MyAlert Essay

Come 1999, the international mobile data services market was ever so expanding and changing rapidly. Jorge Mata was able to hop on the bandwagon early enough to profit from this business venture as this industry was just at the beginning of a new era that would revolutionize how consumers and businesses communicated with each other. More simply stated, MyAlert was a great business idea, developing a more personalized mobile industry. Mata could not actually believe that such a business model had never been thought of in the past, but did not have to think twice before investing in the MyAlert project, becoming the first company to appear and succeed in the mobile services market in Spain. Flash forwarding to a year after its creation, figures are only representative of the huge success MyAlert was facing in terms of the service and content the company offered its customers. Figures were in the black, and more than 200.000 users were registered to the ‘Alert portal’ witho ut even any substantial advertising expense. Another indicator of a good business idea is whether the creator of the company is able to find any potential investors ready to sponsor his project. In this case, Mata is the first to find enough capital (half a million euros) to launch his project. His ex-CEO at BroadVision also wanted to invest in the project, showing us just how serious and well thought of this business plan actually was. Although the initial funds were clearly insufficient to bring MyAlert at the top of the ladder both domestically and internationally, Mata’s strategy is clear-cut in the sense that the first priority was developing a project with â€Å"a top-tier management and technical team and a sound technological platform to make alerts work at the targeted scale† (p. 2). The company could effectively y use its technological platform to provide a personalized service, that at the time, was crucially needed by customers and companies who wished to stay at the top of the information chain. This was the booming time in terms of new technologies and how they could be adapted to the internet and the mobile phone. MyAlert’s business idea was once again great because it could actually provide this ever so needed information to its end users. By valuing the customer and focusing on what the market needed and will need in the future, MyAlert is a perfect example of how they were able to carry out the latter and grasp a changing environment before it was too late. The main competitive advantages that MyAlert benefit from are seen through their timing and their strong technological platform. In effect, the company benefits from a first mover advantage into the mobile data service industry. With this advantage under their belt, it is essential in for MyAlert to develop an on-going demand for their service. The customer base is large and potentially profitable and the company understood this. As I stated previously, instead of focusing itself on the product/service they deliver to the customer, MyAlert’s strategy is to focus on what the customer really wants from the company. The emotional factors that the customers face are very important because they act as an experience on each individual when they decide to sign up for daily alerts on football, or stock quotes for example. My Alert knows that by focusing on the customer base, by offering them a service that is affordable and useful, positive recommendations will then follow placing them at an advantage vis-à  -vis their competitors. While focusing on the demand aspects are vital, it is also crucial for the company to concentrate on the supply scale for the competitive advantage to be sustainable. Basic services such as alerts on business headlines are interesting but MyAlert’s main wish is to expand their supply with a â€Å"†¦ number of services thanks to agreements with other content and service providers† (p. 2). By growing a significant supply scale, a broader demand from not only individual end-users will arise, but also from sources like corporations and large advertising companies. With all the information above, a value chain of MyAlert’s business model is shown through this diagram: A perfect example of this model at work is when MyAlert enters the European major markets. While replicating the entry strategy that had already worked in Spain, the company broadens its supply scale by offering free advertising services to international companies and then pursuing on to develop tight relationships with these companies so that they can offer them business services. This is a clear example of how the