Gender-role in Advertisement Essay

This paper explores gender-role in modern advertisement. Sample modern-day advertisements will be analyzed in relation to gender-roles. Gender-role refers to a person’s way of actions and thinking that is identified as either related to male or female characteristics (Haig, 2004). It is a set of expectations on how females or males should think, behave, and feel. It is in the adolescence stage that male and females start to define their roles while their gender is intensified by conformity to transitional gender-roles in during puberty (Hill & Lynch, 1983), which indirectly signals that they begin to act in ways that resemble the stereotypic female or male of their culture (Huston & Alvarez, 1990). In addition to the demands of work and changing trends in the society and the increased number of employed mothers in the mid twentieth century, adolescents exposure to the media is considered to have a possible impact on their attitudes and perceptions about gender relationships, identity formation, and gender-roles (O’Donnell & O’Donnell, 1978; Durkin, 1986; Lovdal, 1989; Richards & Duckett, 1994; Dietz, 1998; Hovland et al. , 2005). The effects of advertisements to the perpetuation of gender-role stereotypes have received considerable importance in research and it has been debated whether it stereotyped advertisements have long term or short term impact on people’ own gender-role and whether advertisements with stereotypic portrayals gain more profit or does not have significant influence in people’s buying behavior at all. Effects of media in gender-role There are many factors that that affect gender-role development and the media is considered to be one (Golombok & Fivush, 1994; Durkin, 1995). Dietz (1998) asserted that the media, in addition to environmental or social factors, affects people’s perception of gender-roles. The impact of advertising on audiences is often explained by social learning theory or by theories that are based on it. The argument is that, as people are repeatedly exposed to advertising images, they tend to internalize the advertisers’ views of themselves and others. The more ubiquitous the images are in advertisements, and the more frequently they see the advertisements, the deeper the audience identifies with the images. In addition to social learning theory (Bandura, 1977), framing research or frame analysis, introduced Goffman (1974), was used to obtain empirical evidence regarding the effects of media portrayals in people’s thoughts and consciousness. Framing assumes that the media frame reality is used to explain how people perceive and think about gender-roles because of the things they see and experience. Framing is used as a remedy sort in selecting a particular aspect of a perceived reality in order to emphasize, convey, or interpret something. However, framing may directly or indirectly influence people’s judgments on recognizing ideas presented in advertisements (Entman, 1993). Another issue on the effects of media is identified by Mead (1962) in his theory, arguing that individuals’ characterizations in the media affect children’s attitudes, relationships with other people, and behavior expectations. When traditional feminine or masculine roles become distinctive and children starts to identify with a particular gender-role, they are likely to expect specific characteristics and behaviors from females and males. Gender-role stereotyping negatively affects young individuals’ attitudes towards males and females since traditional portrayals of women are usually portrayed as dependent, obtaining approval from family and males, weak, victims, supportive of men’s roles, sex objects, and adornment rather than individuals (Hall, Iijima & Crum 1994; Artz, Munger, & Purdy, 1999). As a result, these negative or substandard characteristics of women adversely affect children’s perception that women may ever find it difficult to attain gender equality and function as effective as men do in the society. This female portrayal restricts young females to think of achieving beyond their potential because many attributes, activities and traits are being designated as inappropriate for their gender (Dietz, 1998). Traditional stereotyped gender-role portrayals in advertisements Most advertisements portrayed both males and females stereotypically. Since 1950s, significant changes in gender-roles have occurred as the division of labor has become less distinctive and the entry of increased number of women into the workforce where professional positions, which were used to be exclusively for men, have opened opportunity for them to progress. Images of men and women in advertising in the early times have been heavily stereotyped. Men were depicted as independent, active, assertive, work-oriented while women were portrayed as dependent, passive, and domestic. Advertisements in the 1970s to 1980s continued to portray gender-stereotyping due to the difficulty of presenting people without specific gender-roles, especially when advertising specific products of particular gender. The strategies of advertisers in attracting people’s intentions and behaviors were more likely to favor gender-stereotyped representation since the public was more familiar and comfortable with gender-stereotyped advertisements (Morrison & Shaffer, 2003). Gender portrayals in the context of advertisements were found to be predominantly stereotypic with dominant males and nurturing females in the mass media, music, film, as well as the print media. Although changes in the society and culture have been apparent, advertisements still rely upon women’s roles as subordinate. Women’s subordination was a useful tool in selling a wide variety of products such as alcohol, medicine, cigarettes, perfume, and vehicles. Constant exposure to derogatory portrayals of females in advertisements may result to socially induced depression and lowered levels of aspirations in achieving ones goals. Women portrayal as subordinates has been consistently practiced and presented in advertising until today although some changes and reversions have been observed (Mclaughlin & Goulet, 1999). Advertisements usually portray men as being strong who are expected to have jobs that require much physical strength. They are portrayed as being the authority, dominant, having higher intelligence, becoming public figures, belonging to upper-middle class, being able to take medicine, law or business courses, aggressive, and sometimes gentlemen or bad guys. At home, men are portrayed to use car wax, auto parts, carpentry tools, motor oil, and lawn mowers. Women are rarely depicted as professionals in advertisements (Dietz, 1998). When women in advertisements are presented as professionals or experts in the products they advertise, they are often backed up by male figure or an authoritative male voice-over to strengthen the efficiency of convincing the audience since males were viewed as the authority (Lovdal, 1989). In traditional male magazines (e. g. , Esquire and Field & Stream), gender-role stereotyped advertisements that portrayed men with masculine or manly activities have not decreased as much as the traditional female and general interest magazines. Although there have been some trends toward less stereotypic portrayals of masculine images in some print media advertisements, the traditional stereotype of the male gender still provides cultural representation (Furnham & Thomson, 1999) Women are stereotypicly depicted in relation to beauty, physical attraction, family, domestic responsibilities, parenting, occupations such as teacher, waitress, masseur, bride, actress, secretary, vendor, household cleaners, maid, model, guest relations officer, and the like, as well as negative representation like evil, witch, possessions of men, passive, deferent, object for men’s pleasure. At home, women are portrayed to take care of every member, do all the chores, and maintaining relationships. They are often portrayed as supportive wives, mothers, sex objects, dependents, lack exploration, skills, knowledge, credibility, self-expression, and sense of mastery. Advertisers market products in magazines, like in television, using young, professional women as a product of beauty techniques and methods in order to attract and keep handsome, lucrative, and sophisticated men. Comic strips and children’s books also continued to adopt and support traditional portrayals of women in the society. For instance, illustrations show traditional female activities or a situation in which there is a dutiful wife in the bathroom or kitchen wearing an apron to model cleaning products, kitchen wares and appliances or food (Dietz, 1998; Peirce, 2001).

Mitch Tooley

English Assessment Plaster cast and Fresh bait The stories I have chosen to talk about today are Plaster Cast by Archimede Fusillo, and Fresh Bait by Sherryl Clark. I have chosen to talk about these particular stories, because the ways in which they are similar captured my interest when reading them. Both stories feel as if they are written from end to beginning. They unfold slowly, keeping the reader in rapt suspense, on the edge of their chair, until the very end, when the story takes its last breath to reveal to the reader the horrible, unforeseen truth.The authors of these two stories employed many techniques to create works that are similar in some ways, dissimilar in others. It is these different techniques I will talk to you about today. One of the most important elements of a short story is characterization. In both stories, the author intertwines the concepts; confusion and suspicion to portray their individual protagonists, letting out small details to intrigue the reader a nd make them wonder about the characters. In plaster cast, Miranda (the main protagonist) is a new art student entering gruesome sculptures into her school art show. uote â€Å"They’re not fit for a school art show† pg49 Her character is slowly developed and revealed through these sculptures, that seem eerie and â€Å"too lifelike† for comfort. Similarly to Plaster Cast, the character traits of the main protagonist in Fresh Bait are revealed slowly. The unnamed character remains to the reader a mystery, as we are left to stumble slowly yet blindly after her on her strange journey. Similarly to Miranda, the anonymous hero in Fresh Bait seems somewhat strange to the people around her who cannot understand the peculiar things the does. uote â€Å"I walked back a few paces, bent down and noted his number plate. † Pg19 Structure Language Technique comparison The Technique in these stories is quite different. In fresh bait the language techniques mostly include adjectives, listing and a few similes and metaphors, quote â€Å"Called up the list in my head again. Blue Holden new. Sales Forty-Fifty. Finger. † Pg21. This quote is an example of listing. The language techniques in the plaster cast mostly include adjectives and repetition. Quote â€Å"They could be living things. Breathing, pulsating, living things. † Pg49

