States of Consciousness essays

States of Consciousness essays Numerous factors determine when and why you feel tired, full of energy, and hungry. A person's state of consciousness and awareness varies throughout the day and depends on a person's activity, environment, and time clock. As a human we have what is called circadian rhythms, which simply explains our daily highs and lows. An example of your basic up and down rhythm would be the sleep/wake cycle. Sunlight regulates the sleep/wake cycle by causing the suprachiasmatic nucleus to decrease its production of melatonin in the early morning and increase it in the evening. Melatonin is a hormone that if increased in blood levels makes an individual drowsy or tired and if decreased will make them more alert. Certain individuals will experience that their biological clock is often out of sync. This can be explained sometimes from either jet lag, working the night shifts or graveyards, and Monday-morning fog. Sleep in itself has its own biological patterns and rhythms. Hans Berger introduced the electroencephalograph to us so that we would be able to measure the patterns and rhythms of sleep through a record called an EEG. Two different patterns of sleep are REM sleep and NREM sleep. The NREM sleep actually has four stages involved in it. During the first stage a person becomes slightly drowsy because of the mixture of alpha and theta brain waves. At the second stage, an individual tends to have bursts of brain activity for a short time, which in terms are called sleep spindles. The second stage also involves theta brain waves and the beginning of delta waves. The third and fourth stages of NREM sleep are often referred to as "slow-wave sleep". Both of these stages are measured by the amount of delta brain wave activity. During REM sleep, the sleeper is unconsciously active. His eyelids may flutter, he may have increased heart rate, and occasional muscle spasms. The two basic sleep the ories are the evolutionary and restorative t ...

Jan Tschichold essays

Jan Tschichold essays One only needs to go back to the turn of the twentieth century to discover the roots and intertwining movements that led to what we call today the Modern Movement. The great breakthrough period a stretch of almost twenty years, that separates modern typography from earlier typographics, started with the publication of the Futurist manifesto in 1909 and peaked in the late twenties.Futurism was a violent reaction by artists and writers against the status quo which symbolised failure to make life worth living. The advent of photography, economic and social forces and new philosophical attitudes also contributed to the development of new attitudes toward communication design. The Futurists ignored the constraints of metal typography and letterpress printing. Horizontalism was out, Type at any angle was in. The big thing in Futurist design was shock and contrast. Another major departure from straight realistic thinking was the development in the early 1900s of Cubism. This art represented objects (that werent totally abstract) in a new way, Still life was now envisioned as a compromise of shape and shifting volumes of planes. This was a strong departure from the 400 year old Renaissance tradition. Unlike Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Art Nouveau, Cubism focused on geometric stylizations that moved away from detail but played on technique and style, as to overwhelm the subject. With the outbreak of Futurism the evolution in painting,poetry and prose became a revolution. The split between what the artists eyes saw and the poets mind understood and what and how they painted and wrote became a casm. Several other movements continued this break with realistic representation by image or word. They were Dadaism, Surrealism, and Non-representational art. Parallel to these developments in extreme art , the Eastern and Western areas of Europe were making attempts to capture the vitality of the new art forms, whil...

Saudi Arabia profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Saudi Arabia profile - Essay Example As in the case of many other Middle Eastern countries, majority of the land area are deserts with some rugged mountains in the southwest. Hot and humid climatic conditions prevail in Saudi throughout a year with an exception of only few months. 78.8% literacy is reported in Saudi as per the 2010 statistics. Saudi males are more literate (84.7%) than Saudi females (70.8%). Infant mortality rate is 11.57 deaths/1,000 live births according to the 2010 statistics. Women dominate in life expectancy rates in Saudi with 78 years against 74 years of the males. More than 35% of the Saudi workforce are from foreign countries and service sector is the major revenue source in Saudi (63%) followed by industry (25%) and agriculture (12%). 2010 statistics show that GDP of Saudi is $623 billion and annual growth rate is 3.8%. Per capita of Saudi population is one among the bests in the world with an attractive figure of $24,200. Gold and oil are the major natural resources or revenue sources of Saudi. Before the discovery of oil sources in Middle East, gold mining and fishing were some of the major revenue sources of Saudi. Hydrocarbons, uranium, coal, phosphate, and tungsten are some other natural resources of Saudi Arabia. Surface water sources provide 10% of the Saudi’s drinking needs whereas 84% provides by ground water sources. Desalinated seawater not only used for the drinking needs (5%), but also for generating electric power. Even though the climatic conditions are not so good for agriculture, dates, grains and vegetables are cultivated at some parts of Saudi Arabia. As in the case of majority of the other Middle Eastern countries, export of petroleum products is the major revenue source of Saudi Arabia. Petroleum and petroleum products export of Saudi worth around $253 billion whereas its imports (manufactured goods, transportation equipment, clothing and textiles, processed

Castillian Lyric 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Castillian Lyric 2 - Essay Example The final phases of the evolution of the Castilian took place subsequent to the Arabic Invasion. In the early part of the fifth century, the Visigoths entered Romanized Spain but was not much impressed by its culture or language. They strictly followed the traditions and language of their homeland. As time went by, they began to inter marry and therefore allowed their children to learn the Roman Tongue which in turn evolved to be a kind of Pidgin-Latin. Since Latin was used as a literary tongue in that part of Spain where the Castilian speech evolved, over time became a proper language. Three Romance or Roman languages were in the hands of the Christians in that part of Spain – in Catalonia and Argon, the Provencal, Catalan or Limousin; in Asturias, Old Castile or Leon the Castilian; and in Galicia, the Gallego. During the Provencal – Catalan period, courts of love were held with great seriousness and proved that the art of love competed with the forces of law and religion. From the glorification of the relations between the sexes, there arose a science of chivalry which gradually spread to Castile. This fired the imagination of the Spanish mind and they came to accept and appreciate Romantic Literature. In time, all foreign languages lost their alien character and evolved from the crucible of Spanish thought- Castilian. The Troubadour poets of Provence and Catalonia were responsible in accomplishing the perfection of rhyming verse. These songs have great musical sense and the predominant theme is –â€Å"the exaltation of love† Castilian poetry and romance was greatly influenced by Provencal and Catalan troubadours. The Galician, a romance language which grew from the same root as the Portuguese, was nearly akin to Castilian. It is not rich in guttural sounds and has less of the Teutonic in its compositions. Galician influence upon Castilian literature ceased at an early period. The evolution of the Castilian from the original Latin

