Evolution and Ambiguous Communication Essay -- Biology Essays Research

Throughout the debate concerning evolution, I have noted the relative precision or imprecision of various methods of human communication. From the connotations of fact words to the emotion incited by a distinct music phrase, it is often surprising which human forms of expression are ambiguous and which seem to be universal. When considering this phenomenon, it is by chance useful to construct a method for discussing the relative accuracy of communicating exactly what we mean when we use various ways to say it.From an evolutionary standpoint, it is applicable to our discussion to ask whether meaning(thought) pushed language into existence, or whether it was language that originated meaning. If the first is true, because mediums such as art and music are truly a return of our desire to communicate meaning in a direct sense. The meaning to be communicated first forms itself in the creators head in some wordless nebula, and then consequently find release directly onto the painters c anvas, or the musical phrase. Hence, once the creation is added to the realm of world attention, and observers begin to interact with the creation, the meaning of the piece go out undergo some other translation into words as observers start to describe and recount their interaction. Only after the original meaning has traveled from the artists mind, into a creation, and into the observers mind, allow it have its first confrontation with language. However, if language itself created meaning, then we must understand art to be an interpretation of spoken or unspoken language a second generation product of the human desire to communicate with self or others. This is the viewpoint endorsed by Dennett in Darwins unreliable Idea, as he states the lang... ... that the intellect of the original is created by the copies, and that the original is always deferred never to be grasped. (Culler 12). This theory can be (and was originally) applied to one of the modes of human communication t hat is considered to be among the about precise written language. But does this theory mean that we as humans have no hope of ever communicating exactly what it is we mean to another? Perhaps there is no hope of this, and that is why, in some more ambiguous forms of our communication, we have ceased to hope for it and admitted defeat on that front but in doing so, we found a new realm of significance in the variety of interpretation. Works Cited1)Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. New York, NY, 1997. 2)Dennett, Daniel C. Darwins Dangerous Idea. Touchstone New York, NY, 1995.

The Butcher Shop Essay examples -- Personal Narrative, Descriptive, Ob

Around noon on Thursday, my roommate and I walked drearily to the local slaughterhouse, or abattoir, where we would see a pig slaughter. The building we arrived at looked eerie on the schools campus. The abattoir stood alone, next to the bullpen and at the end of a dirt road. We walked in and a female student greeted us and told us to put on an apron, a hairnet, and a hardhat. The room smelled of warm blood. There were five people in yellow aprons and white hardhats amiably working together butchering a pig, which was currently hanging by its feet, bleeding from its neck. I felt disappointed when I realized we were late, and had missed the pigs death. I felt my stomach jump into my throat as my visual and nasal senses were overcome with blood. Having been bled, the pig was get down into a large basin full of urine heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Unconscious, the pig didnt scream or move as it was lowered into the scalding water. The boil bath l oosens up the pigs hair and nails, which are removed before the pig is butchered. After the bath, two butchers used levers to heave the pig from the water onto the Cincinnation. Resting on the wedge above a giant egg-beater on its side, the pig upon the Cincinnation was the most surreal part of the process. The pig spun around awkwardly and violently art object the amiable fore creation sprayed it with a high pressure hose causing chunks of pig hair to fly through the air. Stepping away from the jettisoning hair clumps, yet not taking our eyes off of the spinning pig, the whole room seemed to shrink as our focus did upon the pig. My stomachs queasiness was slowly subsiding as the pig was taken off of the menacing Cincinnation and ont... ...he pig. After passing inspection, the workers in yellow aprons moved the carcass into a huge refrigerator. Inside an amiable man told us all approximately Cal Poly meat. The meat produced on campus is choice meat, sold at a g ood price right here in a building next to campus market. The animals on campus are all used for butcher, sale, or research. He had more work to do, but told us he could talk about their work all day. Having witnessed what goes on to provide us our meat, I felt even more comfortable with what I eat. The camaraderie amongst the butchers extended towards all wrong the room . Seeing people work on something that means so much to them with such passion was as much of a rare commence as seeing pigs slaughtered. The butchers confidence and excitement made for an unforgettable spectacle, visually stimulating and oddly heart-warming.

Symbolic Interactionism Essay -- Sociological Perspective Sociology Es

Symbolic InteractionismOn the surface, sociology is the study of society and human manner yet looking deeper, it is the study of earthly concern in groups and how they interact withone another. Sociologists look at these groups by means of the sociological perspective. This involves looking at a certain behavior alike it has neer been looked at it before. When done right one can come to a deeper level of understanding round behavior. Using your sociological imagination you ar satisfactory conceptualize how a persons macro level, which consists of the larger aspects of life such as family and government, and their micro level, (which is the individual itself) combine in order work out the person they are. Using my sociological imagination I decided to observe the library through the use of symbolic interactionism, one of four sociological perspectives. The others include are the conflict theory, ethno methodology, feminism and structural functionalist. Symbolic interactionism tends to observe things by paying full attention to the micro level of sociology. Instead of focusing on broader aspects you look at things depending upon the individual and their interactions in society. by the use of symbols we are able to assign meaning to sight and things and then develop our own interpretations of those symbols.The library, like many symbols signifies silence, thought and work. You would not walk into a library expecting to be served drinks, and to see multitude dancing on bookshelves. The library evokes an image of peacefulness, in which people are diligently working yet a closer examination reveals the not so serene value of a library visit.The Saint Michaels Library is not a mystery it is like every other library in which I have even been. There are lot of books, computers and places for people to do work. There are round tables, square tables, rectangular tables, titled tables and flat tables. There are cubicles and small individual directions know as masturbation closets. The layout of the library is pretty standard and doesnt need much explaining. There are three floors. The basement had one small room of books and the rest is study areas. The first floor is a mix of computer labs, books, magazines and more study areas. The third floor is mostly books and of course more places to study.Leah and I walked through the... ...ry, it is easy to notice how people need different things, and require alternate ways of studying. You notice peoples emotions and how they react to their surroundings. Some people need silence, some need music, some need space, some need distraction and some people just do it to look good.When a sociologist studies behavior their concentration is based uponthe interaction the individual itself and how they interact within their surroundings. Through symbolic interactionalism you look at things and what they mean, and then determine the effects they have. There are many hand signs, both good and bad, that pe ople exchange, as well as facial expressions in reaction to an event or statement that a symbolic interactionalist would look at. My observation period in the library allowed me to glimpse into the life of a sociologist. I realized that you could learn a lot about someone by just watching him or her. Their behavior is highly representative of the person they are yet one cannot assume what specific reactions imply. Through the use of your sociological imagination you are able to gain a deeper understanding of behavior and how behavior is influenced by society.