Essay Free Will Essay

â€Å"Free Will† takes one of the central questions of any religious realm. Whether a human has a freedom in his choice? Whether a human can make a personal, independent decision such us what he should do in each situation? Or are all of his actions predetermined, and the possibility of making a free choice an illusion? Since the time of the Greek philosopher Socrates to modern times, philosophers, theologians, scientists have tried to prove the existence of â€Å"Free Will† or its absence, and as well have to answer to the question do people have real control over their actions? The question, about existence of â€Å"Free Will†, appeared in ancient Greek philosophy. Socrates and his followers believed that the dependence of the lower sensual impulse is an equivalent to slavery, but responsible subordination which was inspired by human mind, means a â€Å"Free Will†. Socrates argued that all humans are looking for the good behavior, but not all equally know what good behavior is. If a person really knows what the true goodness is, then this person wants to do it, but one, who doesn’t know, usually takes imaginary goodness instead of real goodness. Then rushes to reach the imaginary goodness and makes mistakes. This then produces evil deeds. No one is willing to be bad on their own will. This way, moral evil reduced to thoughtlessness, that equal to a lower needs level, and goodness for Socrates, according to Aristotle, expresses of the intellect, which is an equivalent to a â€Å"Free Will†. Which means, only human who doing good things can have â€Å"Free Will†. Based on the foregoing, it is possible to make a conclusion, that by the term â€Å"Free Will†, Socrates understands the qualities that exceptional people have, rather than an integral part of every human being. The idea of â€Å"Free Will† gets a new interpretation with the development of Christianity. If we trace the history of â€Å"Free Will† in the Bible, it is necessary to start with the character of God, who decided on his own and created the universe and all that fills it. The Bible says that man was created in the image and likeness of God. This means that a human is equal to God, and has a consciousness, feelings and will, and has the ability to think and make decisions. Suppose a person is really free in his choice. In such a case, two problems appear right away. According to religious beliefs, everything in this world happens only by the will of God. â€Å"God makes, all he wants, in heaven and on earth. † And no one, including human can’t resist God’s will. How, then, can a person can have any â€Å"Free Will†? If a person is not free, another ethical problem appears. According to Christianity (as well as Islam and Judaism) God rewards man for good behavior and punishes him for his bad. However, if a person cannot choose what he should do in each case, if his actions were predetermined and even corresponded to the will of God, how and why in this case, it is possible to punish humans? And what then is the â€Å"Free Will† for a man? Scientists consider issues related to the freedom of will. With development in science particularly genetic engineering, neuroscience and psychiatry; human view the presence of â€Å"Free Will† has changed. Scientists believe that people do not choose the genotype and the environment, do not choose the other factors affecting their lives. People do not choose in which family to be born, therefore they do not choose hereditary genes that are the most meaningful way determine our lives. Some genes predisposing to a human disease, some genes determining appearance, behavior, intellectual abilities all of them affect our lives. According to scientists, human body is as a kind of machine, established and acting at the direction of the external forces that cause it to work in certain way. This point of view is a concern because it is mean that people cannot be responsible for their behavior in any situation. No one has found the answer to the question of whether people have the â€Å"Free Will† or is it just an illusion. But in any case, a human has the right to follow the path of good or choice the path of evil. All humans exist like cells in a single large organism called â€Å"the universe. † World created from all its parts or elements. Each element contributes to the world their personal characteristic; effects and change world’s destiny. It may be weak and insignificant in the overall system of the world, but it is exists. It operates within certain limits on domestic fundamentals essence and nature. Without any of these elements would be a different world.

Read and Review God the Economist the book Essay

Read and Review God the Economist the book - Essay Example re discussed thoroughly, along with the idea of the Christian tradition and the application of radical implications for individual Christians and for the churches. M. Douglas Meeks received his B.D. and his Ph.D. from Duke University and studied as a Fulbright Fellow at Tubingen University. Previously ranking as the dean and professor of systematic theology at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, as well as professor of systematic theology at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Meeks is the author, co-author or editor of 16 books, one of his most praised being this one in particular – God the Economist. Meeks’ record of professional service includes membership on a variety of academic and ecclesial councils and commissions dealing with theology and economy, religion and science, liberation theology, points at issue between black and white theologies, and theological education. He is also an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. These past and present qualities are what enabled Meeks to have such an accurate and intellectual view on two such critical subjects – God and the economy. When it comes to Christians and the church speaking about economy, or vice versa, it seems that those involved often falter at the subject. In this book, Meeks is noted for developing his doctrine of the economist God in order to show that provision for all the needs of all people is not simply an add-on to the Christian faith but is instead entirely relevant and is its very heart and soul. Meeks centers his argument on a social conception of the Trinity, each of whose persons are understood to be giving and sustaining, rather than self-sufficient and domineering. A main point that Meeks makes in this book is that we as a world – especially in the North American countries – fail to see the destitution and despair both economically and spiritually around us, while all the time trying to fix massive other problems which seem to actually not be near as

The Management of Green and Ethical Issues Essay

The Management of Green and Ethical Issues - Essay Example The Stern report points out that it is necessary for the energy sector to cut down the use of fossil fuels by 60% to retain the atmospheric balance. So, in the energy sector, there is the threat of water pollution, air pollution, and depletion of fossil fuel that is non-replaceable (Stern Review final report, HM Treasury). So, evidently, it is high time for businesses to look for alternative energy sources. Some other important environmental issues caused by businesses are the huge production of waste, water pollution, air pollution, and the loss of land and biodiversity. Probably because of this understanding, more and more consumers are going green. It is probably this realisation that made many companies to think about environmentally sustainable ways of operation. In other words, many companies presently think it is important to have an impressive range of environment protection measures as a part of their corporate social responsibility. A study by Hurst (2004) identified that a considerable proportion of leadership companies presently identify the value of taking care of environmental issues and the value of assessing their own performance on a regular basis. Corporate reputation Evidently, the first benefit associated with going green is the improvement in a company’s corporate reputation. It is seen that large high profile companies are effectively utilising an attractive CSR that helps the company enjoy a considerably greater reputation that it cannot normally achieve. A perfect example for this is the beauty and cosmetics giant The Body Shop (Values Report, 2009). The company, from its very inception, stood firm on certain ethical and environmental principles. For example, it is against animal testing, artificial ingredients, environmental degradation, and forced labour. The company claims itself to be carbon-free, and it advocates fair trade and fair price, along with the concept of community trade which ensures that the company procures its ingredients from marginalised producers (ibid). If someone thinks that all these cost the company a lot as this would make the company’s products expensive, the exact opposite is true. The companyâ€⠄¢s surveys show that 89% of its customers value the company’s ethical activities highly (ibid). Financial benefits According to USA Today reports, many companies have realised how to make money or save money through environmentally sustainable practices. For example, the Sun Microsystems saved hundreds of millions of dollars through the introduction of telecommuting (Sun’s open work energy measurement project, 2009). However, the industry that is benefiting the most from the green revolution is the hotel business. For example, the Holiday Inn on King in Toronto saved nearly $ 14,852 in a year by introducing low-flow

Enzymes Limited Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Enzymes Limited - Essay Example As such, the company was also using the same method to calculate the cost incurred thereof. But, conceptually thinking of traditional costing methods brings about many errors in the modern era and therefore raises many doubts regarding its effectiveness in this changing module. There are numerous variables that add upon the cost structure of a manufacturing company rather than only labour or machine cost e.g. advertisement, customer, raw materials, and few others. Moreover, the traditional costing method applies a volume based allocation which often proves to be inappropriate in the modern market assuming something which is not adhered to the actual causes of costing (Averkamp, n.d.). But to take any kind of management decision regarding costs, the information about accurate product costs, resource allocations and many other variables is very significant part. Here the traditional method fails to work with accuracy and therefore has a very minimum contribution in managerial decision making. In this context the growing applicability of Activity-based method is non-negligible, as it emphasises on almost every aspects that traditional methods do not. Activity-based Costing Method assumes that cost variables causes demand for activities, which in turn causes expenditure, unlike the traditional method that assumes only variable cost as reasons of expenditure. Moreover it proves to be more accurate than traditional method in calculating the overhead costs of a product (Minbiole, 1998). Numerically, according to the traditional method, if the total overhead cost is $ 1, 00,000 and the total direct labour dollars comes to a figure of $ 1, 20, 000, the overhead cost per direct labour comes to be $ 0.83, (i.e. $ 1, 00, 000/$ 1, 20, 000). Again assuming the per unit labour cost to be $ 0.387, the overhead cost will stand at the figure of $ 0.32. In the case of Activity-based calculation,

Baking Class-Research Terms Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Baking Class- Terms - Research Paper Example This method is founded on whipping sugar and eggs/yolks to the ribbon stage, dry ingredients are then folded, the egg white is whipped to stiff peaks then folded into the sugar, egg/egg yolk, and dry mixture, lastly fat is folded into the batter. 9) Rolled in fat dough- This is dough in which the fat or filling is incorporated in many layers by using a rolling or folding procedure. It is used for flaky baked goods like croissants, puff pastry and Danish breads. 12) Creaming method- This method is initiated by the blending of sugar with butter until fluffy, eggs are added one by one and allowed to mix into the batter, dry and liquid ingredients are then added. This method is used for preparation of cookies, certain muffins, cakes, and quick breads. 14) Parchment paper- This is heat resistant paper that has been treated and is used in the kitchen for tasks like lining baking pans, wrapping foods to be cooked for instance en papillote, and covering foods when shallow

The Discursive Management of Financial Risk Scandals Case Study

The Discursive Management of Financial Risk Scandals - Case Study Example Hamilton (2003) attributed Enron’s failure to a culture of conceit that led the society in general and economists in specific to buy the idea that it had the capacity to handle complex corporate risks in a successful manner. As such, Enron’s corporate culture was less concerned about advancing the ethics of respect and honesty. These important values were overlooked in a systematic process which saw the firm shift its focus to the doctrine of subsidiarity and maximization of profits at any cost. By keeping each Enron division autonomous from the others, Hamilton (2003) noted that the financial manipulators and their closest internal associates only were aware of the bigger picture of Enron’s financial position. I agree with Hamilton on the reasons for Enron’s downfall. This is especially true considering that overreliance on decentralization by a large company in an environment where there are inadequate operational and pecuniary controls is normally associated with failure. In addition, the seemingly diverted, hands-off company board including the chairman was a recipe for financial failure, as they could not initiate adequate checks and balances on the executive managers such as Skilling (Ailon, 2012). As a consequence, the accounting staffs, auditors, and company lawyers equally failed in their mandates. Eventually, the company’s complex financial records became so confusing to the public, the shareholders and even the spin-doctors, hence the failure. In spite of Enron’s dramatic move to formally admit bankruptcy in 2001, the failure did not occur by accident. According to Temple (2014), there were several presuppositions to the event including a business culture that spawned greed and scam while maintaining cosmetic value rather than real value. Following the  merger, the company’s assets tremendously expanded to an extent that it was ranked seventh among the top-ten American companies in terms of revenue. Managing the massive assets usually does not want any form of risky investments and misrepresentation of financial statements as Enron did before its collapse.  

