SWOT Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SWOT - Term Paper Example These propel its service provisions to its customers. 2) It lacks of diversification and product differentiation. The company operates mostly in the United States where it is majorly based. Local retailers acquired its stores both in Europe and in the Middle East including Australia. 1) The company has greater prospects of growth since customers are highly willing to make online orders and purchases. The company is among the first to install online operation programs for its customers hence prospects of growth since they offer this opportunity to a wide client base. 3) The ever-increasing expenditure on general consumer products and services. BBB operates many retail outlets and the revenue from the outlets summed up contributes significantly to the firm’s total revenue. 1) The constantly increasing attention of the government toward the environmental practices and issues of companies and how they handle such issues. One should bear in mind that BBB Corporation already had trouble with watchdog because of its poor waste management procedures. 4) The constant and consistent technological improvement in the management of business operations where tasks are to a very small extent handled manually, most operations are mechanized hence efficiency and effectiveness. Internal analysis involves a keen analysis of the major functions of the organization, its abilities as compared to those of the competitors. In its efforts to achieve competitive edge and marketability of its operations, BBB has decided to modernize its operations (www.newyork.bbb.org/). These are conducted in its efforts to encourage and support best market practices while celebrating being a model given it is one among the few to initiate online transactions. BBB operates its internal operations based on trust and this has enabled it earn accreditations, awards which not any other company is eligible for in the United States. The internal cores and operations of BBB are

Financial Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Risk Management - Essay Example An analysis of the article Risk Management Lessons from the Credit Crisis can effectively assist in evaluating financial risk management particularly in light of the credit crisis. In presenting its cause, the article is divided into a number of parts each of which has its own speciality. Section 1 looks at the various structures of the modern risk measurement systems. Of particular interest is the position-based risk measurement system that tackles the various drawbacks brought by the traditional returns-based system. The traditional system is shown to be rigid in that it cannot adjust to the various new parameters that characterize a dynamic society. In essence, they prove to be largely unreliable, thereby necessitating the adoption of the position-based measures. The article highlights how the position based risk measures are more versatile and can accommodate various aspects in relation to the dynamism of the contemporary society. Part 2 of the article focuses on the various risk s that establishments are exposed to. The classification is divided into broad categories of known knowns, the unknown unknowns, and even the known unknowns. All of these categories are reached at depending on the pre-existing uncertainties, with the most uncertain risk being classified under the unknown unknowns. Known knowns are fairly manageable, and are the most basic of uncertainties that an institution is bound to encounter. The traditional system is shown to be rigid in that it cannot adjust.

Phenomenology and the Eucharistic Mass Essay Example for Free

Phenomenology and the Eucharistic Mass Essay In the study of communications, reaching a common consensus on how to apply a shared and common understanding of communications seems to be a near impossible task. After being introduced to the seven traditions of communications by Craig in his essay â€Å"Communication Theory as a Field†, I choose to explore the tradition he categorizes as Phenomenology. My initial understanding on the study of communications were quite limited to the transmission view, dominated by a sender and receiver framework. Interestingly, the transmission model in it’s origin was culturally rooted in religion, and used as a tool for the dissemination of Euro centric religious values and practices globally. With advancement in technology, especially in the 1920’s, the North American perspective on communication shifted the transmission model from religion to science to reflect a multidisciplinary approach in to the study of communications. As a practitioner of what was once the transmission view, the Catholic Church had experienced tremendous religious propagation of its message through forcible transmission all over the world. Based on Craig’s essay, the Catholic Church of today then embodies traits of a ritual view of communication, and is aligned with religious communication, and expression such as fellowship, participation, community, communion, and common faith. The phenomenological model of communication shares characteristics with the ritual view that I will be exploring through the Roman Catholic