Capitalism Was Behind American Colonization of Puerto Rico Essay

Capitalism Was Behind American Colonization of Puerto Rico The platform upon which the United States was built, freedom, was erected in response to the oppressive nature of colonialism. On July Fourth, 1776, the lord thirteen colonies declared their independence, because the weight of Great Britains colonial restrictions proved to be too burdensome. The Constitution was signed shortly thereafter to protect American citizens rights from being abridged in the future. America was created as a direct response to the harmful nature of colonialism, however it soon forgot its idealistic birth. emancipation for all became a free for all, under Americas capitalistic system. When America was confronted with the question of what it should do with Puerto Rico it had three choices accept it as a state, give it its freedom, or use it for profit. Capitalistic America saw Puerto Rico as an easily exploitable market, and enabled America to overlook the inconsistencies colonization presented in perfect terms, or the widespread suffering colonization would cause. Thus, capitalism was the deciding factor in Americas decision to withhold from Puerto Rico its freedom. Originally Puerto Ricans had steep expectations regarding their future under American guidance. Puerto Rico wanted nothing but American law, leaving no trace of Spanish legislation (Trias -Monge 36). Under their fresh parent country, Puerto Rico hoped to receive universal male suffrage, American citizenship, elective mayors, free trade, and the right to elect a delegate to Congress, all of which had been denied them by Spain (Trias-Monge 36). Originally, implementing a system which would allow the maximum possibilities for Puerto Ricans to govern themselves was th... ...colony, its inhabitants became subjects rather than citizens (Fernandez 11). Americans justified their decision to exploit Puerto Rico and its people, through capitalism and its survival of the fittest mentality.BibliographyJames Dietz, Econo mic write up of Puerto Rico (Princeton Princeton U Press, 1986).Ronald Fernandez, The Disenchanted Island Puerto Rico and The United States in the Twentieth Ventury (Westport Praeger Publishers, 1996).Lillian Guerra, Popular Expression and National Identity in Puerto Rico The Struggle for Self, Community, and Nation, chs. 2-3 (Gainsville U Press of Florida. 1998), 45-121.Library of Congress American Memory Collection LC- USF34- 012370- EJose Trias-Monge, The Shaping of a Colonial Policy, from Trias-Monge, Puerto Rico The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World (New harbor Yale U Press, 1997), 36-51.

Standardized Testing Is Counterproductive Essay -- Problems With High

Excessive testing has been integrated in the public school system to touchstone student intelligence, observe teacher proficiency, and distribute federal funds since the passage of the No Child Left behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001. The (NCLBA) called for 100% of the nations public school students to become proficient in mathematics and reading by 2014 through the usage of standardized testing (Hanson 3). Since the inception of this policy on that point have been numerous issues involved in these tests. Instead of providing equal access for all children, the frenetic use of mandated testing in schools and in teacher commandment is having the opposite effect (Richardson 34). exchangeable testing is an ineffective and outdated tool that creates a counterproductive learning environment testing enforced by the say should be altered to better accommodate the students needs. The primary function of standardized testing is to provide an accurate measure of student and teacher performance th ey root short of meeting this standard. Test scores dont accurately reflect a childs intelligence. One reason for this is that a whiz test can non properly show the extent of a childs knowledge. Language barriers be a determining factor as well, if English is not the primary language of a student they will have a harder time understanding questions and in turn procure lower scores. More problems purloin when students enter high school students dont try as hard since standardized tests do not affect class grades. Moreover, scores are influenced by external factors. A childs emotional or mental state during testing is detrimental to their results. Living conditions along with social view affect testing data as well. If a student is upset or living... ... ERIC. Print. Longo, Christopher. Fostering Creativity or Teaching to the Test? Implications of State test on the Delivery of Science Instruction. Clearing House A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 2010. ERIC. Print. Phelps, Richard P. Characteristics of an Effective Student examen System. Educational Horizons, 2006. ERIC. Print. Reddell, Samantha. High Stakes Testing Our Children at Risk. Online Submission, 2010. ERIC. Print. Richardson, Brian Wheeless, Lawrence R. Teachers Tattling on Teachers Policy Attitude and Tenures Influence on Peer Reporting of Unethical Behavior. International Journal of Educational Reform, 2009. ERIC. Print. Ryan, Katherine E., Allison M. Ryan, Keena Arbuthnot, Maurice Samuels. Students Motivation for Standardized Math Exams. Educational Researcher, 2007. EIRC. Print.

Standardized Testing Is Counterproductive Essay -- Problems With High

Excessive testing has been integrated in the public school musical arrangement to measure student intelligence, observe teacher proficiency, and distribute federal funds since the passage of the No Child Left behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001. The (NCLBA) called for 100% of the areas public school students to become proficient in mathematics and reading by 2014 through the usage of standardized testing (Hanson 3). Since the inception of this constitution there have been numerous issues involved in these tests. Instead of providing equal access for all children, the frenetic use of mandated testing in schools and in teacher education is having the opposite effect (Richardson 34). Standardized testing is an ineffective and outdated tool that creates a counterproductive learning environment testing enforced by the state should be altered to better accommodate the students needs. The primary function of standardized testing is to provide an accurate measure of student and teacher motion th ey fall short of meeting this standard. Test rack up dont accurately reflect a childs intelligence. One reason for this is that a single test cannot properly show the extent of a childs knowledge. Language barriers are a determining factor as well, if slope is not the primary language of a student they will have a harder time understanding questions and in turn procure lower scores. to a greater extent problems arise when students enter high school students dont try as hard since standardized tests do not affect class grades. Moreover, scores are influenced by external factors. A childs emotional or mental state during testing is detrimental to their results. Living conditions along with amicable status affect testing data as well. If a student is upset or living... ... ERIC. Print. Longo, Christopher. Fostering Creativity or Teaching to the Test? Implications of reconcile Testing on the Delivery of Science Instruction. Clearing House A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 2010. ERIC. Print. Phelps, Richard P. Characteristics of an Effective Student Testing System. Educational Horizons, 2006. ERIC. Print. Reddell, Samantha. High risk Testing Our Children at Risk. Online Submission, 2010. ERIC. Print. Richardson, Brian Wheeless, Lawrence R. Teachers Tattling on Teachers Policy Attitude and Tenures Influence on Peer Reporting of Unethical Behavior. International Journal of Educational Reform, 2009. ERIC. Print. Ryan, Katherine E., Allison M. Ryan, Keena Arbuthnot, Maurice Samuels. Students want for Standardized Math Exams. Educational Researcher, 2007. EIRC. Print.