Strategic Analysis for Nintendo Co. Ltd. Essay Example for Free

Strategic Analysis for Nintendo Co. Ltd. Essay Executive Summary Nintendo Co. Ltd. is a longstanding member of the home entertainment software industry that has embarked on a mission to offer the highest quality products and services while treating their customers with attention, consideration and respect. Nintendo’s strategy thus far has been to take advantage of their video game development capabilities; nearly 60% of games sold by Nintendo are self developed. The innovative capabilities derived from various gaming platforms have allowed Nintendo to capitalize off of a series of attachment control devices. The biggest strength that Nintendo has is a strong brand name along with high returns. A well established brand name gives Nintendo an edge over its competitors. Nintendo is the only company that has managed to capitalize on both hardware and software components. The biggest opportunity for Nintendo is to incorporate themselves into the online gaming market due to short product life cycles. Nintendo maintains their competitive advantage through superior game and character development, for which it often owns the legal rights. In a technical comparison of the Wii against its major competitors, it is substantially outperformed in speed processing, memory, storage, networking, video output and multimedia output. If Nintendo wishes to maintain a competitive advantage, the niche market must be penetrated while maintaining the integrity of the Nintendo brand image. Nintendo Black would become a subsidiary company of Nintendo Co. Ltd. that will operate with a mission to specialize in advanced technological specifications to consoles that will compete with Microsoft and Sony. If the proper measures are taken then Nintendo has the opportunity to continue to position itself as an alternative to the gaming experience while increasing the level of competition for its rival companies with its subsidiary company. Mission and Strategic Development Nintendo Co. Ltd. is a longstanding member of the home entertainment software industry that has embarked on a mission to offer the highest quality products and services while treating their customers with attention, consideration and respect (Nintendo, 2009). In doing so, Nintendo Co. Ltd.  has developed a strategy that has allowed them to offer a unique gaming experience which appeals to a larger consumer base, while maintaining competitive affordable prices. Unlike its competitors, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has earned consumer confidence in its industry through an established brand name known for inventing the video game console. Competitors such as Sony and Microsoft have entered the industry after finding success in the electronic hardware and software industries respectively. Despite opportunities for entry into the industry, Nintendo Co. Ltd. is the only company that has managed to capitalize on both hardware and software components. This is due in part to a strategy that focuses on the purchase of inexpensive components rather than making them in-house (Schoenberger, 2008). Sony’s Playstation 3 retails for $300, which is less than the actual cost, thus causing Sony to lose money on each console sale. Nintendo however is able to offer the Wii Console for $260 and has managed to earn a $6 profit on each unit sold (Schoenberger, 2008). In comparison, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is sold at cost, equal to that of the Playstation 3 at $300 per unit (Schoenberger, 2008). Aside from earning revenues from the sale of hardware systems, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has also found a way to compete with the pricing of games. The average cost for a Wii game is $50 compared to $60 for games by each of Nintendo’s competitors (Schoenberger, 2008). The competition is able to afford losses on their consoles by earning revenues in the form of licensing fees from third-party developers (Schoenberger, 2008). Nintendo’s strategy thus far has been to take advantage of their video game development capabilities that were first introduced alongside their first Game Wat ch system in 1980. Nearly 60% of games sold by Nintendo Co. Ltd. are self developed in comparison to 30% for Microsoft and 15% for Sony (Schoenberger, 2008). While this has resulted in fewer titles released, a competitive advantage is maintained by creating franchise characters and game titles that are exclusively created for their products. As a result, the three top selling games for the Wii system are â€Å"Wii Play,† â€Å"Super Smash Brothers Brawl† and â€Å"Super Mario Galaxy,† each of which is available exclusively for the Wii console (Schoenberger, 2008). By maintaining the control of development, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has been able to produce these games without deadline constraints, ensuring the highest quality game play which allows the company to live up to its mission requirements. Current worldwide sales figures as  of November 14, 2009 list the Wii as having sold over 56.5 million units while the Xbox 360 is a distant second at 33 million units sold and Playstation 3 with only 26.5 million (VGChartz, 2009). During 2006, Nintendo Co. Ltd. recorded net income of $840 million, just before the release of the Wii system (Annual, 2006). As of 2008, that figure has increased to $2.5 billion, a nearly 300% increase in two years (Annual, 2008). Alongside the Wii, Nintendo Co. Ltd. also maintains an advantage in handheld systems with the Nintendo DS. Sony has unsuccessfully attempted to penetrate the market with the PSP handheld system, however sales have only reached 52.8 million in comparison to the 114 million units sold by the DS and upgraded DSi systems (VGChartz, 2009). According to their 2008 annual report, the Wii had sold 148 million games for the system while the DS had sold 369 million titles (Annual, 2008). The DS has proved to be yet another competitive advantage for Nintendo Co. Ltd. as the software sales in 2006 were at 60 million, which is a 515% increase in just two years (VGChartz, 2009). Much of Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s success may also be attributed to the differentiation of their product lines. While the DS faces little competition, the Wii’s internal capabilities were considered inferior to existing consoles upon its inception (Schoenberger, 2008). Microsoft and Sony marketed systems based on technological superiority while the Wii is the first system to focus solely on interactive game play. Motion sensor technology allows for physical movement by the consumers to control the games in which they play. The innovative capabilities derived from various game platforms have allowed Nintendo Co. Ltd. to capitalize off of a series of attachment control devices. Sales of these devices have been packaged together with games to provoke interest additional purchases of games compatible to the attachments. In an attempt to counter the unsuspected success of the Wii, motion sensor attachments are planned to be released by competitors. Microsoft is expected to release Project Natal, which performs a full body scan for remote free game play, while Sony will release a motion controller; both expected to hit the market in 2010 (Whitney, 2009). Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Cammie Dunaway, is not worried, suggesting â€Å"what people are doing with the remote and what’s happening on the screen isn’t something that people have to wait for or is just being talked about in a PowerPoint presentation. But  it’s something that’s in stores today and that people are already enjoying (Whitney, 2009). Wii sales are expected to continue to be strong, though 2009 has experienced a dramatic decline in sales a year after the most successful sales figures in Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s history (Whitney, 2009). SWOT Strengths The biggest strength that Nintendo has is a strong brand name, along with high returns, debt free status, and strong marketing techniques. Having such a strong brand name, Nintendo has become the most dominant company in the video game industry. Nintendo has been around since 1889 and developed their first home video game machine in 1977 and ever since has been known for their electronic gaming devices (Annual, 2008). As for high returns, the Nintendo DS alone has made a huge profit for them selling 70.6 million hardware units and 369.6 million software units as of March 2008 (Annual, 2008). Also, Nintendo is one of the few gaming consoles that have a debt free status unlike Microsoft who can’t seem to earn any profit due to high costs. Nintendo has thought outside of the box with their latest marketing strategy of targeting markets other than the traditional â€Å"gamer†. They have marketed their newest console, the Wii, to everyone as a family console, with games varying from healthy exercise to interactive sports. They have also found a way to simplify gaming by making it as easy as point and click. One example of this is the Mario-Kart game that is played using a steering wheel. Additionally, games that require extra attachments like the crossbow for the Legend of Zelda requires customers to spend more money, earning Nintendo supplementary profits (IBISWorld, 2009). Weaknesses Nintendo’s weaknesses are the dependence on contract manufacturers, having low earnings per share in addition to the lack of games produced for Nintendo consoles. Even though Nintendo Co. Ltd. makes their own games and trademark characters; for instance Mario and company, they still rely on manufacturers such as Electronic Arts, Acti-Vision and others for games that more experienced consumers would prefer to play. Despite an attempt to simplify gaming, this convenience may have negative repercussions for the experienced consumer market. Recent game developments attempt to be as  realistic as possible, thus the graphics on the Nintendo systems are not as sophisticated and are lacking in comparison to that of the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 with 1080p resolution that reads high-definition graphics. Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s competitors also offer technologies not found on the Wii such as HDMI outputs or Blue-Ray DVD (Video, 2007). Opportunities The biggest opportunity for Nintendo is to incorporate the online gaming market. Most of the new games are designed for multiplayer gaming through server networks. Nintendo benefits from the interactive gaming business and these benefits can continue to grow. When the first video game consoles started to emerge, many people thought it was a short-term fad. However, fast-forward two decades and it has become more than just a trend. Adolescents who played 25 years ago have yet to grow out of the gaming trend and today’s youths have taken on next-generation consoles with even greater passion than their parents did as children. Growth has remained unexpectedly high for over two decades, including above 10% per year in 2009, despite the national recession (Annual, 2008). Today the video game industry, including development, production and retailing, is worth over $44 billion, with over 40 million consoles sold in the US in 2008 alone (IBISWorld, 2009). Video games and consoles are among the highest demand predominantly during the holiday season due to price cuts and the convenience of gift giving. Another opportunity for Nintendo is the fact that it remains the leading console maker, giving the company a better opportunity to improve upon itself. In October, Nintendo Co. Ltd. sold 506,900 units of the Wii system in the United States. The second best selling console was Sonys Playstation 3 having sold 320,600 units (Taub, 2009). Threats Nintendo’s threats include short product life cycles, and online gaming. The main threat to Nintendo Co. Ltd. is the software/games limited lifespan. Most games take about 48-60 hours to complete and more people have time to sit at home and play video games rather than recreational spending. Online gaming allows people to connect and play with other people as long as they own the same game and same console in each house. Due to the limitations of the internal hardware of the Wii, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has a severe  disadvantage in a network that provides inadequate performance in relation to competing system networks (Thurrott, 2007). Strategic Competitive Advantage and Major Problems The first word that comes to mind with Nintendo is games. Microsoft and Sony do not have that advantage. Nintendo has been a household name since its first electronic game release in 1977 and is considered to be the oldest company in this market. It is one of the largest console manufacturers in the world, and a leader in the handheld console market. The company has released five generations of consoles over the past 20 years. A well established brand name gives the company an edge over its competitors (Nintendo Co., 2009). In recent years, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has achieved strong growth in its operating results. In FY2008, revenues increased by 73% over FY2007 reaching JPY1,672,423 million (approximately $14,683.9 million) owing to the launch of Nintendo DS Lite and Wii, and their related software (Nintendo Co., 2009). In the Gaming Industry, Games/Software account for 67.6% of sales while Consoles account for 18%. Games are an inevitable focus of the industry (IBISWorld, 2009). Wii users are expected to buy the most games this year, 220 million, compared with 120 million PS3 games and 125 million Xbox 360 games. 