Eucharistic liturgy. The phenomenological tradition described by Craig, â€Å" conceptualizes communication as dialogue or the experience of otherness† (p. 217). Communication in this tradition is not rooted in verbal transmission but instead a shared experience on plains that extend beyond tradition verbal or textual communication. For the purpose of this paper phenomenological tradition can be seen as a form of communication expressed metaphysically as well. Gadamers’ theory from â€Å"Truth and Method†, focus on tradition and language as a primary form of communication. His ideology is that: we are only able to make sense of ourselves and the world around us because our consciousness has been shaped by history and traditions in ways we are largely unaware of wareness expands our understanding of the tradition. His description of an I-Thou relationship as the question-answer logic that underlies hermeneutic experience creates communication by identifying, hermeneutics, â€Å"that lead to a dialectical process of interpretation and growth of understanding. As a phenomenological practitioner, this theory has very intrinsic value. Communication in this practice provides a very meaningful and existential experience that I am to able to engage in with my Creator, in the absence of any other person. As a Roman Catholic, I have had many questions about the way we participate in mass. My parents grew up on the island of Trinidad, in a devout Catholic community. The Spanish, that had at one time colonized Trinidad, were very committed to their mission of converting the indigenous people of the island. The spread Catholicism throughout the country was profuse, with community churches everywhere, (even building one across the street from my mother’s house), and adding a monastery and seminary college a mile further up the mountainside where my father lived. Catholicism was not just a religion in our community, it was a part of the culture, and employed many of the villagers as they worked for the seminary. My grandparents were in fact Hindu, and converted to Catholicism because of the strong influence and presence it had within the community. As a Roman Catholic child, I had been told to repeat, chant, and act with humility, adoration and reverence during mass. I did not understand what we were doing or what the intention was. I became harder and harder to find meaning in going to church. In my late teens I stopped attending mass because there was no intrinsic connection for me in my faith practice. I remained a spiritual and deeply rooted faith based person, but I could not come to terms with many of the teachings of my church. I stayed out of church for many years. At some point, I became curious about what it meant. I was not looking for a theological understanding per se, but instead, what did â€Å"it† mean? The chanting, the collective response in unison, the prayers itself. What was I blindly repeating every Sunday? I chose to study the teachings of the Catholic Church in university at Newman Theological College to gain a scholarly perspective. Many things became clear, although I did acquiesce on some ideological points, (my own hermeneutical experience). Inspired by my academic insights, I returned to church as a knowledgeable participant of the mass, understanding that as part of the community, I would belong to the collective voice of the fellowship of Christ. The Catholic mass is deeply enriched with both Phenomenological Theory as well as Semiotic Tradition. In some regard you must look at the semiotics in order to fully understand what is being communicated during certain points in the eucharistic liturgy. For the purpose of this paper I will focus on the phenomenological aspects. The Eucharistic liturgy is a two century old tradition, considered the real presence of Christ at the last supper carried out each Sunday, and is considered an integral part of Catholic worship. As Catholics we believe Jesus began a significant new fellowship meal that we observe to this day. It causes us to collectively and intrinsically share in the experience of his sacrifice through his death and resurrection. The description of the liturgy I’m presenting here reflects a very basic summation of the ritual. At the start of the liturgy we are asked to offer ourselves up, and surrender to God. As we participate in the Eucharistic Prayer we are in the act of giving thanks. The congregation is humbled as Christ is transubstantiated from man into the elements of bread and wine. We collectively mourn as Jesus is offered to the Father in sacrifice for the sins of man. We participate in the Lords Prayer, and a prayer for peace. The Holy Spirit is invited to come down upon us and unite the community of worshipers into one body as we prepare to accept the communion, and offer each other a sign of peace. As a community we should be considered one body, ready to receive Christ as a single body in the form of the host. Prior to accepting the communion we collectively humble ourselves stating our unworthiness and asking for compassion and forgiveness for our transgressions. As members of the congregation travel to the the altar, it represents a pilgrimage in this life from a journey of