Department Store Marketing Comparison

1. I cast off chosen to discuss and comp ar the department w behousing industry. I keep up chosen this industry because I live in Southern California where the retail sector is a major part of line of descent. computer memory m eithers argon prevalent bothwhere. I befool put throughn and experienced every(prenominal) the differences among class and status. With a wide variety of demographics in Southern California, on that point are a turning of shops and stock certificates to choose from. Department stores range from discount warehouses such as Wal-Mart, mid-range stores such as JC Penney, and high-end stores like Nordstrom.I am going to discuss the department store industry specific on the whole toldy for Wal-Mart, JC Penny, and Nordstrom. Coming from a middle-class family, I have experienced shops at all ends of the department store spectrum. When it comes to the amount of department stores determined throughout the United States, businesses are coifd accordingly . High-end stores are placed in wealthy areas where as let loose-end stores are placed in a suit sufficient region. The amounts of department stores, specifically for severally status, are generally appropriate as well. 2. GeographicDemographicPsychographicBenefits SoughtJC PenneyJC Penneys are located in nearly major shopping malls in a variety of communities. JC Penney has over 1,100 locations rough the United StatesJC Penney tends to focus on the female demographic. More specifically mothers and middle-age womenTries to sell quality items at a low cost. Their unseas atomic number 53d slogan is fair and square pricing. They try to emphasize that their prices are fair at market values. JC Penney is telling customers that they can benefit from their low prices. Dont go to Nordstrom where everything is expensive or Wal-Mart where the quality is low Wal-MartWal-Marts are often located in low-income areas.Wal-Mart has over 7,000 locations in 15 countries. Wal-Mart tar buzz offs raft of all ages to shop at their stores. They offer childrens, womens, and mens garments. Usually, families shop at Wal-Mart. The average annual income for a Wal-Mart shopper is $35,000-$45,000. umpteen minorities, as well as white aright are what make up the ethnicity of shoppers. Wal-Marts main goal is to provide a wide variety of discount priced items for their customers. Their slogans have included Always low prices. Always. and Save money. Live better. Rock bottom pricing and price gybe guarantees are the norm. Wal-Mart is here consumers go for the absolute lowest prices. If a price isnt as low as another location, Wal-Mart ordain match it. NordstromNordstrom stores are much less common than Wal-Mart and JC Penney stores. They are placed in areas where the bon ton knows there are enough individuals that want high end items. Nordstrom caters to the professional who is looking for higher end clothing that is made of quality materials. Nordstrom emphasizes quality and cu stomer service. They rob themselves on offering the outgo customer service of any retailer in America. Nordstrom offers quality items at a decent price.Customers dont go to Nordstrom for rock-bottom pricing. They go for personal selling and upscale items. These three companies have very different approaches to retail. Wal-Mart is the one-s tiptop shop that heap go to for the lowest prices. JC Penney offers quality products at a low price. They normally have similar styles as places like Nordstrom just when with lesser-kn testify brands. Nordstrom carries high-end products and they stress customer service and quality. They each take up their own segment of the retail business. 3. Marketing Mix The Four Ps reapingThe product is seen as satisfying what a consumer contends.It is a tangible skillful or intangible service. Intangible services are industries such as tourism. Tangible products are cars, razors, etc. PriceThe amount a customer pays for the product. Price determines a partys profit and has an impact on marketing strategy. Marketers essential be aware of the perceived value of a product when setting prices. PromotionThis represents the methods of communication that a marketer uses to provide information about their products. Promotion consists of advertize, public relations, etc. PlaceProviding the product at a place that is convenient for consumers. Place is the distri preciselyion aspect.JC Penney Product Like its two competitors, JC Penney offers a variety of tangible goods for change. JC Penney caters to its customers with higher end products at an affordable price. It is similar to Nordstroms in the types of goods offered. It differs from Wal-Mart because it has less variety. JC Penney offers clothing, bed and vat products, family unit items, clothing accessories, and patio furniture. Clothing is the main area of production for JC Penney and accounts for much than 50% of trades. Price JC Penney has late decided to move to three kind s of prices habitual, periodical specials, and clearances.They came to this strategy through a variety of studies. First, using past sales data, the company looked at consumers actual purchasing behavior, and came up with what it terms Fair and real pricing, which style shoppers can expect lower prices in stores at all eras. To reach this conclusion, research showed 72% of JC Penneys revenue came from selling items priced at least 50% off. Thus, in the example cited in most recent news stories about the Fair and Square strategy, a T-shirt that had retailed for US$14 but typically sold after markdowns at US$6, would now be priced at a US$7 every day.Part two of Fair and Square means monthly engages, and in the T-shirt example, the garment would now be marked US$6. The final piece of Fair and Square is called best price, which happens on the root and third Fridays of the month. Said T-shirt would now be marked $4, to clear out seasonal colors and start in new merchandise. Ba sically, JC Penney focuses on sale items. They use sales to partipulate prices. A sale is really what price the marketer decides to sell an item for to continue devising a profit. These sales are based upon how well certain items sell and their perceived market values. Promotion JC Penney focuses its advertisements around the four seasons and its holidays. For example, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc are when JC Penney promotes its items through television and print advertisements. JC Penney is also making a push towards smart advertising. Their promotions now appear in digital magazines, websites, mobile phone apps, etc. Place JC Penney has to a greater extent than 1,100 locations across the United States. galore(postnominal) of these locations are at jumbo shopping malls where people go to buy clothes. in that location is easy access to JC Penneys product.In addition to the stores, most of JC Penneys clothing can be purchased from the official website. This gives custom ers two ways to purchase items on sale at JCP. Wal- Mart Product Wal-Mart markets itself as a store where one can walk in and literally purchase anything they need. They offer clothes, sporting goods, food, jewelry, electronics, patio furniture, toys, home improvement, music and movies, automobile parts, etc. The idea is for Wal-Mart to be a one-stop shop for anything a family require. Price Wal-Marts motto is always low prices. They aim to sell their products at a lower price than nearly every competitor.They usually stock lower quality versions of items at the cheapest price and they even offer a price-match guarantee. If another store is selling the same item for cheaper than Wal-Mart says they will match it. A new part of this guarantee is that customers do not have to have the information on hand. They merely need to ask for a price match and the associates should know through prior research. Wal-Mart also does not focus as much on sales but rather on everyday low prices. Pro motion Wal-Mart television advertisements focus on their price match guarantees and everyday low prices.A new Wal-Mart ad suit bears the slogan Low Prices. Every Day. On Everything and features five 30-second commercials, including ads featuring an Easter egg hunt and a customer asking for a price match. The changes are livery back local food favorites and national brands in household basics and general merchandise like consumer electronics. Some changes are tailored to local markets. In Phoenix, for example, shoppers will find pool supplies and lawn and garden items year-round. Place Wal-Mart has 8,500 stores in 55 countries. It is the most recognizable one-stop shop in the world.Wal-Mart is present in some places around the United States that do not have other major retail outlets. For many communities, Wal-Mart is the place to go to find everything one needs to live. Nordstrom Product Nordstrom is a large department store that focuses on upscale items. They carry items from mo stly luxury clothing companies such as Hugo Boss, Chanel, etc. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings. Price Nordstroms customers care less about price and more about quality.The goods offered are not a stop over piddle. They are meant for those in need of upscale items. Luxury products are defined in part by their price. Nordstrom is seeking to appeal to those people that want department store prices but not necessarily large sales and discounts. Promotion Nordstroms does not use a low price brand to attract customers or else they use quality. man it is pricier to shop for clothes and home decor at Nordstroms most de abbreviateer labels prove to be of better quality, uniqueness, and durability. Many of Nordstroms television ad campaigns focus on re-defining one.Their marketing strategy focuses on how people can approve their lives with quality clothing and accessories. Place Nordstrom has 225 stores in operation(p) in 29 states. Nordstrom is much less ubiquitous than Wal-Mart and JC Penney. They are located mostly in shopping malls but the company makes sure to build their stores solo where there are enough people that can afford luxury items. 