Thursday, November 28, 2019

BUS 640 Week Two Assignment Paper Essays - Pricing, Mathematics

BUS 640 Week Two Assignment Paper David A. Keith BUS 640 Managerial Economics Instructor Zhimin Huang September 27, 2017 Problem One A. Which of the twooptions should Patricia pursue if she wants to open a restaurant in a suburban area of Los Angeles? Calculate the total expected utility from each restaurant option and compare. Graph is not required. Describe your answer, and show your calculations. With giving information for solving problem one goes to show the importance of taste to the public just as much as cost for foods in opening her restaurant within LA regions. In addition, if we use weight score methods, where weight within 3 attributes are calculated will look like: The taste equals 6 divided by (6+2+3) equals 6 divided by 11 For locations equals 2 divided by (6+2+3) equals 2 divided by 11 For price equals 3 divided by (6+2+3) equals 3 divided by 11 The expected sum utilities within posting the restaurant for steaks in LA equals 6 divided by 11 times 80+2 divided by 11 times 55+ 3 divided by 11 times 65 equals 71.36. The expected sum utilities within posting the restaurant for pizza in LA equals 6 divided by 11 times 70+2 divided by 11 times 80+3 divided by 11 times 50 equals 66.36. Problem Two B. Which of the two options should she pick if she plans to open a restaurant in the Los Angeles metropolitan area? Describe your answer, and show your calculations. Within this problem, we see the importance of locations in opening a business which is just as important to Patricia as price is to her . This comes as much: The taste equals 2 divided by (6+2+3) equals 2 divided by 11 The locations equal 6 divided by (6+2+3) equals 6 divided by 11 The price equals 3 divided by (6+2+3) equals 3 divided by 11 The sum of these utilities expected comes with restaurant for steaks within the metropolitan regions, equal 2 divided 11 times 80+6 divided by 11 times 55+3 divided 11 times 65 equals 62.27. The sum of these utilities expected comes with restaurant for pizza within the metropolitan regions, equal 2 divided by 11 times 70+6 divided by 11 times 8+3 divided by 11 times 50 equals 70. Within these sums, it is seen that Patricia would be likely to go for restaurant for pizza in LA. Problem One C. Which option should she pursue if the probability of finding a restaurant venue in a suburban area can be reliably estimated as 0.7 and in a metropolitan area as 0.3? Describe your reasoning and show your calculations. The cause for searching in a suburban region for a business equals to point 7 The cause for searching in a metropolitan region for a business equals to point 3 This brings us to the restaurant for steaks equaling to .7 times 71.36 plus .3 times 62.27 equals 68.64. This brings us to the restaurant for pizza equaling to .7 times 66.36 plus .3 times 70 equals 67.45. it is seen that Patricia is better at opening the restaurant for steak because of expected utilities being high within that location. Problem One D. Provide a description of a scenario in which this kind of decision between two choices, based on weighing their underlying attributes, applies in the "real-world" business setting. Furthermore, what are the benefits and drawbacks, if any, to thismethod of decision making? In the world we live in today, weight measures in doubles of attributes based upon how those in charge of shipments and supplies handle their parts in delivering these goods through good attributes and services. These goes within reasons of dimension of qualities, cost of competitors, technology abilities and levels of service. Advantages of usage within methods of average weightiness scores within groups of underlined attributes sums up to be in multitudes of other evaluated means through lesser times. Negative results go with methods of these being tended to highlight means of what is important within being persuaded by others in bias and ending with negative results. In addition, these methods can also be subjected to assessment's then objective assessments because of loss of methods scientifically speaking weighting within measures. Problem Two

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Free Essays on Paving The Way Of The World

worth uses the different meters to set the tone of the speaker’s voice. In line one, â€Å"The world is too much with us; late and soon,† he iambic pentameter. It allows the reader to hear the tone in his voice. He a... Free Essays on Paving The Way Of The World Free Essays on Paving The Way Of The World The speaker in William Wordsworth’s poem â€Å" The World Is Too Much with US † is a man who is not pleased with the way people take advantage of the world. He claims that we are too wrapped up in material things that we can not see the natural beauty of the world. Wordsworth portrays the irritation and discouragement of the man through metaphors, apostrophe, and the different meters of the poem. He uses these three techniques to set the tone and enable us to look deeper into the poem. Wordsworth uses metaphors all throughout the poem. The metaphors makes the poem come to life and enables the reader to get a lucid picture of what he’s talking about. The speaker says, â€Å"we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon†(4). He is referring to our hearts as the one true thing that nature has given as a blessing. Our hearts are a blessing that we have allowed to corrupt by thinking of the world materialistically. The speaker also makes reference to the world when he says, â€Å" the winds that will be howling at all hours/and are now gathered up like sleeping flowers† (6-7). He means that the world is continuous and strong, never ceasing to end even though we do not notice it. Wordsworth uses apostrophe as well to portray the feelings of the speaker. It is almost like he is standing in front of a crowd of people making a speech. â€Å" Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers† (2). He says it as though he is telling them, including himself, what they are guilty of. Then he says, â€Å" for this, for everything, we our out of tune† (8). The speaker continues to use the word â€Å"we† to let the people know that they are not the only guilty party; everyone is responsible. To end it all, Wordsworth uses the different meters to set the tone of the speaker’s voice. In line one, â€Å"The world is too much with us; late and soon,† he iambic pentameter. It allows the reader to hear the tone in his voice. He a...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Essay 3 You choose topic Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