Consider all of the elements of control used by the Party in the Coursework

Consider all of the elements of control used by the Party in the selections from Nineteen Eighty Four - Coursework Example Police were feared to the extent that it was thought everywhere any time one was being seen by a police officer. This made the masses as seen in the behavior of prisoners timid and as such they couldn’t even air out their minds. There were arbitrary arrests and convictions without trial with the subjects being forced to confess to false of crimes such as sabotage, espionage and embezzlement. The party employed a lot of propaganda in management of its affairs; there was an underground movement of conspirators (the brotherhood) which was spreading fear and labeling party rebels. it excites to not how power can be used by a party to propagate vested interests, instill fear in masses and hence ensure they submit completely. Separation was ripe with party members being restricted from going just to any shop. This was to force even those with divergent views succumb bow to pressure and dance to the whims of the party. People were totally deprived of their fundamental freedoms such a s free association, freedom of speech and others. In conclusion therefore Nineteen Eighty Four is a perfect narration of how regimes can engage in evil doing, deprive masses of their rights and employ unethical means to seize control. People are forcefully forced to sing party slogans, made to keep silent and not question anything happening around for fear of being punished. The writer is a victim and is in prison for obvious political reasons; they are tortured in prison and forced to confess to charges that are not

Microeconomics Project Essay Example for Free

Microeconomics Project Essay An overview Facebook was realized on February 4, 2004 by an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur- Mark Elliot Zuckerberg. Facebook has said it will be valued at up to $96bn ( £59bn) when it sells shares to investors this month in a record-breaking flotation. The first investment from Peter Thiel was $500,000 into Facebook. Facebook has minted four billionaires: Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin and Sean Parker. The 27-year-old Zuckerbergs net worth was estimated at $17.5bn on the 2011 Forbes list of the wealthiest Americans. Moskovitz had a net worth of $3.5bn but pipped Zuckerberg for the title of worlds youngest billionaire, being eight days younger. The Brazilian-born Saverin, who left Facebook early on after a falling-out with Zuckerberg, had a net worth of $2bn. Parker, the Napster co-founder who briefly served as Facebooks president, had a net worth of $2.1bn On November 15, 2010, Facebook announced it had acquired the domain name fb.com from the American Farm Bureau Federation for an undisclosed amount. On January 11, 2011, the Farm Bureau disclosed $8.5 million in domain sales income, making the acquisition of FB.com one of the ten highest domain sales in history Nowadays, 1 in every 13 people on earth uses Facebook, more than 900m active users, with over 250 million of them who log in every day. The average user has about 130 friends, but that has expanded in. The core 18-24 year old segment is now growing the fastest at 74% year on year. Almost 72% of all US internet users are on now Facebook, while 70% of the entire user base is located outside of the US. (Source: Facebook) At the beginning, Facebook has 1 million users. In 2008, it increased to 100 million. In 2010 the number of users reached 400 million and up to 500 million within 5 months. Google- a web search engine, it is the companys most popular service. It began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in California. Technology is enhancing us as human beings and the integrating of artificial intelligence is slowly being weaved and embedded into our activities and habits almost without us noticing. This reliance that is permeating our day to day existence even extends to a reported 60% plus of all buying decisions now starting with a Google search as we start our research online rather than walk the shop aisles and asking sales attendants questions. The first funding of $100,000 for Google was provided by Andy Bechtolsheim the co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Googles initial public offering (IPO) took place five years later on August 19, 2004. The stocks performance after the IPO went well, with shares hitting $700 for the first time on October 31, 2007. primarily because of strong sales and earnings in the online advertising market. In 2004: Gmail launched, Google IPO 8 billion pages indexed. They acquired YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Android was announced in 2007 and Google Chrome was launched in 2008. The 3 charts show the Revenue, Income and number of Employee in two companies. RIVAL PRODUCTION The big question is given, why a search engine like Google to be afraid of Facebook, a social network when the field of activities of these two different companies as far as they seem completely can live peacefully. Google is famous for its searching services, the key point lead to the huge success of Google. It links to billions of Web pages, so users can easily obtain the information they want through the keywords and the operators. Google also uses its search technology for many other search services, including Image Search (photos), Google News, interactive community Google Groups, Google Maps. They also launched variety kinds of services such as Gmail, Google Earth, Google Docs, Picasa, Google Desktop, Google talk, Google Chrome, Google Translate and Android. Facebook is a social networking website for free access with more than 600 million members worldwide with hundreds of millions of activities that occur every day. The amount of data produced in a day of Facebook occupies a huge part of Internet data. Users can communicate with others, make friends, send messages and update their personal profile. Facebook has several features that users can interact such as Wall, Pokes, Photos, Status, Tag (feature of imaging applications), Facebook Notes, Facebook Username, Facebook Messages, Voice Calls, Video Calling, Facebook Subscribe. Looking closely, using the Internet for social purpose has been increasing over the years. More and more people spend longer hours of socializing than browsing so the use of the internet had tilted more on the social side. Facebook has a strong impact to our society. The social circle will suggest what to read, what to check out, where to go to and what to see. These matters may seem not important, but for the business this is such a big deal. As a result, a vast number of companies had recently shifted their focus on socializing, this led to the competition Google versus F acebook. Google is stepping into the Facebook market. Google also has promoted the search function in social network (Social Search) combined between Facebook and search engine Bing with support in 19 languages. Google Social Search helps users to find the appropriate content from the online link on their social network such as websites, blogs, articles and other content created or shared by their friends. Moreover, through many failures of Orkut (social networking and discussion), Google Buzz and Google Wave, in 2010 Google also revealed their plan about new social networking called Google Me to compete Facebook. Google Me combines best features of these social networks having failed before such as allow users check how many visitors clicked, watched, or your missed updates, provide variety kinds of games and application, control the amount of friends who have connected with your friends, stop spreading wide for what was posted. Example, both Orkut and Facebook allow users to delete the share, but this feature of Orkut is much better. This means that if you share a picture for yourself, then you want to delete them, you are allowed to erase that image on your home page, and on top of all other friends.Facebook does not do this,so Google Me is expected as a more attractive version of social networking. In 2011, Google has officially announced the Google+project, a social networking service has the functionality looks very similar to Facebook such as update status, share links and upload photos. Google+allow users to communicate separately for each group. Instead of posting a content update for everyone, Google+ allows users to display that content to the particular group (called a circle), such as classmates, colleagues, family members. Recently, Facebook is actively improving its own search engine. Old founder of the Google Wave, Lars Rasmussen, has joined Facebook, is developing a version of the search engines social networking to develop a new version called â€Å"search engines social networking†. This system will be expected to compete with the search engine of Giant Google in the future. The main purpose of the project is to develop a better search engine that can help brows through the huge amount of content created by users on social networks, as the status updates, articles, video clips and other information. Facebook expects a new email service will help them overtake Google and dominate the social networking world. In 2010, Facebook unveiled the project Titan to compete with Gmail from text messages (SMS), instant messaging (IM), email to Facebook messages. The system will combine messaging via mobile phones, email and chat messages to send to the recipients and they can reply to messages in any way. Facebook uses this project likea special strategy for competition generally on the Internet and particularly on social network. This time, there is notjust the war on email. Facebook seems want to dominate in every field. Facebook is a best place to share photos, surpassing all other services from Flickr, Picasa to Twitter even though its image quality is not high. Facebook members posted 250 million photos per day and this is the function most users use in the social network. Therefore, the Facebook pay billions for the application only works on iPhone and Android also is understandable. Moreover, they also developed a tool Facebook camera similar to Instagram. BUSINESS MODEL To understand why Google and Facebook abominate each other, it is necessary to study their business model. Facebook is now one of the largest social networks while Google is believed as the most powerful searching engine. Each tech titans have been reaping significant success in their domain. However, they both seem have the same main source of revenue is advertising. â€Å"Facebook has 901 million monthly active users (MAUs) as of March 31, 2012, an increase of 33% as compared to 680 million MAUs as of March 31, 2011. And 488 million MAUs used Facebook mobile products in March 2012†-Facebook Amended S1. With great numbers of users, people are deeply impressed by Facebook’s growth. Nevertheless, Google has crossed the 1 billion user mark, while Facebook is not far behind at 900 million however, users spend a far greater amount of time on Facebook per day, approximately 7 times higher. Top 10 Web Brand for August 2011 (U.S., Total) Rank| Brand| Total Internet Audience(thousand)| Time per Person (hh:mm:ss)| 1| Google | 176,235| 1:47:42| 2| Facebook| 163,163| 7:45:49*| 3| Yahoo| 149,072| 2:12:08| 4| MSN/WindowsLive/Bing| 134,410| 1:43:45| Read as: During August 2011, 176.2 million unique U.S. people visited Google’s websites(Source: Nielsen) In the term of valuation, after the most crucial event of Facebook’s timeline- IPO, going public, Facebook is known being in the position of Google’s 2003. The table below indicates the comparison between Google (GOOG) and Facebook (FB) in different categories such as revenue, revenue growth, operating income and gross margin as they are in the public day. That means for Google, its first quarter is when they were in Q3, while Facebook’s would be Q1 2010 As the table shows, the growth of both companies over the time is almost equivalent as Google 19% and Facebook 16%. If taking into the specific, Google growth rate is arguably more stable than its counterpart social network. The primary reason causing such deviation is that Google was well-established. The following chart will present that point more clearly Source: GOOG data YCHARTS In comparison, Facebook had a dramatic variable number and especially it was negative in the last quarter, Q9 with -6%.Probably, the company has not decided which its business model is yet (Husky Financial, Facebook vs Google: what you need to know post-IPO). Besides, the other factor affects a volatile Facebook’s development is the dependence in Zynga. There is 15% of Facebook revenue from Zynga (Forbes, By the numbers: Facebook investor checklist). According to the S1, â€Å"If Zynga does not maintain its level of engagement with our users or if we are unable to successfully maintain our relationship with Zynga, our financial results could be harmed†. The crucial income of two companies is generated from advertising. Google have recently proved their Google Adwords comes off well. Thousands of business could buy ads on Google and leads or sales with a proven positive ROI, return on investment. Advertising on Facebook shows much less convincing at this position. The stop in using Facebook’s ads is the forceful example. General Motors Co said on Tuesday (June 22) it will stop advertising on Facebook, even as the social networking website prepares to go public, with a source familiar with the matter saying the automaker had decided Facebooks ads had little impact on consumers (Reuters). When going to public in 2004, raising just under $2 billion with an initial market cap of le than $25 billion, less than a decade, Google is worth close to 10 times. The IPO gave needed capital to expand their business. This scenario maybe not actually happen to Facebook, according to the previously mention. CONCLUSION A famous Chinese quote â€Å"One mountain cannot have two tigers†. Thus, a social media site or a search engine site will gain a victory? It has not exactly answered yet. However, according to several surveys and analysis in previous parts, Google has more strengthened than Facebook for some reasons: 1. We have many reasons to access Google but only a few reasons to login in Facebook. Most of us go Facebook for chatting , sharing your thoughts , seeing new update , seeing who liked our status, and sharing from our friend or using some applications and playing games . We are busy at looking the updates rather than ads on Facebook. Nobody logins in Facebook to check or to search when they can buy a cheap T shirt or which books are famous, so on. On the other hand, Google is more useful than Facebook. We can search to know any information that we need such as which college is the best or which food is good for health. When we all open up Google for the above mentioned purposes we click on various ads and indirectly generate revenue for Google. The more we search information the more revenue we will generate for Google. 2. People use Facebook less than they used to be A recent survey showed that 34% of users spend less time for Facebook over half a year ago. They assumed that Facebook is boring, not useful, not related and not safe to keep personal information. 20% users spend more time for Facebook, 1/3 users now do not login in Facebook, and nearly 50% of users login in Facebook that stay the same. In addition, a survey from 31/5 to 4/6 /2012 with 1.036 people in America by Reuters and market research company Ipsos presented that most of 80% users never buy product or service on Facebook. As a result, many advertising companies are disappointed and do not want to advertise on facebook anymore. For example: Early 2011, Facebook earned $3.7 billion through advertising. In 2012, this revenue is slowing. In fact, General Motors has recently regained about 10 million investments for advertising on Facebook because it was not effective. 3. Facebook will be forgotten Eric Jackson, founder of Ironfire Capital, said that in 5 to 8 years, Facebook would disappear the same way Yahoo now. Although Yahoo is still making money, still profitable, still has 13 thousand employees, but Yahoo is just 10% in value compared with their peak in 2000. Basically, Yahoo! has been considered as disappeared. Whether Google or Facebook win, users also have benefit. Both companies are fighting to capture the heart of users worldwide. The competition gets its benefit because it can prevent monopoly situation. As long as the two companies keep on fighting, users will continue to gain benefits because the two companies will continue to improve, change, and figure out new features to attract users. For example: Currently, Google has extra the Google Plus to attract users and many other existent features such as YouTube, Feedburner, Chat, Analytics, and Docs. Facebook has the latest new Facebook Timeline feature. The competition between Google and Facebook is just at the beginning stage. We will be seeing more actions and tricks from both sides in future. As the main goal is to gather as many users as possible, both parties will take any necessary steps to capture users’ attention. In the future, users can get more benefit such as gifts, discounts, coupons, competition prize, lucky draws and many other events by just participating. Works Cited August 2011 Top US Web Brands. August 2011, Top US Web Brands. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2012. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/august-2011-top-us-web-brands. Facebook. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 June 2012. Web. 20 June 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook. Google Se Tao Ra Mang Xa Hoi Tot Hon Facebook. Http://www.pcworld.com.vn/articles/tin-tuc/tin-quoc-te/2010/08/1220500/google-se-tao-ra-mang-xa-hoi-tot-hon-facebook/. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2012. http://www.pcworld.com.vn/articles/tin-tuc/tin-quoc-te/2010/08/1220500/google-se-tao-ra-mang-xa-hoi-tot-hon-facebook/. Google vs. Facebook. Netchunks. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2012. http://www.netchunks.com/google-vs-facebook/. PGDE Scrapbook. Enter Website Address or Keywords to Cite. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2012. http://pgde.tumblr.com/post/3289734065/enter-website-address-or-keywords-to-cite. Và ¬ Sao Google Lai Ghet Va so Facebook. TGDT. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2012. http://genk.vn/c188n2011090408403182/vi-sao-google-lai-ghet-va-so-facebook.chn. â€Å" 1/3 ngÆ °Ã¡ » i dung Ä‘Ã £ â€Å"ngá º ¥y â€Å" Facebook†.vietnamnet.9 June 2012. Web . 14 June 2012. â€Å"Google vs. Facebook†. netchunks.18 May 2012. Web. 14 June 2012 . â€Å"The Competition Between Facebook and Google Which Might Benefits Users†. toasteggme.24 September 2011. Web. 14 June 2012. â€Å"Why Facebook still not equipped enough to compete with Google†.aryaninfo.n.d.Web. 14 June 2012. Husky Financial. Facebook Vs. Google: What You Need To Know Post-IPO Seeking Alpha. Facebook Vs. Google: What You Need To Know Post-IPO Seeking Alpha. Seeking Alpha, 17 May 2012. Web. 4 June 2012. http://seekingalpha.com/article/598731-facebook-vs-google-what-you-need-to-know-post-ipo. Klayman, Ben, and Alexei Oreskovic. GM to Drop Facebook Ads Due to Low Consumer Impact. Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 15 May 2012. Web. 4 June 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/15/net-us-gm-facebook-idUSBRE84E1D420120515. Nielsenwire. August 2011- Top US Web Brands. August 2011 Top US Web Brands. N.p., 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 20 June 2012. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/august-2011-top-us-web-brands. YChart. Google Price: 581.53. Google Price (GOOG). N.p., n.d. Web. 4 June 2012. http://ycharts.com/companies/GOOG/price. YCharts. By The Numbers:Facebook Investor Checklist. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 18