62% of games sold by Nintendo Co. Ltd. are their own titles in comparison to 30% for Microsoft and 15% for Sony (Top, 2006). The top three Wii games are all made by Nintendo Co. Ltd., thus maintaining a higher gross margin on game software than competitors at 65%. Also, Nintendo Co. Ltd. is able to price their games lower than competitors at approximately $50 per game versus $60 (Schoenberger, 2009). Nintendo Co. Ltd. maintains their competitive advantage through superior game and character development, for which it often owns the legal rights. Nintendo Co. Ltd. has leveraged its legacy characters to maintain a viable competitive position in the market (Harmsen, 2009). The new Wii Fit exercise game is targeting women and older people concentrating on â€Å"adding value for the late adopter,† said Nintendo of America’s President, Reggie Fils-Aime. â€Å"This has given us the unparalleled ability to bring in new consumers, especially females† (Taub, 2009). The Wii Fit software alone has sold more than 20 million copies as of September 2009, and cost the consumer $90 to purchase. Half of the retail price results in profit for Nintendo Co. Ltd.  because the company developed both the console and the game, avoiding software licensing fees. Manufacturing of the balance board, an accessory that is included with the Wii Fit software, costs the company roughly $19 each, while the software averages $1 (Crews, 2009). Retailers typically buy the software games for 80% of the retail price, thus earning them $18 per game sold. Marketing of the software costs an average of $5 per unit, while research development is roughly $2. A $45 profit goes directly to Nintendo Co. Ltd for each Wii Fit game sold (Crews, 2009). Unlike its competitors, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has figured out a way to profit from its console sales. For every Wii sold, Nintendo nets $6. Microsoft just breaks even while Sony actually loses money on each console sale (Sherwood, 2008). As of November 14, 2009 the Wii is being reported as having sold over 56.5 million consoles. That equals to $339 million in profit for Nintendo Co. Ltd. based only on console unit sales. Nintendo Co. Ltd. relies on third-party manufacturers to produce key components or assemble finished products in order to keep costs low. Nintendo Co. Ltd. could have difficulty procuring key components or manufacturing its products in the event one or more of these third-party businesses fail or are unable to provide necessary components on a timely basis. Shortages of key components may cause margin decline due to higher costs, lack of products, and quality control issues (Annual, 2008). The interactive entertainment software market is characterized by short product life cycles and frequent introductions of new products (Nintendo Co., 2009). Since the Wii console has unique features such as the motion sensor remote, it makes the software difficult to translate into other systems. Developers that wish to create games for the Wii need a dedicated Wii team to code the Nintendo Co. Ltd. software so that it may be compatible with the Wii console (Schoenberger, 2009). For that reason, the Wii has fewer games available than its competitors. As a result, Nintendo may be forced to create a new console that adds the cutting-edge graphics the Wii lacks, analysts say (Edwards, 2009). Strategic Recommendations Nintendo Co. Ltd. has found success in implementing a family oriented strategy that generates consumer interests of multiple generations, genders  and cultures by creating a user friendly platform with a minimal learning curve to ensure an enjoyable gaming experience. In order to meet the high expectations that Nintendo Co. Ltd. has set for itself, the products developed are limited in their ability to adapt to the niche markets that competitive companies have catered to. In a technical comparison of the Wii against its major competitors, it is substantially outperformed in speed processing, memory, storage, networking, video output and multimedia output (Thurrott, 2007). In order to maintain an advantage in low cost pricing, the Wii is forced to neglect these features causing tech conscious consumers to invest in competing consoles. Lacking the capabilities to process more popular teenage and adult games that have been released on other supporting formats, Nintendo Co. Ltd. is res tricted in their ability to garner interest in their products from this niche market without altering not only their system specifications, but the family brand image that has established their success. If Nintendo Co. Ltd. wishes to maintain a competitive advantage, the niche market must be penetrated while maintaining the integrity of the Nintendo brand image. As these are two conflicting interests, it is recommended that Nintendo Co. Ltd. create a new subsidiary company that continues in the traditional spirit of Nintendo’s penchant for quality, while integrating the non-traditional components that cater to the niche market. Nintendo Black would become a subsidiary company of Nintendo Co. Ltd. that will operate with a mission to specialize in advanced technological specifications to consoles that will compete with Microsoft and Sony. The emergence of this company will allow for more flexibility from restrictions that limit Nintendo in competing for a mature consumer base. Nintendo Black will use the internal knowledge garnered throughout years of experience to continue developing games in-house, but will break away from the traditional franchise characters of the Nintendo universe. A number of opportunities arise to develop a series of successful franchise games that will appeal to the mature consumer that may continue to build upon the exclusivity of Nintendo produced games. This will also allow for a stronger focus on third-party developers to license games for distribution on Nintendo Black consoles that require advanced system specifications generating revenues that are currently unavailable to Nintendo and the Wii system. By embarking on a saturation of third-party game releases as the  Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have done, Nintendo Black has the opportunity to cut into the game sale profits of its competition. In order to develop interest in a new system that is similar to the competition, the inaugural console release should provide online downloads for videogames that are released in stores. Though the Wii has downloadable content, none of the three competing systems offer full downloads of newly released titles. By offering this option, costs may be reduced from packaging, while ensuring the on demand availability of products anytime. A major concern regarding the exclusivity of Nintendo Co. Ltd. franchise characters and related games is that consumers in the niche market may have interest in purchasing a game, but not the console. By making Wii games compatible to the Nintendo Black console release, niche consumers would be free to purchase Wii games that would have otherwise been disregarded, thus increasing game sales for Wii and subsequent console releases by Nintendo Co. Ltd. Justification of Strategy Nintendo Co. Ltd. lists only 7 M-rated games available for the DS system and is in consideration of releasing another from one of the most popular M-rated franchises in Grand Theft Auto (Graft, 2009). The controversy surrounding the release of this game for the Nintendo system alludes to the desire to break into a market that could potentially jeopardize the Nintendo Co. Ltd. mission. In 2008, Nintendo Co. Ltd. recorded $2.5 billion in net income, despite spending $103 million on research and development in 2006 when the Wii was released (Annual, 2008), (Davison, 2008). The fiscal resources available to develop a product that expands upon existing models should be financially plausible. Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s current profitability is based on a family oriented consumer market that neither Microsoft nor Sony have attempted to endeavor; however if either company were inclined to expand an existing strategy to include a line of family concentrated product lines, it would attempt to differentiate itself into both markets which neither of its competitors has yet to achieve. As the intensity of competition increases, it is in the best interest of Nintendo Co. Ltd. to become the first to break ground in penetrating both consumer markets. A Nintendo Subsidiary should not affect the current profitability of Nintendo Co. Ltd. with the exception of an increase in sales for a select number of  Wii games released that appeal to a mass audience. It is possible that the Wii may sell fewer consoles due to the advanced capabilities of the upgraded console release, but there is a greater opportunity to convert niche market users to become Nintendo users due to the availability of not only third-party games released on all consoles, but the franchise games sold exclusively for Nintendo consoles. As the companies operate with two distinctly different missions, the Nintendo Co. Ltd. brand should maintain its profitability as the initial strategy will not be altered, while the Nintendo Black subsidiary has the opportunity to become profitable by taking more risks with its system capabilities and game play modes. These risks have the potential to unveil a number of concepts that Nintendo Co. Ltd. may have not felt comfortable implementing on its signature consoles, thus providing input as to which successful features may be utilized and expanded upon for all future gaming platforms. The assumption that the new subsidiary will attract new consumers lies in the convenience created by the initial console release. Nintendo will now be capable of offering games that not only require more advanced processing, but games that are too mature to be released by the parent company. If a consumer can buy a Nintendo system that offers the same games and capabilities as an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 at a similar cost, but also offers Nintendo exclusive games, then it adds to the consumer benefit creating interest in the Nintendo product. Additionally, with limited marketing it is possible for Nintendo Black products to differentiate themselves from those of the parent company. This supplementary convenience provides additional consumer confidence for the initial family oriented market by indicating that any games released by Nintendo Co. Ltd. are suitable for children or else they would be released under the Nintendo Black product line. This will alleviate any concern for parents that are unfamiliar with newly released games as to the content involved. Nintendo Co. Ltd. spent $370 million on research and development in 2007 and is expected to release the next installment of the Wii in 2011 (Davison, 2008). This would be ample time to develop a subsidiary company that will focus on research and development throughout 2010 with plans for a console release in 2013. After nearly two years, the sales for the Wii console have begun to decline and if this trend continues in the future, in 2013 the subsidiary console may be released without damaging initial sales  for the parent company release (Satariano, 2009). As a result, the Nintendo Black consoles my act as a buffer for additional sales during a down time while Nintendo Co. Ltd. begins development on yet another generation console. Fall-out and Summary The recommendations suggested create several risks that may have negative repercussions to Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s existing operations. Creating a subsidiary company would require an increase in personnel costs as each company would be required to operate separately. As a result, a new headquarters may need to be purchased in order to house accounting, finance and marketing departments as well as research and development. However, without a release for several years, the company would earn no income and may generate a number of tax benefits. Nintendo Co. Ltd. initially planned on creating a more advanced system that would be comparable to that of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. However, as the General Manager of Research and Development, Genyo Takeda, suggests â€Å"During development, we came to realize the sheer inefficiency of this path when we compared the hardships and costs of development against any new experiences that might be had by our customers.† (Iwata, 2009) With both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 generating no profits from sales, it is likely that in order to create a competing system, Nintendo Black may be forced to accept a similar position (Schoenberger, 2008). What may help Nintendo Black avoid this scenario is a continued focus on purchasing inexpensive parts rather than making them in-house (Schoenberger, 2008). Though the price range for a new niche market console may be higher than that of the Wii, it will still be competitive for the market that it is attempting to pursue. Creating a subsidiary company with a strategy to develop more adult games may have an effect on the parent company that maintains a strong focus on a family friendly experience. There is an unknown risk involved with regard to consumer response of a new line that could be damaging to the mission of the parent company. A marketing plan must be developed that distinguishes the two companies and their products. It must reassure the target market that they will receive the gaming experience they look for in competing consoles, while also ensuring that Nintendo Co. Ltd. will be unaffected and continue with their family friendly mission. It is advised that staple characters of  the Nintendo universe are not used to market the product lines of Nintendo Black, but rather focus on the development of new characters with the possibility of introducing the staple characters as unlockable content. If the proper measures are taken then Nintendo Co. Ltd. has the opportunity to continue to position itself as an alternative to the gaming experience while increasing the level of competition for its rival companies with its subsidiary company. This will make it more difficult for rivals to compete for their own target market and force them to shift focus away from competing with Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s motion c apture product line.