3 You choose topic - Essay Example Terrorism must be defined in concrete terms enough to understand when it happens and to ensure that the public, media, and governments are not excluding states and organizations that accept, promote, support, and conduct some forms of terrorism. Terrorism and insurgency are not the same. Insurgency may refer to acts where groups or organizations are resisting occupying forces, colonizers, and usurpers, as well as constituted authority (Taskhiri). Insurgents can also claim that they are fighting a â€Å"lawful war† through tactics that international law will consider as acceptable and not related to terrorism (Libaw). An example would be a local insurgency group that attacks or defends itself from military operations. Terrorism, on the opposite, does not play by international rules. Yonah Alexander, director of the Institute for Studies in International Terrorism at the State University of New York, differentiates terrorism from insurgency and guerilla warfare. He states: â€Å"Terrorists are not insurgents, not guerrillas†¦Terrorists are beyond all norms. They dont recognize any laws† (Libaw). Terrorism does not have legitimacy that insurgency may have. Both could have political motivations, but terrorism does not respect international laws and norms regarding warfare. Not all militant organizations are involved in terrorism too, especially those that conduct social works or have legal national organizations fronts. Zohar Kampf explores the media’s use of terrorism. It notes that the Washington Post differentiates militants with a social cause from terrorists without one. It calls â€Å"Palestinian Hamas group ‘militants’ and members of al Qaeda ‘terrorists’† (Kampf 6). The Washington Post defends that Hamas performs social work and is driven by territorial and national sentiments, while â€Å"al Qaeda exists only as a terrorist

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

ROWE Program at Best Buy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ROWE Program at Best Buy - Term Paper Example Hellreigh and Slocum (2011) stated ‘ROWE is all about results. Â   No results, no job’ (p. 553). ROWE program displays a culture of more personal life friendly atmosphere. It was implemented and demonstrated at the Best Buy headquarters in Minneapolis. In the year 2009, Best Buy replicated this program to its retail stores. The ROWE program is aimed at building employees’ competencies so that they become better managers of their work and time. The program gave the employees a sense of power over their work and provided a paradigm shift from how work is completely to only the work results. The change made the employees more flexible in terms of work-life balance, which boosted employee morale. Managers now have a sense of accountability regarding the part they have played to create stress free environment for their employees. Discuss the resistance, both organization and individual, which the ROWE program had to overcome. Immediately after the ROWE program was lau nched, there was resistance from the employees in the program implementation. The management thought that too much flexibility was being given to the employees and they could not handle it. There was an issue of whether the program was fair to the employees regardless of the department they worked in. For the individuals, they were simply moving from known to unknown and they were not sure of what lay ahead. They felt that their way of work was being interfered with and they had to figure out another way to get ahead. Organizations in Best Buy had to change they was of production. The managers could no longer set up work without proper and adequate planning. They had to devise ways of assigning employees work. Then get the job done without having the workers working longer hours than was necessary.... ROWE Program at Best Buy The organizational development approach of Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) was adopted by Best Buy in 2003. A good organizational culture is a result of sharing core values among employees of an organization. Prior to ROWE program, there was minimum sharing of values among the Best Buy employees. The negative working environment prevalent in the organization hindered the work bond among employees. There was not much time available for employees to interact since each was busy trying to beat deadlines and working overtime. A survey conducted to verify the attitude of ROWE participants found out that the participants’ feeling of pressure and a sense of working hard had killed the creative ability to initiate and develop a participative culture. Stunted growth and insecurity had been created by the lack of interaction, brought about by lack of time and too much fixation with the individual work. It goes without saying that no organization can effectively achieve its mission and objective if the organizational culture is improperly balance. A source of stress that is evident in this case is the work-life balance by the employees of Best Buy. Initially, they were not able to balance work and their personal life. Thus, both of them were negatively affected, to the point that results produced were not optimal. The pressure of having to spend long hours working to get ahead created work stress which some employees could not cope with.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Workbook One Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Workbook One - Essay Example Considering marriage and family life in Britain, North Ireland and Scotland have lower rates of marriage due to differing religious and cultural structure (Irwin 1994: 129). By virtue of being in Europe, Britain is also a member of the European Economic Community. Anderson (1991) regards them as imagined communities or group of people bound together by their habitat. Emile Durkheim recognized two types of social solidarity: mechanical and organic solidarity (Somerville 2011). Mechanical solidarity is present for those who live together and are mostly bound together by kinship ties. They develop norms that dictate their behaviour and which bind them together. Deviation from acceptable behaviour or norms is considered a crime against the community and is punishable. However, as the community develops and enlarges, people move different ways and this solidarity is broken (Irwin 1994). For example, in Britain after industrialization most people moved to towns to look for greener pastures (jobs) leading to urbanisation. Business run by family members rarely exist anymore giving rise to large factories and industries. Here in factories, division of labour is complex thus necessitating organic solidarity. People performing different tasks collaborate and depend on each other for the well-being of all. These people are thus held together by other intere sts besides place. They may share same religious beliefs, sexual orientation, occupation or ethnic origin (Crow & Allan 1995). For example, we may have a ‘gay or lesbian’ community or a protestant or catholic community. Although families rarely meet like in the past since they are scattered, they communicate often due to improved communication. There are also changes in family life as in contemporary Britain; the family does not depend on the man as the ‘bread winner’. Women are now engaged in