Rawls Notion of the Political and the Realism View

Rawls Notion of the Political and the Realism View Bree Dela Rosa   Rawls Political Concept and the View Associated with Realism Introduction John Rawls in his work sought to capitalize on the concept of justice; enabled by his exploration on The Theory of Justice. As discussed by Rawls, the bone of contention when it comes to the aspect of the truth is that; the principles of justice in the structural dimension of the society are the main guidelines.[1] Getting back to the main idea which is the political aspect, there is an intertwine between the concept of justice and the political aspect. Rawls noted that to attain an upper hand in the political arena; there is a collision with the discussed principles of justice.[2] On the liberties that the citizens of a particular country are endowed to; political independence is one of the same. Political freedom gives a citizen the right to participate in a voting exercise, and also, can be a participant in elective public positions.[3] Political liberty is one of the political reasons that the same citizens get to enjoy. Realism, as highlighted, is a phrase that enjoys a broad ra nge of definitions.[4] The different usage it has is in the various areas such as; art, moral philosophy, politics among others. It is important to note that realism involves adorning in a particular attitude towards the world, to focus on the most salient dimensions of a given situation, whether or not they conform to our preferences or desires.[5] Through the in-depth study of the film Glory, it shall be possible to determine the differences that exist between the political aspect and realism. The shared thoughts of Rawls opined that a society based on ideologies of politics is that where the citizens get to enjoy the outlined political liberties which are free from ambiguity.[6] All the people despite their political inclinations, races, sexual orientation or even religious affiliations are to enjoy these political rights. However, in the Edward Zwick-directed film Glory, this is not the case. There seemed to be some alienation when it came to the enjoyment of the liberties endowed to the citizens and especially those partaking in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.[7] All the soldiers and army personnel participating in the field were bound to receive their provisions and personal effects from their heads charged with that duty by the government. Robert Shaw in the film Glory unearthed that black soldiers were discriminated upon and even denied basic items such as the shoes. It is important to know that as determined by a particular author; realism is frequently employed as a term to describe approaches that focus on the sources, modalities, and effects of power.[8] Therefore, realism augurs easily with the various slots whether in leadership or the political arena. Besides, realism aligns to the realpolitik, which is a subject of both the military and political power and which finds unworthy the steps that would bring changes that ensure that there is progress on the global front.[9] In the film Glory, there are obvious stumbling blocks to the initiation of the changes that would provide the relative deduction of the racism menace and the ill treatment of the slaves. The federal government was itself, in fact, paying the black soldiers lesser amount compared to that given to the white soldiers.[10] The soldiers under the command of Shaw were being denied personal effects such as shoes due to their race. Some of these black soldiers who had joined the co mbat were former slaves. Despite having been soldiers for the primary purpose of participating in the battlefield, there was no awarding of black soldiers with a chance to do so. Instead, treatment as manual laborers was the order of the day. Another political notion offered by Rawls is that a society that is politically ideal is that in which there is some economic balance where those that are in socially unjust position are also able to live comfortably. This economic balance in a practical manner involves ensuring that the society is economically just where the haves and the have-nots get access to basic social amenities. In most communities, striking a balance in the distribution of resources among these two groups is considered a big challenge. The large gap existing evidences the situation between the wealthy and the have-nots. This gap between the rich and the have-nots continues to widen since the rich become richer while the poor become poorer. The disparity between the haves and the poor is because of the uneven sharing of resources. Among the needy in the society, there are fewer resources, and in other scenarios, these resources do not exist. The film Glory apparently pictures this kind of setup present in mos t communities. There is a major disparity in the economic resources at the disposal of the white soldiers and the black soldiers. Payments to the black soldiers are lesser than that of the white soldiers; where they get $10 in a month and their white counterparts receiving $13 during the same duration.[11] Also, the film depicts a picture where there is a subjection of harsh conditions on black soldiers. In totality, economic imbalance characterizes this society of members of the troops, which is the contrary of what Rawls advocated of a politically ideal society. Realism in the political angle as highlighted is not a new subject in general.[12] In a bid to make a comeback to the aspect of realism; one of the main areas eyed was the political philosophy and the normative political theory. Realism, in particular, is deeply entrenched in political philosophy.[13] In matters about the realism in political philosophy, it involves a roughly spoken manner. Besides that, its main area of interest is not in how people are supposed to act in an ideal or rational situation, what they are to vest their desires in or even the types of individuals they are meant to be. In fact, its primary interest is the operation of the social, economic or even political functions in a given community at a particular point in time. Another bestowed on the same is what moves members of this community to act in certain situations. There is a painting of this angle of realism in the film Glory. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry is the particular circumstances at a p articular point in time of the members of the soldiers fraternity. Operations of the social, economic and political functions of the community of the troops depict realism in political philosophy. Socially, the black soldiers were considered to be in a cluster different from their white counterparts. There is outright discrimination in the job description, overall treatment, and even remunerations. The treatment of the black soldiers in this quarter was a clear reflection of the reigning political era. Therefore, fuelling of these actions against the black soldiers was by the federal government and the political class inclusive. The political ideas that Rawls had differed from the real situation that was on the ground. In fact, there was an intriguing disparity between political compliance and the political reality.[14] These emerging differences are the ultimate case scenarios in most situations and the one provided by the film Glory is no different. Shaw aggressively campaigned for the proper treatment of the black soldiers that he was commanding. Despite his desire for a perfect situation for these black soldiers, this would not be the case as the reality was that there was a deep entrenchment of racism in this particular society. In conclusion, there are standing differences in the political notion that Rawlings sought to communicate and the aspect of realism. There was a significant evidence of these different points in the film Glory. These differences provide a stable ground for the Rawls political notion and realism both on an independent framework. Bibliography Bell, Duncan. 2008. Political Thought and International Relations Bird, Colin. Ethics and Analytical Political Philosophy Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; Elwes, Cary; Freeman, Morgan. Glory. Dir. Zwick, Edward. The United States. TriStar Pictures. 1998. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqr4OBF9B8fwe1WxcCTRARKM Philp, Mark. 2012.   Realism without Illusions. DOI: 10 1177/0090591712541723 Rawls, John. 1971. Justice as Fairness [1] Rawls, John. 1971. Justice as Fairness. Pg. 1 [2] Ibid, pg. 4 [3] Ibid, pg. 8 [4] Bell, Duncan. 2008. Political Thought and International Relations, pg. 1 [5] Ibid [6] Bird, Colin. Ethics and Analytical Political Philosophy. Pg. 22 [7] Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; Elwes, Cary; Freeman, Morgan. Glory. Dir. Zwick, Edward. The United States. TriStar Pictures. 1998. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqr4OBF9B8fwe1WxcCTRARKM [8]Bell, Duncan. pg. 1 [9] Ibid, pg. 2 [10] Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; n.p. [11] Ibid [12] Philp, Mark. 2012.   Realism without Illusions. pg. 2. DOI: 10 1177/0090591712541723 [13] Ibid, pg. 2 [14] Bird, Colin, pg. 22