Lesions of the Prefrontal Cortex Essay -- Neurology Health Medical Ess

Lesions of the Prefrontal Cortex The prefrontal cortex is involved in a wide variety of functions. It is known as the area of the brain which has â€Å"executive control†, taking input from other areas of the brain and combining and applying those functions (Kalat 2004). Lesions to the prefrontal area can greatly impair overt behavior of an inflicted individual. These deficits are dependent upon the severity of the lesion and the specific region of the prefrontal cortex in which the lesion resides (ventrolateral, dorsolateral, orbitofrontal, and anterior prefrontal)(Eslinger 2003). Individuals with prefrontal lesions usually display emotional, social and moral deficits (Elinger 2003). Social learning is impaired and adaptive learning does not appear to extend beyond avoidance of punishment in most cases(Anderson 1999). Personality is marked by poor judgment, minimal insight into/slight anticipation of consequence, a desire for autonomy but a lack of self- initiation, lack of sense of competency, lack of identity, a lack of relationship between self and others and self and environment, and a deficit in motivation and goal directed behavior(Eslinger 2003). Most cases do not appear to experience anxiety or fear. These persons tend to be egocentric, easily irritated, impatient, and display â€Å"shallow† emotions(Trauner 2001). They cannot harness their emotions to use in an adaptive manner regarding learning from experience, and developing and maintaining relationships. Empathy, moral decision making and comprehension are usually erratically rule- based and self-serving. There is an inability to demonstrate perspective taking and limited to no perception... ...re Neuroscience,2(11),1032-1036. Eslinger, Paul J., Flaherty-Craig, Claire V., Benton, Arthur L. (2004). Developmental outcomes after early prefrontal cortex damage. Brain and Cognition, 55, 84- 103. Kalat, James W. (2004) Biological Psychology. Ontario, Canada: Wadsworth. Lawson, C. â€Å"Social Skills and School† www.cdl.org/resources/reading_room/social_skills.html. May 3, 2005. Mah, Linda, Arnold, Miriam C., Grafman, Jordan. Impairment of social perception associated with lesions of the prefrontal cortex. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1247-1255. Thimble, Michael.H. (1990). Psychopathology of frontal lobe syndromes. Seminars in Neurology, 10(3). Trauner, Doris A., Nass R., Ballantyne A.(2001) Behavioural profiles of children and adolescents after pre- or perinatal unilateral brain damage. Brain, Vol. 124(5), 995-1002.

Data Envelopment Analysis and related literature Essay

As already stated, a rich history of literature and research which is demonstrating the importance of processes in analyzing the performance of an organization exists (Chase, 1981; Chase et al. , 1983; Levitt, 1972; Roth et al. , 1995). Especially, Roth et al. (1995; here and in the following) showed that the key drivers are process capability and execution in an empirical way. It was described in their study that an inappropriate design of certain processes and also the poor execution of a process can lead to process inefficiency, and that both process capabilities and people as major factors affect business performance. When estimating the performance of processes usually a number of different outputs have to be taken into consideration. Data Envelopment Analysis, the estimation method described in this chapter and used as a basis for measuring the efficiency of business processes, deals with these multiple outputs by the use of frontier estimation. In this process, it is specifically determined which relative performance amongst multiple inputs and outputs are present. This in turn is achieved by calculating ratios of weighted outputs to weighted inputs, and the determination of the relative efficiency (which is seen as the distance from a peer object to the best practice frontier) compared with the efficiency of other so-called Decision Making Units (Charnes et al. , 1978). Decision Making Units can be defined as firms or public-sector agencies, but also as single processes or process instances (Sengupta, 1995). Data Envelopment Analysis is therefore used in different areas of daily life, for example in education programs of schools, or the production and retail business (Metters et al. , 2003). The Data Envelopment Analysis method was introduced into the operations research literature by Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes in 1978 (see Charnes et al. , 1978). They presented it as a new nonparametric (meaning it is entirely based on the observed input-output data and not based on the assumption of a normal (Gaussian) distribution underlying the measured parameters) and multi-factor productivity analysis model (Sengupta, 1995). The Data Envelopment Analysis model as it was originally formulated by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes, later referred to as the â€Å"CCR model†, has the important and critical characteristic of the reduction of the multi-output, multi-input situation for each Decision Making Unit to that of a single â€Å"actual† output and a single â€Å"actual† input. In fact, the respective measurement of efficiency for a Decision Making Unit is identified by the original Data Envelopment Analysis model by developing the ration of weighted outputs to inputs to 3 he maximum under the assumption that alike ratios for every Decision Making Unit are not larger than one (here and in the following Frei et al. , 1999). This in turn results in a number of efficiency scores less than or equal to one, as well as a reference set of Decision Making Units identified as efficient. The method has also come to be known as the â€Å"input-output oriented model†, because by holding outputs constant and at the same time evaluating to what degree the inputs would have to be changed in order for a Decision Making Unit to be considered an efficient one, the overall efficiency score is determined. The also existing â€Å"output-oriented method† is very alike to the input-oriented method. Using this approach, the ratio of weighted inputs in relation to the outputs is minimized in order to be able to evaluate the actual amount that each Decision Making Unit’s outputs have the chance to be improved whilst holding the inputs on a constant level. In summary, in both cases, a Decision Making Unit identified as efficient has no potential for improvement, whereas as Decision Making Units seen as inefficient have efficiency scores that reflect the actual potential for improvement which is based on the achievement of other Decision Making Units. A proportional (linear) program must be carried out for each of the Decision Making Units to be able to define the relative efficiency scores. Because of the use of a linear function, the implied presumption is that the efficient frontier is piecewise linear. As a fact, the original model of Data Envelopment Analysis comes up with a ranking of the different Decision Making Units in the system in a scale of relative efficiency from the lowest to the highest, where the highest is considered to be one hundred percent efficient (Sengupta, 1995).