Friday, November 15, 2019

Sources of finance available to a business

Sources of finance available to a business There are many types of business entity defined in the legal systems of various countries. These include sole traders, partnerships, limited companies, corporations, cooperatives and other specialized types of organization. Sole traders: A sole trader is also known as a sole proprietorship its a type of business entity that is.owned and run by one individual and in which there is no legal distinction. between the owner and the business. Partnership: A legal contract entered into by two or more persons in which each agrees to furnish a part of the capital and labor for a business enterprise, and by which each. shares a fixed proportion of profits and losses Companies or corporations are distinct artificial persons. created in order to separate legal responsibility for the affairs of a business from the personal affairs. of the individuals who own or operate the business. That are traded on an. official stock market. It is the most common form of legal organization for really. large business, for the very good reason that they have access to very substantial funds. for expansion. The protection that comes from being a company is therefore substantial. Small firms can gain this protection when the owner.create a private limited company. If Mr. Javed start business by his own in a form of sole trader ship so the survival will be a bit difficult because the opportunities of businesses are very less so there will be barrier of entries to the market. He also dont know about the rules and regulations of the country and the tax formats so sole trader ship will give him a bit tough time. Internal sources of finance: is the name. for a firm using its profits as a source of capital for new investment, rather than distributing them to firms owners or other investors and. obtaining capital elsewh Hire purchase and leasing: is the legal term for a contract, in this persons usually agree to pay for goods in parts or a percentage at a time. Medium term bank loans: This will have the same advantages. and disadvantages as long term loans. Asset sales: As firms grow they build up assets. These assets could be in the. form of property, machinery, equipment, other companies or even logos. In some cases it may be appropriate for a business to sell off some. of these assets to finance other projects. Q.1 Scenario 1: Mr. Javed has recently come back from US and wants to invest in Pakistan. Javed wants to invest Rs. 5 million personally for a viable business project. He has mentioned his intentions to some of his friends who would also like to invest with him, but he is not sure about adding any further partners to his business. Though there are many advantages of having partners but I want this project to be my baby and dont want to have hassling relationships. P1: Identify the various forms of business. There are many types of business entity defined in the legal systems of various countries. These include sole traders, partnerships, limited companies, corporations, cooperatives and other specialized types of organization. Sole traders: A sole trader is also known as a sole proprietorship its a type of business entity that is.owned and run by one individual and in which there is no legal distinction. between the owner and the business. The sole proprietor is an unincorporated business with one owner.  who pays personal income tax on profits from the business. With little government regulation, they are the. simplest business to set up or take apart, making  them popular among individual self..contractors or business owners. Partnership: A legal contract entered into by two or more persons in which each agrees to furnish a part of the capital and labor for a business enterprise, and by which each. shares a fixed proportion of profits and losses. A partnership is an arrangement where entities and/or individuals. agree to start a business to achieve their mutual goals. Its relation between two or more persons. who have agreed to share the profits and losses according to their ratio of business run. by all or any one of them acting for all. All agreed conditions of partners. are written in PARTNERSHIP DEED. Companies or Corporations: Companies or corporations are distinct artificial persons. created in order to separate legal responsibility for the affairs of a business from the personal affairs. of the individuals who own or operate the business. The business debts are not owners. responsibility, they belong to the company, which is regarded as a separate person in its own right. The. companies acts distinguish between: Public limited company: That are traded on an. official stock market. It is the most common form of legal organization for really. large business, for the very good reason that they have access to very substantial funds. for expansion. The standard legal  designation of a company which has offered shares to the general public. and  has limited liability. A Public Limited Companys stock can be acquired by anyone and holders are only limited. to potentially lose the amount paid for the shares. Private limited companies: The protection that comes from being a company is therefore substantial. Small firms can gain this protection when the owner.create a private limited company. The word limited tells us that the. business has this legal form. Usually the shares will be owned by the original sole trader, relatives, friends and employees. Cooperatives: Cooperative is a business organization owned and operated. by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit. A cooperative may also be defined as a. business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or. by the people who work there. Cooperative enterprises are the focus of study in the field of cooperative economics. P2: Assess the implications of the different forms of business. Sole trader: Advantages: Choose. hours of work Make your.own decisions All the profit made. is your own Claim expenses and certain. costs against tax The business can be based on. the interests or skills of the owner Disadvantages: No sickness. pay. No set holiday. pay The time consuming. accounting is done in your own free time If the owner dies. there is no one to control his business Job security. is not a fact Partnership: Advantages: You can pool resources, expertise, and strengths. There are limited startup costs. There are few formalities You have a shared financial commitment. Capital is contributed by partners Losses are shared by partners(if written in partnership deed) Decision making is. easy because there is someone to give advice about the business Disadvantages: Partners may have. different visions or goals for the business. There may be unequal commitment in terms of time and finances. There may also be. personal disputes. Partners are personally liable for business debts and liabilities. Profits are. distributed among the partners Usually decision making takes time Conflicts can raise among. the partners about the decisions Private limited companies: Advantages: Shareholders have. limited liability Separate legal. personality Continuity in the event. of the death of a shareholder Original owner is still. often able to retain control Able to raise capital. from sale of shares to family, friends and employees Greater status than. an unincorporated business. Disadvantages: Legal formalities. involved in establishing the business Capital cannot be raised by sale. of shares to the general public Quite difficult for. shareholders to sell shares Public limited companies: Advantages: Limited liability Separate legal identity Continuity Ease of buying and selling of shares for shareholders Access of substantial capital sources due to the ability to issue a prospectus to the public and to offer shares for sale Disadvantages: Legal formalities in formation Cost of business consultants. and financial advisers when creating such a company Share prices. subject to fluctuation Risk of takeover due to the availability. of the shares on the Stock Exchange Directors influenced. by short term objectives of major investors P3 and M1: Select an appropriate form of a business. Justify your selected form a business in light of the proposed case and its implications. As Mr. Javed has come to me for suggestion so I will advise him the best and more feasible business in the current situation and in the future. Mr. Javed wants the project to be his baby and wants more profits and more feasible in current market of Pakistan and he recently came back from US so he dont know much about Pakistans market and the people of Pakistan. As his some of friends also want to be his partners in the business so he could take some capital and expertise from his friends to startup the business. His investment of 5million is also a bit less because the inflation rate in Pakistan is high and the currency is lower than many countries, so doing business by adding partners to his business will bring more investments so he can go further. The risk is going to be less because in case of loose the loose is going to be divided between the partners. His friends know the market and current situation of the country better than him so they can give better advises about the busin ess and can make business more successful, as the current activities can affect the businesses very badly and Mr. Javed dont know much about it so his partners can also help him in the survival of the business by their expertise. If Mr. Javed start business by his own in a form of sole trader ship so the survival will be a bit difficult because the opportunities of businesses are very less so there will be barrier of entries to the market. He also dont know about the rules and regulations of the country and the tax formats so sole trader ship will give him a bit tough time. Q.2 Scenario 2: Biz Training is a private limited company formed ten years ago