company intentionally expands its supply scale to attain an even larger demand (customer) base. After the dotcom bubble crisis, companies focused on new technologies such as MyAlert, take the hardest hit. Their competitive advantage based on a strong  technology is now under threat and the company has to reevaluate its strategy. I believe the merge with Buongiorno is not only positive for both companies, but a must if MyAlert wishes to stay competitive in the long run. Mauro del Rio basically says it all in his statement as he declares that the â€Å"†¦ two absolute imperatives for ambitious European high tech companies [are]: critical mass and positive P&L† (p.4). MyAlert could no longer expand through organic growth and so this merger is a fantastic idea in terms of bringing new qualified staff, technology assets and know-how. On the flip side, the position the two companies now hold as a whole, allows them to penetrate new markets and develop synergies. The two companies complemented each other very well in terms of My Alert bringing a strong technological platform to the table and powerful ASP services versus Buongiorno being more present in terms of marketing and advertising services. The strengths of one, replaced the weaknesses of the other. A good example of how the two companies complemented themselves really well is by analyzing the services they sold through various business models. In terms of business services, Buongiorno would lead the way offering companies other marketing services such as brand building and customer loyalty. The product range allowed a higher diversification and greatly benefited the company. The above would not have been possible to realize if MyAlert wouldn’t have merged with Buongiorno because of a poorer marketing penetration. When it came to consumer services however, MyAlert would lead the way by actively investing and developing new apps carefully adapted to their customer base thanks to t heir strong technology. Consumer services were the new hit at the beginning of the years 2000’s and Buongiorno! MyAlert was able to establish itself as a clear industry leader. At first, intensively focusing on consumer services was not a clear target for the newly merged companies. The SMS market was in full evolution but many competitors were focusing on the benefits of developing WAP. The portal worked similarly to the WWW navigation, except it was adapted to cell phones. The main point here is that MyAlert had the necessary technology to develop this project and become a global leader but the management team made a wise decision when they decided to focus more on what the consumer actually wanted. WAP-enabled phones had huge potential, increasing to 23% in  2000, but the alarming factor was that only 3% of those users were actually using the new mobile portal. In effect, the company realized that they were found in a value added service market and that their business would mainly depend on what share they could capture from mobile operators when end-users download a song or a logo via SMS, and which marketing budget their customers could channel throu gh them. More simply stated, the company shifted its competitive advantage from a strong technological base to a market driven, consumer targeted base. This business model change allowed the company to develop its own kind of virtual network, linking them to diverse mobile operators’ message centers. As Nomura correctly states, the company could now benefit from its new position and operate its new value chain by having higher punctuality and lower messaging costs. This diversified network the company had built with all the operators, and the flexible strategy they had put into place to be able to adapt to a changing environment, gave them a â€Å"competitive advantage and barrier to entry for any competitors trying† (p.15) to penetrate the market. The evolvement of the business model was a crucial point for the company as they correctly analyzed the market and customer appreciation instead of focusing on a strong service (WAP) that they could’ve developed. If they had chosen this route, maybe things would’ve not been as smooth and successful for them. In this case though, the company was showing positive results and was in a continued search for new businesses and markets to enter while diversifying both in terms of their products and services. This model can only be sustainable, because as Darwin says it best â€Å"if a being wants to survive in a shifting environment, it must evolve at least as fast as the medium itself.† BuonGiorno!MyAlert is perfectly equipped to do so.