4. JC Penney The JC Penney website has a clean and easy layout. The top of the site has a search bar and then a number of tabs representing each department available to browse through.The website also uses color-coding. Anything representing the values and sales for May is written in purple. There are products on the front varlet with prices proclivityed underneath. These prices are each in a purple box to show that the sale price is for May. There is one large picture that dominates the home page. It has the letters MOM with its mothers may written above it. As I said before, JC Penney focuses its advertising on holidays. The site is user-friendly. Everything is easy to read and it is not a lso cluttered. The site has areas to find a store and a best prices section.On the upper right there are four logos a cell phone, envelope, facebook, and chirp. JC Penney is keeping up with the times by including other types of websites and embracing tender media. Wal-Mart The Wal-Mart website is more cluttered than the JC Penney one. On the top there are 5 buttons that read Value of the day, local ad, store finder, registry, and gift card. To the right of this is an area to log into a Wal-Mart account and track your orders. On the left of the page is a column showing the major departments available on walmart. com. Under this are two more columns showing savings as well as new products.In the middle of the page there are color advertisements very similar to what one would find in print circulation ads from the mail. There are specials all over the front page. Under the advertisements there are two rows titled more great ways to save and shop Wal-Mart best sellers. The Wal-Mart website is cluttered and it is difficult to find what youre looking for. There is an overload of information. Nordstrom Nordstrom has the most simple website of the three. The top has tabs for Women, Men, Juniors, and Kids as well as all the brands offered at the store. There is also a sale tab.After hovering over each tab a pop-up appears. Under the of tabs is a large advertisement called the perfect 10. It is a list of Nordstroms 10 warm-weather essentials. Nordstroms seasonal advertising is apparent. They are in the midst of promoting the Summer line of clothing. Under the advertisements are links to connect the Nordstrom facebook and twitter pages. There is also a handy store and event locator at the top of the page. The website follows a mostly black and white theme with the only color being on the clothing pictured. This makes the clothing pop on the page and offers good contrast. . JC Penney has positioned itself as a mid to high-end retailer with excellent sale prices. Wal- Mart is positioned as the one-stop shop with the lowest prices of any retailed. Nordstrom is the high-end retailer that pushes the quality of its clothing over cheap prices. Survey 5 Questions, 20 people surveyed. Where are you most likely to shop JC Penney, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom JCP 11 people, Wal-Mart 3 people, Nordstrom 6 people Which has the best prices JC Penney, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom JCP 5 people, Wal-Mart 13 people, Nordstrom 2 people Which has the best quality JC Penney, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom JCP 6 people, Wal-Mart 1 person, Nordstrom 13 people Which has the best products JC Penney, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom JCP 8 people, Wal-Mart 3 people, Nordstrom 9 people Which is the best at advertising JC Penney, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom JCP 9 people, Wal-Mart 7 people, Nordstrom 4 people In the college student demographic, most people are likely to shop at JC Penney. I conclude that this is because JC Penney positions itself as offering stylish clothing at good prices. Wal-Mart is seen as the bargain bin and Nordstrom is too expensive for most students.It is evidenced through this survey that each company has a very differentiated place in the consumers minds. Wal-mart is seen as the price leader, Nordstroms as quality, and JC Penney as good quality at a low price. The consumer impressions of each company match how each of the competitors have positioned themselves in the marketplace. 6. SWOT AnalysisWal-Mart StrengthsWal-Marts strengths are centered on its always low prices motto. Wal-Mart positions itself as having the lowest prices of any competitor. They even guarantee to match any competitors price.The survey shows that people are getting this message and know that Wal-Mart is the cheapest. WeaknessesWal-Mart has a problem when it comes to the perception of the quality of their products. People see Wal-Mart as cheap but low quality. Good in the short-run but not long-lasting. OpportunitiesTo improve performance, Wal-Mart could create an advertising campaign to show how they have low prices AND quality products. They could possible create departments with higher-end goods. ThreatsCompetitors such as Costco and other one-stop shows are external elements that could threaten Wal-Mart.Other companies can also attack the quality of products and the methods Wal-Mart uses to get these prices. 7. Wal-Mart has new CRM strategies in place for the new decade. Wal-Mart president Lee Scott Jr. has addressed how he is trying to make Wal-Mart the company of the future. They are seeking to gain new clients while still keeping old ones. Wal-Marts CRM strategy stresses unified responsibility and its five detailors ethical consumerism, risk management, transparency, accountability, and responsibility. Scott had detailed his companys approach to the social component of retail.Executives, he said, meet regularly with a panel of 50 young consumers, many of whom have cut their personal spending at restaurants, movies, or shopping in general and say they feel good about the money theyre saving. That sentiment, Scott noted, will likely remain with this generation of consumers even after the economy bounces back, a factor that retailers have to be cognizant of. Despite the consumer preference for multiple touch points, each shopper still expects recognition as a iodin individual, which means retailers must create a seamless multichannel experience.A rising number of consumers are using two or more channels to research, evaluate, purchase, and return products, Janiak said, a phenomenon that has been made possible by the Internet. According to Forrester Research, by 2012, 49 percent of United States retail sales will be online or cross-channel sales. Even today, the grandness of the online channel is significant, Janiak said, citing a recent Deloitte survey of retail executives that indicated every dollar of merchandise sold online influences as much as $3 in the store. Wal-Mart is committed to covering the Internet aspect of retail in the future.Th ey know that mobile phones, tablets, and laptops are the consumer devices of the future. In addition, Walmart. com, the online division of Wal-Mart, has leveraged its consumer tracking tools to work out even more precisely what the value of each of its customers is. They (Walmart. com) know when they put Valentines Day flowers on sale how much it costs to send that message, what percentage of customers end up on that site because of that message, how much money they will spend, and what is the likelihood of that customer coming back and buying other things, says Wharton marketing professor David Reibstein.They dont simply look at one-time purchases, but at all the purchases afterwards, and use that information to calculate the value of spending advertising dollars. They have that down to a science for almost all of their advertising. Wal-Mart is adept at tracking purchasing patterns and catering their advertising to specific consumers. Nordstrom is also adept at customer relationsh ip management. They stress that they are the leadership in customer service excellence. They state the company with the greatest reputation for customer service in the United States continues to be Nordstrom.One of Nordstroms leaders states What that takes is courage, dedication, and the fact that customer service isnt a strategy, but rather a way of life. A couple of years ago a company called me to speak to the cheek because that year they were focusing on customer service. That begs the question What were you emphasizing last year and what are you going to emphasize next year? At Nordstrom, its a fruition that theyre not in the apparel business, shoe business, or cosmetic business, theyre in the customer business. JC Penney and its new CEO are also at the forefront of CRM.He says that a greater impact may come from information systems the customer rarely sees, such as customer relationship management (CRM) parcel. Apple reshaped the retail ornament and combined technology wi th customer know-how to change the customer experience, Fader notes. Now, every retailer wants to do that. Using technology and social media to enhance the shopping experience is all well and good, but there is lower hanging fruit by using technology to better rear buyers. Nordstrom and JC Penney department stores also have cards such as a Nordstrom card that offer sales and appropriates to those that shop at Nordstrom frequently.These cards are the companys way of rewarding those that are frequent purchasers that offer a lifetime value to the company. The retailers also offer credit cards to purchase their items that can be paid off with payments instead of all at once. 8. The societal marketing concept holds that a company should make marketing decisions based on what the customer wants. It is closely linked with corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Companies of the future are focusing on environmental concerns because this is what people care about.Hybr id cars and alternative fuels are hot topics in the new-fashioned political arena and corporations must address this. Wal-Mart has begun a food-labeling program that will add great for you to many of its products on the fruit counters. Wal-Mart is trying to stress that its fruits do not include harmful pesticides or fertilizers. Wal-Mart has had environmental problems in the past. They recently had to pay a $1 million dollar fine and develop and environmental management excogitations because they violated storm water requirements under the Clean Water Act. Wal-Mart has created a plan to cut 2. million metric tons of CO2 emissions by 2013 by making stores more efficient. They have also said that Wal-Mart now reuses or recycles more than 80 percent of the waste produced in its United States operations. Since cc5, the company has reduced greenhouse gases by 12 percent and increased its trucks fuel efficiency by 65%. It is evident that Wal-Mart is making a concerted struggle to be mo re environmentally responsible. In terms of charity, the Wal-Mart foundation has worked for global womens economic empowerment, hunger relief, education, military support, and disaster relief.They also have many scholarship programs. JC Penney has committed to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent per gross square foot by 2014 by increasing energy-efficiency improvements and implementing conservation practices. In 2009, the retailer prevented about 80 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions due to its new energy-efficiency measures. The retailer has invested millions of dollars to install advanced metering technology, lighting retrofits, and high-efficiency HVAC systems in its stores. JC Penney was the premiere retailer to earn the Energy Star Award for sustained energy management.JC Penney has been a member of the expertness STAR program since 1999 and was recognized as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year in 2007 and 2008. In addition, when the new ENERGY STAR efficiency ben chmark for retail stores was introduced in October 2007, four JC Penney stores in upper-case letter State became the first buildings to earn the Energy Star label for energy efficiency. Currently, 52 JC Penney stores, as well as the home office in Plano, Texas, have qualified for the ENERGY STAR Building Label. The retailer has set a goal to achieve ENERGY STAR certification for at least 200 stores across the country.Last year, JC Penney began using social media for charitable giving. They released several new digital initiatives. They also announced that since 1999, they have raised more than $100 million in scholarships and grants through its charity JC Penney Afterschool. Nordstrom is also committed to sustaining the environment. They are working on resource conservation, recycling and waste management, packaging innovations, and organic cotton development. They have utilise 100% recycled bags and boxes since 2008. Nordstrom has perhaps the more radical approach to charity.They have opened a store in New York City at which all the lucre have been committed to charity. Other than this, Nordstrom has the least about charity out of the three companies. Each of these three companies has been committed to environmental change. They have demonstrated a commitment to reducing waste and pollution. JC Penney is the most environmentally conscious of the three and was awarded an Energy Star. In terms of charity, Wal-Mart has the most charitable donations of the three. Based on these findings all of the companies are focused on the societal marketing concept. 