by a group of five ex-lecturers. The five are the main shareholders but there is also a shareholder who was a local businessperson who initially approached two of the five to run a training course for her company. P1 and P2: identify the sources of finance available to a business. Assess the implications of the different sources. Businesses are able to raise finance from a wide range of sources. Some of are: Internal sources of finance: is the name. for a firm using its profits as a source of capital for new investment, rather than distributing them to firms owners or other investors and. obtaining capital elsewhere. It is to be contrasted with external financing .which consists of new money from outside of the firm brought in for investment. Internal financing is. generally thought to be less expensive for the firm than external financing because the firm does not have to incur transaction costs to obtain it, nor does it have to pay the taxes associated. with paying dividends. Many economists debate whether the availability of internal financing is an important determinant. of firm investment or not. A related controversy is whether the fact that internal financing is. empirically correlated with investment implies firms are credit constrained and therefore depend. on internal financing for investment. Profits retained in the business: The accumulated net income retained. for reinvestment in a business, rather than being paid out in dividends to stockholders. Sale of assets: Established companies often find that they have. assets that are no longer fully employed. These could be sold to raise cash. Reductions in working capital: When businesses increase stock levels or sell goods. on credit to customers they use a source of finance. When companies reduce these assets by reducing. their working capital, capital is released, which acts as a source of finance for other uses. External sources of finance: Short term sources: There are three main sources of short term external finance: Bank Overdrafts: Bank overdraft: An overdraft occurs when some. one withdraws from a bank account and they exceed the available balance. In this situation a person is said to be overdrawn. If there is a prior agreement with the account. provider for an overdraft protection plan, and the amount overdrawn is within this authorized overdraft limit, then interest is. normally charged at the agreed rate. Advantages An overdraft is flexible. you only borrow what you need at the time which may make it cheaper than a loan. You only pay for the funds. you use. Its quick to. arrange. There is not normally a charge for paying. off the overdraft earlier than expected. Disadvantages It has to be rearranged regularly. It can be called in. by the lender at any time. Overdrafts may be secured against business assets. the lender can take control of these if you dont repay the overdraft. Trade credit: Trade credit is an arrangement between businesses to buy goods or services on account, that is, without making immediate cash payment. The supplier typically. provides the customer with an agreement to bill them later, stipulating a fixed number of days or other date by which the customer should pay. It can be. viewed as an essential element of capitalization in an operating business because it can reduce the required capital investment required to operate the business if it is managed properly Advantages You can buy the stock and pay later. when you have sold the stock and made enough money to pay them back Eases the cash flow as you can pay after 28-30 days Disadvantages If you do not pay them back on time you can build up a bad credit history Only companies with good credit history. can be accepted the trade credit grant Debt factoring: When a business sells goods on credit it creates a debtor. The longer the time allowed to this debtor to pay up, the more finance the business. has to find to carry on trading. One option, if it is commercially unwise to insist on cash payments, is to sell these debts to a debt factor. In this way immediate cash is obtained, but not for the full amount of the debt. This is because the debt factoring companys profits are made by. discounting the debts and not paying their full value. When full payment is received from the original customer, the debt factor makes a profit. Smaller firms who sell goods on hire purchase. often sell the debt to credit loans firms, so that the credit agreement is never with the firm but. with the specialist provider. Sources of medium term finance: there are two main sources of medium term external finance: Hire purchase and leasing: is the legal term for a contract, in this persons usually agree to pay for goods in parts or a percentage at a time. In cases where a buyer cannot afford to pay the asked price for an item of property as a lump sum but can afford to pay a percentage as a deposit, a hire-purchase contract allows the buyer to hire the goods for a monthly rent. When a sum equal to the original full price plus interest has been paid in equal installments, the buyer may then exercise an option to buy the goods at a predetermined price (usually a nominal sum) or return the goods to the owner. Medium term bank loans: This will have the same advantages. and disadvantages as long term loans. Long term finance: Long term loans from banks: Bank loans: As with short term finance, banks are an important source of longer term finance. Banks may lend sums over long periods of time . possibly up to 25 years or even more in some cases. The loans have. a rate of interest attached to them. A mortgage is a loan specifically for the purchase of property. Some businesses. might buy property through a mortgage. In many cases, mortgages are used as. a security for a loan. This tends. to occur with smaller businesses. Advanatages: You can borrow. large amounts. Disadvantage: You can pay back with interest Debentures: Debentures are generally freely transferable by the debenture holder. Debenture holders have no rights to vote in. the companys general meetings of shareholders. Debenture holder charges a specific percentage of interest. rate from the company as they are investing in the company. Advanatages: You can borrow large amounts. Disadvantage: You can pay back with interest Debentures: A company wishing to raise funds will issue. or sell these to interested investors. The company agrees to pay a fixed rate of interest each year for the life of the debenture (which is often 25 years). The buyers may resell to other. investors if they do not wish to wait until maturity before getting their original investment back. Debentures are often secured. on a particular asset, which means that the investors have. the right, if the company ceases trading, to sell that particular asset to gain repayment. When this is part of the agreement, the debentures. are known as mortgage debentures. Asset sales: As firms grow they build up assets. These assets could be in the. form of property, machinery, equipment, other companies or even logos. In some cases it may be appropriate for a business to sell off some. of these assets to finance other projects. Advantage You get the money back straight away. Disadvantage In the long run, it is more expensive to lease the. piece of machinery or building. Retained profit: its the remaining profits. after deducting taxes, owners profits and dividends to shareholders. It can be kept. for other business uses or expansions. Advantage: No interest will have to be paid Disadvantage: Not available for start up business P3 and M1: Select appropriate sources of finance for a business project. Justify your source of finance in light of the proposed business and its implications. Before selecting a source of finance for the firm we must know which finance is going to be used in biz training. Biz training is about to buy a online learning system which they will use for a long period of time. As Biz Training is a private limited company they can not sell their shares in the stock exchange to generate funds to buy the online system so Biz Training is going to lease for buying the system as it is an fixed asset. By leasing they will not have to collect large amount such as for an asset like system A which is 120,000 pounds by this way their cash will not be disturbed and will not put Burdon on the business. By leasing they would get the system and would start using it they will get to know how profitable the system is and if the online learning system is profitable they will buy the asset after the leasing period and if it is not giving the firm desired profits then the system will be returned or they can sell it after the lease time has finished. The best part o f leasing is that all the maintenance cost of the system would be on the leasing company. In this case using other sources such as bank loan or hire purchase would not be a good decision. Taking a bank loan is not easy banks investigate a lot in the companies accounts and will need to be convinced that they will receive their loan back and will charge a lot of interest an will mortgage some of the property or any other assets and if the system is not earning profit and they cant give loan bank so the bank ill sell there property or the asset they have mortgaged so in bank loan the risk is high and in hire purchase Biz training will own the asset. By leasing will be get a clear picture of what decisions need to be taken in the future as they will know if the system they leased will be profitable or not and decide to buy it or let go of it so its better to lease the system and there is going to be less risk in the business. D1.Some firm finance its seasonal (temporary) working capital with long term funds. Explain the impact of these decisions on the profitability and risk of these firms. Bibliography: BBP learning Media Business Environment(2007) AS level Business studies (peter stimpson) I G C S E business studies (Karen Borrington, peter stimpson)

