Google Glass Essay

Google Glass should be prohibited to be public for the world. In consequence of technological advances, we have changed our society and have been convenient for few decades. Thanks to advanced technology, we eventually became possible to do anything we want with electronic devices from modern technology. At this point, Eric Schmidt, who is a current Google’s executive chairman, announced that Google will commercialize Google Glass by the end of 2013. Google Glass is a wearable computer with a head mounted display by Google in the Project Glass, research and development. Google glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format that can interact with the internet via voice commands. Briefly, it’s going to be like a smart phone wearing on our eyes. It is believed that modern technology has brought many benefits to us, we should be aware that it’s possible to use for our society. Firstly, the public would be threatened by Google Glass seriously. Inverters of Google Glass say that Google Glass will be equipped with an intellectual camera that can take clear pictures at anytime, anywhere. It means that taking picture with a Google Glass can lead to an invasion of portrait right. Furthermore, it doesn’t have any speakers to let other people know that users are in the process of recording. For instance, cell phones and camcorders have speakers exceeding a background noise level of 60~70dB. Instead of loud speakers, it has bone-conduction headphones near frames. But it mustn’t be a function as alert sound. Secondly, Google Glass will absolutely affect our body badly. What would happen if we wear Google Glass for very long time? Every electronic device has electromagnetic waves as always. According to Interphone Study Group in France (ISG), 2 billion people will have brain cancer by 2020 from cell phones. Unfortunately, Google Glass has the same critical influence as the cell phones have. If we wear Google Glass, we might as well face a terrible situation like ISG said. Moreover, they are saying that a new psychological disease called â€Å"nomophonia’, which makes us feel nervous because of not holding own our device, will occur at the moment. I’m sure that it would be a disaster for us as well as our next generations. At last, I’d say that there will be liability problems by being obsessed with Google Glass. People will wear Google Glass while driving in spite of definite warnings not to do. After that, they will clash with the elderly or any pedestrians and somebody will get hurt seriously. The medical insurance may not be possible to cover the medical care because money can be critical. If Google Glass is commercialized, we will have to take up a liability insurance to use it. It means the we need to add cost of an insurance policy to Google Glass bill. Of course, Using Google Glass will make our life slightly more comfortable and convenient. On the other hand, we should deeply think it has so many side effects that can badly effect to our society. Therefore, I hold very strongly that organizations in charge of license of selling electronic devices shouldn’t allow to release into the world.

Case Study Essay

If I could describe McDonald’s business strategy in one word, I would definitely say ‘smart’. And I mean that in the best-rounded way. I very strongly agree with McDonald’s CEO, Steve Easterbrook, when he says, â€Å"If you get the people right, the rest will follow†. I believe that it is all a domino effect in the way an organization works; happy employees make for better production. McDonalds has proven itself as a good employer because of its five â€Å"people principles† that focus on keeping the employee happy and comfortable first and foremost. I think that they are successful because of the way they hire their employees. Because McDonalds strives for excellent service and quality, they work hard at finding the correct employees and retaining them, thus creating an experienced and capable taskforce. 2. McDonalds has aligned its business, human resource, and staffing strategies by connecting all three of these fields to one main source: the employees. By raising its hiring standards, McDonalds has hired, trained, and retained employees that are enthusiastic about giving their all to the customer. 3. Some possible talent-related threats that could eat away at McDonald’s competitive advantage would be when their teenage employees are ready to move on to other companies where they can build a career. Higher turnover would definitely be a problem for all companies, not just McDonalds. I don’t believe a tight labor market in which it is difficult to find talented people would be a problem for McDonalds because you don’t have to be highly educated or have any educational qualifications to work at the company. To maintain its competitive advantage over the next five years, I recommend that McDonalds simply continue doing what they are doing. They look for all the ri ght qualities and potential in their employees, so I believe they will always be successful on the ‘people part’.

Formation and Maintenance of Relationship

Describe and evaluate the formation and maintenance of relationships In the field of psychology, the most common relationships are classified into 3 types: * Romantic relationship * Social relationships (Friendship) * Family relationship Romantic relationships Formation: According to the Reward/ Need satisfaction theory of Bryne and Clore in the 1970s, some romantic relationship may develop due to their satisfaction and happiness they achieve when spending time with the other partner. Most people when being asked why they are attracted to their partners would reply back with answers like attentive, attractive, supporting, caring, etc.This suggests that we are more likely to be attracted to people that we are satisfied or gratified to be with. Most stimuli in our lives can be classified into negative and rewarding ones. We tend to search for rewarding stimuli and avoid the negative stimuli. The things that we are most likely going to find rewarding tend to reflect our unsatisfied need s such as the need for company, financial security, an attractive partner and so on. Mutual attractions usually occurs when one meets the other’s needs although one might need company and the other in search for financial security. Maintenance:What keeps relationships going? Some relationship never seem to last and have any passion in while some can be extremely long-lasting and may even last for a life-time. Maintaining relationships was never a one-way process, it involves and requires the interaction of both the participants, each with their own needs and expectations. The partners not only have to serve their own needs but also satisfy the needs of their partners. The social exchange theory by Thibaut and Kelley in 1959: In terms of profit and loss, individuals always attempt to maximise the profit and minimise the effort needed.Rewards that may be received in a relationship can vary from care, money, companionship and sex. The effort needed that is the costs may vary fro m financial investments, time spent and attention given. The reward minus the costs is equal to the outcome or the profitability of the relationship. The stress of a relationship is dependent on the profitability of the relationship. Equilty theory of Walster et al. in 1978: This theory suggests that the most successful and longterm relationships are ones that have a balanced giving and receiving.It had a central assumption that everyone long for fairness in their relationship and when one puts a lot of effort into the relationship but gets little in return, they would feel unfair and inequity would create stress in the relationship, The greater the unfairness and inequity is, the more distress it would create in the relationship. Other theories: Other theories such as the one put forward by Steil and Wletman in 1991 suggests that men and women may judge the equity of a relationship more differently.Studies have shown that when the income is mainly from the male side, the career wou ld become a more important priority and it is usually agreed by both sides. However, when the female earn more than the male, neither partner rated their career as priority. Social relationships: Friendship Interpersonal psychology research object: Psychological relationship between people, is something much deeper than behavior, the relevance and necessity of the law of the behavior of the individual exchanges.Interpersonal theory of psychological research tasks: Is to fully reveal and clarify the general rules and mechanisms of interpersonal development, analyze the theoretical basis of interpersonal figure out individual and personal interaction of individuals and groups, and people in the system of interpersonal functioning explore interpersonal attitudes, social perception, self-perception, psychological control, interpersonal influence, interpersonal attraction, interpersonal conflict and group behavior, interpersonal.To establish interpersonal psychology unique concepts, term inology, category system, to provide a basis for further improve interpersonal psychology scientific theoretical system, accumulation of material for the enrichment and development of psychological theory and methods, this is a long and arduous job. At the same time, but also the interpersonal psychology in China as soon as possible, that is suitable for China's national conditions, after selection – intake – the Chinese way, to establish the actual interpersonal psychology system in line with China's national conditions for reform and opening up.Task of the interpersonal psychological research practice: (1) the right to deal with interpersonal relationships. (2) to adjust the interpersonal relationships. (3) continue to improve interpersonal relationships. (4) the development of new relationships. (5) correct deformity relationships. Interpersonal relations and social relations: (1) interpersonal and social relations are two different concepts, can not be confused.Int erpersonal relationships as a social relationship between the role and any other kind of social relations, is bound by the constraints of the relations of production, but also by other social relations, and thus should be examined in the interpersonal relationships within the social relations. At the same time, we should also see interpersonal relationships is the true reality of social relations phenomenon. 2) interpersonal and objective social relations is generated at the same time, interpersonal outset by the constraints impact of social relations, social relations exist in the relationships among Of course, social relations with the interpersonal concept of two-level has different theoretical generalization force. Emphasize the reality of the relationship between the overall aspects of non-personalized social relations, interpersonal relationships is more individual, personalized to show the reality aspect.Relationships are formed on the basis of the social relations, but not t he same thing. Social relations is the object of sociological research, which on the one hand to study the relationship of the human and material; the other hand, social relations, including the relationship between the ideological, legal relationship, the moral relationship. While interpersonal interpersonal direct psychological relations, it is constrained by social relations, is a reflection of social relations, but it has a certain relative independence.Relationships are a product of social relations: (1) any kind of interpersonal is always social relations. (2) the fundamental nature of human relationships is determined by the nature of the social patterns of social relations of production. (3) changes in interpersonal relationships is determined by changes in social relations. (4) the complexity of the personal relationships is determined by the complexity of the social relations. Necessity of interpersonal Research:Not exist in isolation, the links with the community, is boun d to a variety of relationships, including family relationships, friend relationship, Jacky (students) relationship, the teacher-student relationship, employment relationship, comrades relations, colleagues and leadership and leadership relations. With the thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the process of interaction of these relationships, interaction and communication with others, these relations between different objects will point to different directions.Healthy relationship is to attract and cooperation; but because of the environmental impact of personality factors, psychological factors and other reasons, many people deal with bad interpersonal relationships will inevitably be caught in the contradictions and pain, the relationship between the parties do not have enough wisdom to resolve resulting inner conflict, will be plunged into a crisis of human relationships, even interpersonal psychological barriers, thereby reducing their life happiness index.Important links between interpersonal and psychological health, good interpersonal comes from a healthy state of mind, self-confident, optimistic, calm, fraternity, to help others, humility, tolerance, and so on, these good quality behavior in interpersonal play a very good role in promoting, healthy relationships can also make people relieve stress, calm down, people's personal development, physical and mental health also played a positive role.On the other hand, problems in interpersonal relationships, will be more or less there some psychological problems, even psychological barriers interpersonal, in the interaction between people, they express more conceited, self-esteem negative psychological interference of others, suspicious, sensitive, jealous, resulting interpersonal again and again thwarted. Therefore, to study the psychology of interpersonal relationships came into being.