9. With the economic collapse of 2008, the retail sector was one of the hardest hit. However, JC Penney, Nordstrom, and Wal-Mart have recovered remarkably. All three companies recently produced increased profit margins. Wal-Mart is 2 on the Fortune 500 list and isnt in any foreseeable danger. I would say that of the three, Nordstrom is most in danger of hitting tough times. Although profits rose, Nordstrom cate rs to high-end retailers. If there is another economic collapse then Nordstrom may face danger. One retail giant that wasnt so lucky was Mervyns.At its peak Mervyns had nearly 200 stores in 10 states. However in 2008, Mervyns began the process of liquidating its entire inventory and all stores were closed. Their liquidation shows the fragile nature of the retail business. If I could choose any product in this industry to close down I power have to go with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is known for exploiting poor nations for resources and cheap labor. Additionally, employees get very few benefits and most are on minimum wage. I think they are too focused on low prices at the expense of quality and fair business practices.They also have a monopoly on the U. S. retail sector. In 2010 they had over $300 billion in sales. The next highest was Kroger at nearly $80 billion. The difference between Wal-Mart and its competitors is staggering. 10. Personal selling involves face-to-face interaction in wh ich a seller persuades the customers to buy products or services. Wal-Mart has over 57,000 suppliers that use personal selling to get their products on Wal-Mart shelves. Wal-Mart has an online step-by-step process to become a supplier to the company.If Wal-Mart is evoke in a supplier then they will try to meet the leaders of the supply business to see if they are capable. Suppliers must then sign a contract with Wal-Mart. The contract, commonly known as the vendor agreement, outlines the mechanics of how the supplier and retailer will work together. The agreement generally addresses sales and rake timeframe, arbitration, and termination rights, and liability. As a rule, Wal-Mart uses a non-negotiable boilerplate. Charley Moore, CEO and founder of legal service RocketLawyer. om, says this means potential suppliers can study similar contracts online before clash with the buyer. Wal-Mart generally starts out smaller suppliers in a local market, delivering goods to up to 50 stores, a s a test run. If the supplier provides a high-selling product and proves reliable, it might be considered for national distribution. Bruce Zutler, CEO and co-founder of MCI Products Group, a New York-based company that specializes in new product development and overseas sourcing, recommends small suppliers think of the test-run as the time to prove they are capable. If you have a good product and you strengthen their sales, then the buyer will stay with you, says Zutler. The test run is the time when suppliers must sell Wal-Mart on carrying a product. After all these efforts then the product may be picked up nationally and customers can find them at everyday low prices around the nation. 11. If I were the CEO of Nordstrom, I would get my best customers to order more by selectively having sales on items that were popular in the past. I would bring these items back in different styles and colors and place a seasonal sale on the items.This would encourage old customers to reacquire ite ms that they previously liked, but that have acquired wear and tear over the years. I would also offer deals to frequent customers such as Spend $200 and get 10% off. This usually makes people spend more than they are planning on in order to get a deal. In addition to displaying similar clothes to what people ordered, I would follow the Lands End method and offer matching accessories such as wallets, belts, shoes, watches, etc that go well with items that customers purchased.I would place these accessories close by to the clothing in the store so that people would be more likely to associate the accessories with products that they had already purchased. I would also offer incentives to frequent buyers. The more a person buys, the more special sales and opportunities they are offered. Nordstrom is one of the most successful retailers in terms of data analysis. They have updated their technology to bring SKU information much faster. The new technology also servicings to analyze cust omer patterns and helped bring Nordstrom out it its slump. 12. The three companies have very different advertising efforts.JC Penney has released a new ad campaign called say no to the status quo. The ad campaign includes tv and outdoor ads as well as a Facebook page where visitors can scream their frustration at old types of advertisements. My favorite advertisement out of these three companies is the new JCP television ad shows people screaming at sales that ended early. They are overwhelmed at all the different numbers of sales and prices. JC Penney is saying that they are simplifying their sale structures. The campaign paves the way for the companys new fair & square price structure.The ad is effective in because it has a comedic effect and addresses a legitimate concern for customers that are overwhelmed by the number of sales at retail outlets. Wal-Mart has recently committed to spending more on television advertising. In addition, Wal-Mart added thousands of screens in its r etail locations that constantly show advertisements in different areas of the store. Wal-Mart is also trying to focus more on other aspects besides prices. They are beginning to advertise well-known national brands. Nordstroms advertising focuses on the quality of their product.Nordstroms strives to meet customer satisfaction through offering an array of products. Our goal is to offer a well-edited range of products for a variety of lifestyles. . While they dont offer common, everyday needs like toiletries, groceries or cat litter they do offer more upscale products such as apparel and home decor. Nordstrom, like Walmart, offer a private labelbut without the notable discount. Nordstroms newest advertisement shows a woman opening the door to a man. The man drops his umbrella and looks at the girl in disbelief. The screen then shows the words reinvent the complement. The advertisement is saying that by wearing Nordstrom clothes, people dont even need to say anything. You can simply te ll you are wearing quality clothing by their reaction to seeing you. 13. Retailers have to deal with a variety of factors in their supply chain management process. JC Penney is committed to offering merchandise and services that reflect the full range of their customers lifestyle preferences. To help them deliver on their brand promise of offering style and quality at a smart price, they pursue relationships with minority and women-owned suppliers that help provide for the needs of its diverse customers.They state that that sustaining a strong supplier base requires building relationships with suppliers they trust. Thats why, for more than 30 years, jcpenney has considered its Supplier Diversity program integral to business success. This program fosters relationships with qualified minority and women-owned suppliers, reflecting the diversity of associates, customers and community. Since its inception, the jcpenney Supplier Diversity Program has realized substantial growth in the pur chases of merchandise, goods and services from minority and women-owned suppliers.JC Penney must deal with a variety of other things in its supply change management program. They have a US logistics operation that focuses on developing environmentally endure packaging, utilizing alternative energy sources and conservation to reduce cost and carbon footprint, and continued expansion of recycling and reuse projects. Wal-Mart is noted for the incredible speed of their supply chain. Wal-Marts legendary supply chain technology has allowed them to break the three-day barrier that some economists in the eighties felt was largely unbreakable.In other words, Wal-Mart is often able to fill up items on the Wal-Mart shelf in less than three days not from the central warehouse to the shelf, but from the manufacturer to the shelf. With quick and reliable 2-day turn around, Wal-Mart is able to maintain lower levels of inventory and still meet customer demand. These lower inventory levels result in either a reduced floor plan with lower carrying costs and lower interest expense or a greater diversity of products on the store shelves. Wal-Mart has over 7,000 factories worldwide that supply their products.Regulating these factories is an extensive practice. In the past, Wal-Mart has come under intense scrutiny because of working conditions in their factories as well as the presence of underage workers. Wal-Mart must deal with these challenges on a regular basis. Nordstroms supply chain starts with its vendors that they buy directly from. Once the regional buyers find out what products are needed to reach the target market, they go to the showrooms and order in bulk. The vendors then ship the products to warehouses across the country.They use a system called Accenture to determine their inventory. The inventory of each store is determined by Accenture, sent to each retail store, and purchased by customers. Accenture figures out which products are needed at each store. Nords trom also uses the supply chain management software called SynQuest. SynQuest markets itself as a tool that facilitates planning, execution, and control on all orders. SynQuest uses financial optimization and real-time management. As it can be seen, Nordstrom and other companies use cutting-edge software to manage their supply chains.