Compliance of Nurses with personal protective equipment

Compliance of Nurses with personal protective equipment Introduction The identification of clients with infectious diseases through the clinical and laboratory assessment is Possible, but not always be effective. Because the most of infectious diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis and other, the Microorganisms needs to the incubation period before appearance the signs and symptoms of disease on the clients, however, the probability of transmission of infection are possible in these is period. Therefore, any patient should be regarded as a potential source of infection (Hinkin and Gammon, 2008). Use of personal protective equipment is very important to prevent infectious pathogens transmitted from patient to nurse and the versa is true. Furthermore, correctly select and use of personal protective equipment is very effective to prevent transmission of infection, in addition to reduce the risks of exposure for infectious agents (Hon et al 2008). However, the health environment filled with hazards and pathogens because of that nurses should be use effective ba rrier equipment to break down any probability to contamination by infectious agent (Hinkin and Gammon, 2008). The personal protective equipments in all contents aprons, gloves, gowns, eye protection (goggles, glasses), caps, laboratory coats, resuscitation bags and face shields/mask all of this and other, are use frequently in general care settings as very important part of standard precaution (Clark et al 2002; Pratt et al 2007). The standard precautions developed gradually from the universal precautions (Hinkin and Gammon, 2008), which began as prevention agent to prevent transmission of blood borne pathogens to healthcare workers (Wilson 2001). Standard precautions are evidence-based guidance designed to reduce incidence of healthcare associated infection and transmission of infections in healthcare environment (Pellow et al. 2004). Also all intervention and precautions must be applied by all healthcare workers to provide professional care and safety to all health worker and patients in health environment (Pratt et al. 2007). The Standard precautions it aim to prevent transmission of infection or at least reduce probability of transmission any infected pathogens to the lowest level between nurses and patients , also to protect the patients and healthcare workers at the same time by use standardized precautions such as personal protective equipments (Cullen et al, 2006). Damani (2003) did clarify the standard infection precautions guideline, health worker education are playing effective role to minimize major problems in the UK such as the antibiotic resistant and health care associated infections. Furthermore, the personal protective equipments as the important part of standard precautions and playing very effective role to prevent incident of healthcare associated infections, it was identified as one of the most common complications in the health care environment, recently which affects on approximately 10% of clients admitted to hospitals worldwide (Filetoth 2003), around 4-10% between hospitals in the developed countries (Nazarko 2008). Also the rate varies from 5-15% in the developing countries (Jarvis 2007). Globally, healthcare associated infections infect a patient every two minutes and the world loses one patient every two hours because of healthcare associated infections leading to non-compliance the healthcare workers with personal protective equipments use and anther standard precautions (Chief Medical Officers Report 2006). For instance, harbarth et al (2001) cleared the rate of hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers nearly 34%, and Golan et al (2006) cleared the compliance for hand hygiene before provide care nearly 10% and 36% after provide care. Therefore, some studies suggest that the use of MMS, images, videos and online education is very effective to education the health care workers and increased level of compliance and application of personal protective equipments during practice (Pullen 2006), such as Hon et al (2008) reported the rate of hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers post provide course when wear the personal protective equipment nearly 87% and 68% when taking off the personal protective equipments. The main infectious occupational risks in the healthcare environment such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Also There are some nurses more risk to transmit or received infection for or from patient such as staff nurses in surgical or operations department, because of he or she have high chances to direct contact with blood of patient and make many of specific procedures(Ganczak and Szych, 2007). Doebbeling et al (2003) did clarify the occupational blood exposure occurred frequently among the healthcare workers , also as stated in his study one-fourth to one-third of the respondents had injured by percutaneous blood exposure in the previous three months. Specifically, more than one-third of nursing had exposure more than one time to mucocutaneous blood in the previous three months. Also the exposure and injury rates to infection in health environment is vary differ according to the occupation, which depending on several factors such as the average of time spent in provide care for patient or treated of specimens, use of standard precautions during provide care, frequency use of certain devices and mostly never recapping needles. Gershon et al (1995) clarify the compliance rates among healthcare workers related for the eleven items of personal protective equipments, 97% compliance rate for gloves ; 95% for disposal of sharps; and also the compliance rate is low for others items such as 62% for wearing protective outer clothing and 63% for wearing eye protection. Therefore, Gershon et al find strongly relationship between the compliances of healthcare workers and several key factors such as perception of risk; and training on use the standard precautions as the personal protective equipments. Research questions and aims: What is the level of compliance of nursing with Personal protective equipments use? The aim for this question is to evaluate the level of compliance with Personal protective equipments use among Jordanian nurses during provides care for patients. Also to identify the level of compliance for each tool of personal protective equipments. What are the significant factors that lead to non-compliance with personal protection equipments use among Jordanian nurses during provides care? The aim for this question is to identify the significant factors that lead to non-compliance with personal protective equipments use during provides nursing care for patients. Almost all nursing interventions need to use personal protective equipment frequently during provide care for patients and especially when applying sterilizes nursing procedures for patients, Because of that this study aims to: 1-to identify mainly significant factors that led to non-compliance with personal protection equipment among Jordanian nurses during provides care. 2- To evaluate the level of compliance with Personal protective equipments use among Jordanian nurses during provides care for patients. 3- To enhance the safety for patients and caregivers in hospital in the same time. 4- To explore the gaps between knowledge and practice relater to personal protective equipments among Jordanian nursing. 5- To enhance apply the standard precautions guideline for personal protective equipments among nursing. 6- To prevent transmission of infection between the nurses and patients, also to minimise incident some of major problem in healthcare environments such as health care associated infection and antibiotic resistant. 7- To provide appropriate solutions and suggestions for these is factors. Rational of the methodology: This study was proposed to evaluate the level of compliance with Personal protective equipments use and identify the level of compliance for each tool among Jordanian nurses during provides care for patients. Also to explore the significant factors that leads to non-compliance with personal protection equipments use. However, for the above proposed research quantitative design shall be used. Quantitative researchers do not look to confirm a hypothesis, but looking forward to reject the hypothesis through the analysis of data and therefore development of statements through clarify of causal relationships (Phillips and Burbules, 2000). Moreover quantitative researches often start with a hypothesis related to phenomena to be tested and after the data are collected and analyses, support this is hypothesis or refute by clarify the relationship between the variables (Holt 2009). Furthermore, quantitative research is often used as a method trying to display causal relationships under controlled or standardized condition (Casebeer and Verhoef, 1997). Quantitative research is described as the numerical representation and processing of observations and data for the purpose of describing and explain phenomena and facts that those observations reflect. On the other hand the qualitative research is defined as the non-numerical representation and analysis of observations and data; for the purpose of determining underlying meanings and discovering the patterns of relationships (Babbie 1992). As a result the quantitative research is apply deductive approach (where data are especially collected for the purpose of hypotheses, analysis and testing ideas) rather than the qualitative research is apply inductive approach (develop the generalizations and ideas Through the data ) (Meadows 2003). Quantitative research is identified the science as objective fact or truth, different from quantitative research is identified the science depending on previous experience and thus subjectivity determined. Furthermore, quantitative research method is use numerical estimates and statistical analysis from a generalization sample related to a larger number of populations true (Casebeer and Verhoef, 1997). And thus the quantitative research involves experiments and surveys, where statistics and data are collected by using standardized methods such as structured interviews and questionnaires (Meadows 2003). On the other hand the qualitative research method is use narrative description and continual comparisons, are more often use to understand the specific sample or situations being studied (Casebeer and Verhoef, 1997). Quantitative research is an effective and necessary part of healthcare services researches; the most example of this is the controlled randomized experiment research, with its importance on experimentation and large size of sample. However, quantitative researches cover a wide broader spectrum of activity, which can contain some of small-scale descriptive studies, through to more specialization and complication studies by detect and explore the relationships between variables (Meadows 2003). Quantitative research used many of research designs for example experiments or surveys and correlational studies (Holt 2009). Also Robson (2002) classified the quantitative research to several types under the headings experimental design, quasi-experimental design and non-experimental design; however these designs sometimes are similar in several respects such as patterns of group behaviour, properties and tendencies. But meadows in (2003) classified the quantitative research strategies to two designs experimental and non-experimental designs. Also the experimental designs are characterized by the introduction or management of some variable for example randomized control trials (RCT) (Lanoe 2007). But in the non experimental designs the data are get from existing groups, for example (relational design) to consider at the relationship between a number of variables such as the scores on a pain or depression scale