Wjhat is the nature of science in Social Science Essay

Wjhat is the nature of science in Social Science - Essay Example There are many different types of social scientists, one of which includes the positivist social scientists, who use methods similar to those of natural science, for the means of understanding society and tend to practice a stricter discipline in study. Those who practice interpretivist social science, by contrast, may use symbolic interpretation or social critique, as opposed to their trying to construct empirically falsifiable theories. The social science model of inquiry process is conducted in a number of stages that are found to be similar to those used in natural sciences, these are the identification of a problem or the formulation of a research question, the development of a relevant hypothesis, the gathering of data, the analysis of the collected data and the drawing of conclusions based on this data. Following the age of enlightenment, in which many revolutions in philosophy and science occurred around the year 1650, scientists began to understand how little they truly knew about the natural world and humanitys place within it. Great philosophers such as Rousseau and Diderot began laying down the groundwork for modern social science practice in the 18th century, which was codified by works such as those put forth by Auguste Comte and Charles Fourier. It was Comte who first coined the phrase "science sociale" to describe the study and practice of the field taking root. It is therefore noteworthy to investigate the theories of the philosophers in exploring the science in social science. Social scientists often make use of an eclectic or multiple methodologies, such as the combining of quantitative and qualitative techniques, although the term social research also can encompass a wide umbrella of techniques in and of itself (Kuper and Kuper, 1996). Parsons (1938) affirms that no science develops in a vacuum either socially or intellectually. The scientific content of any

Early american history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Early american history - Essay Example This followed a drastic change in the reforms at that time in America. The reforms that were made at that time included the following changes: All powers of legislation were transferred to a central body which was the Congress and constituted of the Senate as well as House of Representatives. Members from the House of Representative were to be reselected every two years and their qualifications were the basis of their selection. A minimum age of 25 was decided for political representation and the House of Representatives had the authority to choose their senior officials. There were to be two Senators from each state and each one will have equal representation. An annual meeting of the Congress would be held at the end of the year for discussing issues that arose in that year. Each House of Representatives was responsible for its actions and for regulating the behavior of its members, and had the right to punish or dismiss them if they did not follow the rules, regardless of their po sition. The House of Representatives shall be responsible for originating bills and the approved ones (the ones that had a simple 2/3 majority) shall be presented to the President for approval. The Congress had power to collect taxes etc. The judicial power will be entrusted to the Supreme Court before which a series of smaller courts would need to be passed. Congress will not make any kind of laws that prohibit people from practicing the religion of their own choice or hinder their freedom of any kind- speech or expression. Everyone will have rights such as the right to speak regardless of power and authority, race, religion or any other means of discrimination. Everyone was to be considered as having the same importance (Conlin, 1877). All in all, the source we are talking about here was not created for people who only want to read history because it is in their course work or just for the sake of it. The source is created by Joseph R. Conlin; students actually enjoy reading it an d read it by choice instead of force. The source basically describes the improvements that took place in the political scenario of America in the late 19th century but is does not tell us what America was before those changes occurred. The source tells all the improvements that were made at that time when changes were demanded by the minorities who were not treated equally, hence reforms were made so that political issues can be resolved, and there are central bodies that will deal with policies and procedures where everyone can participate with a certain qualification and each person has the right to get equal representation in the government regardless of position. Policies and procedures had become organized and more systematic and now there was a fixed procedure to get demands accepted. If two thirds of the Senate agrees to a certain point then that bill can be passed and presented to the President who may approve or disprove it because he has the final power. Moreover, courts a lso became very systematic and well organized. Supreme Court was the highest and any case would have to pass through the smaller courts to reach the Supreme Court which gave the final verdict (Conlin, 1877). Ultimately, it can be sad that the source explains the improvements very explicitly but only talks of the past very implicitly, if at

Otitis Media Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Otitis Media - Research Paper Example The symptom includes a perforated eardrum with drainage of pus (purulent material) or the bulging of eardrum accompanied by pain. It is also likely that the patient also suffers from fever. On the other hand persistent inflammation in the middle ear is called Chronic Otitis media which lasts for at least a month. The difference from acute ear infection is that acute otitis media stays only for few weeks. In the case of chronic otitis media, an acute infection is followed by the effusion of fluid behind the ear drum in the tympanic membrane that can last for about three months. Chronic otitis media is likely to develop negative pressure at the back of the eardrum due to prolonged effusion. It can also cause continuing damage to the eardrum and middle ear and may continue drainage in the eardrum through the hole in the middle. Chronic otitis media usually begins without pain and fever. Popping and ear pressure can last for months leading to a mild loss of hearing (Otitis Media 2011). T reatment of Otitis Media On diagnosing a person with Otitis Media, treatment is planned by considering factors such as the age of the patient, risk factors involved with the resistant bacteria, hearing status and immunization status.

Utilitarian versus Retributivist Views Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Utilitarian versus Retributivist Views - Essay Example The essence, focal points, main ideas and the merits of these two main theories are therefore to be discussed forthwith, in the ensuing discourse. Primarily, utilitarianism places focus on the consequences of the punishment, while retributivism is concerned with the retributive justice which is associated with the infliction of harm on the transgressor. Ideas Used In Utilitarian or Retributivist Theories Given that that utilitarianism is both a theory of punishment and ethics, it mainly takes on a consequentialist nature, because of its particular focus on the consequences of actions that have been executed by a particular group or an individual. Because of this, the moral theoretical standpoint of utilitarianism is that the balance of good and bad in a given action generates either good or bad. Under the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, pain stems from the bad, while pleasure, from the good. Because of this, pain and pleasure are taken by utilitarians as the y ardsticks for values in a utilitarian system. The import of this is that utilitarians deem punishment as being evil in itself, or intrinsically evil. The evil that utilitarians see in the infliction of punishment is premised on the assumption that punishment heralds suffering or unhappiness. Utilitarians hold it that despite the negative connotations of punishment, yet its consequences can be positive, and hence, justifiable (Ewing, 1927). On the converse, retributionists see punishment as being intrinsically good. In fact, so convinced are retributionists about the goodness of punishment that that they assert that even if it appears that nothing beneficial will come from the meting out of punishment, yet it is expedient. This is to the extent that Emmanuel Kant waxes polemical that even if the end of the world should be imminent, yet the need to execute the last murder convict in prison is still indispensible. To retributivism, the meting out of punishment is intrinsically good sin ce: it is needful for the dispensation of justice; it allows people the chance to be treated in the manner that they deserve; and it allows people to treat one another with utmost respect, as autonomous agents, given that their choices and actions determine how they will be treated, in turn. In this case, there is justification of punishment since it is premised on a rational individual’s action. To utilitarians, the retributional approach to punishment and justification is unfavorable since it only increases the extent of suffering in the world, instead of abating it. Again, utilitarians posit that by vouching for the meting out of punishment, instead of reducing the suffering of this world, retributionists compound them, without making any reimbursements for them. Because of this, the retributionist approach does not move the world towards utmost happiness (the greatest pleasure for the greatest number), but away from it. The gravity of this is that utilitarianism takes awa y from the justification of punishment, given that punishment imposes suffering (Leo, 2006). Instead, for the utilitarians, the justification

Why might firms with exposure to foreign markets use foreign currency Coursework

Why might firms with exposure to foreign markets use foreign currency derivatives - Coursework Example A derivative is defined as ‘an instrument whose price is derived from, or depends on, the price of another asset’ (Hull 2009:779). When a company receives foreign currency against supply of services or goods to a foreign based importer, it acknowledges some kind of foreign exchange risk, since there is a possibility of fluctuation between currencies of both exporter and importer from the time of entering into the contract and receipt of funds from the foreign importer. Thus, in case of companies with substantial export earnings, it should assess the quantum of its forex exposure, create a road map for how to minimise that risk, to employ hedging strategies to minimise any substantial loss that may be encountered due to future forex fluctuations in the currencies where it is likely to receive from its foreign importers. (Bragg 2010: 207). For instance, if a company has quoted its export values in US$ and during the interval period where a foreign importer is under obligat ion to pay the exporter, if the dollar appreciates against the exporter’s currency, then the importer might be paying with a decreased –value currency, which creates the company to account for a foreign exchange loss at the time of receipt of funds. (Bragg 2010: 208). As per Froot, Scharstein and Stein (1993), if the level of capital investment of a company is high, the chance for employing forex derivatives in its risk management policy is always on the increase. (Froot, Scharstein and Stein 1993:1631). ... ers of the international companies opt these derivatives so as to take the positions in the anticipation of revenues (speculation) or employment of these instruments to minimise the risk inherent with day to day management of their company’s cashflow hedging).( Aswathappa 2010 :543). The probable advantages from employing forex derivatives are reliant on the anticipated exchange rate movements. Thus, it is essential to comprehend why the exchange rate moves over time before employing the forex derivatives for risk coverage. Different Kinds of Forex Derivatives Forex Forwards: Forward is comprised of spot transactions that have been retained for less than 180 days but held over 48 hours when they due for payment and paid at the current prevailing spot price. If you minus the bid price with that of ask price, then you can arrive at the transaction cost. Forex swaps are financial transactions associated with the swapping of two currency amounts on a particular date and a reverse exchange of the analogues' amount at an afterward date. The main objective is to administer currency risks and liquidity by executing forex transactions at the most apt time. In fact, the underlying currency is borrowed and lent concurrently in both currencies, for instance, by selling Euro for US$ for spot value and consenting to reverse the deal at an afterdate. (Brickford& Brickford 2007:7) Forex Futures: A future can be illustrated as a standardised contract to sell or buy a particular asset at a price previously consented to and at a fixed future date. Forex futures are standardised financial instruments that are negotiated in organised markets. Forex futures have many probable benefits but also have many probable risks. Forex futures markets are not only heavily regulated but also