Eastern and Western Philosophy Comparison Essay

Philosophy has divided into two separate categories, the Eastern philosophy, and Western Philosophy. The Eastern philosophies atomic number 18 mainly consists of the Asian philosophies such as the Hinduism and Buddhism in India (McGraw & Hill, 2008). Taoism, Confucianism, and Chan Buddhism in China, and Zen Buddhism and Samurai tradition in Japan (McGraw & Hill 2008).The Eastern philosopher, I believed that Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mohandas was better cognize as Gandhi. Gandhi made good compelling arguments for his ideas (McGraw & Hill, 2008). Gandhi, known for his nonviolence to help the political freedom for India and for striving to instill a sense of self-respect in all human being (McGraw & Hill, 2008). Hinduism breeding was for humans to live every day, ordinary consciousness to the contemplation of the divine Being (McGraw & Hill, 2008). Gandhi tried to make these conventional values of Hinduism available to all (McGraw & Hill, 2008). Gandhi main idea for the use of non-violent help civil disobedience. This idea not only help India get their political freedom, notwithstanding it help inspire movement for freedom and civil rights movement around the world like the American Civil Rights Movement led by the non-violent activists Dr. Martin Luther fagot Jr.The Western philosopher that I felt Rene Descartes made the most compelling argument. Descartes believed that he could exhibit to himself that objects exists outside the mind (McGraw & Hill, 2008). He also set to screen that God exists also. Descartes came up with three reasons to prove Gods existence. The Second proof that he came up with he stated, I exists as a thing that has an idea (McGraw & Hill, 2008). He also concluded with the second proof that means that God has to exists. Mohandas K. Gandhi, the eastern philosopher, and the western philosopher, Rene Descartes are similar because they believe in Gods existence. The difference is that Gandi was to teach that Hinduism life was for every day huma ns to live according to the Divine Being (God). Descartes had to prove that god exists by having three reasons, and by all of the three of the proof, he concluded that if he exists as a thing that has an idea of God, thereforeGod exists (McGraw & Hill, 2008). I have to agree with Descartes, because he set out to prove God existence, and not to say without any prove that he does not exists. The argument that he made was logical, because he gave some evidence to back up his argument. I think the same way as he did, because how do things exists for a reason and it has to exists because of someone and not an idea.

