ethics have changed drastically over a period of years. From old commandments to new commandments, guidelines that provide structural framework, classic experiments that challenge that framework, or even how things are defined in medical ethics. ?Medical progress goes on, and the perils of progress must be heeded? (Leone 165). Changing times have in turn changed our codes of ethics. There are five old commandments o f ethics and five new commandments of ethics. These commandments come from many years of heavily advised dictates from various people. A commandment by definition is, ? ... a dictate or a strongly advised piece of advice? (Halsey 201). The first traditional commandment is, ? Treat all human life as of equal worth? (Singer 190). This statement is very difficult to follow; almost no person believes this statement whole-heartedly. The statement makes more sense on paper or just being heard, but its application in life is almost impossible to ensure. In comparison to the first old ethic, the first new ethic states, ?Recognize that the worth of human life varies? (Singer 190). This statement allows for variation and livability in society. It gives way for someone to say, if a person is a vegetable, has no vital capabilities, this person?s life is of no worth anymore. Without this sort of change in today?s advancing civilization, it would make it ethically wrong to ?pull the plug? (Rothst ein 1698.) The next commandment of old ethics is, ? Never intentionally take innocent human life? (Singer 192). If a doctor or any health care professional just stood by during the birth of a child and both the child and the mother were dying, how could that doctor stand there and watch both the mother and the infant die without taking some method of action. However, if that physician were to save either patient while sacrificing the life of the other, that health care professional would be considered unethical and scorned by the standard of this ethical commandment. In comparison, the new commandment states, ?Take responsibility for the consequences of your decisions?(Singer 195). By the token of this declaration a physician can make a choice based on his/her best judgment, yet; be held accountable for their actions. This gives a doctor the power to use his/her best judgment and knowledgeable skills, to do what they believe is best for the patient. This statement allows for a perso n?s right to free will, even a person who is a Christian may more fully agree with this statement just for the pure reason that they want to believe more in God?s promise of free will in their life. Commandment number four states,? Be fruitful and multiply? (Singer 198). This biblical injunction has been a part of Christian ethics for thousands of years. ? Augustine said that sexual intercourse without procreation ` turns the bridal chamber into a brothel (Singer 198). Some laws in America concerning contraceptives survived until the mid- 1960?s when the Supreme Court declared them invasion of privacy (Madsen 325). The revised commandment number four, ?Bring children into the world only if they are wanted? (Singer 199), allows for population control as well as prevention of children who were never wanted and not loved. From 1930 when the population was two billion to today where the population is over five billion and is expected to rise above eleven billion by the middle of the nex t century. With these kinds of statistics revised dictates, such as this fourth one, are essential. The final of these five old commandments state, ? Treat all human life as always more precious than any non-human life? (Singer 201). If we compare a severely defective human infant with a

[WATCH] How to start your own business according to CEO, Veronika Scott

[WATCH] How to start your own business according to CEO, Veronika Scott Too often we don’t pursue our dreams because we’re overwhelmed by the journey that lies before us, and nobody has had a more improbable journey than Veronica Scott.   Veronica was an art school graduate who came up with an idea – a coat designed for homeless people that turned into a sleeping bag at night.   Not only was her concept targeted for an audience that didn’t have the capacity to pay for them, but Veronica had no product development or manufacturing experience from which to build upon.Undeterred, she moved forward and now oversees a $6 million operation, The Empowerment Plan, that is changing lives for thousands of homeless people throughout the United States, by providing these special coats, as well as creating employment opportunities to manufacture them.Veronica sat down with Daily Fuel to share the best advice she can to anyone who finds themselves in the same situation she did; having a vision but not knowing how to take that first step .Source: [DailyFuel]

Ebay Essay Example

Ebay Essay Example Ebay Essay Ebay Essay Case Analysis: eBay Customer Support Outsourcing | | Name: Qiong HuangStudent #: 500423506Course #: MT 8216For: Professor BabinDate: December, 10, 2010| Situation eBay. com, â€Å"the world’s online marketplace†, is an online auction and shopping website in which people and business buy and sell a wide variety of goods and services worldwide. It is managed by eBay Inc, which is founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar. eBay’ mission was to provide a robust trading platform where practically anyone could trade anything. It was recognized as the largest and most popular person-to-person trading community on the Internet. eBay Case, 2006) eBay posted US $8. 7 billion in revenue with a net income at $2. 4 billion in 2009. eBay is experiencing a 15% year-over-year increase. eBay’s marketplaces also benefit from a noticeable growth in its international business market, which accounts for around 60% of its market revenue in the 4th quarter of 2009. The marketplaces succ ess comes from the strong growth of its fixed-priced format, the continuing success of its highest rated sellers, and double-digit growth in sold items. (eBay 2009 Financial Report, 2010) Whitman purposed that eBay community of users was the foundation of the company’s business model. eBay Case, 2006) Customer service is substantial for e-commence business to survive and develop. The customer support organization in eBay was made up of two major units: general support, trust and safety. Most of the customer contacts were handled by the general support unit, and approximately 94% of customer service volume was email-based. Also, live chat and phone inquiries were growing. (eBay Case, 2006) To meet the inquiries of its customer base’s growth, eBay first hired remote contractors to respond customers’ emails. Then, eBay deployed Kana technology to improve its efficiency of customer services and to raise the customer satisfactions. However, those initiatives still could not keep up with the demand of growing customer bases. Thus, eBay operated an outsourcing pilot program in 2002. (eBay Case, 2006) Complications Outsourcing increases the productivity and quality of eBay’s customer support. Based on these benefits that were brought by the outsourcing, eBay increased the email volume of customer service sent offshore, even phone volumes in 2003. Yet, it arises some issues. One is the community reactions. More and more complaints from the community directed to the standardization of English, especially after outsourcing the phone volumes. These complaints refer to written English, accents, and language comprehensions. The other big concern is the customer relationship management. Customer support to PowerSellers and potential PowerSellers are not dedicated. eBay does not optimize its customer support to generate revenue. Besides that, eBay lacks of the talents who have rich experiences with outsourcing. Key Questions Should eBay continue to expand its outsourcing? Which outsourcing model can balance a competitive cost for eBay and retain its community? Is BOT a good alternative for eBay? Solutions To stay abreast of the continuing growth customer base and achieving cost differentiation, eBay should continue to expand its outsourcing. However, BOT is too advanced to eBay. It could not address the issues that eBay has now. Near-shoring is a better choice rather than outsourcing to India and Philippines. Compared to the other models of off-shoring outsourcings, near-shoring is to outsource in a nearby country, which shares a broader with own country. As for eBay, Canada, or some rural areas in both America and Canada are all good location choices. This first can solve the problems of language and culture issues as well as reduce the costs for eBay. Second, near-shoring is easier to manage. That ensures these outsourcing services can maintain the same standard with those services in the home country. Another alternative for eBay to optimize its customer support is to deploy CRM software. Customer relationship management is substantial to every company, especially to those e-commerce companies. As I discussed above, community is the foundation of the business model of eBay. Being first-to-market in the e-commerce world is frequently a competitive advantage. (eBay Case, 2006) The application of CRM software helps eBay not only to better serve its existing customers, but to develop new customers. It improves the efficiency and effectiveness in selecting, segmenting the customers and serving them, especially for those potential PowerSellers. This helps eBay to optimize its customer support. Conclusion Outsourcing is considered as a visible way for eBay to reduce costs, scale the demand, and leverage its investment. As for eBay, near-shoring will ground well in customer support, and CRM software will help to optimize the customer support. Reference eBay. (2010). Retrieved at December 10, 2010, from ebayinc. com/who. eBay Financial Report. (2010). Retrieved at December 10, 2010, from http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/ebay/1101818908x0x345224/b455630d-4bb9-4ba5-adb1-40dcf29e82ce/eBay_Q409EarningsRelease. pdf. Newman, S. , Crikscheit, G. , amp;Verna, R. (2006). eBay Customer Support Outsourcing. Indiana University CIBER.