Public Enemy's Can't truss it Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Public Enemy's Can't truss it - Research Paper Example Chuck D. one of the Public Enemy in an interview with Melody Maker in the year 1991 gave an insight to the song meaning or rather what their song was addressing by saying, the song was about how the corporate world of today had perfected the demoralizing act of slavery. In addition, he talked on how they cannot control what they create in the music industry and because of the presence of the media, they can neither control on how they run their lives or their state of mind-what they are thinking. Furthermore, that the various circumstances that they do not have power over force them to limit their working and restricts them from having ownership on any property or business. Consequently, there will be lack of jobs while the greater forces he identified as the white people had jobs because they owned businesses. He goes on to explain how the white people have put in place various institutions that that provides lessons on how to live in America when the blacks did not have any institu tions to teach them. He argues that the only institution that the blacks could turn to is their families but that too could not help as they were subjected to slavery. Chuck D finally remarked that the song was about the ongoing cost of the black holocaust which people choose to ignore while the others such as the Jewish holocaust was being addressed (Lemelle, p38). By the use of the term holocaust Chuck D referred to the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of the blacks who tried to stand up and make a change by denying them their rights. This has changed ever since through the years as an increasing number of rappers have taken control of their marketing and business opportunities. They have grown so opportunistic that by mentioning a product on their lyrics they would be paid. A good example is Jay-Z on his 2000 track â€Å"give it to me† where he gives a rap placement to Motorola, using a line in the lyrics â€Å"Motorola, two way page

Court case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Court case - Essay Example On 26th October 2010 the accused was arrested again and jailed on several charges, namely: Grand Larceny on the 2nd and 8th of June, breaking and entering with intent on 8th June, credit card theft on 22nd January and receipt of stolen property on 18th June. Pre-sentence report was ordered on 12th November. Evidence for the preceding charges was submitted on 14th December and a true bill was issued by the Grand Jury. A review of all the charges and the case was made on 21st December and a trial was scheduled for 22nd February 2011. The case was postponed again and set on 28th March. The judicial body deciding on the case was the County Circuit Court Criminal Division. The accused was facing 30 years for 7 counts of grand larceny, 2 counts of receipt of stolen property, 1 count of credit card theft and 1 count of breaking and entering with intent to commit other misdemeanors. On top of this, the accused was already serving probation for driving under influence. Accused was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $29,328.15. Due to the number of evidence and witnesses, the accused plead guilty. Consequently, the sentence was reduced to 2 years and 8 months with supervised probation for 5 years succeeding release from prison. Because the accused had committed the same crime several times, it is the victims’ opinion that the offender did not deserve the plea bargain and subsequent reduction in prison term. Although I do not share the victims’ feeling of unfairness, I found a couple of things surprising. First is the offer for plea bargain. The accused committed seven (7) similar offenses in a span of six (6) months. Obviously, any feeling of remorse is doubtful as he seems to jump into one offense after another. Leniency in prison term does not seem to be appropriate. Secondly, I wonder about the chronological aspect of the arrests made. The first arrest was made for offenses on 15th March, 18th

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS - Essay Example Monopoly may have negative effects to the consumers and even to the economy of a given country. There have been controversies on monopolistic business practices especially on large companies that dominate the market such as Google Company. Owing to the negative impacts of monopolistic business practices, monopoly laws have undergone changes over the past years in the American constitution. The first monopoly law in the United States to be enacted was the Sherman antitrust act in 1890. The law was passed to help cub the sky rocketing prices that were being set by the monopolistic businesses (Washington State Office of The Attorney General, web). This was a reaction to the public outcry for measures to be put in place to control prices of services and goods. The congress enacted additional two antitrust laws in 1914, which were federal commission trade act and the Clayton antitrust act. The federal trade commission act gave the federal trade commission authority to enforce the antitrus t laws whereas the Clayton antitrust act was meant to strengthen the antitrust laws. The Clayton act undergone several amendments. The Robinson pitman act of 1936 was the first amendment that introduced the ban to certain business disciplinatory conduct. The Hart Scot Rodin act 1976 was another amendment that required businesses merging to notify the federal government (Washington State Office of The Attorney General, web). Moreover, most states have enacted various antitrust laws over the past years. Google is a company that has been in the technology market for quite some time now being one of the most reliable in providing services in the information technology. Google offers a variety of services and products to its customers and has been improving over the past years posing a threat to other similar businesses in the market. Google as a company has its operations across the globe and most people are happy with the kind of services offered by the company. Google dominates the se arch engine market in the united state by 67% and above 90% in the United Kingdom. With such an enormous market dominance, comes great responsibilities which when not properly taken care of, the company may be accused of monopoly. Over the past few years, there have been controversies that the company is engaging in monopolistic business practices while going about their business. Arguably, this will only depend on an individual’s perspective on monopolistic business practices and state laws on monopoly. In my opinion, Google Company is not a monopoly the reason being it has competitors in the market and it is the responsibility of a company to satisfy the needs of its customers. For instance, personally I prefer Google search engine to others because it is fast and effective in retrieving the information required. The fact that a customer opt for Google to provide services does not necessary implies that the company restricts trade. The argument is rather simple; it is becau se of certain interests the consumers prefer one service provider to others. It is upon the competitors to up their game in the market to cope with the dynamic and competitive nature of today’s market in the information technology. In addition, this is the era of information technology overload and it is not wrong for a customer to prefer a specific option (Ferenstein, web). A business can

John Kotters Eight Steps to Change Essay Example for Free

John Kotters Eight Steps to Change Essay A Systematic Approach: Eight Steps to Change. We shall use the impact of low-cost airline as an example to understand each step. In 2003, Lufthansa was facing intense competition from low-cost airline on short-haul domestic flights. In the fight for domination in the German skies, Lufthansa intend to match the low-cost rivals by expanding its own network of cut-price domestic and European services. Establish a sense of urgency. From previous experiences of battling competition and enforcing change, the first step leading to the successful implementation of change is the creation of urgency. Establishing a sense of urgency is vital for eliminating contentment and achieving the collaboration needed to implement change. Employees are required to co-operate, understand the differences between the company’s current situation and a desired future participate and step up to the mark in order to succeed. . 2. 2Step 2. Create a powerful guiding coalition. Once sense of urgency is established within the organisation, the next step is forming a strong group of guiding coalition. The group could consist of internal or external organisation members with significant credibility and authority. These â€Å"outsiders† can provide valuable judgement, experiences and ideas that in turn allow the employees to share a common level of understanding for change. 3. 2. 3Step 3. Develop a compelling vision. Obviously, the reason for changes is discontentment with the current situation and having the desire for a better future. For that reason, management have to develop a clear and accomplishable vision that consists of these characteristics: a desirable future, compelling, realistic, focused, flexible and, easy to communicate. They have to be specific about how the change will improve the organisation and how those improvements will benefit employees in the organisation. 3. 2. 4Step 4. Communicate the vision. During the implementation of change, there are bound to have resisters opposing the change. Communication is the crucial factor to convert the resisters with managers taking advantages of all the communication channels in the organisation to get the transformation effort across to all. It must be able to convey and explain the specifically how the vision will benefit them. 3. 2. 5Step 5. Empower others to act on the vision. In every change, there are bound to be obstacles. The first four steps encourage employees to accept changes. To further support change, obstacles that obstruct the way to attaining the vision should be eliminated. If the obstacles happen to be an employee, the organisation may well have to decide the option available or sever the relationship with the individual. 3. 2. 6Step 6. Generate short-term wins Depending on the significance of change, some transformation of change might take years to before it is successfully implemented. In the case of Lufthansa, in order to top the low-cost aviation industry, the duration might approximately take ten years. Attitude and motivation among employees might fade along the way. Soon, they will loose sight of the vision and become discouraged and disappointed therefore Lufthansa should set up multiple short-term win situations in a major transformation change. 3. 2. 7Step 7. Consolidate gains and push for more change. It is important to note that celebrating a short-term win might create complacency among employees. So instead of celebrating or declaring victory prematurely, organisation should take the opportunity to implement larger changes. With the confidence and belief, employees will be able to accept larger and more drastic changes than before. Organisation should build on the current momentum to push for more change. 3. 2. 8Step 8. Anchor new approaches in the company’s culture. Once the objective has been achieved, prove the positive result to employees. After that, management should ensure that cementation work such as new working methodologies and policies are enforced into the company culture whereby continuous improvement and changes are seen as norm and survival.