and age; (descriptive design) to identify the frequency and type of probl em in a specific group; (analytical design) to determination why a specific group is affected although the another is not (Meadows 2003). The qualitative studies are more complicated for generalization than the quantitative studies and more controversial. Therefore, Researchers in quantitative research rarely worry for generalizability issue. Also the goal of most qualitative studies is to present a rich of study, contextualized and considerate of human experience through the concentrated study of particular cases (Polit and Beck, 2010). Related to my aim from this is study the quantitative design is more appropriate than qualitative design. However, the designs of quantitative research are serves the proposed aims for these is study. In addition this study when looking forward to identify the relationship between the nursing compliance and personal protective equipments, identify frequency of non-compliance of nursing for the personal protective equipments and to determine which personal protective equipments more compliance and another are less compliance. And also after analyse the data will be able to identify the significant factors that lead to non-compliance with personal protective equipments use among the nursing. it was consider that the literature review could put in the picture the select of methodology and method for this study and also according to the objectives and aims of this study; in addition, this study looking forward to analysis of collected data from a largest size of sample from nurses through survey design. Thus quantitative design approach would be the most excellent approach to achieve my aims and objectives. Research methodologies: Qualitative methods The most three data collection methods common in qualitative research are interview participant observation and focus group discussions. Firstly, participant observation method the data collection in this method when the researcher watching interactions and acts of participants in a natural situation. Also perhaps the researcher has a role or task in the observation site in addition for his observation role (Greenhalgh and Taylor, 1997). Thus involve on the researcher use some of data collection techniques for example observation, interviewing and self-analysis and reflection. In addition the participant observation is aim to create a completely and specifically description of social interaction in a natural situation (Astin and Long, 2009). Also the researcher has more control on the participants especially about credibility issue and more aware about the less tangible aspects for example apathy and good will. But the participant observation the researcher might have complexity to making observe if involved in the location and recording data especially if working in busy situation such as hospital, the researcher los t the accuracy of observation if the participants might see the researcher make spying or threat (Lanoe 2007). In addition the participant observation techniques put the researcher under some particular pressure and ethical challenges (Astin and Long, 2009). Secondly, interview method is defined as the interaction and effective conversation between the researcher and participant and usually is in the form face-to-face in a natural location such as participants home or workplace (Astin and Long, 2009). Moreover the interview can give the interviewee and researcher more flexibility to express opinions, views and make dissection. But the researchers need to have communication skills of interview; Long time to collect data; difficulty in recording, analysing and coding the information; and the interviews non-confidential are not anonymous (Lanoe 2007). Quantitative methods: The most common methods to collect data in quantitative researches is the survey, which approximately always uses questionnaires, structured interviews (face-to-face or telephone), or tests and scales (Meadows 2003). Firstly, structured interview method the researcher an interviewer poses his questions exactly the same question in the same way and order on the respondent and also gives the opportunity for the researcher to filling out the answers of questionnaire (Holt 2009). But the researcher will be exposed to the same problems that face in any interview such as need to have communication skills of interview, long time to collect data and analysis, in addition difficulty to find appropriate place and time of interview especially with nurses are working in hospital (Lanoe 2007). Secondly, it was consider that the literature review could put in the picture the select of method for this study. Also and according to the objectives and aims of this study, questionnaires method approach would be the best approach to achieve the objectives and aims of this study. Questionnaires are a most method of data collection in quantitative design, also characterized mostly as relatively inexpensive; can be cover large numbers of sample by given to several participant at the same time; allow the participant a degree of privacy and answered anonymously, Therefore the participants might be more truthful. However, some famous questionnaires dont require users to get a licence from the author for use (Holt 2009). Also the questionnaires method characterized by more easier to analyse and code of data and. In addition more effectively for time to respondents and researchers especially if the respondent as the nurses working in busy area (Lanoe 2007). Nieswiadomy (2008) summarized the importance of questionnaire method by ability to provide good accurate data on population, using relatively small size of samples. In addition the advantage of questionnaire researcher can obtained large amount of data, quickly and less cost. Although, the questionnaires method needs effort to preparation and perhaps time to test validity and reliability, also some persons do not like forms. Moreover, the most limitation of questionnaire is the type of information obtained (Nieswiadomy 2008), because of some respondents might be answer casually do not bothering about their answers or trying to provide the correct answer, although the researcher cannot ask the respondent to clarification their answers (Lanoe 2007). Literature review: The purpose of the literature review is to explore and clarify the recently study, knowledge, standardise precautions guideline and theory on the compliance of nurses with personal protective equipments use, in other hand to clarify the significant factors that lead to non-compliance for it among nurses. Moreover it was considered that the literature review would inform the select of most appropriate research design and method for this study. The literature search for this study which will be using computerized databases by Athens log-in: Medline, CINAHL, Ovid, SAGE, Cochrane Database and the Evidence-Based Medicine. In addition, specific online journals as in Science Direct journal, Medscape Nurses, Medpulse Journal, BioMed central articles, Journal of advanced Nursing, BMJ Journals. Furthermore, have been limited set for each data base: date range between1996-2010, related for nursing, full text articles and journals. To provide the recently studies, information and researchers on the compliances of nurses with personal protective equipments ; and to grow deeper in topic of this study more analytically and Informatics, in addition to devise the best methods used for the same of this study; read and analyse some of the used questionnaires, and perhaps use one of their. Additional reviewing included the WHO, NHS, Jordanian Ministry of Health, and Jordanian Nursing and Midwife Council. A manual search also undertaken by examining the reference list at the end of the articles found and those that were relevant were followed through. So as to get at the latest statistics and numerical and ratio analysis to benefit of their in this study, accordingly, building of some comparative studies and explore some of the causal relations between the personal protective equipment tools and the compliances of nursing and in addition to clarify the significant factors that led to non-compliances with personal protective equipments and support that by statistically rates. Also and one of literature review strategy is critically read and analyse for text books references about nursing research, standard precaution, personal protective equipment and nursing guideline. The key words used were Nursing Personal protective equipment, Standard precaution, Nursing safety, Qualitative and quantitative research, qualitative research, quantitative research, Nursing compliance, guideline, Jordanian nursing, Knowledge, practice, attitude According to the topic, formulated questions, objectives and aims of this study the literature review clarify the picture about select of methodology and method for this study and also after the literature review has been seen on some of the questionnaires used in the same study and how collected and what the questions that used in the questionnaires. In addition, identify the most significant factors effect on the compliances of healthcare workers with personal protective equipments use.

Rates of Reaction - Sodium Thiosulphate and Hydrochloric acid Essay

Rates of Reaction - Sodium Thiosulphate and Hydrochloric acid In this piece of coursework, I will study how concentration affects the rate of reaction. I will do so by timing the reaction of Sodium Thiosulphate with an acid. In this coursework, I will include background knowledge, prediction, safety, results, calculations, graphs, an analysis, conclusion and an evaluation. In my evaluation I will comment on how reliable my results were and how I could have improved my coursework in any possible way. The definition of rate of reaction is ‘The speed at which a chemical reaction takes place’. The factors that affect the rate of reaction are:  · Use of a catalyst  · Temperature  · Surface area  · Concentration I will be investigating Concentration in this experiment. In a higher concentration there are more Sodium Thiosulphate particles. This means there is a higher number of collisions which will have enough energy to react. This causes the rate to increase. The time it takes for a change to take place can be measured and can be estimated. For a reaction to take place 2 reactants must collide and the collision must have enough energy. Prediction I predict that as the concentration of the Sodium Thiosulphate increases the rate of reaction will increase. This can be proved by relating to the collision theory. I predict that as concentration is increased the amount of time taken for the reaction is halved. Safety Issues There are many safety issues that need to be considered while doing this experiment. These include:  · Wearing safety goggles at all times. If acids or any other chemicals are spilt, they would cause serious damage to the skin and eyes.  · Ties and long hair should be kept away from the experiment.  · If an accident ... ... my evidence of this experiment is reliable because I did it with precision and carried it out carefully. I thought that I might have some anomalies but there were not any. I can prove this by using my prediction earlier in the experiment. I said that â€Å"as concentration is increased the amount of time taken for the reaction is halved.† I would have been perfectly right but I made a mistake while measuring. To improve my results, I would use a wider range of concentration and different acid solutions. This would help me to find a pattern and come to a firm conclusion. Overall I think that this experiment was a success as I have proved that concentration does affect rate, and I have also found that when the concentration is doubled the rate of reaction is halved. To draw a firm conclusion I would need to get more results, less inaccuracies and better measuring methods.