The twentieth century is an age of greed

They were. But the number of people consumed by this disease is many times more this century. Also the variety and intensity of greed is unparalled. We have many more opportunities to feed our greed on. See the amount of consumer goods available nowadays. How many of these goods can be genuinely said to benefit the user , or at the least satisfy him ? Precious few , I would think.All too often we read in the newspapers and consumer magazines about the underhand tactics used by giant corporations to sell their products. We hear about poisonous materials in foodstuffs. There are also innumerable amount of products that re shoddily made , yet passed off as up-to-standard products Then into this vast consumer market comes the pirates. These are people who make imitations. They have no scruples. So we are deluged with pirated tapes , records , books , clothes and other products. We even have pirated medicine.The misuse of public enterprise is rooted in nothing but greed. The greed for mon ey, for more and more profit, regardless of what happens or who suffers. Look at the advertisement section of any newspaper and you will see companies advertising for â€Å"aggressive† personnel. They must sell as much as they can, even if it is like forcing the product down the consumer's throat. The worsening drug situation in the world now is also a result of greed. Drug-trafficking and relatable offences are punishable, some even by death. Yet the drug trade is not bating.On the contrary, it is booming. Why is this so? Again we have people greedy enough to take risks in exchange for great returns. Their only aim is money. Drugs is one way of getting money, big money. So they go in it regardless the fact that drugs destroy people and society. They do not care who gets hurt as long as they get the money. They pretend not to see the evils of drug-addiction while their pockets are being lined with illgotten gains. Only when they get caught or are themselves addicted to drugs may they regret their greed. By then it may be too late.To see greed in action, all one has to do is to peep into a stock exchange or commodity trading centre. In smoke-filled rooms we can witness the behavior of people consumed by greed. Not all the traders are greedy, but there are some who sweat, haggle and shout themselves hoarse so as to reap as much profit as possible from the frantic buying and selling of invisible things. There are few people who purposely manipulate the market for their own ends. The smell of greed emanates from their bodies despite what they proclaim otherwise.In addition to the greed for money is also the greed for power. The more power a person has, the more power he seems to want. Considering the unceasing bickering, backstabbing, and fighting among leaders and politicians it is no wonder the modern world is in such a chaotic state. One leader holds on to power by getting rid of his enemies, whatever the means. His opponents plot and scheme to replace h im Coup-de-tats, uprisings, revolutions, assassinations and other political maneuvers are all aimed at the seizure for power. The one in power holds on tightly.In time he is dislodged by another or by his own mortality. Thus the procession goes on. Individuals come and go, but the greed of power remains to infect all who choose to follow its path. What does all these power struggles contrlDute to tne welTare 0T our Traglle planet:' Notnlng, out a alv10ea world with multitudes of nations fearfully isolating themselves from one another. In the name of religion, ideology and belief, the leaders of the world blindly leads the rest, but behind these excuses all we can see is greed and hunger for more power. So the greed persists.

Econ essays

Econ essays The United States Department of Commerce has issued a statement proclaiming that personal income grew faster in September than in any other month since August 1999. This growth is largely due to the increase in federal farm subsidies which boosted personal income by $61 billion. Private wage and salary disbursements also increased by over $25 billion in September, adding to the total personal income bump up. The Department of Commerce said that the net personal income increased by 1.1% in September while the disposable personal income (adjusted for taxes and inflation) increased by 0.7%. The advance gross domestic product also indicates that consumer spending is still on the rise. It is growing at an annual rate of 4.5%. In recent years, consumer spending has been boosted by the initial increase in personal income, better quality of products, and higher expectations for future wealth. In the last quarter, there has been a dramatic increase in the purchases of durable goods, especially automobiles. The automobile market experiences alternating on and off periods of demand depending on the durability of new cars and the attraction of new technological advances. Investment has also increased in the past quarter. Business investments in equipment and software increased at an annual rate of 8.5 percent. This increase is partially due to the high expectations for future returns in the technology markets. The increase in investment has produced a greater economic capacity, higher productivity and weaker inflationary pressures in the national markets. However, the drastically increasing consumer spending has in the past year out grown the personal income. This means that personal savings has become negative. If placed on an aggregate expenditures vs. aggregate output chart, the consumer spending + investments curve will fall underneath the 45-degree line. The public is spending more than it is earning, effectively dipping into sav...