An Essay About Orbits Communications Essay

An Essay About Orbits Communications Essay The word orbit we hear it very often, whenever the space shuttle launched or it meets up ISS (International Space Station) or when a rocket launches a payload, we always come across the word ‘orbit. But what actually the orbit is? An orbit is a specific path on which an artificial satellite revolves/travels around another body or planet .This path is regular and repeating .Satellite can be natural and artificial, like Moon .Moon itself acts like a satellite which travels around the Earth in a particular path. In the solar system , nine planets including Earth ,revolves around the sun in an orbit .Satellite that travels around the Earth are not in a constant distance from Earth, it varies .Sometimes its closer and sometimes far away. The closest orbit of satellite around the Earth is called â€Å"perigee† and farthest orbit called â€Å"apogee†. The time required for a satellite to complete full orbit is called a â€Å"period†. According to Isaac Newtons first law of motion, a moving object will remain in motion unless something pulls it or push it, and that is gravity. Without Earths gravity, satellite would go off in the space along a straight path .With Earths gravity it keep on pulled satellite back to Earth. To maintain the orbit, the gravitational force and the momentum of moving object have to be balanced. Another factor is Escape velocity. It is the speed of an object (satellite) to break free from the gravity of the planet and enters into a certain orbit. It depends on the mass of the planet and varies from planets to planets and the distance from the centre of the planet to the object (satellite) is also important. The escape velocity of Earth is approx. 11.3 km (7 miles)/hr. Orbital Velocity: Orbital velocity is the required speed needed for an object (satellite) to stay in an orbit. It is about and altitude of 242 km, approx 17,000 miles /hr. [4] SATELLITE ORBITS There are three different types of orbits High Earth orbit (Geostationary orbit), Medium Earth orbit (MEO), and Low Earth orbit (LEO).The orbit selected for satellite is depend on its usage and application. Direct Broadcast Programmes and weather communication satellites use Geostationary Orbit, as they are far away from the Earth and they travel in the Earths direction therefore looks stationary .Satellite navigation systems (NAVSTAR or GPS [global positioning system] ),designed to navigate a particular region or area and satellite phones are in MEO(Medium Earth Orbit). NASAs Earth Observing System and other scientific satellites uses LEO (Lower Earth Orbit). [5] [6] Earth orbits. [7] ORBITAL DISTANCES[8] , [9] Orbits Orbit Initials Miles Km 1-way Delay Orbit altitude (KM above earths surface) Low Earth Orbit (LEO) 100-500 160 1,400 50ms 200 1200 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) 6,000 12,000 10-15,000 100ms 1200 35790 Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) ~22,300 36,000 250 ms 35790 Circular and Elliptical Paths There are two types of orbit paths, in which satellite travels around the Earth, circular and elliptical. In circular orbits, the distance between the earth and satellite remains same all the time. When a satellite orbit around the Earth, it creates a plane, which goes across the geo -centre or centre of gravity of Earth. If the satellite orbit with Earths rotation, it is called â€Å"posigrade† and if it is in opposite direction, it is â€Å"retrograde†. The path of satellite around Earth is also defined. If the satellite travels directly overhead the Earth, it makes a circle which had the centre of gravity of Earth known as â€Å"Ground Track† and it consists of single point on Earths Equator. [10] Satellite orbit paths. [11] HEIGHT OF ORBIT The distance between satellite and earth or the height of orbit decides how fast the satellite is going to travels around the Earth. The satellite motion is always controlled by the gravity of the Earth. The more nearer the satellite is, gravity gets stronger and it travels more faster. For instance, NASAs Aqua satellite completes the period in 99 minutes around Earth at approx 750kms up, on the other hand a weather satellite takes 23 hrs, 56 mins, and 4 secs to complete a period at 42,164km away from Earth. If we look at Moons one complete period around Earth, it takes 28days at 384,403 kms from the centre of Earth. By changing the height of satellite, it effects on its orbital speed as well. For changing the speed of the satellites orbit, the satellite operator fire thrusters which helps the satellite to accelerate more. It would boost the orbit, in terms of increasing the altitude but it will slow the orbital velocity. Instead of that, the satellite operator should fire the thrusters in opposite direction of the satellite ,By doing this ,it will push the satellite into the lower orbit , which causes increment in orbital velocity. ECCENTRICITY OF AN ORBIT It directs to the pattern, shape of the orbit path. With a low eccentricity the satellite will move close to the Earth in circle (Lower earth orbit). The Eccentricity of an orbit refers to the diversion of orbit from an ideal circle path. With eccentricity of (e) = 0 the orbit forms a circular path, the value of eccentricity lies between 0 ~1.With high (e) = 0.9 the orbits forms an elliptical orbit, the nearest distance from Earth is called perigee and furthest distance is called apogee. In any elliptical orbit, it focused on two focal points, and one of them is geo-centre of Earth, Picture taken from [link] , (NASA illustration by Robert Simmon Another crucial factor is plane of satellite orbital path. An orbital inclination is the angle between the plane of the orbit with the equator of the earth. If the orbit is directly overhead the equator of Earth, it will have an inclination of 0 ° or 180 ° and generally it is called equatorial orbits .And if the orbit is passing over the north and south poles of the Earth , it will make and inclination of 90 °and known as polar orbits. Angle of Inclination [link1] , [link2]. Another feature is the angle of elevation, above the earths plane with a given location of earth and time. It plays an important role when a contact between satellite and earth station is required. Angle of elevation means, when the satellite appears on the horizontal axis of earth. Signals from Earth station may be interrupted if the angle is too small or if the earth stations antenna is not located on high altitude. Minimum of 5 ° angle of elevation is acceptable for satisfactory results. [link] All together, the satellite height, inclination and eccentricity helps to observe the satellite path and what vision it will have on the Earth. TYPES OF ORBITS HIGH EARTH ORBIT [GEO (Geostationary /Geosynchronous orbit)] When a satellite approaches 42,164 kms away from the centre of the Earth (approx 36,000kms from the surface of Earth) it enters into a special plane of orbit where its period starts matching the earths rotation and it orbits the same velocity as Earths. So, the satellite starts behaving as stationary over the Earths equator surface. This High Earth Orbit is known as Geosynchronous. A satellite moving in circular orbit directly overhead the Earths surface with eccentricity and angle of inclination at 0 °forms a geosynchronous also known as geostationary orbit. As it follows the Earth , so it completes its 1 period in 24 hours. GEO orbit is an ideal orbit for monitoring weather forecast events ,because in GEO orbit , the satellite can provide a constant image of same surface range as it follows the Earth.GEO stationary satellites like, GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) sends data after every few minutes about wind , regular inspection of cloud impressions and water vapours. Launched and built by NASA, operated by NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) .GOES satellite also helps to locate the ships and aeroplanes in distress situation. Earth images at different intervals of time. [link] As geostationary satellite is always on fixed single position, they can be useful for satellite phones, direct satellite broadcast, radio etc. Just beyond the bounds of High Earth Orbit, there are Lagrange Points. At these points the earths gravity pull cancels the Suns gravity pull .Any satellite placed on these points will get proportional pull towards the Sun and the Earth and it will start moving with the Earth around the Sun. There are 5 Lagrange points, L1 L2 are located opposite sides of the Earth i.e., night and day sides. L3 is located on the other side of the Sun, adverse side of the earth. Only are stable points , located at 60 ° above and behind the Earth in same orbit. On L1, L2 L3 any slight agitation will drop out the satellite out of Lagrange point. At these critical points, they need constant and regular adjustments to stay balanced within the orbit. But on L4 and L5 even if they get disturbed they return back to their initial point. Lagrange Points MEDIUM EARTH ORBIT Satellites which orbits in medium earth orbit they move more quickly as compared to GEO because they are closer to Earth. There are two types of medium earth orbits, Semi Synchronous orbit and Molniya Orbit. 1) Semi Synchronous orbit: This orbit is a near to circular orbit with a very low eccentricity, with a distance of 26,560 kms away from the centre of Earth approximately 20,200 kms from the Earths surface. At this distance, the satellite takes 12 hours to complete its 1 period/orbit. As satellite orbits, the Earth revolves under it and in 24 hours of time, the satellite come across the same 2 points everyday on the equator. This orbit is persistent and much more predictable. This orbit is used by GPS satellites (Global Positioning System). 2) Molniya Orbit: This is the second orbit in MEO, the Molniya orbit. Made by Russians, it works satisfactory for determining high latitudes. With the high eccentricity of 0.722 and inclination of 63.4 ° it forms a huge ellipse orbital path with the Earth, and it is very close with the Earth on one edge. Due to this, it gets accelerated by the earths gravity. As it orbits more faster when it is near to Earth and it slows down, when it moves far away .Due to the high eccentricity, it spends more time at the top of ellipse orbit. Similar to Semi Synchronous orbit, it takes 12 hours to complete its 1 period/orbit and in 24 hours of time, the satellite come across the same 2 points everyday .Molniya orbit is useful for communication in far hemispheres. This orbit is used by Russian communications satellites and the Sirius radio satellites. LOW EARTH ORBIT With a 160-1,240 miles altitude, it forms a low earth orbit in a circular path above the Earths surface. The satellites moving in this orbit complete one period/orbit in roughly 90 minutes. It means they can faster in LEO at approximately 17,000 mph.[link]. Mostly weather communication satellites and scientific satellites are in Low earth orbit .the satellites in LEO got different angle of inclination .the inclination angle depends on the purpose of what to monitor. For example, TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite tasked to monitor the rainfalls in the tropic regions. So that it has a low inclination of 35 ° and it is closer to the equator. NASAs Earth observing system satellites are in LEO and in polar orbits. As they orbits around the north to south poles, they are highly inclined and they takes 99 minutes to complete 1 period/orbit. In half of the period (e.g. north to south pole), they captured the daytime of Earths surface, and in second half period they capture the opposite night time side of the Earth. In 24 hours, the satellites in polar orbits capture the Earth twice, once in daytime and second in night time. The polar -orbiting satellites have one special spot on the equator which lets them to stay in 1 time. This orbit is a Sun Synchronous orbit which indicates that no matter whenever the satellite comes across the equator, the local solar time will be same on the ground as well. For example, Terra satellite, when it crosses the Brazil on equator the time is always about 10:30 am. After completing its one orbit in 99 minutes, when it next overpasses the Earth equator, it comes across the Ecuador or Colombia at about 10:30. The path of Sun-synchronous obit is very narrow. To maintain the sun -synchronous orbit, it is necessary for a satellite to achieve a height of 100 kms with an orbital inclination of 96 °. Accomplishing Maintain the Orbit: To launch a satellite into a particular orbit, an enormous amount of energy is required, and this energy is depends upon the height of the orbit, location of launch site and orbital inclination. For High Earth Orbits, requires huge energy boost just to reach their destination. Polar orbit satellites take more energy as compared to the satellites which are overhead the Earths equator as they didnt gets boost from earths momentum .The ISS (International Space Station) orbits at orbital inclination of 51.6397 ° and it helps other space shuttles to reach to it . Maintaining the Orbit: perturbation There are many factors which effects the orbital inclination of satellites. As in the solar system there are many other gravity pulls as well, such as from the Sun , Moon , and Jupiter , the biggest planet in the solar system NASAS LEO satellites , requires maintenance every year to maintain the inclination of sun-synchronous orbit. Satellites in LEO are also dragged out from their orbit because of the atmosphere. Satellites in lower earth orbit moves through the thinnest layers of the atmosphere where air friction is quite strong and it is more than enough to pull them out from the orbit or pull them closer to Earth. If the satellite comes closer to Earth, Earths gravity accelerates them to boost up, it will either burn up or fall down to earth. Air always rises and expands if heated. The air in the atmosphere rises and expands due to the Suns extra enormous amount of energy. The thinner sheet of atmosphere rises and thicker layer under it takes it place. Now, the satellite orbits in thicker layer instead of thinner layer. It creates more friction between the medium and the satellite. As there is a lot of space junk, orbital debris in orbital paths.