birth to death, and to the heavenly Father. Once each individual receives the host, we communally belong to the larger body of Christ. An aspect of the phenomenological theory of communication as seen by Buber can be practically applied in this example. The I-Thou relationship is present when looking at the relationship each individual member of the ongregation has with their Creator, or even Catholicism itself. The act of worshiping communally creates an experience and awareness of each other that reflects dialogue in Gadamer’s model of phenomenology. Prayer itself is a great example of the I-Thou relationship the Buber describes. Although it contradicts Gadamers â€Å"parallel concept of conversation emphasiz[ing] the object or subject matter of conversation that brings people together in dialogue† (p. 219). Buber also notes that, â€Å"dialogue can be entirely wordless, yet deeply meaningful† (p. 19), and talks about how sacred silence itself can be on page 227, which is evident throughout the moments of the liturgy in which individuals respond on an emotional level through reverence, humility, sorrow, or repentance. Burber’s theory of a person living life with an open mind, open to experience and in essence living the life of dialogue is what resonates most for me. My critical exploration into understanding the Catholic mass has supported my dialogue in prayer with my creator, as well as my participation as a member of the Catholic church. It would be assumed that since developing a clearer understanding of the mass, that I would be regularly attending. That is not the case. What I grew to understand is that I cannot effectively belong to the congregation if I am not intrinsically communicating through action, intention and prayer when I attend. For that reason, I go to church when I have a deeper calling to do so. My I-Thou relationship within my faith is not compromised as I connect to my creator in conversation and prayer every day, however, my I-Thou relationship with the other church goers would be compromised and lacking authenticity if I attend mass out of obligation.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet The Internet has revolutionised the human life as it has entered in every home, business, school, and Government office throughout the world today. Globalization owes much to the Internet; for it has reduces the distances because of its swift communication system. It is evident from the history of scientific inventions that the Internet is incomparable to other inventions of science as most of other inventions are interlinked with it. Particularly, the field of education has been widely influenced by the Internet as it has created convenience and swiftness in this field, especially in the field of research. Everyone, regardless of ones age, is being benefited by the Internet. There are definitely some advantages and disadvantages of the Internet for research purposes. In this essay I will discuss and analyse: What is the internet? History and Development of the Internet Advantages of the Internet Disadvantages of the Internet Conclusion WHAT IS THE INTERNET? It can be defined as: The system of a global internetwork, a huge collection of computers and networks interconnected with each other so they can exchange information is called the internet- also known as the Net  [1]  . A group of computers that is connected together by wires for the purpose of communication are called a computer network .These computer networks either range rom as small as two computers connected together in a place or as big as thousands of computers of various types connected to one another either by telephone lines or via satellite. A big network can be constructed by building lots of little networks and connecting these networks to each other that result in an internet work that is actually called the internet.  [2]   HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNET:- The Internet was invented by some intellectuals in the early 1960s. They considered it very significant to allow computers to share information on research and development in scientific and military fields. Licklider suggested a global network of computers in 1962 for the first time and passed it to the Defence advanced Research Projects Agency in late 1962 for its further development. First Leonard Kleinrock established the theory of packet switching on which the Internet connections was to be based. Then Lawrence Roberts connected a Massachusetts computer with a California computer in 1965 over dial-up telephone lines. It resulted in the feasibility of wide area networking, but it also demonstrated that the telephone lines circuit switching was inadequate. Roberts actually contributed in the field of Internet in 1966 and developed his plan for ARPANET. These intellectuals and many more anonymous people are the real founders of the Internet. The Internet, then known as ARPANET, was introduced online in 1969. The Internet matured in the 70s as  architecture first proposed by Bob Kahn and further developed by Kahn and Vint Cerf at Stanford and others throughout the 70s. It was globally recognised by 1983.  [3]   The Internet was originally limited to research, education, and government uses. It was not allowed to be used commercially unless it was used for the research and education. This policy was enforced till early 90s which led to an independent commercial network.  [4]   ADVANTAGES:- EASY ACCESS FOR EVERY ONE:- It is noticeable here that everyone without any discrimination of age, sex creed and ethnic origin can access the Internet. It is the most openly available source of research in the world as it has also reached the continent of Antarctica, a mostly penguin populated area and even an uninhabited island of the Canadian arctic has access to it.  [5]   A SOURCE OF TIME SAVING:- The most significant thing about the Internet is that one can use it with more convenience and ease without the limitations of time as compared to the library because one has to travel a long and time consuming distance to access a library. Students usually have access to a huge on-line library through wireless system whether they are working from home, in the office, or from a hotel room. COST EFFEVTIVE:- The Internet is more cost effective source of research as opposed to the other available sources. The on line library has facilitated the students to reduce their traveling expenses as well. In addition, recent changes in the use of the Internet played a vital role to provide us with much smaller, cheaper and lighter computers like note books Apple iPhone that enables us to use them without limits as access is available anytime, anywhere, around the globe. Furthermore, it is not difficult to use the Internet as far as physical disabilities are concerned as it can be equally benefited by everyone. RESEARCH IN A SPECIFIC LANGUAGE:- The Internet made it possible even to research in ones own specific language. Google consists of a subsystem i.e. the Language tools that have a potential to translate pages from some other languages. Therefore, it does not matter whether a person knows the original language of the stuff or not.  [6]   A SOURCE OF CONFIDENCE:- A successful completion of research on line builds up the self-knowledge and self-confidence and encourages the students for the further research as well as responsibility. DISADVANTAGES:- UNPRODUCTIVE MATERIAL:- A good practice and some skills are required to use the Internet for research; for thousands of web pages appear to be similar to ones required pages but in reality most of them are unproductive for research purposes. Margaret Levine Young claimed that searching efficiently is an art.  [7]  People are too confused with the loaded information on the Internet to use it for the research. Sometimes 404 Not Found appear as contrary to the promised pages which leads to frustration. DISORGANISED MATERIAL:- If the results are productive they are too dispersed to be used for the research as they are mostly disorganized as compared the libraries where books are arranged in an alphabetical order to facilitate the researchers. Moreover, the material provided on the internet is not comprehensive rather superficial one. CREDIBILITY OF THE MATERIAL:- Mostly the sources used for research are not reliable for instance Wikipedia is not authoritative as it does not bear the bibliography for a specific article because the articles some time are written and edited by as many as 300,000 contributors. Moreover, these articles are not updated regularly, therefore, the material got from such a sources might be old one. FINANCIAL BURDEN:- The use of the Internet can add in ones financial obligations to some extent as one is needed an expensive computer or a lap top for that task. On the other hand, people have to pay for the internet bills as well as for some web sites to read stuff on line. SPRAIN ON EYES AND NECK:- Excessive use of computer or use of computer without a respite can be harmful for human eyes and neck and sometime results in sprain in eyes and neck. THE THREAT OF VIRUS:- A computer attached to an Internet can pick up viruses and is more vulnerable to viruses than to a computer which is not attached to the Internet. These viruses look around ones address book and uses it to spread copies of itself to ones friends, often disguised in very seducing messages such as Hey, enjoyed the other night. .Ultimately, viruses can corrupt the existing files in a computer and sometime cause damage to the whole hard disk. It is very interesting here that these viruses are spread by some businessmen today to flourish their business. CONCLUSION:- After analyzing and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet it can be said that the Internet has become a part and parcel of human life owing to the pros and cons of the Internet as one cannot help but to use it to commence and complete ones research. Particularly convenient accessibility to the Internet has made research very easy to complete with a short period of time as compared the long periods of times as was in the past. Not to speak of building an individuals self-confidence the Internet has been being used to do research in ones mother language that can be translated by the Internet from English to chines, polish, German etc. It can be concluded that in spite of disadvantages of the Internet its advantages carry more importance for the purpose of research.