Analysis poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Analysis poem - Essay Example The first two sentences of the poem represent the poet’s opinion of love and friendship. â€Å"Love is like the wild rose-briar; / Friendship like the holly-tree† (1-2). The poet uses two similes to describe it love and friendship in a more lively and specific way. The beauty of love is described through the rose-briar and friendship is compared with the holly-tree. (The definition of rose-briar, according to Oxford Dictionary, is a wild bush with thorns, especially a wild rose bush). Bronte thinks love is represented as â€Å"wild rose-briar† (1). This kind of plant is considered to have a beautiful and charming blossom, but its beauty is temporary, unstable and dangerous. (The definition of holly, according to Oxford Dictionary, is â€Å"A widely distributed evergreen shrub, typically having prickly dark green leaves, small white flowers, and red berries†.) Bronte uses a good simile to represent friendship. The holly-tree’s leaves never wilt and i t could signify the characteristic of friendship. It shows that that friendship can be forever and I believe the same A good friend may be an ordinary and inconspicuous person, but is a person who we can rely on and trust in any situation. The relationship between love and friendship could be two parallel lines or two intersecting lines. The poem says â€Å"The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms. / But which will bloom most constantly? † (3-4). These two sentences make people to think about which one of the two might be constant. In my opinion, I cannot say definitely whether it is love or friendship that is constant because people are changeable. In addition, there are also many external factors that affect people’s relationships. People could change their minds due to some specific reasons or specific environmental factors. For example, friends or lovers go to different

Places of Worship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Places of Worship - Essay Example Christians have worship place known as church in which the Christians come and obey their lord. Church is the scared place for the Christians where Christians come and pray in order to get internal satisfaction and inspiration. Churches are built in the shape of a Cross on which Christians believe that Jesus Christ was given punishments and then he died. There are different parts of a church for example the aisle and stairs are designed to give the shape of the stairs towards the heavens. The heavens are given the shape of the junction. Churches are present in every corner of the world. There is a need to inculcate the importance of churches because of the fact that Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world. Cathedrals are some important types of churches. The role of pastors or bishops is really interesting and of colossal importance in church. The bishop is the one who leads theprayers, conducts all theceremonies and prayers in a church. No official activity can take place without the presence of the pastor or bishop. Many Christians visit the churches often in their routine; some of them visit the churches on Sunday because there arespecial prayers on Sundays. The marriage ceremonies of the Christians also take place in churches because Christians think that if they consummate their marriages in churches, it will bringpeace, pleasure and harmony in their lives. The Masjids Worship place for the Muslims is known as Mosque or Masjid. Muslims are supposed to come in the mosque five times a day for prayers. The prayer timings are set according to the movement of sun. There are three prayers in the day timings and two prayers after that among which, one is on the sunset and the other one is at night known as â€Å"Isha Prayer†. ... During the player, the Muslims stand from shoulder to shoulder in order to inculcate and depict the unity among them. The worship place is packed with people on Friday prayers. Friday prayers are specially obligated on Muslims and during the Friday prayers, all kinds of business activities are forbidden. Worship place of Muslims known as masjid has also a separate place for ablution in which the Muslims clean themselves from water by washing their hands, face, mouth, toes and hair because purification is the first and foremost pre-requisite of the prayer of the Muslims. Muslims are also directed to stand and face one direction known as â€Å"Kaabah†. The Kaabah is the place situated in Saudi Arabia and Muslims are supposed to face its direction in order to give a depiction of unity and oneness. Eid prayer is also one of the most important prayers in the Muslims worship place. Eid days are scheduled two time in a year in which Muslims from all over the world celebrate these eve nts with great enthusiasm and zeal. The masjid is also situated in many main places of the Muslims communities. The masjid is a sacred place for the Muslims and even non also come from different places to see the historical mosques around the world for example Turkey has some of the best and historical mosques where many people come and visit to see the glimpse of the historical places. The Mandirs The sacred worshipping place for the Hindus is known as Tempe or â€Å"Mandir† which is a word of Sanskrit language and it means â€Å"gladdening†. Like other worshipping places, there is always a need for the leading personality to be present in the worship place to complete the official prayers and

The Sound of Music Essay Example for Free

The Sound of Music Essay The sound of music was by far the greatest musical success for the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. I chose this musical because of the lyrical and musical talent of these two men. I have enjoyed watching this classic numerous time throughout the years due to my mothers influence. She exposed my brother and I to many different types of music, teaching us to appreciate the style of each artist. The Sound of Music was directed and produced by Robert Wise, although he was not the first choice, he did indeed prove to be the best. Richard Rodgers wrote the music with the lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The music was arranged and conducted by Irwin Kostal with the choreography by Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood. Filming of The Sound of Music began in 1964, in and around the area of Salzburg, Austria. It then premiered in early 1965, where it stayed on the circuit for more than four years. The film won five academy awards, including Best picture in 1966. The setting for the movie was to represent the late 1930s in Salzburg, Austria, with the looming threat of Nazi occupation. The movie was adapted from the real life stories of Maria von Trapp, who had a book published about her family life during this time. The title is The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. The opening scene pans across the mountains with the sound of wind blowing snow as it crosses over and down the other side. Once the forest and lake come in to view the music changes to birds chirping and the light sound of flutes playing. It continues to pan across hills and valleys with the tempo (xxi) of the music changing as instruments are added. The scene unfolds reaching Julie Andrews up on a hilltop surrounded by mountains. Here the musics dynamic level (xxvii) becomes more intense. When she starts to sing the music decreases in volume, matching her vocal range as she sings the title theme. The music that accompanies the abbey scene shows nuns walking slowly, heads bowed as if in prayer, gives the impression of spiritual devotion and a peaceful setting. In the court yard several nuns are discussing Maria with the Reverend Mother and do a call-and-response type of song called Maria. Maria is sent to Captain von Trapps as a governess for his children. The music in these next few scenes has a dissonance quality that sets the mood for her arrival at the von Trapp household. Maria soon finds out how strict the Captain is with his children and that music is not allowed since the death of his wife. She decides that God has sent her to bring joy and music back into their lives. The children come to Marias room during a scary thunderstorm. She tries to calm them with a song called A Few of My Favorite Things. This is a very light, happy, rhyming song that soon has the children forgetting their fears and having some fun. That is until the Captain walks in with a frown and sends the children scurrying to their rooms. While the Captain is away in Vienna, Maria introduces the children to having fun with music. She takes them on an outing in the hills and finds out that they dont know any songs at all. Maria teaches them Do-Re-Mi which uses the scales and has a call-and-response theme. The harmony of this tune is a favorite of mine, showing the melody of the song and timbre of each voice. When the Captain returns with the Baroness and Uncle Max, the children sing for them the songs they have learned. The Captain joins in as they sing The Sound of Music, surprising the children. Later after the puppet show they encourage their father to sing. Playing an acoustic guitar, he sings Edlewise with Lisel joining him. The song is softly played with some instrumental backup that is almost undetected. The waltz between the Captain and Maria in the garden just outside the ballroom is another favorite of mine. The orchestra playing the tune with  violins and flutes primarily in the foreground, setting the tempo of the composition as they dance and discover the attraction they have for one another. Maria escapes to the abbey after realizing she is in love with him. The Reverend Mother talks Maria into going back to face the situation and determine if the life of a nun is what she truly wishes. Upon returning to the von Trapp estate, Maria finds out from the children that their father is to marry the Baroness. Maria is heartbroken but wishes them well as they greet her. After the evening meal Gaylord sees Maria looking gloomy as she wanders the grounds of the estate. He realizes he has made a mistake and breaks it off with the Baroness. He then seeks Maria out at the gazebo, where he tries to encourage her to tell him the reason she left. Soft music plays as they declare their love for each other, becoming much louder as they start singing Something Good. The wedding scene, the music here is a rendition of Maria but, bolder with a marching tempo to it, as she walks down the aisle. Upon returning from their honeymoon the couple find that the Nazis have occupied Austria and are expecting the Captain to take a commission in Germany Navy. They use the folk festival as a front as they look for a way to escape into the mountains. They end up with help from the nuns at the abbey to get away from the Germans, and they cross the mountains into Switzerland. The music of Climb every Mountain is a very dramatic song as they show them walking across the mountains into freedom.