Guns germs and steel

There may be personal information you want considered as part of your admissions application. Write an essay describing that information. You might include exceptional hardships, challenges, or opportunities that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credentials, personal responsibilities, exceptional achievements or talents, educational goals, or ways in which you might contribute to an institution committed to creating a diverse learning environment. In all honesty, I haven't really endured many hardships.In fact, I see them more as entrances, or sometimes even opportunities that I could easily take on, avoid or Just not think of them with the knowledge that they will go away in time. My childhood, as well as my early middle school years, were spent in the very northern part of Georgia, only two hours from the capital, Atlanta. During the summer, in 2009, the recession had hit my family hard, so my dad, seeing no way to continue living the way we did, decided to move o ur family to Texas, where the workload and the wages were better, not to mention that we would be near family.You can only imagine how I felt leaving everything I knew behind to venture into the unknown. The first few months were difficult in Kathy, Texas. I was thrown into a situation where everything was different from what I knew, or grew up learning. The people, the surroundings, the whole concept made me nervous of beginning a new life in this small town. I didn't know how to talk to people, who were expressive and unafraid to speak their minds to someone new, whereas I remained silent through a discussion. I did not know how to open up to them like I would now with other people.The first ay, I nearly broke down into tears due to how badly I wanted my friends beside me. I had to sit alone at lunch on that first day, since no one knew who I was. The scene was turning into something from a movie where the new kid from Africa eats alone in the bathroom because she had no friends t o sit with. I had no idea how the kids who constantly moved everywhere in the states did it. Over a year later though, I had gotten used to the place. I found that I really liked it better in Kathy rather than in Georgia, and I made some good close friends who defined themselves from those sack in the Peach state.They were my special people. However, my father had once again decided to move our family further south to the ROI Grandee Valley after concluding that he did not like it in Kathy. Albeit it was better than Georgia, it was not good enough for him. I had been excited to move again, mostly for the reason that my dad made McAllen seem like a glorious city. When we arrived later on late summer of 2010, I had been horrified at the dramatic change of living. I had made it quite clear with the years that followed of how I tested the place, not because of how bad it looked on the outside, because of how different McAllen was from Kathy or Georgia.WAY different. Moving to the Valley , I discovered that I was a city girl. I wanted to visit the many malls in Houston (the Valley only had one good mall) and to go to the park without worry of feeling uncomfortable. I used to love to walk. I heard my parents constantly warning me of strangers, but it never dawned on me on how serious it was until I moved here. Four years have passed since we moved to McAllen, well, Parr actually. I still dislike this place. I faced the problems of being in a new school again, however, this time wasn't as scary as it was a year earlier.I was barely starting high school and everyone basically saw a new face they did not know, so it was bearable, but that did not mean that I was not nervous as I was back in Kathy. Here, I also made new friends. They weren't like those in Kathy or in the Peach State, but I still liked them. However, I didn't find myself really liking the SAA district, so my parents transferred me to the STIES district school, BETA. Honestly, I wished I had gone there soo ner. Sure, the school had ajar flaws, like in every other one, but I have made some really awesome friends who made the months seem like days, and years like only a few weeks.These friends were so different from those in SAA. Sure, everyone belonged to a different â€Å"clique†, but we were our own unique â€Å"clique† of weird, stressed out, goofy girls, which was sort of different from other schools that Vive gone to, as I wasn't part of one â€Å"clique†. No matter how different or similar each situation was in my life, they all taught me one thing: how to deal with it. Moving has taught me so many things, like being rounded with new people and how to properly deal with the new environment. I have actually learned that I like moving around and how quick I adjust to it, which can hopefully come in handy later.I know what it's like to move, and I have met different types of people, from different social classes, and ways of living from around the world. I have learned bit by bit from each and every one. I don't consider moving a hardship as I once did, but more of an opportunity to see new places, meet new people and experience different types of things like food or ways of thinking, and I m sure that whenever I or another person from somewhere