Pythagorean Philosophy and its influence on Musical :: essays research papers

Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics. New York: Dover Publications Ferrara, Lawrence (1991). Philosophy and the Analysis of Music. New York: Greenwood Press. Johnston, Ian (1989). Measured Tones. New York: IOP Publishing. Rowell, Lewis (1983). Thinking About Music. Amhurst: The University of Massachusetts Press. "Music is the harmonization of opposites, the unification of disparate things, and the conciliation of warring elements...Music is the basis of agreement among things in nature and of the best government in the universe. As a rule it assumes the guise of harmony in the universe, of lawful government in a state, and of a sensible way of life in the home. It brings together and unites." - The Pythagoreans Every school student will recognize his name as the originator of that theorem which offers many cheerful facts about the square on the hypotenuse. Many European philosophers will call him the father of philosophy. Many scientists will call him the father of science. To musicians, nonetheless, Pythagoras is the father of music. According to Johnston, it was a much told story that one day the young Pythagoras was passing a blacksmith’s shop and his ear was caught by the regular intervals of sounds from the anvil. When he discovered that the hammers were of different weights, it occured to him that the intervals might be related to those weights. Pythagoras was correct. Pythagorean philosophy maintained that all things are numbers. Based on the belief that numbers were the building blocks of everything, Pythagoras began linking numbers and music. Revolutionizing music, Pythagoras’ findings generated theorems and standards for musical scales, relationships, instruments, and creative formation. Musical scales became defined, and taught. Instrument makers began a precision approach to device construction. Composers developed new attitudes of composition that encompassed a foundation of numeric value in addition to melody. All three approaches were based on Pythagorean philosophy. Thus, Pythagoras’ relationship between numbers and music had a profound influence on future musical education, instrumentation, and composition. The intrinsic discovery made by Pythagoras was the potential order to the chaos of music. Pythagoras began subdividing different intervals and pitches into distinct notes. Mathematically he divided intervals into wholes, thirds, and halves. "Four distinct musical ratios were discovered: the tone, its fourth, its fifth, and its octave." (Johnston, 1989). From these ratios the Pythagorean scale was introduced. This scale revolutionized music. Pythagorean relationships of ratios held true for any initial pitch. This discovery, in turn, reformed musical education. "With the standardization of music, musical creativity could be recorded, taught, and reproduced." (Rowell, 1983). Modern day finger exercises, such as the Hanons, are neither based on melody or creativity. They are simply based on the Pythagorean scale, and are executed from various initial pitches. Creating a foundation for musical representation, works

Computers in Medicine :: Medical Technology Technological papers

Computers in Medicine In today’s society, there is a wide range of computer use. Almost every where you go today you are required to have some sort of basic understanding of how a computer is operated. In my report, I am going to tell you how computers are use in the field of medicine. There is a wide variety of use and need for a computer in the medical field. Some of the main points I will be discussing is why Health Care Professionals use computers, where computers are used in the Health System, while giving you some insight on computers in the medical field in which you may not have thought of. Computers are used by Health Care Professionals because they can help increase the productivity. This allows a health care facility to keep computerized medical records. With the programs, out there today this allows the physician to analyze a patient’s data statistically and mathematically. This leads to the use of multimedia patient records. A multimedia file is an image, text file, a video clip, and audio file: anything that can be displayed or played on your monitor or speakers. An example of this would be: A cardiologist can scan a patient’s EKG strip and attach the image to the patients record for future reference. By being able to store your patients data on a hard drive this will cut down on the amount of papers around the office, and the number of staff members a physician may need to hire. By having, a patient’s file stored in your computer memory could dramatically cut down the time it takes a physician to locate the necessary information needed for a particular patient. Not only can computers be beneficial to cutting down on the amount of work, it could also open the lines of communication between the patient and physician. If a physician begins to utilize e-mail, this could increase the amount of communication with patients. This could be beneficial to his/her practice. A computer is used in a wide variety of places throughout the Health Care System: Clerical stations for reports, memos, patients records, billing, statistics, insurance claims, charting and research graphics; Nursing stations for reports, patients records, hospital information systems; Medical instruments for patients monitors, medication delivery systems, and lab equipment. In Medical education, computers are used for Computer Aided Instructions, Computer Managed Instruction and Interactive Multi-media systems, and there are many more uses of the computer evolving such as, for diagnosis, research, Publication retrieval (National Library of

Red Handed