Understanding Chimpanzee Culture Essay -- primates biology and behavior

In primates such as chimpanzees it is imperative to look at their culture to understand their intelligence. Culture in this circumstance means a specific set of behaviors obtained through learning in a population/species. Chimpanzee’s intelligence is quite unique how they interact with their environment and use it to their benefit just like humans. They have the ability to overcome the obstacles of everyday life through learning and the ability to use tools to create a better quality of life. The complexity of their intellect is different from any other animal ever seen. A significant part of chimpanzee intelligence that sets them apart from other primates and puts them closer to humans is the way they exhibit social learning within their culture and interactions within their environment. When it comes to interacting with the environment tool use by chimpanzees is very vital to differentiating their intelligent within their culture. Chimpanzees are some of the very few unique primates that use a variety of tools which makes them stand out as very proficient tool users besides humans. According to David Watts chimpanzees use the tools to enhance their way of living. â€Å"Chimpanzees at several well documented sites mostly use tools in extractive foraging, and extractive tool use can substantially increase their foraging efficiency. They also use tools for hygiene and for several other purposes, including attracting the attention of conspecifics, as in leaf-clipping† (Watts 2008, 83). Subsequently chimpanzees are intellectual enough to alter an object to create a tool, and then use the tool for a precise purpose. Then on the other hand chimpanzees use tools to overcome everyday obstacles. As expressed by Watts chimpanzee toolkits mak... ...and put them in a whole different category from other primates. Unlike other animals there intellect gives them the ability to create, learn and flourish as primates. Even though they are not as intelligent as humans, they have a very significant cognition that puts them closer to humans. Works Cited Elizabeth E., Price. "A Potent Effect Of Observational Learning On Chimpanzee Tool Construction." Proceedings Of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276.1671 (2009): 3377-3383. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. Horner, Victoria, Proctor,Darby . "Prestige Affects Cultural Learning In Chimpanzees." Plos ONE 5.5 (2010): 1-5. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Nov. 2013 Watts, David P. "Tool Use By Chimpanzees At Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda." International Journal Of Primatology 29.1 (2008): 83-94. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Abstract of Judgement & Decision Making Topics

Reading 1. 3 (Jackall, R. (1988)) : Looking Up and Looking Around In every corporation the crux of a manager’s charisma is his decision making prowess. Though there is an abundance of scientific theories and myths related to decision making, generally decisions are made in a highly rationalized context. A manager would prefer taking decisions that are based on well-formulated and generally agreed upon strategies rather than evaluating all the possible solutions to the problem in hand and then taking a well reasoned decision. In contrast, managers are highly uncomfortable when faced with situations in which there are no specific procedures. Managers vouch for their own safety, safety in terms of reputation and therefore tend to look around and see what others opinions are, the perspective of their superiors. In situations where their reputation is at stake, or huge sums of money involved, or even the company’s goodwill is at stake managers tend to hesitate and wait for an opinion not due to lack of experience but due to fear of failure. Another aspect why managers tend to look around is the accusation or blame time after a problem occurs because there is no means to track down responsibility. As a result of bureaucratic structure higher authorities can easily sneak out of such situations leaving the subordinates hung out to dry. A negative aspect in an organization would be milking a plant which is generally performed by a top level authority in order to maximize gains. The negative aspect in this is of course the organisation bears the brunt of it, moreover at the end of it all, the person assigned the charge of the milked plant eventually becomes the scapegoat. Another aspect is that if focus remains on short term profit it may not be the key to lasting achievements though it may be profitable for a short duration. Likewise individuals look out for their own interests instead of the organisations when there are immediate personal benefits. Experience: In my experience this occasion has occurred a number of times when my manager tends to avoid the risky or rather sticky situations. As a newly appointed sales engineer in a trading firm my manager used to pass on a number of sales quotations to me for processing and finalizing the deal. Since I was fresh to the field of sales I didn’t realize that he was forwarding me these sales orders just because those orders were from clients who weren’t credible enough. Though I managed to get a couple of orders, two of the orders went kaput in terms of payment for which I was held responsible. My manager washed his hands of me accusing me with not consulting him before I plunged to seal the deal. Though on the other profitable orders he too had a take on the credit but the blame only fell on me. Reading 4. 3 (Wildavsky, A. , and Dake, K. (1990)): Theories of Risk Perception: Who Fears What and Why? This article mainly focuses on the outlook of different kinds of people, outlook such as the perception of risk of different products and practices, the diverse effect of a particular practice or event on these different groups, the intensity of the effect on these groups and the varying concerns on an individual basis to a diverse range of risks so as to understand the patterns of risk perception. Fundamentally an individual perceives a hazard as a risk with greater anxiety if his wellbeing is likely to be in danger. If the hazard doesn’t seem to affect him or his beliefs in any way it wouldn’t be of any concern to him though it might be of ample concern to someone else who will be directly affected. By classifying people on the basis of social relations such as hierarchical, egalitarian and individualist, along with the cultural biases that support them, turned out to be the best way to account for the perception of risk. It was found that people who support egalitarianism would be more inclined to risk taking individually but as a social group would be more risk averse, whereas those who favour hierarchy tend to be the opposite. An individualist would be risk taking when it comes to technology as they see an opportunity for growth. These observations were in respect to technology and environment but in terms of personality structure there is no evidence as to variation in risk perception. In spite of these observations one cannot presume that risk taking is preferred by cultures of individualism and hierarchy neither can one presume that egalitarians are always risk averse this is because as risks pertaining to technology and environment are feared by egalitarians in a similar way social deviance is feared by hierarchists and the risk of war is feared by individualists. In conclusion, depending on the object of attention risk perception also varies. Experience: During my tenure in a shipping company as a procurement executive I had once the task to procure water pump for eight ships. Since this was a high priority requirement and involved huge costs I made sure I had researched the market well and decided on a particular brand (Grundfos) even though there was another pump (Davey) that perfectly suited our requirements. The reason was that Davey’s technical support was really bad. So I forwarded the research report to my MD who called for me and told me to go ahead with the purchase of the Davey pump telling me that it was profitable and worthwhile to get our own technicians trained since we could use more of their pumps. To me it seemed like a big risk especially since it involved a huge cost but to him it didn’t seem a risk at all. Reading 6. 1 (Lindblom, C. E. (1959)): The Science of â€Å"Muddling Through† The author compares and contrasts two different approaches to policy making – Rational comprehensive method (Root) and the Successive limited comparisons (Branch) and explains why branch method is a better approach in formulating policies. The root method starts from the fundamentals, improving on the past only if included in a theory. This method cannot be used for complex problems simply because the facts needed require a gigantic compilation of observations. Whereas the branch method continually springs up from the present situation in a step by step manner, varying in small degrees and is more appropriate for complex problems because facts requirements are small and are relevant to the policy. In the root method, initially values or objectives have to be clarified before the alternative policies are examined. Disagreement is unavoidable even when objectives are clearly stated. Another difficulty is ranking of conflicting values since objectives may not have the same relative values. Whereas in the branch method values and policies are selected simultaneously and only incremental values are focussed on making it simpler. Secondly, in the root method, ends are initially chosen in a means-end relationship and means are then developed whereas in branch method means as well as ends are simultaneously chosen. Thirdly, in the root method decisions are termed â€Å"good† if an objective is achieved even when the decision hasn’t been described. In the case of branch method where the objectives are defined only by the incremental values it is still possible to determine if the policy achieved the desired objective. Again in the root method it is impossible to take all factors into consideration due to limitations unless the complex problem is simplified whereas the branch method by limiting the policy comparisons to relevant ones only differing slightly from the current policy the problem is simplified. Finally policy is made and re-made endlessly in the branch method. Nevertheless, branch method does have its disadvantages but is far superior for decision making in complex problems. Experience: In a new start up firm generally new policies are made often or even old ones are amended. During my work as a business development manager in a newly start up firm, I along with another colleague had the major task to formulate policies for my division. We decided to put together basic policies related to our past experience from similar jobs. This served as the base to us and the other employees of the division. There were revisions to these base policies only when there was a need to amend it because it wasn’t working for us or when some mishap happened and a new policy was inevitable. But the fact was that the new policies didn’t vary from the old policies in such a large manner. So it wasn’t difficult for the employees to get accustomed to the new policy. And slowly we managed to put together a solid set of policies. Reading 7. 1 (McIntyre, R. M. & Salas, E. (1995)): Measuring and Managing For Team Performance: Emerging Principles From Complex Environments The author of this chapter focuses on a fairly neglected but critical aspect namely teamwork that develops as teams mature over a period of time. The base for this research was military teams but due to the similarities between military and any organisation the findings can be extended to teams in an organisation too. The model formed for this research was The Team Evolution and Maturation (TEAM) Research Paradigm. The TEAM paradigm program observed and measured a number of tactical decision-making teams. Interviews were conducted, data instruments and self-report questionnaire were developed and employed to assist in the research. The data analysed were scanned for evidence of behavioural trends that characterized team performance and the results were presented. Teamwork is the interactive behaviour between members of a team but depending on circumstance may include technical activities. Teamwork consists of four major factors-performance monitoring, feedback, closed-loop communication, back-up behaviour and also performance norms such as team’s self awareness and supporting interdependence among team-mates. Also effective teams modify their behaviour depending on the situation and do change over a period of time. Another category that led to a better understanding of team performance was Team leadership. A team leader must be able to serve as models of teamwork in order to maintain the team’s effectiveness by engaging in teamwork and improving the team performance, being prepared technically, by listening and benefiting from the knowledge of team members, accepting and providing feedback but at the same time being cautious about his leadership style and the respect he commands. The role of each individual team member was also important in this context. Team members should be individually competent so that effective team work can take place but at the same time be aware of the tasks of his team-mate. Also, a team member must not be dependent on an outstanding team member by evading responsibility. Experience: During my career in a software company a team was formed for every project. The team was formed depending on the requirement of the particular phase of the project, budget and duration. The team members were selected based on their experience. Meetings were conducted with the project managers on an individual basis as well as a team. New ideas as well as difficulties faced by each team member were noted. Another method employed by the company was the team appraisal form in which team members rated their team mates in different tasks. At the completion of the project too a review of the performance of the team as well as the project manager was conducted. For the next project the outcomes of these reviews were specially taken into consideration to form another team. What I observed was as a team our performance improved and tasks were completed with less difficulty among team members. Reading 5. 3 (Parkin (2000)): Expert Judgment This reading discusses about how the conceptualization of information can help in retaining information for longer periods of time and achieving expertise. It also classifies the characteristics of an expert and finally whether experts are better judges in their own domain. The short term memory in human beings can only absorb and process few chunks of memory and that too for a short period of time whereas to remember data for a longer period it is necessary to put them in long term memory. Some recent findings have shown that in order to support the short-term memory, experts developed their long term memory thereby overcoming the limited capacity of the short term memory. But again the storage capacity isn’t what makes a difference between a novice and an expert. It is the ability of an expert to visualize and analyse as well as reason the patterns and data in such a way that it provides room for more planning that differentiates him from an amateur. In order to have this ability of an expert, practice seems to be the only solution. Again being an expert in problem solving in a particular domain is not the only skill required by an expert but good planning skill too is critical. By deciding on the right methods and goals based on past experiences experts are more successful in predicting likely outcomes. Thus in order to facilitate quick retrieval of information from the long term memory it is necessary to conceptualize the largely disaggregated data that one acquires during education and training. Through a continuous series of trial, error and reliable feedback, information gets stored in memory and readily available. But in spite of these characteristics experts may not be better judges also in their own domains. An expert’s decision would differ from another one based on his knowledge and experience. But again agreement cannot be the only criteria to judge an expert. Experience: During my career as a computer engineer I had done multiple projects. But I remember one of the projects in the early days of my career which was a fairly complex one. It was a complex one only because in spite of learning that programming language in my undergraduate course and also having been rained for it in the company I had to struggle through the coding because I hadn’t practised it actually. But the irony was that the project manager was quite an expert at it and had an extensive knowledge in that programming language despite the fact that this language came into actual practice long after his graduation. I later came to know that he had successfully completed a number of projects using this program ming language. Thus practice and definitely the multiple projects he executed got him to this level of expertise. Reference 1. UTS November 2002, ‘Judgment and Decision making’, CN2118 Lectures & Reading Material.