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Music and the Brain :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Music and the Brain: Processing and Responding (A General Overview) For any individual who either avidly listens to or performs music, it is understood that many melodies have amazing effects on both our emotions and our perception. To address the effects of music on the brain, it seems most logical to initially map the auditory and neural pathways of sound. In the case of humans, the mechanism responsible for receiving and transmitting sound to the brain are the ears. Briefly stated, the outer ear (or pinna) 'catches' and amplifies sound by funneling it into the ear canal. Interestingly, the outer ear serves only to boost high frequency sound components (1). The resonance provided by the outer ear also serves in amplifying a higher range of frequencies corresponding to the top octave of the piano key board. The air pressure wave travels through the ear canal to ultimately reach and vibrate the timpanic membrane (i.e.-- the eardrum). At this particular juncture, the pressure wave energy of sound is translated into mechanical energy via the middle ear . Here, three small bones, the ossicles, vibrate in succession to produce a unique pattern of movements that embodies the frequencies contained in every sound we are capable of hearing. The middle ear is also an important component in what music we actually keep out of our 'head'. The muscles grasping the ossicles can contract to prevent as much as two thirds of the sound from entering the inner ear. (1, 2) The mechanical motions of the ossicles directly vibrate a small membrane that connects to the fluid filled inner ear. From this point, vibration of the connective membrane (oval window) transforms mechanical motion into a pressure wave in fluid. This pressure wave enters and hence passes vibrations into the fluid filled structure called the cochlea. The cochlea contains two membranes and between these two membranes, are specialized neurons or receptors called Hair cells. Once vibrations enter the cochlea, they cause the lower membrane (basilar membrane) to move in respect to the upper membrane (i.e. --the tectorial membrane in which the hair cells are embedded). This movement bends the hair cells to cause receptor potentials in these cells which in turn cause the release of transmitter onto the neurons of the auditory nerve. In this case, the hair cell receptors are very pressure sensitive. The greater the force of the vibrations on the membrane, the more the hair cells bend and henc e the greater the receptor potential generated by these hair cells.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Critically Assess the View That Natural Law Is of No Use When Discussing Sexual Ethics Essay