Influence of Technology in Modern Life: Social Networks

Influence of Technology in Modern Life: Social Networks The accessibility of the new information technology has led that social structures change, and with it the ways of relating to others. With this process of change has created what is known as virtual communities, Rheingold defined the virtual communities as a group of social aggregates which arises from internet when a group of people create public discussions long enough to create networks of personal relationships in cyberspace. (Rheingold, 1993, The Virtual Community,). Thus individuals create new social networks where they can exchange information anytime, anywhere, depending on their needs and desires. Issues such as that new information technologies can interfere interpersonal relationships are increasingly questioned by several studies that analyze the impact positive and negative to the use and abuse leads. The aim of this essay is to discuss the pros and cons of the effects that are producing social networks. The influence of technology in modern life entails negative and positive aspects, Bauman (2010) argues that contemporary men are desperate to relate, however they avoid a permanent relationship, for fear of the tensions that might imply, contrary to what which are not able or willing to endure, as they would limit the freedom they need. The relations are characterized by the ambiguity and they occupy the spotlight of modern individual’s liquids, being the priority in their life projects. Digital communication has caused formal changes in communicative genres and materials in interpersonal relationships (Laborda Gil, 2005). Interpersonal relationships are in constant transformation in everyday human being, and this transformation have influenced the new technological applications generating changes in interpersonal communication. The fact that digital interactions between people increases, is creating a different perception of space and time, a sense of immediacy of events and an acceleration in the process. Interpersonal relations is mutual interaction between two or more people. It involves social and emotional skills that promote effective communication skills, listening, conflict resolution and authentic self-expression. One of the first theorists to dedicate himself to the study of interpersonal behavior was Leary (1957), defining it as any behavior that is related open, conscientious, ethical or symbolically with another real or imagined collective human. Today, we tend to regard interpersonal relationships and cognitive processes as two sides of the same coin, as it begins to pay more attention to the emotional and motivational aspects involved in the interaction, and integrate the contributions from the field of interpersonal theories. This is how it leads to the deepening understanding of the cognitive processes that are involved in interactions with other individuals. However, from a critical look Bauman (2010) argues that people rather than tra nsmit their experience and expectations in terms of relationships and relationships, talk about connections, connecting and staying connected. Instead of talking about couples, prefer to speak of networks. Unlike relations, kinship, partner or any other idea that emphasizes mutual commitment; disengagement network represents a matrix that connects and disconnects at the same time. In networks both activities are enabled at the same time, ie connect and disconnect are equally legitimate elections, equal status and equal importance. The network suggests moments of being in contact and other time to snoop; in the networking the connections are established on demand and can be cut as desired, being able to be dissolved before becoming detestable. The pre virtual relationships and real relationships are replaced by virtual relationships or connections. These latter are easily to access and output, are characterized by being sensible, hygienic, easy to use, friendly for the users, as oppo sed to the heavy, inert, slow and complicated the trues. The relationship between users of social networks goes from vertically to horizontal, enabling a fictitious equality, in which any user becomes emitter producing their own content, and even as a receiver transmitter information for Caldevilla Domà ­nguez (2010) these new forms of communication and interaction, emerge new threats to privacy, if does not differ the public for each of the profiles, being one of the disadvantages of using networks, the identity spoofing and individualism as possible trend to the actual isolation from sociability network. The absence of direct perception of the body and the inaccessibility of the same in cyberspace constitute a limit whose intersubjective effects are paradoxical, as it is lived as both defect and deficiency in the relationship, or as possibility of eliminating a factor of discrimination against others. The difficulty, would lead search reinforcing relations to others through other means with which manages to avoid physical presence or direct exposure in social situations and can remain anonymous or develop a fictitious, or even personality, leave the virtual relationship without negative consequences directly perceptible. Pretend downplay changes in human relations that the new virtual culture presents is to deny the possibility of believing that a new era related between social media and individuals are emerging. These relations between both parties requires significant knowledge to recognize and use those tools to approach the other from the place that elapses your experience. It will be left to the professionals responsible for an election that contributes to the growth and welfare of those who demand service. References Bauman, Z. (2003).Liquid love. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Bergo, B. (2006).Emmanuel Levinas. [online] Plato.stanford.edu. Available at: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/levinas/ [Accessed 6 Apr. 2015]. Caldevilla Dominguez, D. (2010).Las redes sociales. TipologiÃÅ' a, uso y consumo de las redes 2.0 en la sociedad digital actual. EspanÃÅ'Æ’a: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias de la Informacion. Internet Archive, (2015).Interpersonal diagnosis of personality; a functional theory and methodology for personality evaluation : Leary, Timothy, 1920-1996 : Free Download Streaming : Internet Archive. [online] Available at: https://archive.org/details/interpersonaldia00learrich [Accessed 6 Apr. 2015]. WhatIs.com, (2015).What is virtual community? Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-community [Accessed 6 Apr. 2015]. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-community Bauman, Z. (2010). Amor Là ­quido: acerca de la fragilidad de los và ­nculos humanos. 1a ed. 13 ª reimp. Buenos Aires: Fondo de Cultura Econà ³mica. Laborda Gil, X. (2005). Tecnologà ­as, Redes y Comunicacià ³n Interpersonal. aà ±o XII nà ºmero II (24) / 2011 fundamentos en humanidades 229 Efectos en las formas de la comunicacià ³n digital. Anales de documentacià ³n, N °8, pp. 101-116. Leary, T. (1957). Interpersonal diagnosis of personality: A functional theory and met- hodology for personality evaluation. New York: Ronald Press. Caldevilla Domà ­nguez, D. (2010). Tipologà ­a, uso y consumo de las redes 2.0 en la sociedad digital actual. Documentacià ³n de las Ciencias de la Informacià ³n, vol. 33, pp. 45-68. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/levinas/ https://archive.org/details/interpersonaldia00learrich Vodafones Entry into Japan: An Analysis Vodafones Entry into Japan: An Analysis Globalization is regarded as a tool which has facilitated the movement of businesses from independent market economies to an inter-reliant and incorporated global economy thereby reducing trade barriers between countries and continents. (Hill, 2007). With the reduction of these trade barriers many companies have grown from Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) to Multi-National Enterprise (MNE). Through international growth and globalization these MNEs are recognisable world wide. One such organisation is the Vodafone group which is a telecommunications company founded in the United Kingdom. Vodafone is currently ranked as the 11th most valued brand in the world and 2nd in Europe. (Vodafone, 2009).According to Anwar (2003) they have achieved this status by using different market entry strategies to expand their enterprise via acquisitions and joint ventures with Orange (UK), Air Touch and Verizon (USA) and Mannesmann (Germany). Although Vodafone has been successful in the above listed c ountries, its entry into Japan failed after a few years due to reasons which will be explained later in this essay. This is the main reason for the choice of Vodafone as a case study. This essay will first give an outline of Vodafones history and then provide a review of theories which influence global expansion and internationalization, as they relate to market entry, business strategy and culture. Following this a case study of Japans mobile market and an analysis of Vodafones operations and strategies as they affect its entry to and exit from the market will be provided. Finally, recommendations based on their choice of strategy will be made. Company Background Vodafone was created in 1991 as a subsidiary of Racal Telecom (RT) which was formed in 1984. RT was created from a joint venture between Racal Strategic Radio Ltd (80% which was a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc and winner of one of the first two cellular telephone network licenses in the UK), Millicom (15%) a US-based Communications Company and the Hambros Technology Trust (5%), a UK-based venture capital fund. The name Vodafone was coined with the first four letters of its name denoting its services (VOice Data Fone). (Vodafone, 2009) Vodafone has become a very prominent mobile operator in the world with a large presence in Europe, America, Asia, Middle East and Africa. Its services include but are not limited to mobile advertisement, network business, distribution business, retail shops, data services, Short Messaging Service (SMS), multi-media portal, third generation (3g) licences and data and fixed broadband services. (Vodafone, 2009) Over time Vodafone has expanded into different parts of the globe including, Belgium, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, France, Romania, USA, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa to mention a few. (Vodafone.com, 2009) Vodafones early success has been attributed to its usage of key niche strategies and first mover advantages regarding location economies. This helps gain market share which leads to economies of scale and earning curve advantages through the utilization of its core competencies in foreign markets. (Anwar, 2003; Pan et al, 1999) Vodafone entered the Japanese market in 1999 when it inherited stakes in nine regional mobile phone companies through its merger with US rival Air Touch making it the second largest shareholder in the market at that time. Another reason for their entry into the Japanese market was that they considered the market as very vibrant and it would give them a technological edge over domestic and European rivals. (Anwar, 2003; Dodourova, 2003; Kim et al, 2009) Theoretical Review In considering global expansion, companies need to make decisions about the choice of market to enter, timing, products to be sold and market entry mode. (Hill, 2007). Market entry modes refers to the way in means an organisation chooses to enter a particular market such as are exporting, franchising, foreign direct investment, international joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries. (Hill, 2007; Root, 1994) Although all these forms of entry have been used by Vodafone, for the purpose of this paper specific attention will be paid to the use of acquisitions and joint ventures (JVs) as entry modes, since they have been used repeatedly by Vodafone in different locations including India, Japan, Egypt, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Australia. (Vodafone, 2009; Anwar, 2003). An acquisition is a situation whereby a firm acquires a company in an intended market while a joint venture involves the combination of two or more firms to create a company. JVs enable firms to split the necessary risk and capital required for international ventures. They usually involve a foreign company with a new product and a local firm with access to distribution and local knowledge such as culture, political and business systems. However, using JVs has its disadvantages as firms face difficulties merging different cultures and some parties may not understand the strategic intent of their partners which may lead to problems (Root, 1994; Pearce and Robinson, 2007;Hill,2007 ). On the other hand, acquisitions allow firms to make very rapid international expansions and can be accomplished quickly. However, they are very expensive and legal regulatory requirements and organisational culture may act as barriers. Despite these drawbacks they are considered a very safe means of global expansion. (Ives and Jarvenpaa, 1991, Pearce and Robinson, 2007) The internationalization model (Uppsala) advices that global expansion is a learning process and that the more experience a firm gathers it strengthens its dedication to foreign markets. (Hollenson, 2004). However, most firms have to consider the level of global integration and local responsiveness (both are at alternative ends of the standardization scale) required in the target market. This is known as I-R framework, since it is a necessity for firms operating in multiple country locations to be responsive to market (cost reduction) and governmental demands (local needs) for each location. Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) divided the framework into four strategies, namely global, International, Multi-Domestic and Transnational. However, many companies tend to shift from one strategy to another in an attempt to meet local demands and capitalize on competitive advantages. (Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) in Roth and Morrison, 1990; Hill, 2007, Pearce and Robinson, 2007) Vodafone attempted to move from the global to the transnational strategy because they largely ignored local responsiveness and lost market share as a result of the international strategy. The advantages and disadvantages of the global and transnational will now be examined. Global integration indicates the fusion of different national economic systems into one global market. A key aspect is the pressure of cost reduction while local responsiveness refers to the readiness of firms to make modifications to their products, services, and ways of doing business at local levels considering local culture and needs. (Hill, 2007; Pearce and Robinson, 2007)The core focus is of the global model is on high global integration since firms sell standardized products in and across all national markets with minimal levels of local adaptation. Also, most business decisions are made from the firms central office as there is a great need for resource sharing and cross border co-ordination which is sometimes difficult to achieve. Organisations use this strategy due to high levels of competition in the global market and all Strategic Business Units are mutually dependent. As a result of this the firm attempts to maximize the advantages of location economies and the experienc e curve and it is not very concerned with responsiveness to local markets. Location economies refer to the advantages a company would accrue from being in a particular location and the experience curve that shows the level of experience gained based on reduction of production cost. Many MNEs, such as McDonalds in the United Kingdom, have used this strategy successfully. Others for example Vodafone in Japan, have failed due to the level of local responsiveness needed for the location. (Daniels et al, 2009; Hollenson, 2004; Hill, 2007; Weber, 2007, Kim et al, 2009; Pearce and Robinson, 2007; Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) in Roth and Morrison, 1990) The Transnational strategy focuses on satisfying the condition of local responsiveness and global integration irrespective of pressure levels for both factors. Its has been suggested that this strategy be used if cost pressure and local responsiveness are high or low as they fluctuate depending on the level of development of the country or location and globalization. (Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) in Roth and Morrison, 1990; Hill 2007) This approach allows MNEs to tailor their products and marketing practices to the intended market and more profit is made in a situation where cost reduction pressures are not great and the firm can increase price. Although in situations where cost reduction pressures are high the organisations make try to make profit from other means. (Roth and Morrison, 1990; Weber, 2007) According to Hill, (2007) this strategy is difficult to implement as firms attempt to balance economies of scale, attain low costs through location economies, experience curve effects, local responsiveness and global learning (Global learning refers to the transference of knowledge and products between the firms head office and its subsidiaries). The difficulty arises from organisational problems because there is a need for firm central control and organization to achieve efficiency, local flexibility and decentralization to attain local market receptiveness. This is aside from the need to acquire global and organisational learning for competitive advantage. CASE STUDY The Japanese mobile industry was considered a year or two ahead of the rest of the world and was ready for Vodafone to enter because Japans market was more technologically advanced than most other European telecommunication markets. It was the pioneer country for the third generation network {3G} and the European market was becoming saturated and competition and regulatory pressures were forcing prices lower. (Economist, 2004; Fackler and Belson, 2005; Yamauchi et al 2004). Also the Japanese market was highly competitive and Japan was the first country to introduce a packet switched wireless network {DoPa}; the first to introduce wireless internet {i-mode} in 1999; the first to introduce camera phones, 3Gs in 2000 and 3.5G in 2003. Japan had advanced broadband communications system as early as 2000. (Yamauchi et al 2004; Kim et al 2009; Chen et al 2007) In addition, the Japanese market is known for its opposition to foreign investors and has always been considered as a hard market to penetrate as consumers usually favour local brands over foreign products. Also Japans governance has a strong hold on corporate activities and many organization owners usually do not do sell or merge with foreign investors unless they are convinced of the firms performance levels which in turn makes acquisitions and mergers with foreign investors a difficult process.