Film Theory and Criticism Essay

Maya Deren is known as one of those in Hollywood who represented everything that was not Hollywood. A film theorist and film maker, among other things, Maya Deren was born as Eleanora Derenkowsky in Kiev, Ukraine. She was born into the film making industry, named after an Italian actress. After moving to Syracuse, New York, it was here where she began her interest in the socialist movement. It was also this move which influenced much of her life and her direction in movies. Maya Deren began her formal education at Syracuse University where she was an active member of the Trotskyist Young People’s Socialist League. She eventually went on to work with Katherine Dunham where she got her chance to work in Hollywood. Using the inheritance she got from her father, Maya Deren purchased a second hand 16mm Bolex camera with which she made what is perhaps considered as one of best films, Meshes of the Afternoon. This was recognized as one of the first seminal American avant-garde films during the time. It was originally a silent film that featured no dialogue, however, in 1957 a soundtrack was added by Teiji Ito. By 1943, she changed her name to Maya Deren. This was because of her beliefs at that time and reflected her political ideologies as well. By this time, she had already expanded her social circle within Hollywood to include such others like Andre Breton, Marcel Duchamp, John Cage and Anais Nin. A year later, she started her second film, At Land, and other films such as A Study in Choreography for the Camera in 1945 and Ritual in Transfigured Time, which was made in 1946, which explored the fear of rejection and the freedom of expression in abandoning ritual. Her efforts did not go unrecognized as in 1946 she was awarded with the Guggenheim Fellowship for â€Å"Creative Work in the Field of Motion Pictures. † While not the greatest of her awards, she was also given the Grand Prix Internationale for her experimental film Meshes of the Afternoon at the Cannes Film Festival. Her other great works include Meditation on Violence, which was made in 1948. This film portrayed the distinction between violence and beauty and is performed in by Chao Li Chi. Aside from her career in the film industry, Deren also distributed her films and gave promotional tours all over the world. During her career, she not only featured screenings in the United States, Canada and Cuba but she also lectured extensively on film theory and vodoun. This, however, did not stop her from building up her film career and she went on to write, direct and even star in most of her films. This was manifested during her time creating â€Å"New American Cinema† which paid homage to the experimental underground film of the United States. The legacy that Maya Deren left was more than just through the works that she made for the silver screen. In 1986, the American Film Institute honored her achievements by creating the Maya Deren Award for independent film making. There have also been numerous accounts of homage being paid to her achievements such as the tour by the Horse and Bamboo Theatre of the United Kingdom which created the Dance of White Darkness which is the story of Deren’s visits to Haiti. The most recent movies created in her honor include the film by Martina Kudlacek entitled In the Mirror of Maya Deren which featured the music of John Zorn. There was also a memorial that was written by Robert Stone to celebrate the achievements that Maya Deren had on not only the music industry but also to the arts. While the influence of Maya Deren will surely be remembered in her works, there is no other clear testament to her influence on the industry as is shown by the homage that she is continually given to this day. Bibliography: Deren, M(Orig. published 1963) Cinema: The Creative Use of Actuality in Mast, G and Cohen. M eds. (1985) Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings Oxford University Press, Oxford. Pray, M(2007) Avant-Garde Film: Forms, Themes and Passions Wallflower, London. Sitney, A(1979) Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde 1943-78 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Yellowcake Essay Example

Yellowcake Essay Example Yellowcake Essay Yellowcake Essay Book Review Yellowcake I really enjoyed this book miellowcake by Ann Cummins. The beginning was hard to get involved with but past the first few chapters I found myself wanting to know what happens next. She really described the characters well. My favorite was Sam because he reminded me of my own dad. He was a free spirited man with his own agenda. This book takes place here in the four corner region and I was born and raised here. Which had the effect of feeling involved with the characters and their families. Ann Cummins had Navajo culture introduced through the Atcitty family. Reading the book, Cummins had great descriptions of the surroundings. I spent a lot of time this past summer at Morgan lake, and I was excited to read the part when Becky and her friend where there too. I again felt as if I was there with them in the story. I felt the purpose of her story was to tell the daily struggle of life these two families had to ncounter. For example, Ryland had a struggle with his sickness and how I affected him and his family. The constant worry if he was able to be a part of his owns daughters wedding or not. Beckys struggle with the passing of her dad, Woody. She knew it was coming for a long time, but she couldnt imagine a life without him. I believe she did a wonderful Job in the details of her story, but upset with the ending. It kind of left me hanging in what was going to happen next.