I believe that natural law is of no use when discussing sexual ethics as it is very vague and doesn’t take into account specific situations. Natural Law says that everything has a purpose, and that mankind was made by God with a specific design or objective in mind. It says that this purpose can be known through reason. As a result, fulfilling the purpose of our design is the only ‘good’ for humans. The Primary Precepts of Natural Law require us to ‘live in an ordered society’ to ‘reproduce’, to ‘educate our young’, to ‘protect the innocent’ and the most important to ‘worship God’. The most relevant of these in this subject is reproduction, and if you look at it as a duty to continue the re-population of God’s people than of course sex can be understood as a good and moral action. In fact there are many biblic references to sex and Gods opinion on it, in Genesis He says; ‘be fruitful and increase in number’ and through-out it shows that sex is necessary. The problem for a Natural Law supporter comes when sex is only done as an ‘efficient’ cause, e. g. or pleasure and enjoyment, this is not following God’s final cause of re-production. Contraception is seen as immoral in Natural law and for most Catholics. If contraception is used it splits the ‘efficient’ practice of sex from the ‘final cause’ of reproduction; this goes against that actions purpose and makes it wrong as not what God intended. However some Natural Law supporters would argue that sex is not about what humans gain from it but what God actually intended it to be about, which could be unity and love etc. Other philosophers/philosophies who argue that this way of thinking about contraception and sex can lead to situations of unnecessary suffering. For example, a utilitarian approach would assess how pain and pleasure can be maximised in a situation and so would probably sharply contrast with Natural Law. Another thing to consider when thinking about natural law and contraception is that they don’t take into account third world countries, for example, and how not using contraception will lead to a spreading of aids and children the parents can’t afford to give a good life. Homosexuality is another sexual issue that Natural Law calls immoral for the same reason as contraception, because it doesn’t fill in sex’s final cause and reproduction and so homosexual sex cannot produce any children it is not ethical. The Catholic Church has long supported this view and have declared that homosexual orientation is not in itself immoral but just like the infertile couple sex without the possibility of children makes it wrong. However another thing to consider as part of the ‘living in an ordered society’ precept is not being judgmental of other people. Pre-marital sex could be seen as either good or bad by natural law followers as if the couple is reproducing and being good nurturing parents then they’re fulfilling most of the primary precepts and that is good. However they aren’t fulfilling the main one, worshiping God, as the bible teaches that sex should be saved for marriage, so a lot of natural law followers would say it is wrong. Something to consider in this is if they’re actually planning to get married at all? Does it still count as pre-marital? Extra marital sex is also a contentious issue for Natural Law followers. In a wedding ceremony promises are made before God ‘to love and to cherish’ and most importantly ‘forsaking all others’ to stay married until ‘death do us part’. As a vow before God, this cannot be broken and still be part of the primary precept ‘worship’ God. The ultimate aim of life is to be ‘united with God’ through our moral actions, as society where immorality and deception are accepted is not a place where God is being worshipped effectively. Sex should be about reproduction and families and therefore bringing you closer to God not a violation of a sacred vow. To conclude, I would argue that Natural law is an overly harsh method of making ethical decisions. It does not take into account the most loving action for people and nor does he make any exception for circumstance or what will benefit the majority of people.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Global essays