(Anonymous,2002) VODAFONE IN JAPAN. As mentioned earlier Vodafone entered Japan in 1999 as a result of its Acquisition of Air touch in America which gave it a 26% stake in J-Phone a Japanese mobile phone group by 2000 Vodafone had acquired an estimated 60% of J Phone. Vodafone took its time before entering the Japanese market. This approach paid off as they could not afford a hostile takeover as was the case when they acquired Mannesman in Germany because this could have affected their relationship with other Japanese stakeholders. (Anonymous, 2002; Blokand, 2007; Anwar, 2003) After its acquisition J Phone seemed to be making progress as it rose to become the 3rd largest telecommunications group in Japan by 2002 as its subscriber base had exceeded 12 million in the same year. J Phones target population prior to its acquisition was young adults and they had developed handsets with gadgets that were appealing to the young generation. They also introduced the Sha-mail (Picture messaging service) which marked the beginning of the picture messaging trend in Japan. Their marketing campaigns involved using Japanese pop stars and idols to attract new customers (Blokand, 2007; Dodourova, 2003) However, with the introduction of Vodafones globally standardized product things began to change. Vodafone introduced handsets which were acceptable in Europe to Japan ignoring the fact that Japan was more technologically advanced than Europe. As a result of this J Phone (re-named Vodafone KK in 2003) began to loose its customer base. Also in an attempt to create a global brand Vodafone delayed the launch of its 3g service (which allows customer watch videos and use teleconferencing) because they wanted to create a global product allowing their local competitors such as the KDDI group and NTT DoCoMo to commence 3g usage one year ahead of them. Eventually, when Vodafone KKs 3g package was finally launched supply was limited because the 3g handsets were being shipped from overseas. (Hill, 2009; Blokand, 2007; the Economist, 2004) Also inadequate investment in network infrastructure caused Vodafone to suffer bad network connection that caused them to lose subscribers. (Euro-Technology, 2009) Vodafones choice of strategy for its expansion into Japan is obviously the global strategy advocates the standardization of all products and services irrespective of the level of local responsiveness required in the location. Vodafone attempted to change strategies by involving so level of local responsiveness(from global to transnational) via the introduction of handsets tailored for the Japanese market to rectify its underestimation of Japanese customers peculiarity by offering them what they required instead of what the company wanted. Also the Japanese government in 2004 brought in new regulations against handsets which could be roamed since there was a propensity for them to be used by criminals. (Euro-Technology, 2009; Anwar,2003) However due all the above listed reason Vodafone KK struggled to retain its market share from 2002 to 2004 (See Diagram) .Its competitors like DoCoMo, who was the market leader with about 56% share and KDDI with about 23%. Diagram I: Mobile Phone Subscribers Net Growth Source: The Economist, 2004(September 30th Edition) By 2004 when KDDI had moved most of its subscribers to the 3G technology and DoCoMo had moved about 10%, Vodafone had been able to connect only 1% of its subscribers (Economist, 2004). By February 2005, Vodafone had gained 527,300 subscribers while KDDI and DoCoMo had gained 10 million and 17 million 3G subscribers respectively. By October 2005, Vodafones figures dropped by 103, 100 subscribers while DoCoMo and KDDI had attracted 1.65 million and 1.82 million subscribers respectively. At this time, Vodafone KK had captured only 4.8% of the market. (Blokand, 2007; the Economist, 2004; Lewis, 2006) Vodafone sold its Japanese branch to Soft Bank in March 2006 and by October in the same year Soft Bank reported a year-on-year sales revenue increase of 144.3%, with operating profits up a staggering 260.4% because they used a purely localized approach and catered to the markets needs. (Jing, 2009) Nevertheless, Vodafones global strategy succeeded in Germany although according to Weber (2006) Germany was a few years behind Japan considering the obtainability of mobile services, such as data services, 3g, cameras and music phones. It was able to utilize its economies of scale and experience curve advantages, to maximize profits. Vodafone applied a slightly different strategy in entering this market as it merged with Mannesmann via a hostile bid for the company whilst it was in financial trouble. Mannesmann acquired Orange (UK) in 1999 and faced difficulties recuperating its investment. Vodafone saw this opportunity and bid for Mannesmann to subvert other companies like WorldCom or ATT acquiring the company. (Boemer, 2007) On entry into the market in 2000 Vodafone divested some of Mannesmann subsidiaries to recover funds. However, it is apparent from the above that the challenges Vodafone in Japan were much more complex in comparison to Germany. Its main competitors are T-Mobile, E plus and O2. At inception the Vodafone introduced its standard products from the United Kingdom like Voice calling and SMSs, mobile internet was not introduced until 2003 as it was not popular and Vodafone decided not to begin this service in Germany till 2005. (Boemer, 2007; Weber, 2006; Henten et al, 2004) Vodafone utilized different forms of marketing approaches but the most successful was its loyalty packaged dubbed stars introduced in 2002 helped it increase its market share substantially. Furthermore by 2005 Vodafone had gained 35% market share followed by O2 which had 32% then E Plus with 19% and T-Mobile had 14%. This was a total opposite of Vodafone performance in Japan. (Von Kuczkowski, 2005) In addition Japan is noted for being at the helm of technological development called gijutsu rikkoku in Japanese which means technological nation building and it exports its technology. Therefore it is possible to assume that the Japanese would be more interested in high-tech gadgets and services than Germans. (Boemer, 2007; Weber, 2006) The difference in cultural practices must not be ignored because the German business circle was not controlled by Guan Xi which refers to the relationships between people in a community the higher and tighter the level of Guan Xi a person has in China and Japan the better his business prospects within the country .(Yeung and Tung, 1996) Vodafone Japan did not generate a trustworthy brand image in the Japanese market and failure to tailor their product to the needs to its customers, which is a major faux pas in marketing and company survival made matters worse. Recommendations Vodafone in Japan would have succeeded if it had avoided using a global strategy as it had the capability to succeed, if it had considered the tastes of the people and attempted a transnational approach to its expansion plans. Also, Vodafone should have used its competitors products and services offering as a benchmark for its own services. Instead of taking a one size fits all approach into Japan as this had a negative impact on its services and performance. Similarly, if Vodafone had tried to satisfy its customer base of students and the younger population before endeavoring to penetrate a new market of families and the corporate world. Moreover, considering that J-Phone had been on a market increase streak for over five years, Vodafone should have used J-Phones local knowledge of the market and combined its experience create a winning team instead of trying to create a global brand and cut cost by introducing a large number of handsets that could be sold throughout the world. Private and Public Self: A Comparison of Identities Private and Public Self: A Comparison of Identities Private self is the information regarding to a person which he/she has difficulties to express publicly. Public self is the perspective other people view an individual as portrayed in public information, interaction with others and public action. Generally, public self relies on the public for definition but it’s also the individual’s perspective of the way he/she appears and steps taken when in public. Mostly, public self and private self is revealed in speaking and actions. Private and public speaking is generally feared almost by everybody. Some people will avoid public speaking at all costs. Sometimes, the avoidance may lead to missing a great chance to make an impression which is good and/ or long-lasting, opportunity to sell their product or themselves. Development of authentic speaking has made it easy for the improvement of the way people come across, and reduction of the people’s feeling of fear before and during their presentation. Authentic speaking de fers from other approaches since it doesn’t inculcate any other methodology or technique to the individual and the learning involves experience. Authentic speaking gets the individual to meditate on what he or she is thinking before speaking. Once the speaker opens their mouth to speak, he/she should be relaxed, comfortable and in a good mental state. Therefore, thorough preparation and mental awareness of the speaker’s own talk is paramount. In order for the individual to feel better and prepared for the task ahead, he/she should acknowledge the â€Å"script† and then rewrite it. This is due to the fact that the task (talk) has a profound impact on how the individual will feel. Physical posture is also necessary in creating confidence in a presenter. The presenter may adopt an upright and proud posture, but not trying to hide from the audience. Mostly, the reason as to why people fear public and private speaking is due to self-consciousness. Self-consciousness refers to an acute sense of self awareness. It is opposed to the philosophical definition of self-awareness since it is a pre-occupation with one’ self, the awareness that an individual being exists. An individual may have an unpleasant feeling of self-consciousness when he/she comes to know that other people are watching or observing him/her. The unpleasant feeling of self-consciousness is occasionally paired with paranoia or shyness. When an individual is self-conscious, he/she becomes aware of his/her own actions no matter how small they are. A person’s ability to perform complex actions can be impaired by such awareness. a person may be shy or introverted if he/she has a chronic tendency towards self-consciousness. Being excessively conscious of a person’s appearance or manner is at times problematic. Shyness and embarrassment, where the resul t is low self-esteem and lack of pride can be paired with self-consciousness. During high self-consciousness period, people come to the closest understanding themselves objectively, and this has potential to have impact on development of identity. The impact of self-consciousness has varying degree in people since; some are self-involved or constantly self-monitoring while others are quite and totally oblivious about themselves. Private self-consciousness is a norm to examine or introspect one’s inner self and feelings, while public self-consciousness is self-awareness resulting from other people’s views. Both types of self-consciousness are objectively personality traits which are considerably stable over time though there is no correlation between them. Public self-consciousness may lead to social anxiety and self-monitoring. Behavior is affected by various levels of self-consciousness since it is normal for people to act differently if they â€Å"lose themselves in crowd†. This can result to an inhibited and regularly destructive behavior. Different people have varying tendencies of self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is the means of communication where a person reveals himself/herself to another. It includes all that an individual choses to disclose to the other person about him/herself, to make him/her known. The information can be evaluative or descriptive and can comprise of aspirations, feelings, thoughts, successes, fears, failures, dreams, goals, as well as one’s favorites and dislikes. As social penetration theory poses, there are two self-disclosure dimensions which are breadth and depth. These dimensions are essential in developing a relationship which is fully intimate (Modell, 1993). Breadth disclosure is the range of topics which two individuals discuss while depth disclosure is the degree to which the revealed information is private or personal. Breadth disclosure is easier to be expressed first in a relationship since it has more accessible features which comprise layers of personality and daily live s such as preferences and occupations. It is considerably difficult to reach depth disclosure since its inner location comprises of painful memories and traits we keep secret from most people. Intimacy relies much upon self-disclosure which is expected to be reciprocal and appropriate. Assessment of self-disclosure can be done through analysis of costs and rewards. During early relational development is where most self-disclosure takes place but more intimate disclosure comes later. As social penetration theory poses, development of a relationship is relative to systematic changes in communication. Generally, relationships start with exchange of superficial information and eventually move to conversations which are more meaningful. It is essential to increase breadth and depth of a conversation if partners need to develop a more intimate relationship. Conversations between partners usually begin with â€Å"small talk† which provides little revelation about the speaker’ s information. It reaches the intimate level where the breadth and depth of the conversation increases and more personal details are revealed till it reaches the very intimate level where couples share extremely private information. Development of intimacy in relationships can only develop if both parties reciprocate disclosures. If only one partner reveals more intimate details while the other continues to disclose superficial information only, intimacy will not develop. The reciprocity process needs to be gradual and partners should match the intimacy level of the disclosures. Revelation of too personal information too soon causes an imbalance in the relationship and therefore making the other person uncomfortable. The gradual process differs from relationship to relationship and may depend on the communication partner. Reciprocity is the positive response from a person with whom one is sharing information. It can be described by three theories which are: norm of reciprocity, social exchange theory and the social attraction-trust hypothesis. The norm of reciprocity poses that reciprocating disclosure is a social norm and failure to adhere to it makes a person uncomfortable. The social exchange theory states th at people try to maintain equality in disclosing themselves since an imbalance in self-disclosure makes them uncomfortable. Social attraction-trust hypothesis states that people disclose themselves to one another since they have the belief that the person who they disclose the information to, likes and trusts them. There are two types of reciprocity which are extended reciprocity and turn-taking reciprocity. The extended reciprocity is where disclosure takes place over a period of time while turn-taking reciprocity is when there is immediate self-disclosure between partners. Disclosure and responsiveness form the key components for intimacy. The range of topics which individuals disclose (breadth) also varies in different cultures. For example, people from the American culture tend to reveal more personal topics like relationships, body, finances and other issues concerning their health and personality than any other cultures. This is not the case when it comes to individuals from the Japanese culture. The Japanese are very conservative and mostly don’t reveal their personal issues to the public. Also, the degree of how personal the topics to be reveled are also varies across different cultures. These include feelings, thoughts and also more impersonal topics like hobbies and interests. Some individuals prefer not to reveal their feelings and private thoughts while holding conversations as they feel that this will make them seem vulnerable or insecure. The negative or positive aspect of the topic to be revealed is also an important factor that also varies in different cultures. For example a person participating i n a debate may feel that revealing a real life event that took place and had a negative effect on them may help them prove their point. However, this person may end up hurt as their opponent may not get this and may also end up using the fact to their own advantage. The individuals that tend to reveal more personal issues than others undergo more psychological problems. When establishing a relationship, there is a time period that one takes before they can fully disclose to the other. Individuals from cultures that are more conservative tend to withhold much information until they feel that the relationship has grown and they can trust the other party. Revelation of too much personal information before the relationship has grown is considered inappropriate, some other cultures however, disclosure is done after a very short period of time. The target party, to whom an individual discloses themselves, is also an important factor that is considered in many communities. For example, spouses trust each other hence, they self-disclose almost everything. Some consider the age of the target and what topics are appropriate to disclose to them. According to Alder and Proctor (2007), self-disclosure is important and at the same time it can have unfavorable outcomes. For instance, self-disclosure can help strengthen the relationship between two individuals by improving the trust between the two. It can also increase one’s influence over the other individuals and can also be used as a way of bringing out the good qualities in an individual. At the same time self-disclosure may reflect vulnerability in one’ self and may also make the other party develop a negative attitude towards the relationship leading to its termination. There are various factors to consider before a person decides to self-disclose. Sometimes, disclosure of information can be harmful than helpful. The discloser must weigh if the probable benefits level the risk. Self-disclosure is most useful when used constructively and when revealing relevant information in reasonable amounts to a person who reciprocates with their own disclosures equally. It is also crucial to reveal information that could probably save someone from harm or to help them. References Adler, R.B., Proctor, R.F. (2007).  Looking out looking in (12th Ed.). Belmont, CA:Thomas Learning, Inc. Baumeister, R. F. (1986). Public self and private self. New York: Springer-Verlag. Modell, A. H. (1993). The private self. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Research Paper :: essays papers