economically and politically different moves in, I am able to help adjust and see to it that they or even I do not feel uncomfortable.I have gradually learned other things about myself, small things that make me who I am, and though I am content with some, I am determined to change others for the better. I hope, if I go too University which requires me to live in a new place, that I will not cry or freak out when my family is far away. Instead, I will keep calm and be certain that more pleasant things will come later, when I finally adjust. Guns Germs and Steel 1. Yali's question; â€Å"Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea but we black people had little cargo of our own? † 2. Diamond rewords the question as â€Å"History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among people environment not because of biological differences among peoples themselves. † 3. Jared Diamond analyzes several factors that he believes contributed to the existing balance of the world's resources. In order to answer Yali's question, he speculates about the role of geography, technology, cultural diffusion, agriculture, culture and biology. . The Maori evolved differently because of population and leadership differences. The Maori conquered the Moriori due to its advanced weapons and technology and the Moriori lost due to its lack of leadership and simple weapons. 5. Population density affected economies because the more people there are the more things you need such as food. It also affected social complexity because it easier to control smaller populations. With more people you need more control over things for decisions which goes with political organization 6.Atahualpa was the last ruler of the Inca Empire of pre-Columbian South America to exercise power independent of Spanish control. Francisco Pizarro and a small group of Spanish soldiers captured Atahualpa. In a vain attempt to save Atahualpa, his subjects assembled one of the largest ransoms in history, an estimated $30 million worth of gold and silver. 7. Pizzarro completely surprised and overwhelmed Atahualpa’s empire; Pizzarro had guns germs and steel where the Incas didn’t. Pizzarro also had horses that terrified the Incas having never seen it.Pizzarro also had a written language and the Incas did not. 8. Availability of more consumable calories means more people equals strength of numbers. Domestic animals fed people by furnishing meat, milk, and fertilizer and by animal labor. A nimals and crops also provide warmth and tools. 9. These areas are Southwest Asia's Fertile Crescent, China, Mesoamerica, the Andes and possibly the Amazon Basin, and eastern United States. 10. These areas are Sahel, tropical West Africa, Ethiopia, and New Guinea. 11. These areas were western and central Europe, Indus valley, and Egypt. 12.The only hunter-gatherers to continue to exist were those who were separated geographically or lived in areas not fit for food producing. One theory of why people first started producing food was just as a back-up plan. Another theory is that there are different factors in different parts of the world that caused the decision to move to farming. 13. A plant is to be domesticated when its native characteristics are altered such that it cannot grow and reproduce without human intervention. 14. Because Different factors in different parts of the world caused the decision to move to farming. 5. Some plants need to be pollinated by another plant, but s ome mutant plants are self-pollinating. These self pollinating plants would also be picked and eventually wipe out the non self-pollinating plants. 16. Eurasia 17. Three advantages were the climate of the Fertile Crescent was wet in the winters and dry in the summers, ancestor crops were already very productive and fruitful, and many of the crops that inhabited the Fertile Crescent were self-pollinating. 18. For one the continent contained the largest amount of wild mammals.Another reason is that Eurasia has had the least extinction in the last 40,000 years. In other parts of the world large mammals were not as readily available for domestication. 19. Diamond gives six reasons why: diet, growth rate, and problems of captive breeding, nasty disposition, tendency to panic, and social structure. 20. The Americas and Africa both have a north-south axis while Eurasia has a west-east axis. It is because west-east regions share the same length of day, same types of seasons, same diseases, and same aspects of climate such as rainfall and habitat.Trade spread farther west east than it did north south. 21. Plants moved from north to south or vice-versa were not built to endure the different climates, times of day, and etc. Domestic animals could not fight off the new types of disease and climate as well. 22. Genetically some people have developed immunity to certain diseases or illnesses through generations of repeated exposure. The small populations can't fight outside epidemics, and can't evolve their own because they are nearly wiped out every time, therefore the epidemic disappears. 3. Blueprinting copying- when you copy or modify an available detailed blueprint. Idea Diffusion-when you receive little more than the basic idea and have to try to do it yourself. 