Describe the cognitive processes required when preparing for examinations

IntroductionThe aim of the present paper was to investigate and discuss the cognitive shapees problematic in the preparation for tests. The paper covers the background of cognitive psychology, discussing the separate faculties of cognitive processing. It then goes on to discuss the specific faculties of attention and reposition, as these were devil fundamental mechanisms included in the literature when taking into work out the learning and memorisation of selective information. Discussion about the cognitive processes involved in attention and memory is incorporated in to the paper, and suggestions on how students can use cognitive techniques to enhance the performance of these cognitive processes whilst preparing for exams are subsumed. The paper concludes with the suggestion that the operative memory present as proposed by Baddeley & Hitch (1974) is the main cognitive process involved in exam preparation.The marches cognition is derived from the Latin word cognoscere whic h when translated in to the English language, denotes the meaning to know. Hence, cognitive psychology is concerned with the scientific study of human cognition. Processes such as perception, learning, judgement, end making and memory are some of the mechanisms that constitute as cognitive ability. The fundamental aim of researchers in the field of cognitive psychology is to establish how individual(a)s acquire and apply knowledge and information to and from their surrounds (Lu & Dosher, 2007). Knowledge through perception is attained by authority of the fivesome senses where different aspects of the information such as form and motion represent various different features of the stimuli (Livingstone & Hubel, 1988 Ungerleider & Mishkin, 1982 Julesz, 1971). The purpose of learning is to improve the response of the individual to their environment (Kandel, 1976 Estes, 1969). Thus, throughout the psychological literature on cognitive processing, emphasis has been based on the effect of prior experience and procedural knowledge on an individuals performance (Roediger, 1990). The attention function of the cognitive process manages information so that the perspicacity operates efficiently without becoming overloaded. This is done through selective processing, whereby reliable pieces of information are elected for processing. Additionally, the attention faculty may also manage the intake of simultaneous pieces of information by dividing and distributing the resources applied to them (Broadbent, 1957 Posner, 1980 Treisman, 1969). The judgement and decision making faculty of cognitive processing is required for the individual to effectively perform a voluntary behaviour. The choice that the individual makes may be control by implicit or explicit judgement and selection, implicating that the individual may view as a conscious or unconscious cause for their decision (von von Neumann & Morgenstern 1944 Luce, 1959). Yet, the most developed aspect of cognitive psychol ogy and the study of cognitive processes is the faculty of memory. Memory studies place considerable emphasis on investigating the methods in which memories are acquired, stored and retrieved. investigate provides indication that the capacity of memory is divided to perform separate duties such as retaining information about the environment, procedures, skills and running the working memory mechanism (Cowan, 1995 Dosher, 1999). The essay at hand endeavours to discuss which cognitive processes are employed during preparation for an exam, with specific references to the attention and memory functions of the brain, as these are the two functions that go hand in hand when retaining and finding information (Cherry, 2014). The aptitude to process information selectively through attention, and retain information in a way in which is accessible through the working memory are two imperative aspects of cognitive capacity. While evidence indicates that attention plays little division in the maintenance of information encoded in the memory (Fougnie, 2008), it has been suggested that in that respect are strong links between the working memory and attention faculties of the cognitive mind during the convert and manipulation process of knowledge acquisition (Cherry 2014 Fougnie, 2008). Theoretical models of the working memory commonly describe a role for attention. However, between these different models, the exact role for attention has not been agreed on and remains vaguely unclear, thus debates about which processing stage that attentional selection occurs (Fougnie, 2008). The most widely pass judgment model of memory is the Working Memory Model proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974. In this model, attention is the mediator between sensory memory and the important executive, where sub functions such as the phonological store and the visuospatial sketch pad, two short term memory stores, hold short term auditory and optical information respectively. These are known as the slave systems and provide evidence as to how humans are able to multitask. According to the working memory model, the information from these slave systems are then transferred back to the central executive whereby they are encoded in the long-term memory (Fougnie, 2008). These findings provide an outline to which cognitive processes occur during exam preparation, where students attempt to retain information that they will later on retrieve. Yet, further research suggests that learning and retaining information for exams may be a to a greater extent multiform procedure than those outlined by memory models (Hill, 2009). Ebbinghaus (1885) investigated the method in which the retention and forgetting of information occur. The establishment of the forgetting curve provided insight into how memories dissipate over a head of time (Groome, Brace, Dewart, Edgar, Edgar, Esgate, Kemp, Pike & Stafford, 2006). Similarly, Bartletts Story Recall experiment (1932) lent insight to the noti on that information is required to hold semantic assess in order to be remembered (Groome, et al., 2006). Thus, according to Hill (2009), the most effective ways for students to memorise information for their exams is through repetition, elaboration and organisation. To further elaborate on the suggestions of Ebbinghaus (1885), Bartlett (1932) and Hill (2009), researchers proposed several studies in sustenance. Ebbinghaus (1885) further stated that in order to avoid forgetting and enhance memory, repetition was significantly valuable. Making use of the minds voice, the phonological loop, the cycle of learning and accurately recalling strengthens the memory, thus making exam preparation easier as less time will be required to re-learn the material, hence why revising for exams more than once improves recall (Hill, 2009). Moreover, in favour of Bartlett (1932), it has been found that information possessing semantic value is recalled more efficiently (Craik & Tulving, 1975 Ley, 1978). It may be hypothesised that the explanation of is deduced to the attention function of the working memory selecting meaningful information in order to enhance the individuals performance based on prior learning and experience. Based on these findings, mnemonics may be suggested as an effective revision tool, since associating information with vivid ocular imagery and words has proven enhanced recall (Bower, 1972). Furthermore, presenting information in a structured manner in which meaning is conveyed has been found to facilitate recall (Hill, 2009). By grouping or ordering materials in an organised manner, the individual will take advantage of the minds existing method of representing information semantically, thus making the information easier to encode and retrieve through memory. For example, Ley et al (1978) found that presenting medical information to patients in an organised and structured way improve their recall up to 25%. Thus, it is suggested that students adequately or ganise their learning materials in a semantic manner in order to prepare for their exams in the most resourceful way. Although the literature has provided rich evidence to control the notion that the memory and attention faculties play a major role in exam preparation, there are also relevant limitations in need of addressing. The working memory model has been criticised as being invalid, as when new studies propose findings that do not fit with the current working memory model, the working memory model is modified in order to accommodate the new findings. This makes it difficult to falsify the model or replace it with a new one, and indicates that any research findings based on the working memory model are void (Neath & Nairne , 1995). Moreover, the findings of Ebbinghaus (1885) have been questioned, as the subject of his study was himself. Without any objective findings, researchers believe the results of the forgetting curve to be unreliable (Hill, 2009). Despite these criticism s, later research based on both the working memory model and the forgetting curve has successfully uncovered new findings on the cognitive processes involved in memory (Groome, et al., 2006).In conclusion, the findings in the literature have lent ample support to the notion that exam preparation heavily relies on the cognitive processes of attention and memory. The literature has indicated that these two faculties work conjointly in order to achieve long-term memory. Studies on the Working Memory Model have identified the specific roles of the two cognitive processes, and the literature has provided further support on how the working memory model is vital in exam revision through detailed descriptions of these functions. Studies on memory retention and forgetting have interested that repetition, elaboration and organisation are the key skills that an individual needs to employ whist preparing for exams in order to maintain an optimal memory capacity for the revise information. Rega rdless of the limitations associated with the research done on memory, the working memory model still stands as a strong representative for the cognitive process involved in exam preparation.ReferencesBaddeley, A.D. & Hitch, G.J. (1974). Working memory, in G.H. Bower (Ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation Advances in Research and Theory. Vol. VIII. 47-90, youthful York Academic Press. Bartlett, F.C. (1932). Remembering. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.Bower, G.H. (1972). Mental imagery and associable learning. In L. Gregg (Ed.), Cognition in Learning and Memory, 51-88. Broadbent, D. E. (1957) A mechanical model for human attention and immediate memory. Psychological Review, 64. 205-215.Cherry, K. (2014). Top 10 Memory melioration Tips. Retrieved from http//psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/tp/memory_tips.htm Accessed 12/03/14Craik, F.I.M. & Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psych ology, General, 104. 268-294. Cowan, N. (1995) Attention and memory an integrated framework. New York Oxford University Press.Dosher, B.A. (1999) Item interference and time delays in working memory Immediate serial recall. International Journal of Psychology Special Issue Short term/working memory, 34. 276-284.Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Uber das Gedachtnis. Untersuchungen zur experimentellen Psychologie. Leipzig Dunker & Humbolt. Estes, W. K. (1969) Reinforcement in human learning. In J. Tapp (Ed.), Reinforcement and behavior. New York Academic Press.Fougnie, D. (2008). The Relationship Between Attention and Working Memory. New Research on Short Term Memory. 1-45.Groome, D., Brace, N., Dewart, H., Edgar, G., Edgar, H., Esgate, A., Kemp, R., Pike, G. & Stafford, D. (2006). An introduction to cognitive psychology. Processes and disorders. Second Edition. East Sussex Psychology Press.Hill, G. (2009). AS & A Level Psychology Through Diagrams Oxford Revision Guides. Oxford Oxford University Press.Julesz, B. (1971). Foundations of cyclopean perception. Chicago University of Chicago Press.Kandel, E. R. (1976) Cellular basis of behavior An introduction to behavioural neurobiology. San Francisco W. H. Freeman. Livingstone, M.S. and Hubel, D.H. (1988) Segregation of form, colour, movement and depth Anatomy, physiology and perception. Science, 240. 740749.Ley, P. (1978) Memory for medical information. In Gruneberg, M.M., Morris, P.E. & Sykes, R.N. (eds) Practical Aspects of Memory. capital of the United Kingdom Academic Press. Lu, Z.L. & Dosher, B.A. (2007). Cognitive Psychology. Scholarpedia.2(8), 2769.Luce, D. R. (1959) Individual choice behavior a theoretical analysis. New York Wiley.Neath, I. & Nairne, J.S. (1995). Word length effects in immediate memory Overwriting the keep abreast decay theory. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 2, 429-441. Posner, M.I. (1980). Orienting of attention. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 32, 3-25.Roediger III, H. L. (2002) Proc essing approaches to cognition The impetus from the levels-of-processing framework. Memory, 10. 319-332.Treisman, A. M. (1969) Strategies and models of selective attention. Psychological Review, 76. 282-299.Ungerleider, L.G. & Mishkin, M. (1982) In D.J. Ingle, M.A. Goodale, & R.J.W. Mansfield (Eds.). Analysis of visual behavior. Cambridge, MA MIT Press.von Neumann, J. & Morgenstern, O. (1944). Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, Princeton, NJ Princeton Univ. Press.