Heraclitus - Permanent Flux :: essays research papers

Permanent Flux It is said that every great journey begins with one step. This is not true. A more accurate saying would be, â€Å"every great journey begins with the idea of the journey†, thus leading to the idea of the step, and so on. The steps will surly follow an idea, but nevertheless the ideas will always precede any action. Once one gets an idea in one’s head, one must either forget it, or act on it. Such as the case with the first Philosophers, known now as the Pre-Socratics. The Pre-Socratics, which started around 600 B.C.E., formed ideas of a journey to enlightenment of their society. Instead of dismissing this idea, they thrived off it and took the first steps toward teaching an entirely new way of thinking. These first thinkers of philosophy, which has an appropriate meaning of the love of wisdom, wanted to know more about life, earth, the stars and most importantly, the â€Å"being† of it all. Though not the first of the original thinkers, Heraclitus of Ephesus, wa s among this group of lovers of wisdom and revolutionized the world with his idea of â€Å"being† and allowed mankind to follow in his steps. The Pre-Socratics are known for creating philosophy by searching for a rational order to their world and their being. Prior to the philosophers, man simply accepted the mythological stories and supernatural concepts. The philosophers, however, approached questions to by observing their surroundings. This was the world they could touch and feel, therefore making it an ideal foundation to their quires. The first of the Pre-Socratics examined the natural world and assumed the â€Å"stuff† that made all things â€Å"be† came from the natural surroundings around them. For example, by an early scientific and rational approach, the Pre-Socratics took the four elements of the world, as they knew them to be (water, air, earth, and fire), and studied them. Some deduced water to be the â€Å"stuff†, while others looked to air, or the earth to answers their zealous questions of being. Heraclitus, on the other hand, found a unity in all the elements, and related â€Å"beingà ¢â‚¬  to â€Å"fire†. His reference to fire, however, is purely metaphorical. While his predecessors focused on the actual elements they felt were the â€Å"stuff† that made the existence of being, Heraclitus’ only focused on fire to demonstrate his metaphysical concept of constant flux. Heraclitus is noted for saying, â€Å"there is nothing permanent except change.

Forecasting Hotel Arrivals and Occupancy

Abstract Forecasting hotel arrivals and occupancy is an important component in hotel revenue management systems. In this paper we propose time series approach for the arrivals and occupancy forecasting problem. In this approach we simulate the hotel reservations process forward in time. A key step for the faithful emulation of the reservations process is the accurate estimation of its parameters. We propose an approach for the estimation of these parameters from the historical data. We considered as a case study the problem of forecasting room demand for the Ganjali Plaza Hotel, Baku, Azerbaijan.The proposed model gives satisfactory result. 1. Introduction Forecasting in the hotel industry is very useful for estimating or calculating a variety of factors that can assist management in strategic decision making. Given the perishable nature of tourism services, there exists an important need to obtain accurate forecasts of future business activity (Archer, 1987; Athiyaman & Robertso n, 1992). Certainly, forecasting plays a crucial role in tourism planning both in the short and the long run. However, from a merely practical point of view, tourism industry is much more interested in getting good predictions in the short-term.Needs in the hospitality, transport and accommodation sectors have become more short-term in focus, and they can change rapidly with changing market demand. Therefore, increasing the accuracy of short-term forecasts is an essential requirement to improve the managerial, operational, and tactical decision-making process especially in the private sector. Because of the large number of existing hotels, any possible improvement in the methodology will amount to potentially very large overall savings. In recent years there has been rapid growth in the inflow of tourists to Azerbaijan.Declaring 2011 the Year of Tourism in the country has opened up new opportunities for further development in this field. In a modernizing Azerbaijan construction of h otel complexes, a high level of service has become widespread. The number of hotels in Azerbaijan is growing every year as the number of foreign tourists visiting the country. In 2002, the country had 70 hotels and hotel complexes, and visiting tourists were just over 800 thousand, now number over 500 hotels, and tourists – more than half a million. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism 40 new hotels is currently under construction in Azerbaijan.Today, the hotel fund of the republic consists of 31 thousand places against 9000 in 2002. As a result of the state program of tourism development up to 2016 capacity of hotels and recreation areas should be increased to 150 thousand. At the present time in Baku, mainly the business -and congress tourism is developed, which participants are only five-star hotels. Therefore in Baku there is a lack of hotels class â€Å"three or four† stars with reasonable prices and good service. Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Aze rbaijan is preparing a special offer for construction in the city hotels of different categories.There are currently functioning in Azerbaijan 499 hotels and hotel-type facilities. 312 of them operate on the basis of licenses issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and 187 – is illegal. Overall, about 80 hotels and facilities for recreation in the country have received the category of â€Å"star†. Today in Azerbaijan exist 17 five-star hotels, 13 of them – in Baku. 34 four-star hotels, 21 of which are located in Baku, the rest – in the regions. Of the 27 three-star hotel 18 is also located in Baku. In addition the republic has 6 two-star hotels.From five-star hotels the most popular are The Boutique Palace Hotel, Hilton Baku, Excelsior Hotel Baku, Grand Hotel Europe Baku, Palace Hotel Baku and others, among four-star hotels – The Ganjali Plaza Hotel, Riviera Hotel Baku, Austin Hotel Baku, Ramada Baku, Hyatt Regency Baku, etc. , three-star ho tels – Sea Port Hotel, Sun Rise Hotel Baku, Metropol the Hotel, Azcot Hotel, two-star hotels – Baku Palace Guesthouse, Baleva, Royal Guest House Baku, and finally one star hotel – Nur-2 hotel. So as we conduct research based on data about The Ganjali Plaza Hotel, should review it further.In 2008 industrial – commercial company â€Å"Ganjali † completed and put into operation the hotel â€Å"Ganjali Plaza. † The hotel is centrally located opposite the boulevard, within walking distance of the city's attractions and shops. The area of 4000 sqm hotel. An eight-story building with elevators there is. The hotel Ganjali Plaza handed comfortable accommodation to services of lodgers. This 4-star hotel is located in Baku city centre, a 10-minute walk from the Old Town district and the Heydar Aliyev Palace. The Ganjali Plaza Baku offers free Wi-Fi and elegant interiors.The classic-style rooms at the Ganjali Plaza Hotel feature stylish wooden furniture and floors. All rooms are air-conditioned and include satellite TV and a private bathroom with bath. Breakfast is provided each morning at the Ganjali Plaza. Guests are also welcome to relax in the bar with its rich wooden and glass furnishings, or in the fitness room. Reception at the Ganjali Plaza is open 24/7, and includes a tour desk and ticket service. Shuttle services and car rental are also available. We considered as a case study the problem of forecasting room demand for Ganjali Hotel, Baku, Azerbaijan. . Methodology In this topic the data set is discussed and the time series models used in this study are briefly explained. The data set Figure 1: The time series plot of the monthly guest arrivals data from January 2011 to December 2011. The time series plot from January 2011 to December 2011 consisting of a total of 12 monthly observations is shown in Figure 1. From the plot, it is clear that tourist arrivals has generally increased and decreased time by time and obviously it is not a stationary time series. There also appears to have some sort of seasonal pattern in it.There are also some unexpected dips and some events may have contributed to a drop in guest arrivals at these points of time. 3. 1. Time series In statistics, signal processing, econometrics and mathematical finance, a  time series  is a sequence of  data points, measured at successive times. Time series  analysis comprises methods for analyzing time series data in order to extract meaningful statistics and other characteristics of the data. Time series forecasting  is the use of a  model  to predict future values based on previously observed values.Time series are very frequently plotted via  line charts. In  evenly spaced  time series, the time intervals between data points are all equal, while in  unevenly spaced  time series the intervals differ. Time series data have a natural temporal ordering. This makes time series analysis distinct from other common da ta analysis problems, in which there is no natural ordering of the observations. A time series model will generally reflect the fact that observations close together in time will be more closely related than observations further apart.In addition, time series models will often make use of the natural one-way ordering of time so that values for a given period will be expressed as deriving in some way from past values, rather than from future values. Time-Series Behaviors * Trend * Seasonality * Cycles * Irregular variations * Random variation * Trend Trend A long-term upward or downward movement in data. * Population shifts * Changing income Seasonality Short-term, fairly regular variations related to the calendar or time of day. Restaurants, service call centers, and theaters all experience seasonal demand CycleWavelike variations lasting more than one year. These are often related to a variety of economic, political, or even agricultural conditions Random Variation Residual variati on that remains after all other behaviors have been accounted for Irregular variation Due to unusual circumstances that do not reflect typical behavior * Labor strike * Weather event 3. 2. Time-Series Forecasting – Averaging These Techniques work best when a series tends to vary about an average. Averaging techniques smooth variations in the data They can handle step changes or gradual changes in the level of a series Techniques: Moving average * Weighted moving average * Exponential smoothing Later I will give a brief overview of techniques used in this study in the rich and rapidly growing field of time series modeling and analysis. 3. 3. Moving Average or Smoothing Techniques Inherent in the collection of data taken over time is some form of random variation. There exist methods for reducing of canceling the effect due to random variation. An often-used technique in industry is â€Å"smoothing†. This technique, when properly applied, reveals more clearly the underly ing trend, seasonal and cyclic components.There are two distinct groups of smoothing methods †¢Averaging Methods †¢Exponential Smoothing Methods Exponential Smoothing is a very popular scheme to produce a smoothed Time Series. Whereas in Single Moving Averages the past observations are weighted equally, Exponential Smoothing assigns exponentially decreasing weights as the observation get older. In other words, recent observations are given relatively more weight in forecasting than the older observations. In the case of moving averages, the weights assigned to the observations are the same and are equal to 1/N.In exponential smoothing, however, there are one or more smoothing parameters to be determined (or estimated) and these choices determine the weights assigned to the observations. 3. The Ganjali Plaza Hotel Case Study We applied the proposed forecasting model to the problem of forecasting the arrivals and the occupancy of the Ganjali Plaza Hotel, Baku, Azerbaijan, as a detailed case study. In collaboration with the hotel, we apply our proposed forecasting model to the hotel’s data. The Hotel Data We have applied the proposed forecasting model on this data of the Ganjali Plaza Hotel. 2011 months| Occupancy(Person)| jan| 137| feb| 108| ar| 186| apr| 117| may| 104| jun| 143| jul| 149| aug| 157| sep| 166| oct| 142| nov| 129| dec| 130| Table1. The Ganjali Plaza Hotel monthly guest arrivals data from January 2011 to December 2011. We have obtained a full set of data covering the period from jan-2011 until dec-2011. The set of the data include only the reservations. We forecast a month ahead using the last twelve months of the data. In next section we present the results of our study. 4. 4. Results Figure2. shows the moving average model for the case of one month forecasting. Figure2. The Ganjali Plaza Hotel occupancy forecast for January 2012 using Moving Average method. 011 year| occupancy(person)| Moving Average| Standard deviation| jan| 137 | #N/A| #N/A| feb| 108| #N/A| #N/A| mar| 186| 143. 6666667| #N/A| apr| 117| 137| #N/A| may| 104| 135. 6666667| 32. 63377028| jun| 143| 121. 3333333| 24. 98147462| jul| 149| 132| 24. 22961151| aug| 157| 149. 6666667| 16. 45420131| sep| 166| 157. 3333333| 11. 8023852| oct| 142| 155| 9. 964752696| nov| 129| 145. 6666667| 13. 189502| dec| 130| 133. 6666667| 12. 3857744| jan| | 129. 5| 9. 852617625| Table2. The Ganjali Plaza Hotel occupancy forecast for January 2012 using Moving Average method. Spreadsheet Showing Results Using n = 3.Figure3. represents the exponential smoothing model for the case of one month forecasting. Figure3. The Ganjali Plaza Hotel occupancy forecast for January 2012 using Exponential Smoothing method. 2011 year| occupancy(person)| Exponential Smoothing| jan| 137| #N/A| #N/A| feb| 108| 137| #N/A| mar| 186| 125. 4| #N/A| apr| 117| 149. 64| #N/A| may| 104| 136. 584| 43. 12280758| jun| 143| 123. 5504| 43. 96758903| jul| 149| 131. 33024| 28. 89852128| aug| 157| 138. 3 98144| 24. 16763962| sep| 166| 145. 8388864| 18. 58795672| oct| 142| 153. 9033318| 18. 83896641| nov| 129| 149. 1419991| 17. 6449977| dec| 130| 141. 0851995| 17. 83124541| jan| | 136. 6511197| 14. 94736414| | | | | damping factor=0. 6| Table3. The Ganjali Plaza Hotel occupancy forecast for January 2012 using Exponential Smoothing method. Spreadsheet Showing Results Using w = 0. 4(damping factor=1-w=0. 6). 4. Conclusion In this paper we have proposed model for hotel arrivals and occupancy forecasting using time series method. We considered as a case study the Ganjali Plaza Hotel of Baku, Azerbaijan. The proposed forecasting model achieves good forecasting accuracy and beats other competing forecasting models.In other words, it estimates the whole picture of what will happen in the future for all processes, and in a probabilistic way. Table 1. and Figure1. show the different seasonal periods for the Ganjali Plaza Hotel, as determined by the managers. We used these data to determine th e forecast for January 2012 occupancy rate. For this purpose we implemented two techniques of time series methodology such as exponential smoothing and moving average method. References 1. Brockwell, P. J. and Davis, R. A. (2002), Introduction To Time Series And Forecasting, 2nd Edition, Springer-Verlag, New York. 2.Andrawis, R. , Atiya, A. F. , 2009. A new Bayesian formulation for Holt’s exponential smoothing. Journal of Forecasting 28, 218–234. 3. Andrew, W. , Cranage, D. , Lee, C. , 1990. Forecasting hotel occupancy rates with time series models: an empirical analysis. Hospitality Research Jour- nal 14, 173–181. 4. Chow, W. S. , Shyu, J. -C. , Wang, K. -C. , 1998. Developing a forecast sys- tem for hotel occupancy rate using integrated ARIMA models. Journal of International Hospitality, Leisure Tourism Management 1, 55–80. 5. Franses, P. H. , 1998. Time Series Models for Business and Economic Fore- casting.Cambridge University Press. 6. Gardner, E. S. , 2006. Exponential smoothing: The state of the art Part II. International Journal of Forecasting 22, 637–666. 7. Hyndman, R. J. , Koehler, A. B. , Ord, J. K. , 2008. Forecasting with Exponen- tial Smoothing: The State Space Approach. Springer Series in Statistics. 8. Kimes, S. E. , 1999. Group forecasting accuracy for hotels. Journal of the Operational Research Society 50, 1104–1110. 9. Weatherford, L. R. , Kimes, S. E. , January 2003. A comparison of forecasting methods for hotel revenue management. International Journal of Forecast- ing 99 (19), 401–415.