Research Paper â€Å"As a child, I loved athletics and physical activities. I was talented, but my talent was not appreciated or approved of by most. I watched my brothers compete on school teams. It didn't matter that in the neighborhood pick-up games, I was selected before my brothers. Society dictated that I should watch, and that they should compete. So at home in the backyard, I would catch as my brother worked on his curve ball, I would shag flies as he developed his batting prowess and, as I recall, I frequently served as his tackling dummy. The brother I caught and shagged for, and for whom I served as a tackling dummy, went on to Georgetown University on a full athletic grant. He later became vice president of a large banking firm. So, while I rode in the back seat on the bus of opportunity during my lifetime, I want my daughter's daughter and her peers to be able to select a seat based on their abilities and their willingness to work. Don't deny them the things that I dreamed of."-- Exce rpts of a letter sent to OCR in spring 1995 by Joan Martin, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Monmouth University, New Jersey In April of 1993 the film The Sandlot premiered. The movie took place in 1963 when a group of 12-year-old boys spent their summer playing baseball at the local sandlot. In one particular scene in the movie, the boys got in a verbal dispute with a team of 12 year olds from the privileged side of town. The argument was over who was the more skilled baseball players. The camera switched back and forth from one kid to another as they exchanged insults. Then the camera stopped dramatically. One of the boys said the most heinous thing any young male can say to another, â€Å"You play ball like a girl!† It was like the other boy had just been hit with a bullet. The eyes of all the other boys involved in the argument widened and their jaws dropped. All that was heard were gasps from the rest of the kids in the movie. In 1963 that was the feeling of many people. The insult, â€Å"You play ball like a girl†, was one of the biggest insults a male could ever give anyone. Ho wever, since 1972 the Title IX law has changed many people’s opinions on females in the athletic world.