Lapses and Collapses

Lapses and Collapses Lapses and Collapses Lapses and Collapses By Mark Nichol This post lists and defines lapse and its family of related words that pertain to a passage of time or to falling. The words discussed below all derive ultimately from the Latin verb labi, meaning â€Å"fall,† â€Å"sink,† and â€Å"slip,† in addition to other related actions, by way of lapsus, meaning â€Å"falling† or â€Å"slipping† (figuratively or literally) or â€Å"passage of time† (from the sense of â€Å"gliding†). Lapse, as a verb, originally pertained merely to that last sense, but it later applied as well to something becoming invalid or void and acquired the additional meanings of â€Å"commit a sin† or â€Å"fail to retain religious faith.† As a noun, lapse means â€Å"decline† or â€Å"fall,† or â€Å"interval,† â€Å"interruption,† or â€Å"termination,† or it may refer to a mistake due to forgetfulness or inattention, or to abandoning one’s faith. The adjectival form is lapsed; the adjective labile once meant â€Å"prone to fail or fall,† but now it pertains to instability or propensity to change. (The adjective labial and other words pertaining to lips are unrelated.) Labefaction, meanwhile, is a rarely used word meaning â€Å"downfall† or â€Å"overthrow† in the sense of a weakening of civil order or moral principles. When time goes by, it is said to elapse. That word was at one time also a noun, but lapse has superseded it. In theology, several words with the root lapsarian pertain to various beliefs about the biblical account of the fall of humankind as told in the story of the Garden of Eden: postlapsarian (â€Å"after the fall†), prelapsarian (â€Å"before the fall†), sublapsarian (â€Å"under the fall,† which is also the translation of the synonym infralapsarian), and superlapsarian (â€Å"above the fall†). The verb collapse (literally, â€Å"fall together†) means â€Å"fall† or â€Å"fall apart,† â€Å"break down† or â€Å"lose effectiveness or significance,† or â€Å"fold down† or â€Å"give way† and as a noun refers to any of these actions. Something that can be collapsed, generally limited to the sense of â€Å"fold down,† is collapsible, and that quality is called collapsibility. When a body part falls or slips, it is said to prolapse (â€Å"fall forward†), and such an occurrence is a prolapse. A relapse (â€Å"fall again†), meanwhile, is an instance in which symptoms of a disease that had abated recur, and the word also serves as a verb. Lava is an unexpected cognate; the word describing magma, or molten rock, after it has surfaced from underground (in its molten state or after it has cooled and hardened) stems from lapsus by way of Italian. The adjective lavalike refers to something resembling the molten state. Lapidary, referring to cutting of gems and stones, is an unrelated word derived from lapis, the Latin word for â€Å"stone.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"Hang, Hung, Hanged13 Theatrical Terms in Popular Usage

Environmental Scanning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Environmental Scanning - Assignment Example Bullying has been an issue that is likely to hinder the performance of Miami Dolphins significantly. The bullying behaviors among the players include physical and verbal abuse, which lead to the suspension of talented players. For instance, Incognito allegedly bullied Martin verbally due to racial differences (Shpigel, 2014). The bullying case led to the suspension of Incognito who was among the best players. On the other hand, Martin was not comfortable as previously as a result of the verbal insults, which affected him psychologically. The management of Miami Dolphins should ensure that the players relate to each other in a friendly manner. Cohesion of the players will make Miami Dolphins the best league. Racism is an issue that the team members should avoid by practicing racial diversity. In conclusion, environmental scanning allows an organization to identify the problems that hinder the progress. For instance, it has been apparent that bullying is an issue that has affected the performance of Miami Dolphins because of the suspension of the best players, as well as the psychological effects of verbal abuses (Shpigel, 2014). Therefore, Miami Dolphins will regain from the tarnished name by practicing racial diversity. Shpigel, B. (2014, February 14). ‘A Classic Case of Bullying’ on the Dolphins. The New York Times. Retrieved from

Decision Support Systems in Medicine Research Paper

Decision Support Systems in Medicine - Research Paper Example This computerized system would ease the timely calculation of the organization’s payroll and with very little chance of any errors in those calculations. Information Systems can be viewed as work systems where all activities are centered towards digital processing of data provided to them. An information system constitutes of: A Computing device, A storage device in order to store data being processed and also the outputs. Previous data bank Instructions and procedures. INFORAMTION SYSTEMS TYPES Categorically there may be several types of information systems. This categorization is with respect to the difference in the organizational levels that exist. The types may be narrated as follows: Transaction Processing Systems- example: Payroll systems, Order Processing System. Office Automation Systems- example: Word Processing Systems. Knowledge Work Systems- example: Engineering Workstation. Decision Support Systems- Clinical Support Systems. Management Information Systems  œ Sales Management Systems. Executive Support Systems – High Level Managerial Forecasting Systems MEDICAL INFORMATICS The infusion of Information Technology in the field of health and medicine has led to the rebirth of the said field. Technological advancements that have affected the field of health have affected the human society as a whole directly and have mostly proved to be beneficial rather than hazardous. Formally speaking, the definition of Medical Informatics, as quoted at openclinical.com, is stated as follows:   Medical Informatics  is the "scientific field that deals with biomedical information, data, and knowledge - their storage, retrieval, and optimal use for problem solving and decision making. It accordingly touches on all basic and applied fields in... According to the research medical informatics is the "scientific field that deals with biomedical information, data, and knowledge - their storage, retrieval, and optimal use for problem solving and decision making. It accordingly touches on all basic and applied fields in biomedical science and is closely tied to modern information technologies, notably in the areas of computing and communication (medical computer science)". Thus, in the light of the above-mentioned definition, medical informatics can very well be termed as the handling of data with respect to health and medicine with the assistance of computers and computer related systems. Medical information management, or simply put, the managing of all information related to health and medicine has become an integral part of the health care profession in the modern times. The present state of health and medicine cannot be executed without the involvement of information systems that are computer based. Decision support systems a re one of the types of information systems that assist in medicine. They can be termed as information systems that assist in decision making. Improved decision making can be achieved by information systems that are flexible, interactive and adaptable. Recent advancements in Health informatics pertaining specifically to the implementation of information technology in the present day hospitals is ideally referred to as a means of reduction of distress for the patient as well as the practitioner.

Critically analyse the impacts that mega events have on a tourism Essay

Critically analyse the impacts that mega events have on a tourism destination - Essay Example It shall also discuss the strategies that the Chinese government used in order to enhance positive impacts and reduce the negative impacts of these mega events on Beijing, China, and on the Chinese people. The 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China is the most recent Olympics conducted. China won the bid in 2001 to hold the 2008 Olympics after two rounds of voting by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was China’s second bid to host the international games after it failed in its first bid 8 years before to Sydney, Australia (Longman, 2001). The games were declared a success by the IOC during the 13th Olympic Congress last October. The Olympic Games featured participants from 204 IOC member countries with about 80 heads of state attending (Xinhua News Agency, 2008). The city welcomed thousands of tourists who participated, watched the games, and took in the many sites around the country. It was the biggest influx of tourists the country has ever seen; and considering its closed-door policy for so many years, the Beijing Olympics opened China, on so many levels, to the rest of the world. Mega events have the potential of bringing various economic benefits to the place where the event is to be held. Economic analysts claim that they bring macroeconomic benefits which ultimately mean higher economic growth to the country due to increased spending in relation to the mega event. Economics Help.org (2008) also points out that the extra spending seen in mega events helps fuel inflation and boosts the economy of the country in general. With the increased influx of tourists into China, the exchange rate was also expected to increase. CNN’s Nick Hopkins (2001) also points out how the Beijing Olympics would potentially trigger the entry of major international investments into China. The entry of multinational corporations like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Eastman Kodak into China is already a given because these