The Soundtrack of Your Life

Music is a key factor in my life, now and has been for as long as I remember. Music is one thing that can control my mood and emotions unlike any other. The sounds and melodies of the composition have the potential to sway my moods from a dark gloomy state all the way to a joyous and soothing harmonic atmosphere. Music allows me to control how and what I want to be, or represent. Music is almost like picking out a favorite outfit. When one picks out an outfit to wear they most likely pick an outfit that expresses them and how they are feeling at that direct moment. They have the ability to change shoes, accessories, or their hairstyle to make it appealing to their particular desires, just as one has the will to change a song on their ipod, or flip the channel on a local radio station. Recently, my life has been undergoing many changes. I am now starting to apply myself in a way that allows me to develop my potential and show forth the results as an outcome of the pursuance of fulfilling my aspirations. More than ever now I am starting to realize that â€Å"you get out of life what you put in†. Life is dependent only on â€Å"what you bring to the table†. If one tends to put in minimal effort then one should not expect to experience a great aftermath. I have chosen three songs that apply to my life right now in the stance that I am currently in. Its ironic that all of these songs are from different genres, songwriters, and generations but, they somehow tie into my life perfectly. The main theme of the â€Å"soundtrack of my life† is â€Å"overcoming obstacles and changing that are essential to the growth and the perseverance of an individual†. Natasha Bedingfield’s song â€Å"Unwritten† has made quite an impact on me. When I first heard the song all I could really say is â€Å"wow†. This song made me feel empowered in a sense and I felt inspired to go out, make a difference and do something great. She explains how the world is offered to you and that it’s up to you to decide not only your fate but your destiny and how your life will end up. She states â€Å"I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined, I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned†. By reading these lyrics and interpreting them more as a poem I realized the true and pure essence of this lyrical stanza. I believe the message of this is to convey that although we’re taught certain things as simple as proper etiquette and how to act, that doesn’t define us. It’s almost as if the writer is referring to herself as anonymous, as if she doesn’t really know herself but, in the process is trying to reveal and create herself transforming from a nonentity into a being with an individual personality, demeanor, and identity whether she knows where she’ll end up or not. This line can apply hugely to my life. I am 17 now and as a child we were all conditioned and taught to behave in a certain manner. Now that I am older I feel as if I can speak for myself and in a sense â€Å"reincarnate or change† myself into what I want to be instead of what my parents have taught me. I think that being a child one doesn’t always really know who they are other than what they are told that they are. I still don’t know exactly who and what I am but, being in this position I feel as if I can create a new identity with myself without having to know exactly where and how I will end up. This songs main message was not only that â€Å"you are who you say you are to be† but also that â€Å"perseverance is a choice that we all have to take advantage of to prosper on our own terms. Miley Cyrus’ song â€Å"The Climb† is a basic analogy of my life as a whole. She states that through life anything worth having is going to take some struggle and hard work if its something that one truly wants to be successful at or accomplish. Though, her lines in her song are very simple they are simple enough in nature to strike with a hard meaning. Miley states â€Å"the struggles I'm facing, the chance I'm taking, sometimes might knock me down, but no, I'm not breaking. † These effortless lines may seem juvenile but are very mature and take a leading stance in my life. I am transitioning from the mind of a child into an adult. I might not necessarily make the right decisions all the times or the best moves but, I never give up on my ending goal, which is to be just a more wholesome and better person. I realize that â€Å"there's always gonna be another mountain, I'm always gonna wanna make it move, always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I'm gonna have to lose, ain't about how fast I get there, ain't about what's waiting on the other side, it's the climb. Miley Cyrus has never stated my life in general in a better way. This song can be considered the epitome of how I live and the thesis for this paper alone. Finally, I would like to introduce the classic song off of the movie â€Å"Space Jam† that has respectively impacted my life. This song simply is real and to me defies the essential steps in creating growth in myself. This song teaches that one must be able to see and visualize themselves in an instance in order to â€Å"touch the sky† or in other words overcome an obstacle that would once never be thought of or made possible. This song is none other than the 1996 billboard topping hit of â€Å"I Believe I can Fly† by R. Kelly. Kelly sings confidently â€Å"see I was on the verge of breaking down, sometimes silence can seem so loud, there are miracles in life I must achieve, but first I know it starts inside of me, oh, if I can see it, then I can be it. † Through my conquest of life I have had times where faith has been broken and when all seems to fail my life has just spiraled out of control. This song is like a â€Å"pick me up, and booster† to reassure that in the end all will be well if you just let go and believe wholeheartedly that things will work out for you. This also means that staying positive is key to a change that you are wanting to see in yourself but, essentially you have to be proactive and press on to change and develop yourself into the idol that you have created in you mind for yourself. In the end the soundtracks of my life are austerely defined as â€Å"overcoming obstacles and changing essentially to the growth and the perseverance of an individual†. If anything I think that I am drawn to these songs because of the messages that they bring. It’s not the catchy beats, the talented artist, the flashy music videos, or the encoded messages that draw my attention forth but rather what the song has to offer to me in such a plain way. In considering things as far as the music that I listen to I am very eclectic. If the track can provide me with insight, motivation, or reality of life then I most likely will be listening to it. It’s not so much of what we are listening to but, more so why we are listening and engaging in an artistic piece of music.