24. If kings limited writing they can better control the masses and there is a smaller chance of and uprising. 25. â€Å"Invention is often the mother of necessity† which means that many inventors creat ed things out of curiosity rather than because of need. In other words, they made a product before there was a demand for it 26.The factors are economic advantage of new technology, social value and prestige, vested interest, and ease of observing advantages. 27. Factors are peaceful trade, espionage, emigration, and war. 28. Behavior became lethal in the presence of peasant soldiers ungracefully blasting away with guns. Eventually reduced government orders for guns until japan was almost without functional guns. 29. Sedentary living was decisive for the history of technology, because it enabled people to accumulate non-portable possessions. 30. Bands are the smallest societies lack many types of institutions that other societies have.They are so small because the region they live in lacks the resources for larger societies. Next is the tribe, being a little larger. Tribes are large enough where they can have separate clans. Next is Chiefdoms, which contain different lineages, and h ave many jobs that were often filled by captured slaves. Chiefdoms had a redistributive economy in which the chief received all the goods and then spread it back out among all the people. States have many more slaves and are supported by a political and territorial basis, not one of kinship and heredity. 1. There are four reasons why large societies must have complex centralized government. Secondly is the â€Å"growing possibility of communal decision making with increasing population size. † Thirdly involves economic reasons of differentiating talents and transfer of goods. The final consideration is that larger societies have denser populations 32. One reason is because of early extinction of large wild fauna in the Americas, while in Eurasia there were a variety of wild animals for domestication. Agriculture is another reason.Eurasia also had much more variety of domestic able plants. Those parts of the Americas that did have agriculture were lacking in protein. It was al so much less successful because they did not have the labor animals that Eurasia did. Germs, metal, military technology, and power to operate machinery were all more reasons that Eurasia had such an advantage over the Native Americans. 33. Those parts of the Americas that did have agriculture were lacking in protein. 34. These were blacks, whites, African Pygmies, Khoisan, and Asians. 35. Iron tools and agriculture

A Passage to India

While the plight of the colonized is tragic, filled with degrading images of subjugated civilizations and noble people reduced to mere laborers, it is the colonizer, the British of India, and their rapid change from newly arrived colonist to rigid and unforgiving ruler that draws my interest. The characters constantly comment on these changes that occur to the British once they adjust to the imperialist lifestyle. In the second chapter of the novel Hamidullah, a Muslim character, remarks to his friends, â€Å"Yes, they have no choice here, that is my point. They come out intending to be gentlemen and are told it will not do. . . . I give any Englishman two years. . . . And I give any Englishwoman six months† (Forster 7). Miss Quested constantly worries about becoming this caricature of her former self and also recognizes the changes in her husband-to-be, Ronny, as he fits into the British ruling class lifestyle. Fielding looks at the uncaring people his compatriots have become and marvels as he befriends an Indian Muslim. Is it possible that colonialism has an effect on the colonizer as well as the colonized? Forster clearly demonstrates that colonialism is not only a tragedy for the colonized, but effects a change on the colonizer as well. But how and why does this change occur? Aime Cesaire proposed that it is simply the savage nature of colonization that changes man into their most primal state (20). This does not work because there is no blatant savagery as in Heart of Darkness. Forster doesn’t seem to be parading the cruelty of the colonizer. Thomas Gladwin and Ahmad Saidin suggest that the change is simply the myth of the white man as the British citizens assert their crowns of supposed natural, higher intelligence and worth (47). This does seem to be a good argument because of the superiority that the British colonists take upon themselves in the novel, sequestering themselves in the British club that no mere Indian can be a part of. However, it doesn’t account for the more inquisitive and benevolent natures of Adela and Mr. Fielding and their acts and opinions toward the Indian people. In his essay â€Å"Shooting and Elephant,† George Orwell states that: When the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the ‘natives,’ and so in every crisis he has got to do what the ‘natives’ expect of him. He wears a mask and his face grows to fit. (152) Orwell suggests that the change is merely the taking on of a role and that the colonizer is an actor required to play the part of the British ruler. It is expected by the native people, and also by their fellow colonists. This expectation is shown through