Canadian Briefing Note (LCBO) Essay

1. IntroductionThe Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a Cr give Corporation established in 1927. It operates nearly 600 stores across the province and has a monopoly on the sale of spirits in Ontario.1 LCBO generated nearly $2.9 billion annually for the people of Ontario including $2 billion in taxes and another $900 million in win each year, making it the second largest politics liquor distributor in the world.2The former Tories planed to denounce the boards revenue stream mend retaining true ownership. Now, Dalton McGuintys Liberals was handing out a workbook to focus groups it had convened, saying that the 600 stores could be sold as franchises. Theres mostthing about the prospect of a $5.6-billion deficit that has advance the government to obtain funds from removeing its prime asset.However, the Ontario Liquor Board Employees Union has been running a successful campaign against privatizing the LCBO, and at same time, theme Union of Public and General Employees thr ew its full support behind a campaign to stop government of from privatizing the phenomenally-profitable Liquor Control Board of Ontario.Should LCBO be privatized right a delegacy? In this report, first of all, the importance of the issue is discussed, then a detailed analysis of the interests among government, duty and public is presented, finally I will draw the decisiveness and make a few of recommendations for privatization of LCBO.2. Importance of the Issue2.1. RevenueThe LCBO is a highly profitable business owned by the government of Ontario. It is also a significant component of the economy of the province. It generates $2.9 billion a year in taxes and profits. The LCBO also contributes to the economy of Ontario in salaries, rents, and the purchase of various goods and services. This sum of money has a multiplier effect on the provincial economy, larger than the original amount injected into the economy. 32.2. Pricing and MarketingThe LCBO carries a real wide selection of quality-tested products passim the province at uniform harms. The liquor control boards can, as single buyers, bargain for lower prices and greater special(a)(prenominal) discounts from suppliers and carriers. The privately-owned outlets are fragmented and multiply cursorily and are therefore not centralized in their operations and distribution network. Privately-owned retail outlets also require higher rates of return on their dandy costs than control boards, and these higher costs, among others, lead to higher alcohol prices under privatization.2.3. EmploymentThe LCBO is a progressive employer of a committed and customer oriented custody who are classified as permanent (amount 3362) and casual, and full-time and part-time.4 LCBO privatization means the laying off of LCBO employees that will lead to huge losses to the treasury and economy of Ontario. olibanum the union struggles to organize campaign against the privatization.2.4. Society InfluencePrivatizing the LCBO would likely lead to increased access to alcohol, increased consumption and therefore more alcohol-related costs. The significant potential consequences of the privatization of alcohol monopolies include increased overall population consumption increased sales to under-aged and intoxicated patrons increased problems with monitoring and enforcement.3. Analysis of Privatization3.1. GovernmentFrom the aspect of government, it is a current trend that government should not put more intervention in business. Tory said in throne speech The government will sell businesses it should not operate and assets it should not own. 5 Thus it is reasonable that the former and current minister planned to sell off or partly sell the LCBO. Another reason for privatization may attribute to fiscal deficit, because ministers want to cut its deficit during their terms. The sale of LCBO will obviously resolve its financial problem in short term. However, if we consider it as a financial decision in the long term, it may not be a good choice. Because LCBO is running very well now, it brings an annual dividend of $975 million to government or people of Ontario in 2002-03.63.2. BusinessMany private investors would prefer to buy the franchise of LCBO or without delay buy its retail shop. Because LCBO has already established its stable customer base, and have its brand recognizing advantage, it will be a little easy to develop their business in such situation. But due to limit of small scale, its operating cost would be higher than the LCBO, this may lead to high sale price of liquor. And at same reason, it may not control the quality of product as LCBO does.Until now, too many small towns didnt get LCBO service because they couldnt support the overhead of a full-sized LCBO store. Sterling, the former minister of consumer and business services, told reporters. With our go-ahead to offer franchises to existing retailers in very small markets, well improve service for residents and visitors, whil e preserving the LCBOs social responsibility standards. 53.3. PublicMost people are satisfied the LCBOs product and service, and support the board control. Alcohol is special commodity, thus government intervention is needed at this situation, even though LCBO has monopoly status in Ontario area. All LCBO retail employees are trained to Challenge and rule out service to anyone who appears underage and cannot forget valid ID or appears intoxicated. Last year, LCBO frontline staff challenged 1.2 million would-be customers and refused service to nearly 70,000, about two-thirds of whom appeared underage and could not provide valid ID.7 It is difficult to imagine what will happen if all these retail shops are sold to private investors, they may consider more on their own economic benefit and neglect social liability. Increased alcohol problems such as sale to under-aged and intoxicated patron are very likely happen.4. testimony and ConclusionThe privatization of LCBO is a complicated issue, because we should consider the relationship and interests among government, business, and public. On one hand, normally government should not act as a policy decision maker and business operator at same time, which will easily lead to monopoly and against good faith.8 On another hand, we have to consider that alcohol is special commodity, which should be effectively controlled by government based on public interest. Therefore my suggestion is to partly privatize LCBO, it will decrease business monopoly in the market, but government could still occupy large part of share, so it can effectively regulate the operation of business.There are many methods of privatization, and some ideas had been mentioned by government in LCBO history, such as franchise store in rural area, merge with Beer Store, and income trust. The main concern is to find an appropriate way to balance the interests of all parties, and make the privatization go smoothly during a period, not suddenly hit some par tys interests, and untimely be accredited by all groups. In order to achieve this goal, the LCBO and ministry must be more transparent in their decision-making, and more open to consideration of public health interests.From this point of view, government could organize a board which has enough members from different stakeholders, such as employees of LCBO, representative of Ontario citizen, expert of public health and safety, economists, private investor and government officer. They could regularly meet together to discuss the possible method of privatization and collect all kinds of opinion and feedback from society. Although this method may spend more time during policy-decision process, unaccompanied when the issue is thoroughly discussed and known by public, the rational policy could be made to reflect all partys interest and untimely set upon less resistance while it is applied.Endnotes1. LCBO, Business Information, http//www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/businessinformation.shtml (ac cessed 16 October 2004).2. LCBO Annual Report 2003, 44, http//www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/annualreport2003.shtml(accessed 17 October 2004).3. Ontario Liquor Boards Employees Union, LCBO Revenues, http//www.ourlcbo.com/revenues.htm (accessed 18 October 2004).4. LCBO Annual Report 2003, 44, http//www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/annualreport2003.shtml (accessed 18 October 2004).5. The National Union of Public and General Employees, Ontario opening 150 private rural liquor outlets, http//www.nupge.ca/news_2001/news_se01/n26se01a.htm (accessed 19 October 2004).6. LCBO Annual Report 2003, 11, http//www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/annualreport2003.shtml (accessed 19 October 2004).7. LCBO, Todays LCBO, http//www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/todayslcbo.shtmlsocial (accessed 20 October 2004).8. Glen E. Randall & David S. Barrows, Business P700 Lecture (McMaster University, 15 October 2004).Bibliography1. Daniel Girard. Liquor stores could still be up for sale, Harris says. The TorontoStar, 27 May 1999.2. Ian Urquhart. McGuin ty puts controversial Tory ideas into play. The TorontoStar, 2 Oct. 2004.3. Nuri T. Jazairi. The bear on of Privatizing the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.http//www.yorku.ca/nuri/lcbo.htm (accessed 18 October 2004).4. Robert Benzie. Eves talked of selling LCBO, insiders say. The Toronto Star, 31Oct. 2003.5. Robert Benzie. Eves sought list of assets to be sold. The Toronto Star, 2November 2003.