Strategies in Theme Park Marketing Essay Example for Free

Strategies in Theme Park Marketing Essay Department of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: (00 852) 2766 6341; Fax: (00 852) 2362 9362; E-mail: [emailprotected] edu. hk Kevin K. F. Wong, PhD is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Manager of the HTM Resource Centre in the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic Uni- versity, Hong Kong. His major research interests focus on tourism management, tourist behaviour, tourism forecasting models and impact studies. Phoebe W. Y. Cheung is a research assistant within the Department of Hotel and Tourism. Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. ABSTRACT KEYWORDS: THEME PARK, THEMING, LEISURE, MOTIVATION, LIFESTYLE Theme parks aim to create the atmosphere of another world and it is essentially the theme which becomes the main part of a theme park experience. Thematic tourism has become increasingly popular where travel is motivated by an interest in a particular subject or area rather than by the more traditional motivations such as idyllic scenery and climate. The drawing power of theming is evident in the fact that it has, in recent years, become a catalyst for the growth of new destinations based mainly on thematic leisure. This study attempts to identify and describe a distinct and representative set of theme types and attributes in a theme park and examines the relationship between visitors motivation for visiting theme parks and theme preferences. Weak to mod- erately strong relationships were found between motivation for theme park visits by visitors and their demographics and lifestyle patterns. Given the fact the theme park industry is still relatively young in Asia, the  ®ndings of this study reinforce the need for Asian theme parks to focus strategically on satisfy- ing lower-level needs, such as stimulation, by developing and marketing an adventure theme comparable with Western theme parks. INTRODUCTION The theme park industry has witnessed a fairly rapid international expansion in recent years. In the US, the industry has reached maturity after 30 years of growth since the inception of Disneyland in the late 1950s, while in Europe, the industry has spread throughout Western Europe with a large concentration of attractions in Germany, France, the Benelux countries and the UK. Reports from the Economist Intelligence Unit indicate that the worldwide trend of the theme park industry is growing. 1The North American theme park industry grew at a compound rate of almost 3 per cent in attendance over the past decade while Eur- ope has become an attractive venue for corporate investment in theme park development by European consortia and large US corporations. Following Europe is Asia, which has been identi ®ed as the worlds next leading inter- national theme park market. In North Asia, Page 319 Journal of Vacation Marketing Volume 5 Number 4 Journal of Vacation Marketing Vol. 5 No. 4, 1999, pp. 319 ±332, Henry Stewart Publications, 1356-7667 at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from like Europe, the industry has experienced a rapid growth phase spurred on by strong demand, a growth which is expected to continue over the next ten years. 2The num- ber of theme parks has been growing in the Asian region. Since 1991, for example, there have been major theme parks developed in Shengzhen, China, such as the China Folk Culture Villages, Splendid China and the Window of the World. In Singapore, the Haw Par Villa Dragon World and Tang Dynasty Village were opened in 1991, in addition to its existing Sentosa Island which features several theme parks. In terms of visitor attendance, Hong Kongs premier theme park, Ocean Park, attracted an annual attendance of 4. 1 million in 1996, a growth rate of 22 per cent over the previous year. 3 This suggests that the industrys potential is enormous in Asia and at the same time implies that theme park developers are facing increasingly keen competition. However, despite the performance of the industry and the tourism earnings contributed by its strong growth, there is still a lack of informa- tion available on theme parks performance, positioning and development in Asia. 4 Theming and theme parks A theme park is `an amusement park that has themed attractions, be it food, costumes, entertainment, retail stores and/or rides ac-cording to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). Theme parks are distinguished from other amusement parks in that there is a theme that runs through all or most of their attractions. These attractions might be marketed under one general idea or personality, or they could comprise a cluster of different themes at one central location. 5 The theme, therefore, becomes the main part of the theme park experience. Even though theme parks were usually thought of as having a major theme, most of them in fact contain multi-themes in terms of differ- ent themed areas. Some park managers use themes to increase attendance over a period of time, say, during festivals or special events. However, even though the term `theme may sometimes be unclear, by reference to the de ®nition used by the IAAPA, the themes identi ®ed in this study may be thought of as: (i) the main theme which runs through all or most of the attractions, such as the movie theme of the Warner Brothers Movie World; (ii) the sub-themes which are found in a park in the form of different themed areas like the Frontierland, Adven- tureland, Fantasyland, Discoveryland and the Main Street USA of Disneys Magic King- dom; and (iii) the transitional themes, that is, themes that are created for special events which only last for a certain period of time to boost attendance. Some examples are the Far West Festival and Space Festival as seen in Disneyland Paris in 1994 and 1995 respec- tively. Theme parks are becoming increas- ingly attractive to the tourist who has limited vacation time, as by their very nature, they provide a condensed holiday product. 6A good example is Disneys new `Animal Kingdom in Florida which replicates a safari park in East Africa. Theme parks aim to create the atmosphere of another world7and it is essentially the theme itself that creates such an atmosphere. A theme represents a story line or framework which highlights a particular attraction at a destination. 8It at- tempts to tell a story and through this story the visitor is transported to another place and a unique experience is created. However, since theme parks are still a relatively new concept in tourist attractions,9there is a paucity of literature on success and failure of theme parks around the world. Past studies have focused primarily on theme park selection,10 visitor behaviour,11 visitor seg- mentation12 etc but not on the intrinsic value of the theme park ? the theme itself. Competitive theming Recent years have seen the emergence of many themes, only limited by imagination. For example, there have been themes that were based on the success of a product, such as Legoland in Denmark, and others that were built on the mythology of a culture like the Haw Par Villa Dragon World in Singa- pore. The more successful parks have been Page 320 Strategic theming in theme park marketing at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from able to use the theme to create a competitive advantage over the others. Theming promotes the creation of a whole new atmosphere based on the unique experience that a theme park offers. For instance, in all the Disney properties, there is a fantasy element that allows guests to escape the urban setting and go to places they dream about. 13 Thematic tourism, in fact, represents tourism with a relatively narrow focus, where trips are motivated by an interest in a particular subject or area rather than the more traditional motivations such as the lure of idyllic scenery and pleasant climate. More importantly, theming in some ways is di- vorced from the idea of place, relegating the consideration of location to being the back- ground for a theme, rather than being the primary motivating factor. 14. There are a number of advantages in theming. First of all, theming is important for creating an initial perception of quality. 15 Secondly, themes are means to be used to help boost attendance. For example, `themed discount programmes are created to aim at certain market segments. 16 They are likely to encourage repeat visitation, as a themed environment provides a unique, memorable experience which increases the probability that guests will return. Visitors will tell friends about their visits, provid- ing effective word-of-mouth advertising. 17 Thirdly, theming is a value-adding factor. The themed retail park `Knotts Camp. Snoopy demonstrated that `the mall with a themed entertainment experience will be superior to the mall without such oppor- tunity. 18 Fourthly, theming allows coordina- tion of retail merchandise, which can in turn increase the guests retail expenditure. 19 Fi- nally, theme parks that use an easily recogni- sable and interesting theme will have a competitive advantage over those which do not. 20 This is especially so when there is very strong competition and the equipment is very similar ? the way to differentiate is by theming. 21 In addition, as the industry ma- tures and visitors become more experienced and discerning, theming may be needed for a more sophisticated market. The power of theming or thematic tour- ism is evident in the fact that it has, in recent years, become a catalyst for the growth of new destinations based solely on thematic leisure. 22 Theme park developers have con- verted existing attractions into theme parks. To be more competitive and recover the loss of market share or pro ®t, developers have to diversify their `product offering. For exam- ple, there has been the growth in demand for attractions with a space theme. There- fore, knowing what themes guests look for is essential to both potential and existing theme park investors. New types of theme parks are being developed around the world which shift their focus away from the conventional features of a `Disneyland type attraction and further differentiate themselves. This is evi- denced a plan to develop a theme park at the site of the 1969 Woodstock music festival to recreate its counter-culture spirit and an- other based on crocodiles in Florida, named `Jungle Crocs of the World. 