the comment of Hamidallah and his insistence of the inevitable change. It is expected. It is the acceptance of this role is the change that affects the characters in A Passage to India, and if this is the accepted norm, then it goes to reason that those who do not accept it will find themselves outcasts of the society they reject. This is what I intend to show by comparing the plights of Forster’s characters Ronny, Adela, and Fielding, as I explore their differing approaches to this role and the effects that come of either accepting or rejecting it . The first groups of colonizers are those who accept the act of leadership whole-heartedly. They separate themselves from the population, declaring their own superiority over the masses as they build their walled compounds content to be out of sight and sound of any Indians, with the exception of their servants (of course) (Kurinan 44). They seek to make Britain in India, rather than accepting and glorifying the resident cultures. They remain strangers to it, practically living in a separate country they provided for themselves, yet ruling one that they remained aloof from (Eldridge 170). This is the Englishman or woman who feels that without British rule everything will fall to ruin and chaos, anarchy being the ruling class in their stead (Kurinan 33). This is also the class that Albert Memmi, author of The Colonizer and the Colonized (and a former colonized citizen himself), calls the â€Å"colonizer who accepts† (45). It is the colonizer who accepts his or her given role as ruler and god over the colonized people. Memmi supports Orwell’s idea of the role they play by stating that â€Å"the colonizer must assume the opaque rigidity and imperviousness of stone. In short, he must dehumanize himself as well (xxvii). † Those who accept the role of the British administrator lose a part of themselves in the process, becoming an actor instead of a man, doing what is expected, not what is right. Forster picks up on this idea as well. Ronny Healsop is the character that exemplifies the ruling class of the nineteenth century British colonizers. He fulfills the characteristics of the administrative class. He adopts the aloof and chilly manner that was characteristic, caring only about his superiority over the Indians and his evenings at the club with his own kind (Kurinan 43). He shows his callousness and robotic adherence to his role as magistrate in India in an argument with his mother. ‘We’re out here to do justice and keep the peace. Theme’s my sentiments. India isn’t a drawing room. ‘ ‘You’re sentiments are those of a god,’ she said quietly, but it was his manner rather than his sentiments that annoyed her. Trying to recover his temper, he said, ‘India likes gods. ‘And Englishmen like posing as gods. ‘ ‘There’s no point in all this. Here we are, and we’re going to stop, and the country’s got to put up with us, gods or no gods. . . .I am out here to work, mind, to hold this wretched country by force. I’m not a mission ary or a Labor Member or a vague sentimental sympathetic literary man. I’m just a servant of the Government. . . .We’re not pleasant in India, and we don’t intend to be pleasant. We’ve something more important to do’ (51-52). Ronny dehumanizes himself with his constant ravings about having more important things to do in India than being pleasant to the â€Å"natives. He puts himself up as a god, only there for justice and to hold the country together by force. He sheds any ideas of sentiment and in doing so shows how such ideas are looked upon with derision by the ruling class of the colony. Adela, Ronny’s intended fiancee, recognizes this loss of humanity in him from his arguments. She thinks about his manner and it upsets her that â€Å"he did rub it in that he was not in India to behave pleasantly, and derived positive satisfaction there from! . . . The traces of young-man humanitarianism sloughed† (52). What she doesn’t realize is that Ronny is merely accepting his role as Orwell’s â€Å"conventionalized figure of a sahib† and Memmi’s typical colonizer: harsh and cold with no time or inclination toward sentiment. Adela Quested is troubled by this conventionalized role. She comes to India to see its wonders and to connect with its people. Her first moments of seeing Ronny are telling because they show her reluctance to take upon herself the role of the British administrative archetype. She marvels at how he has changed and how unsympathetic he is to those he rules over. This idea is something that haunts her as she continually struggles with the role she must take on if she marries Ronny and remains in India. She has a hard time reconciling the notion of the India she sees with that she must be apart of. â€Å"In front, like a shutter, fell a vision of her married life. She and Ronny would look into the club like this every evening, then drive home to dress; they would see the Lesleys and the Callenders and the Turtons and the Burtons, and invite them and be invited by them while the true India slid by unnoticed† (48). Adela does not wish to be a part of the society that Ronny is so fond of. She even goes so far as to ask an Indian about how she can avoid becoming as the other women, something that no other British woman would