Title: I was a disappointment to my Dad 2004 was the year my father developed a taste for schedules and routines. It was, and still is, his way of making sure that things are in order, and I suppose it was his way, when we were younger, of ensuring there was some consistency in our daily lives. When Mum left, I think that was all he could think to do – giving us something fixed, something to fall back on, something to let us know that our world still stood firm even as his was falling apart. It was never really the same, our world; he was never really the same. Mum has always been the spontaneous one.She had always done things whenever she felt like it. I suppose that was why she could leave us just like that. She had never been one for commitment. After she left, my father came up with The Schedule. We had to follow it, and by then we were so desperate to keep one parent that we paid attention. He took great pride in us following it for a while. The Schedule gratified him. I remember Fridays were pizza days; they only had the regular pizza then, not the triple cheese extravaganza they do now, something for which I am utterly thankful; on Thursdays we took trips to the parks.It did not matter which park it was or how many times we had been there before. We just went on Thursdays. Matt, three years my junior, and I, would see how many flowers we could find that had at least an insect hovering over them while Father stared blankly into the distance, occasionally, he would smile. Then there were Tuesdays. On Tuesdays, I was to finish whatever assessment Dad asked me to do. I would put in my best effort to have them done to perfection and always long before he came to pick us up at Aunt’s.I would, upon entering his new black BMW, brandish out the assessment to show off to him and I had always been a honest boy so he never tore the answer key out before. Each time, his eyes would light up and tell me I was a good boy and off we would go home where he w ould mark my work and explain my mistakes (which I rarely have) to me. Followed by that, we would be off for dinner at the place I chose but since Matt was still six, Dad did not give him any assignment which meant he had no say in what we were going to have for dinner and he always beg with me to choose Macdonald’s.The World was going to be all right for one more day. Dad’s smile told me so. That particular Tuesday, the day of The Incident, I came face to face with something I wish I never again have to face, but yet I see it time and again, lodged in my guilty mind. The day started off the same way. It started off right. I think that was the worst part, the fact that things could have just taken sudden about-turns. Breakfast, school, Aunt’s. I was nine and I remember feeling, no, knowing that I had forgotten something. That vaguely familiar sense of unease that plagues everyone starts with the innocence of childhood mistakes, I suppose.What was it, the thing t hat I had forgotten? I could not remember. Put away my toys? Done. Helping my brother tie his shoelaces? Done. So what was it? Something was out of order. Something did not belong. Five more minutes left before we had to leave. Ignoring that nagging feeling, I dragged my brother out of another series of ‘Transformers’. He as usual quietly obeyed me as he begged, â€Å"can we have Macdonald’s please? † That was then the realization that dawned on me was like a slow burn. I could feel my skin prickling. My blood seemed to become warmer as it made its way to my head. I had not done my assessments!Dad is going to ‘kill’ me but I only have five minutes left how much can I finish? Oh no! Instinctively, I reached for a pen and told my brother he could watch for another five min. The time slowly ticked by. Five minutes, four minutes†¦ I was out off time! That was when I came up with my idea an idea I wished I had never done. I flipped to the book and found the page I needed to copy. Done! Just on time! I then dragged Matt out of Aunt’s who was as always decisively happy we were leaving. Sitting on the stoop, I could feel Dad finding out I had copied but there was no way because my work was usually perfect. Where is Dad? Where is he? Huh? Where? Where? Why is he not here yet? Huh Bro? † Now Matt was whining about Dad being late. In my unease, I could not even tell him to shut up and he must be surprised by my stillness because he casted a curious glance at me. Before Matt could ask what happened, Dad pulled up along the kerb, his car coughing up exhaust fumes. I pretended to sound as if everything was normal. I waved my assessment at him, my banner of proof. When we reached home, Dad turned over to the answer key and started marking. Little known to me, I had left three evidence there.Firstly, I had left a blue pen mark on the answer key, Secondly; I was doing Primary 5 work so I could not have possibly have got ten full marks, lastly, I had sneezed while copying down the answers so there was still mark of my sneeze. Then I saw that flicker. I saw that flicker in his eyes. Realisation, disappointment, rejection. It was only for a split second but, yes, it was there, the disappointment. I could almost hear him: â€Å"How like her mother she is; how like her mother she is. †He must have known that I had seen the flicker too because then, just like that, I could see him almost willing himself to cast that critical thought aside.I Know he was not able to do so because two years from The Incident, when I do talk to him, something which had grown progressively rare in those days, I still see that flicker in his eye. I never showed him my work after that day and I now mark my own work, he too never asked. Now, every Tuesday, I am often so overwrought I can only find comfort having left a mark on the answer key. I would always recall that Tuesday when I was nine, It was that Tuesday when I s aw that disappointment come to stay in my father’s eyes and no, oh God no, that for the first time, it had been me who had put it there.