23 Purpose of study The purpose of the study is to examine the importance of the theme in the marketing of theme parks. Since the theme is an important factor affecting the choice of theme parks by visitors, it is important to ascertain more accurately what visitors preferences are in terms of themes and how their demographic characteristics and lifestyle in? uence such preference. More speci ®cally, this study seeks to identify and describe a distinct but representative set of theme types and attri- butes in a theme park; to  ®nd out the theme preference(s) of the theme park visitors; to examine the relationship between theme park visitors motivation (purpose of visit), demographics, psychographics (lifestyle) and their preference(s) for themes; and to exam- ine the importance of theming in the mar- keting of theme parks. Motivation for visiting theme parks Pearce and Dermotts leisure ladder provides a motivation framework to explain why people visit theme parks. 24 Five levels of need regarding theme park visitation are Page 321 Wong and Cheung at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from identi ®ed, with the highest level of need being listed as ful ®lment, followed by the need for self-esteem and development. The next level is relationship, which emphasises the need to build and extend ones personal relationships. This is followed by the need for stimulation. People in this group are concerned with the management of their arousal levels with emphasis on fun and thrill rides. The lowest level is that of relaxation or bodily needs (see Appendix). Apart from understanding the basic moti- vation for theme park visitation, it is neces- sary to  ®nd out why one theme park is chosen over another. The theme here plays a role in differentiating the more successful parks from the less successful ones. It has a twofold signi ®cance. First, the nature of the theme chosen will have an impact on the type of customers attracted to the park. Some themes may have a broad and general appeal which caters to a wide spectrum of visitors while others may be more focused and have a narrower appeal. Secondly, them- ing allows the creation of an enhanced atmo- sphere and guest experience. These effects, in fact, create the appropriately desirable image crucial to services marketing. Service marketing The theme park industry is part of the service component of the tourism industry. Owing to the intangible nature of services, the creation of an identi ®able image is critical for service marketing. Even though the image and the theme are not identical in nature, the theme helps project an image by the sort of theme chosen and the them- ing. For example, the fantasy theme of Disneyland helps project its image of de- light, fun and fantasy. Further, the extensive theming of Disney gives a perception of high quality. The decision made by a consumer to purchase a product or service is directly in- ?uenced by the image the individual has of himself/herself and the perceived image of the product or seller. This may explain the psychological process involved when a visi- tor chooses to go to a theme park with a particular theme, say, an adventure theme; he views himself as adventurous. It can be postulated that the psychographics of consu- mers help predict the sort of theme they prefer. Moreover, the service nature of theme parks make image creation a dif ®cult task as it is intrinsically abstract. Thus, service mar- keters may be able to build the image of speci ®c reality and differentiate it from other `realities by the presentation of tangible evidences and experiences simulating reality. By promoting a theme, customers can then use these created physical facilities and props to judge service quality. For example, them- ing is often done with the careful choice of types of architecture, costumes and other settings displayed in the park. Theme preference In a study by McClung it was found that the type of theme is one of the factors affecting tourists preference for theme parks. 25 Results also indicate that there is a correlation be- tween themes and attractions so that consid- erable multi-segmentation strategies can be devised to cater to different market seg- ments. For example, wet and wild themes correlate highly with family attractions. This type of theme can be used to attract younger people and families with children looking for thrills and excitement. Moreover, research has revealed that inter- national tourists with different cultural backgrounds exhibit distinct patterns of preference when they travel. Caucasians were found to be different from Asian visitors in terms of preference for theme park attributes concerning the nature of the attraction, activ- ities and themes. 26 Furthermore, the impor- tance of the cultural element in planning and designing theme parks has been emphasised by Gorder, who stressed the need to seek an appropriate philosophy of concept that re- ?ected Eastern thought and traditions for a park located in the Orient. 27 These important differences point to the need for more theme park studies to provide data for theme park developers catering to international tourists from diverse cultural backgrounds. Page 322. Strategic theming in theme park marketing at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from METHODOLOGY Theme types and attributes A detailed review of tourism and theme park literature and promotion brochures was con- ducted to  ®nd out the theme attributes of theme parks. Words used to describe the theme or general atmosphere associated with the theme parks that appeared more than once were recorded. A list of descriptions was generated by a review of promotional literature, and was expanded by conducting interviews with  ®ve experienced theme park professionals who were asked to list all the theme types used by theme parks around the world based on their experience and know- ledge. Speci ®c theme attributes were derived and content analysis was used to sort out the adjectives used. Obvious duplication and overgeneralised descriptors were eliminated and a list of 75 attributes was compiled. As the list contained many descriptors that were similar to each other, the latter were reduced to a smaller number and regrouped into attributes that were more likely to re- present one single theme. Content analysis was to distinguish different theme types and, after regrouping, the resulting attributes were classi ®ed into seven main ones. These theme types were then shown to the  ®ve volunteers who had past experience in theme park settings to obtain further feed- back for  ®nalising the grouping of theme types. Table 1 shows the  ®nal grouping into seven theme types used in this study. Motivation for theme park visitation To ascertain the motivation for theme park visiting, ten statements were constructed, based on Pearce and Dermotts leisure ladder for theme park settings, each stating visitors different reasons for visiting to theme parks. Table 1: Theme types grouping Type Attribute Type Attribute Adventure Excitement and action Fantasy Animation. Frightening Cartoon characters Mysterious Childhood enchantment Thrill rides Childrens play park Futurism Advances in society and technology Fairy tale Magic Discovery Make believe Exploration of science and technology History and culture Myths and legends Aboriginal Laser Authentic Robot Cultural heritage Scienti ®c Ethnic appeals Science  ®ction Gold Rush International Flavours of the world Historic ambience International village Movie American Wild West show Miniature replicas Comedy Scenic spots Motion picture World expositions Show business Nature Animals Stunt show Floral displays Horticultural gardens Landscaping. Marine life Natural wonders Ocean Wildlife Page 323 Wong and Cheung at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from These were in the form of questions which represented the  ®ve levels of the leisure ladder model as shown in the Appendix. Psychographic (lifestyle) Twelve statements pertaining to the person- ality, behaviour and interests of the respon- dents, such as I am a dreamer and like to fantasise; I am adventurous and look for excite- ment in life etc, were developed to investigate their preferences for particular themes. These statements were developed based on past literature and comments from a group of  ®ve volunteers. Demographic variables Demographic variables such as gender, country of origin, age, life cycle, occupation and post, household income and education level were selected to test whether any of them had a relationship with visitors theme preferences. Data collection An undisguised structured questionnaire was designed to  ®nd out information pertaining to visitors demographics, psychographics and their preferences for themes. It consisted of  ®ve sections, with the  ®rst section consist- ing of questions relating to general travel behaviour, such as frequency of travel and number of theme parks visited. In the second section, respondents were asked to indicate the degree of importance of each of the seven themes, with 1 being very unimpor- tant and 5 being very important. Following this, they were asked to rank their prefer- ences for these themes, with 1 being the most preferred and 7 the least preferred, as an indication of their ordinal partiality. The third section of the questionnaire, which sought to reveal the respondents lifestyle patterns (attitude, interest, behaviour) was achieved by seeking their level of agreement with a series of statements which related to these aspects on a scale which ranged from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating strong disagreement and 5 indicating strong agreement. The fourth section focused on the motivation for theme park visitation. Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with ten statements which related to the  ®ve levels of Pearce and Dermotts leisure ladder model for theme park settings. The  ®nal section gathered general demographic data on respondents gender, country of origin, age, marital status, occupation, household income and education level. The survey questionnaire was pre-tested on a small group of ten volunteers to ascer-tain the validity, clarity and appropriateness of the questions asked, particularly in the sections pertaining to motivation and life- style patterns. Based on the comments re- ceived, some rewording was considered and the layout of the questionnaire restructured. The sample in this study were Asians (not necessarily international tourists) in Hong Kong who had visited a theme park before and those who had not visited one but ex- pressed an intention to visit. The survey was conducted in a popular tourist shopping area in Kowloon, Hong Kong on a weekend to obtain a good cross-section of people. Re-spondents were randomly intercepted and requested to complete the survey question- naire. Interviewers were instructed to clarify to respondents the de ®nition of a theme park where necessary and give examples. FINDINGS Demographic pro ®le of respondents The basic pro ®le of respondents showed a mix of men (44 per cent) and women (56 per cent) across all age and income categories. The majority (52 per cent) of them were between 25 and 39 years of age and single. In terms of income group, slightly more than one-third reported middle to upper middle class incomes. This may be explained by the fact that 44 per cent of the respondents were white-collar workers and 39 per cent re- ported having attained a secondary education level. In terms of respondents nationality, most of them were from Hong Kong, with the rest originating from the Philippines, China, Korea, India, Japan and Singapore. Page 324 Strategic theming in theme park marketing at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from Visitation pattern Of the 105 respondents who provided usable data for this study, 95. 2 per cent have been to a theme park before while 4. 8 per cent have not. About one-third (32 per cent) of the respondents may be considered as non-frequent theme park visitors as they visited theme parks only once every two to four years. Another 30 per cent visited theme parks once a year whereas 22 per cent visited three times or more a year and once every six months. In terms of the number of theme parks they had visited, the majority of the respondents (46 per cent) had been to be- tween one and two different theme parks while 33 per cent of them had visited be- tween three and  ®ve theme parks. About 12 per cent had been to six to nine parks whereas only 9 per cent had been to ten or more different ones. The pattern of visitation may be attributed to the fact that there is a relatively small number of theme parks exist- ing in Asia. Ocean Park in Hong Kong was found to be the most visited park by those respondents who had been to theme parks before (97 per cent) followed by Disneys Magic Kingdom (30 per cent). Table 2 shows the list of theme parks visited by the respondents. Theme preference of respondents Seven theme types were examined to deter- mine which theme was most preferred by respondents. The nature theme (66. 7 per cent) was most frequently ranked among the higher ranks (ranks 1 ±3), followed by the fantasy theme (46. 7%) and adventure theme (44. 8%). Futurism (44. 7%), history and cul-ture (37. 1%), and international (32. 4%) themes came fourth,  ®fth and sixth respec- tively. The least preferred theme was the movie theme with only 27. 7% of respondents ranking in the top three ranks (see Table 3). To some extent the overwhelming prefer- ence for the nature theme may be explained by the limited theme park experience of some respondents. Ocean Park, an oceanarium (nature) type of park, was found to be the most visited park (97%) and almost half of these respondents have only visited one or two different parks. Thach and Axinn noted that consumers with a greater depth of ex- perience in one park only may be more likely to use the park they are familiar with as the standard for the industry and their expecta- tions of other parks are shaped by this limited knowledge. 28 Hence, the preference for the nature theme may very likely be a re? ection of the in-depth experience obtained at Ocean Park as 70 per cent of the companys guests were in fact on a repeat visit. On the other hand, the movie theme, a popular theme found in the West with the success of Universal Studios and Warner Brothers Movie World, was the least pre- ferred theme. This points to the need for the consideration of cultural in? uence on theme Table 2: Major theme parks visited by respondents Theme Park % Ocean Park 97 Disneys Magic Kingdom 30 Sung Dynasty Village 29 China Folk and Culture Village 29 Splendid China 24 Sentosa Island 17 The Window of the World 16 Haw Par Villa Dragon World 15 Warner Bros Movie World 11 Jurong Bird Park 10 Lotte World 10 Sea World 9 Dream World 8 Universal Studios 6 (n ? 100) Table 3: Theme preferences of respondents by frequency of higher ranking Theme % Rank Nature 66. 7 1 Fantasy 46. 7 2 Adventure 44. 8 3 Futurism 44. 7 4 History and culture 37. 1 5 International 32. 4 6 Movie 27. 7 7 Page 325 Wong and Cheung at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from preferences. Another interpretation may be that as the breadth of experience in terms of the number of different parks visited was limited, the respondents in this study did not have much exposure to the movie theme. For example, only 11 per cent and 6 per cent of the respondents have been to Warner Brothers Movie World and Universal Stu- dios respectively. Demographics and themes A one-way ANOVA was conducted to test the relationship between the demographic variables and visitors preferences for themes. The results are as follows. ? The results of the ANOVA revealed that visitors preferences for the adventure theme was affected by their marital status, with those being single showing a higher preference for this theme (mean ? 3:84) as shown in Table 4. ? The importance of the fantasy theme was also found to be affected by marital status. Those who were single preferred the theme, with a relatively high mean of 3. 51 in contrast to those who were mar- ried with no children (mean ? 2:30). Table 4 presents these results. ? Younger groups of respondents did not consider the history and culture theme important (mean ? 2:88) compared to those in the age group of 40 ±54 years (mean ? 4:07). Students also reported a lower mean (mean ? 2:63) towards this theme whereas the blue-collar workers and the middle-income group (HK $10,000 ±$30,000) regarded it as impor- tant. These results are presented in Tables 5, 6 and 7 below. ? The importance of the movie theme differed signi ®cantly by respondents age, marital status and occupation. Those aged between 10 and 24 years (mean ? 3:46), being single (mean ? 3:40) and students (mean ? 3:63) preferred the movie theme (Tables 4, 5 and 6). These results are consistent with the  ®ndings in an earlier study by Pearce and Dermott pertaining to the matching of demographic groups (young children, single adults and families) with the motivations for theme park visitors. The 13 ±16 year olds and the solos representing the single group viewed the rides or thrills as more important than did the family groups. Given that age and marital status are somewhat related it is not surpris- ing that respondents who are single would prefer the fantasy theme which has attributes like childhood enchantment, childrens play park, cartoon characters etc. This probably also explains why other groups such as those Table 4: Comparison of the importance of the theme to respondents by marital status Theme importance Group 1 (Single) Group 2 (Married, no child) Group 3 (Married, children at home) Group 4 (Married, children left home). ANOVA Main effect probability Adventure 3. 84 3. 10 3. 03 3. 00 . 0092A Fantasy 3. 51 2. 30 3. 26 3. 20 . 0213A Futurism 3. 49 3. 60 3. 71 2. 60 . 2191 History and culture 3. 40 3. 70 3. 65 4. 20 . 3598 International 3. 40 3. 30 3. 35 3. 80 . 7696 Movie 3. 40 3. 10 2. 68 3. 36 . 0271A Nature 3. 95 3. 90 3. 85 4. 20 . 9127 Results are presented as the mean, on a 5-point scale where 1 indicated the theme was very unimportant and 5 indicated the theme was very important. ADenotes signi ®cance at the . 05 level. Page 326 Strategic theming in theme park marketing at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from married with children who stay with parents and married with children who do not stay with parents, with the exception of empty nesters (married with no child), tend to prefer the fantasy theme. This may be attrib- uted to the fact that families with children may be more desirous of seeking entertain- ment opportunities for their children. As for the movie theme, it was found that the preference for this theme was in? uenced by several related demographic variables. Younger people, who are more likely to be single and are students, preferred going to cinemas to spend their leisure time. It seemed that the more movies they saw, the higher the probability the movie theme would be attractive to them. However, it should be noted that the number of movies watched does not necessarily correlate with the importance given the movie theme (coefficient ? :1246, p ? :210). Likewise, the educational nature contained in the his- tory and culture theme was less appealing to the younger group who are usually students, and tend to perceive history and culture as less stimulating. This study also revealed that the blue- collar section showed a preference for the history and culture theme. While the basic motivation for travel may be to achieve `a more profound appreciation of society and culture,29 blue-collar workers who earn a Table 5: Comparison of the importance of the theme to respondents by age Theme importance Group 1 (10 ±24) Group 2 (25 ±39) Group 3 (40 ±54) Group 4 (55 ±65? ) ANOVA Main effect probability Adventure 3. 92 3. 50 2. 86 3. 36 . 0587 Fantasy 3. 58 3. 25 2. 93 3. 36 . 3889 Futurism 3. 29 3. 67 3. 57 3. 27 . 4619 History and culture 2. 88 3. 65 4. 07 3. 82 . 0029A International 3. 29 3. 36 3. 36 3. 82 . 4406 Movie 3. 46 3. 05 2. 50 3. 10 . 0371A Nature 3. 79 3. 93 4. 07 4. 00 . 8699 Results are presented as the mean, on a 5-point scale where 1 indicated the theme was very unimportant and 5 indicated the theme was very important. ADenotes signi ®cance at the . 05 level. Table 6: Comparison of the importance of the theme to respondents by occupation and post Theme importance Group 1 (Business owner/self- employed/manager/ white collar) Group 2 (Blue collar) Group 3 (Student) Group 4 (Housewife/ retired/ unemployed) ANOVA Main effect probability Adventure 3. 52 3. 56 3. 69 3. 13 . 5597 Fantasy 3. 41 2. 81 3. 38 3. 31 . 3273 Futurism 3. 55 3. 75 3. 13 3. 63 . 4156 History and culture 3. 59 4. 00 2. 63 3. 88 . 0009 A International 3. 27 3. 75 3. 25 3. 63 . 1819 Movie 2. 84 3. 19 3. 63 3. 50 . 0271A Nature 3. 89 4. 19 3. 88 3. 81 . 7355 Results are presented as the mean, on a 5-point scale where 1 indicated the theme was very unimportant and 5 indicated the theme was very important. ADenotes signi ®cance at the . 05 level. Page 327 Wong and Cheung at University College Birmingham on December 27, 2014jvm. sagepub. comDownloaded from low to middle household income have lim- ited travelling opportunities and, therefore.