Aphra Behns Oroonoko †Slaughter of the Human Spirit Essay -- Behn Or

Oroonoko – Slaughter of the Human Spirit   Aphra Behn introduces her characters in Oroonoko as beautiful people who possess a pure, innocent love.   Behn does this in an effort to make her readers feel and question.   Her poetic description of their emotions magnify the horror of the final scene.   Behn's romantic love story is brought to a tragic end through brutality and death.   Why did she choose such an ending?   Her decision to have Oroonoko take the life of his wife and unborn child leaves her audience questioning.   Was what they had love?   If not, what was it?   What had killed their innocence?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of Oroonoko and Imoinda began with him approaching her and ended with the cut of his knife.   Oroonoko both began and ended the story that was "theirs."   Therefore, when analyzing their relationship it is most important to examine Oroonoko's behavior.   Oroonoko is the one who determined what path their story would take.   What drove him to end "their" story in such a brutal way?   What caused him to act so uncontrollable?   The truth is that his heart couldn't stand to lose her again.   He couldn't risk not finding her.   He was scared because he realized that he could not protect her.   Even the strong, powerful Oroonoko was not able to rescue her and her unborn child from slavery.   His hope and innocence were killed by fear.   He finally met a force that could beat him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the story, Oroonoko exhibits his power and control.   In order to once again prove his courage, Oroonoko goes hunting to kill a tiger that had been too fierce and powerful for others to conquer.   When Oroonoko comes upon the tiger, she is devouring her new kill.   Upon Oroonoko's approach, the tiger stares at him with a "very fierce rag... ...heaven.   This is a beautiful image.   Does it really matter how they chose to exit this world?   The truth is that it does.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Aphra Behn's tale of Oroonoko is not only a tragic love story.   It is also a story about slavery and how it can kill a person.   The relationship between Oroonoko and Imoinda is described as pure and innocent.   Their story compliments the point that Behn was trying to make about slavery.   Slavery can kill hope, purity, and innocence.   Slavery does not only kill the human spirit.   It slaughters it. The student may wish to begin the paper with the following quote: "And these two People represented to me an absolute Idea of the first State of Innocence, before Man knew how to sin." (pg.10) Works Cited: Behn, Aphra. â€Å"Oroonoko.† The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. AH Abrams. New York. WW Norton and Company, Inc 2000.

Brian Skyrms? Evolution of the Social Contract Essay -- essays researc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skyrms’ book, Evolution of the Social Contract, offers a compelling explanation as to why individuals, when placed with one-shot prisoner’s dilemmas, will often cooperate, or choose the equilibrium that will benefit both parties equally. He uses examples to outline how individuals of certain environments frequently engage in activities that benefit the group at their own personal expense. Using both game theory and decision theory, Skyrms explores problems with the social contract when it is applied to evolutionary dynamics. In the chapters of the book, he offers new insights into concepts such as sex and justice, commitment, and mutual aid.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skyrms’ writing goes beyond traditional game theory, and exposes some weaknesses in its application. He rejects the theory’s traditional interpretation of rational actors and actions by discovering some glaring inconsistencies. Skyrms conducted a number of experiments using one-shot prisoners’ dilemmas. The ultimatum the author introduces in the first chapter serves as a simple example of a one-shot prisoners’ dilemma. In the initial form of the example, Skyrms proposes there is a cake that must be divided between two individuals. Each individual is looking to maximize his or her utility, and therefore, wants as much of the cake as possible. However, there is a third party, or what Skryms labels a â€Å"referee.† The two individuals must determine the percentage or portion of the cake they want and summit these requests to the referee. The percentages must not exceed 100%, or the referee will consume all the cake. It is therefore not in either parties’ best interest to request a significantly large portion. Additionally, if the total of the two requests is below 100% of the cake, the referee will take the left-over portion. The two parties will then aim to maximize their portion, however the best claim that an individual submits is dependent upon the other party’s claim. There are two interacting optimization problems (Skyrms 3, 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An answer to the puzzle will be found in solutions that are in equilibrium. An equilibrium in informed rational self-interest, or a Nash equilibrium, is any solution to the problem whereby neither party could do better by altering its position. However, this is a general and broad definition. Further stipu... ...as formed certain signals and understandings that are critical to our prospects for cooperation and negotiation today (Skyrms 80-104).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skyrms’ explorations in Evolution of the Social Contract are based on the premise that human beings are, in fact, inclined to behave justly. His writings do not aim to prove that individuals act justly all the time; however they assert that the disposition exists in societies. Many would take issue with Skyrms’ assertion. Firstly, justice has many interpretations. According to some, equal division of a resource is not always what justice requires. Skyrms fails to address situations where an individual may have worked harder than another for a resource, and invested more time in it. Perhaps one individual would obtain more utility from a given amount of a resource than another would. Libertarians would demand property rights, and argue that one individual might better utilize the resource than the other, creating more benefit for society. Skyrms also fails to give specific interpretations of justice and does not offer any thoughts on what ideas of jus tice, if any, are cultural universals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