Global essays With a population of over 55 million, global warming affects many of the French people. France is in the middle of Globalization, from an economy that featured widespread government ownership to one that relies more on a market system. The earths climate is predicted to change because human activities are altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect and global warming are issues that are talked about by geologists all the time. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the earth at temperatures that are livable. The way in which global warming works is that energy from the sun warms the earth when its heat rays are absorbed by greenhouse gasses and become trapped in the atmosphere. Some of the most common greenhouse gasses are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. If there were no greenhouse gasses, very few rays would be absorbed and the earth would be extremely cold. When too many rays are absorbed, the earths atmosphere warms, leading to global warming. Global warming can lead to many problems that affect the environment in which we live, as well as politically and socially. In order to talk about global warming, we must first learn what causes the greenhouse effect. A lot of the rays from the sun are absorbed by water vapor that is naturally in our atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is also a big absorber of the suns heat rays. Humans can cause a lot of carbon dioxide to be released. Every time we burn fossil fuels, we release more carbon dioxide. Emissions from cars also increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more rays from the sun are absorbed. This will cause the atmosphere and the earths temperature to warm. The warming of the earth will cause the oceans to become warmer. When they heat up, more water is evaporated, causing more carbon dioxide...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Natron and its Use in Preserving Egyptian Mummies

Natron and its Use in Preserving Egyptian Mummies Natron is a chemical salt (Na2CO3), which was used by the ancient Bronze Age societies in the eastern Mediterranean for a wide range of purposes, most importantly as an ingredient in making glass, and as a preservative used in making mummies.   Natron can be created out of ash from plants that grow in salt marshes (called halophytic plants) or mined from  natural deposits. The main source for Egyptian mummy-making was at Wadi Natrun, northwest of Cairo. Another important natural deposit used primarily for glass-making was at Chalastra, in the Macedonian region of Greece.   Oh, mummy! Ahmose-Nefertari still looks good today. G. Elliot Smith (1871-1937)/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons Mummy Preservation Beginning as long ago as 3500 BCE, the ancient Egyptians mummified their wealthy dead in various ways. During the New Kingdom (ca. 1550-1099 BCE), the process included the removal and preservation of internal organs. Certain organs such as the lungs and intestines were placed into decorated Canopic jars that symbolized protection by the Gods.  The body was then preserved with natron while the heart was typically left untouched and inside of the body. The brain was often physically discarded.   Natrons salt properties worked to preserve the mummy in three ways: Dried the moisture in the flesh thereby inhibiting the growth of bacteriaDegreased the body fats by removing moisture-filled fat cellsServed as a microbial disinfectant. Natron  was stripped from the bodys skin after 40 days  and the cavities were filled with items such as linen, herbs, sand, and sawdust.  The skin was coated with resin, then the body was wrapped in resin-coated linen bandages. This entire process took about two and a half months for those that could afford to embalm. Earliest Use   Natron is a salt, and salts and brines have been used in all cultures for a number of uses. Natron was used in Egyptian glass-making at least as long ago as the Badarian period of early 4th millennium BCE, and likely in mummy-making about the same time. By 1000 BCE, glass makers throughout the Mediterranean used natron as the flux elements.   Knossos Palace on Crete was built with large blocks of gypsum, a mineral related to natron; the Romans used NaCl as money or salarium, which is how English got the word salary. The Greek writer Herodotus reported natrons use in mummy-making the 6th century BCE.   Making or Mining Natron Natron can be made by collecting plants from salt marshes, burning them until they are at the ash stage and then mixing it with soda lime. In addition, natron is found in natural deposits in Africa in places such as Lake Magadi, Kenya, and Lake Natron in Tanzania, and in Greece at Lake Pikrolimni. The mineral is typically found alongside  gypsum and calcite, both also important to Mediterranean Bronze Age societies. Natron Glass - Unguent Bottle - New Kingdom 18th or 19th Dynasty. Claire H Characteristics and Use Natural natron varies in color with the deposit. It can be pure white, or darker grey or yellow. It has a soapy texture when mixed with water, and was used anciently as a soap and mouthwash, and as a disinfectant for cuts and other wounds.   Natron was an important component for making ceramics, paints- it is an important element in the recipe for the paint known as Egyptian blue- glassmaking, and metals. Natron was also used to make faience, the high-tech substitute for precious gems in Egyptian society.   Today, natron is not used as readily in modern-day society, having been replaced with commercial detergent items along with soda ash, which made up for its use as a soap, glass-maker and household items. Natron has decreased dramatically in use since its popularity in the 1800s. Egyptian Etymology The name natron comes from the term Nitron, which derives from Egypt as a synonym for sodium bicarbonate. Natron was from the 1680s French word which was derived directly from Arabics natrun. The latter was from Greeks nitron. It is also known as the chemical sodium which is symbolized as Na. Sources Bertman, Stephen. The Genesis of Science: The Story of Greek Imagination. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2010. Print. Dotsika, E., et al. A Natron Source at Pikrolimni Lake in Greece? Geochemical Evidence. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 103.2-3 (2009): 133-43. Print. Noble, Joseph Veach. The Technique of Egyptian Faience. American Journal of Archaeology 73.4 (1969): 435–39. Print. Tite, M.S., et al. The Composition of the Soda-Rich and Mixed Alkali Plant Ashes Used in the Production of Glass. Journal of Archaeological Science 33 (2006): 1284-92. Print.