What You Need To Know About Cinco de Mayo in English and Spanish

What You Need To Know About Cinco de Mayo in English and Spanish  ¿Quà © es el Cinco de Mayo? What is Cinco de Mayo? This bilingual feature has been written with classroom use in mind - a grammar guide at the end provides useful tips for Spanish students. En espaol: Los orgenes del Cinco de Mayo Muchos creen que el cinco de mayo es el aniversario de la independencia mexicana. Pero no tienen razà ³n - el dà ­a de independencia en Mà ©xico es el 16 de septiembre. Para familiarizarse con los orà ­genes de la celebracià ³n, es necesario estudiar los sucesos a mediados del siglo diecinueve. Despuà ©s de la Guerra Mexicana Americana, Mà ©xico enfrentaba una crisis econà ³mica. En 1861, Benito Jurez, el presidente mexicano, declarà ³ que Mà ©xico aplazarà ­a por dos aà ±os los pagos de deudas exteriores. Aunque Jurez hubo dicho que se reanudarà ­an los pagos en 1863, la promesa no satisfizo a Gran Bretaà ±a, Francia y Espaà ±a. Se ablandaban Gran Bretaà ±a y Espaà ±a, pero Francia insistià ³ en obtener su dinero por la fuerza. Napoleà ³n III, emperador de los franceses, nombrà ³ un pariente, archiduque Maximillian de Austria, el là ­der de Mà ©xico. Mientras marchaba hacia la Ciudad de Mà ©xico, el ejà ©rcito francà ©s enfrentaba resistencia tenaz. El 5 de mayo, 1862, el general Ignacio Zaragoza y su ejà ©rcito mexicano vencieron el ejà ©rcito francà ©s en la batalla de Puebla. La victoria mexicana era una sorpresa porque el ejà ©rcito francà ©s era ms grande y tenà ­a materiales superiores. Segà ºn  un refrn inglà ©s, es posible ganar la batalla y perder la guerra. Los franceses ganaron otras batallas, y Maximillian se hizo là ­der en 1864. Pero los franceses, enfrentando resistencia mexicana y presià ³n de los Estados Unidos, retiraron las tropas en 1867. El Cinco de Mayo es un dà ­a para conmemorar el coraje de los luchadores contra la opresià ³n. Quizs por eso este dà ­a de fiesta es muy popular dondequiera haya personas de ascendencia mexicana. Por ejemplo, la fiesta hoy dà ­a es muy popular en Estados Unidos, donde viven muchas persons con antepasados de Mà ©xico. In English: Origins of Mexicos Cinco de Mayo Many people believe that May 5 is the anniversary of the Mexican Independence. But theyre mistaken, for the Mexican Independence Day is September 16. To understand the origins of the celebration, you need to go back to the middle of the 19th century. After the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, Mexico was in a fiscal crisis. In 1861 Mexican President Benito Jurez declared that Mexico was suspending payment on all its foreign debt for two years. Even though Jurez had said payments would resume in 1863, Great Britain, France and Spain were not satisfied. Although the British and Spanish-backed off, France insisted on using force to secure its debt payments. French Emperor Napoleon III named a relative of his, Archduke Maximillian of Austria, as ruler of Mexico. As it was marching toward Mexico City, the French Army encountered stiff resistance. On May 5, 1862, General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French Army in the Battle of Puebla. The Mexican victory was a surprise, for the French Army was larger and better equipped. There is a saying that its possible to win the battle and lose the war. The French won other battles, and Maximillian became the ruler in 1864. But facing Mexican resistance and American pressure, the French withdrew their troops in 1867. Cinco de Mayo is a time to recognize the bravery of those who fight against oppression. Perhaps that is why this holiday is popular wherever there are people of Mexican descent. For example, the fiesta these days is very popular in the United States, where many people who have Mexican ancestors live. Grammatical Highlights Differences in uses of the two simple past tenses of Spanish can be seen in the article. In general, the preterite is used here in referring to ordinary events (such as with ganaron for the winning of battles), the imperfect is used to provide background, such as in the use of tenà ­an  materiales (literally had materiel). Names of the months typically arent capitalized in Spanish. The name of the holiday is, however. Adjectives such as mexicana and francà ©s derived from names of countries also arent capitalized, nor are most titles such as archiduque. Note how reflexive verbs such as familiarizarse and reanudarse (in the form se reanudarà ­an) are used. Alhough the two verbs could be translated literally in this context as to famliiarize oneself and to resume themselves, such a translation would be awkward. In the third paragraph, a comma is used after France in English but not after Francia in Spanish. That is because Spanish does not use the Oxford comma before the y (and) in a series of words.

Bi-lingualism and Second Language Acquisition in Children. The Essay

Bi-lingualism and Second Language Acquisition in Children. The benefits of doing so and which approaches are more advisiable What negative aspects highlighted - Essay Example Myths and fears abound but bilinguals themselves can disprove them. It is safe to say that today bilinguals are as successful as monolinguals in various discipline, perhaps even surpassing them. More discussion will be given time on the professional side of dealing with this phenomenon. There can be negative results, it is to be expected, but in our research we noted the positive sides reported by well-known experts in the field of linguistic and language study. Other topics discussed here are the causes of bilingualism, definition of bilingualism and who are to be called bilinguals, the results of the various studies of bilingualism, and other language and linguistic areas of study that affect or are affected by bilingualism. As an introductory part of the subject, we know bilingualism usually means knowing two or more languages; bilinguals can communicate to a group or a larger group, and to a diversified group of people as well. Bilingualism has struck many states throughout the world. More and more states have more than one language due to the presence of immigrants and new comers from places suffering from environmental or man-made forces. Some countries have turned into bilingual with more than two official languages; sometimes their communities speak more than the recognized languages. There are questions that this essay will attempt to answer, questions such as: What is the child’s native language? Should the language in the community or what is popularly spoken be the child’s native language? What must the community and educational institutions do to help bilingual children? What should parents do to deal positively with their bilingual children? Will bilingual children learn English, and will the experience of learning two languages lead to either cognitive or linguistic confusion? There are various phenomenological aspects of bilingualism that can be talked about considering that this is a broad and

Who will profit from the Lisbon Treaty in the field of JHA (Justice Essay - 1

Who will profit from the Lisbon Treaty in the field of JHA (Justice and Home Affairs) - Essay Example The parts of the treaties significant to the Treaty of Lisbon will be studies in order to illustrate the importance of change within the European Union. The Lisbon Treaty ratified in 2009 takes into account the changes in society which were non-existent 10 years ago. The Maastricht Treaty has a legal frame work which no longer requires the same liaisons among nations of the EU in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. The European Union was more internally structured and served as a consulting organization. The Treaty of Lisbon changes the structure to work outwards. The documents, which will be used as reference are the Council of European Communities (1953), the European Union of (1992) and the Treaty of Lisbon (2009). The benefits of the Treaty of Lisbon will be propagated through the whole treaty. The infrastructure of the EU will be modified: the voting system will be changed and the pillar system will be changed. Specifically affecting Justice and Home Affairs will be the creation of several new working structures. The Council of European Communities was ratified in 1953. The European court was established. The European Council which was not yet under the tutelage of the EEC (EU) established the treaty of Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This convention which is still being used today was made an official charter of the European Union with the Treaty of Lisbon. Ireland which has the right of vote in any changes in the EU administration confirmed that they still have the right to decide the Fundamental Freedoms of their population such as the right of abortion and homosexuality. National Constitutions take precedent over the EU. This point will be elaborated when national identity versus European identity is discussed as a Home Affair. In 1953, the European Community was established for economic purposes in the coal and steel industry and the atomic energy community among 6