Monday, November 4, 2019

MOVIE CRITIQUE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MOVIE CRITIQUE - Essay Example Perseus is set to marry the beautiful princess Andromeda but she is to be sacrificed to the sea monster. Perseus must prevent this by killing the sea monster in time. At the same time, Perseus father feuds with goddess Thetis and the rivalry is full blown. Still, Perseus must proceed with his mission despite the numerous challenges that stand in his way. He faces a myriad of various creatures which he must slay to survive. Medusa is one creature that Perseus must locate and kill. The gaze of the creature can turn Kraken into stone and hinder his chances of saving Andromeda. He must kill each beast and handle the delicate capture of Andromeda wisely so that he can save her alive (Canby, 1981). The film does not have characters based on real people. Instead, the characters are made up to reflect the constituents reflected in the Greek mythology. This is why the film falls under the fantasy genre. The characters are imaginative and the events portrayed are highly unlikely to transpire in the real life. The characters potential and the nature of events transcend the laws of physics and exceed the ability of humans. The director’s use of no real characters and events squarely fits the elements of mythology. The film is set in ancient Greece. There is no apparent use of real locations but instead the director chooses to make representation of various critical locations. Such include Mount Olympus which formed the home of the Greek gods, the city of Joppa which was the residence of Princess Andromeda and the island of Seriphos where Perseus grew up. The representation was done well to compliment the fantasy element of the mythology. It is possible that the director did not use real locations because the story itself is not real. The applied special effects were not up to standard. A lot better in that field could have been necessary to give the film’s audience a better experience. The

Friday, November 1, 2019

Border security issues (week 10) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Border security issues (week 10) - Essay Example Drones are radio-controlled aircrafts or ships or in unmanned aerial vehicles abbreviated as UAV (NOVA, 2013). According to Jones (2013), currently, the law enforcement agency officials say that such spy programs are useful when it comes to border surveillance, even when they are costly. Jones points out that each drone goes for $18 million and its support systems (Jones, 2013). Such activities carried out at the border by the law enforcement agencies are helpful because they are the key to protecting the American citizens. Nonetheless, there is an extent to which such technology is useful. Using this technology to threaten individual privacy rights as guaranteed by the American constitution is not the solution to defeating terrorists and drug gangs at the border. On a domestic level, drones are used when there are criminal investigations as a way of finding missing persons, when there are natural disasters and monitoring hostage situations. Drones should not be used on Americans who are not criminals to check their travel patterns, banks that they visit and carrying out searches on people’s neighborhoods and houses without court orders. According to Cornwell (2013), domestic drones look like small helicopters and radios. Though they are flown by hobbyist, there is a possibility that they have cameras that are used to capture people (Cornwell, 2013). According to Cornwell (2013), domestic drones can take pictures of people’s backyards because the Federal Aviation Administration approved t he use of more than 1,400 drones in 2006. This abuses the privacy rights that Americans are entitled to as citizens. Cornwell, L. (2013, April 08). Drone regulations: Spying concerns prompt states to consider legislation. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from