do. As she rejects her role as actress in the British imperial play, Adela becomes Memmi’s â€Å"colonizer who refuses† (19), becoming contemptible in the sight of the English society of India. Those who did not accept this role were viewed as the enemy in the imperial point of view. Memmi points out that those who enter the colonies must accept or go home. There is no middle ground. Those who show signs of humanitarian romanticism are viewed as the worst of all dangers and are on the side of the enemy (20). Adela’s thoughts are always viewed as naive and idealistic, but everyone has faith that she will fit in in time. The British laugh at her notions of wanting to see the real India that they try to shut out every day, but they figure that she will fall in line in the end. But what happens if she doesn’t? Adela’s refusal to pursue charges against Aziz when she realizes her folly in accusing him of attempted molestation leaves her ostracized. She rejects the role of imperialist colonizer and must live with the consequences. Those who were once her greatest supporters, fawning over her illness and pretending to be so caring and concerned, now become her most vehement enemies. Memmi observed that those colonizers who felt their ideas were betrayed became vicious (21). As Adela found out after her acquitting remarks on Aziza’s behalf, her friends turned against her, her superiors denounced her, and even Ronny left her. Adela realizes that if she doesn’t choose to wear the mask of imperialism that â€Å"one belongs nowhere and becomes a public nuisance without realizing it. . .I speak of India. I am not astray in † (291). One key element of her statement is that she is only a nuisance in India. Memmi asserts that those who are good cannot stay in the colony (21). The best of people must leave because they cannot accept the consequences of their remaining as a colonist. This idea also shows that these chan ges in character are only exhibited in India. The English in England share differing opinions and ideas. They are not caught in the play as the colonists are and so it shows that a definite change exists between leaving England and acclimatizing to India. Therefore, Adela, although cast out from the imperial administrative class of , may remain unchanged and return to . The last character is that of Fielding. Fielding takes on the role of the colonizer who refuses, but he takes a different path than Adela. Instead of leaving he turns to the colonized for support. Fielding always connects with the Indians. He has no qualms about speaking to them or visiting them in their homes, even visiting Aziz when he falls ill. He doesn’t frequent â€Å"the club,† because he doesn’t share all of the same opinions that the ruling English colonizers do. Fielding also realizes the truth that the real India lays not in the British imperial scope, but in the Indians themselves. When Adela is expressing her desires to see the real India, Ronny asks Fielding how one sees the â€Å"real India. † Fielding’s answer is â€Å"Try seeing Indians† (25). This question results in many of the people at the club talking about how they see too many Indians and too often. This comment about seeing the real India through its people, however, shows a definite sympathy with a conquered people, more than any of the other British people were willing to show at any point. Fielding takes his rejection of the imperialist nature so far as to support and defend the natives against his own people. When Aziz is accused of assault on Adela, Fielding is the first to come to his aid, forsaking his own people. He even defiles the sanctity of the club, choosing it to be his battle ground and denouncing his own people and the play that they have chosen to act in. He makes a very bold statement to the amazement of his fellow British subjects. He declares, â€Å"I believe Dr. Aziz to be innocent. . . . If he is guilty I resign from my service, and leave India. I resign from the club now† (210). He completely rejects his people in their chosen sanctuary, defiling their temple of Britishness and becoming their number one enemy. He is immediately denounced as he rejects this role of imperial aristocrat for benevolent humanitarian. He refuses the mask and doesn’t just walk away from it, as Adela must eventually do, but he stomps on it. He in no way forsakes his British heritage, but he realizes that friendship is possible with the Indians, and he is willing to fight for his cause. He becomes the moral hero to the Indians, a quality that Memmi says is important to his acceptance into their confidence. But, Memmi also states that Fielding cannot completely join them because above all he is still British and therefore holds the same ideas and prejudices that he grew up with (45). That is unavoidable because, after all, Fielding is still a British citizen, something that can’t be erased. In the end Fielding does turn back to his own people, marrying an English girl, but I think it is significant that he returns to England to find this girl, who is connected with Miss Quested and Mrs. Moore, the two idealistic characters in the novel. Fielding becomes more of a part of the imperial ociety with his marriage ties, but he remains free of the change that occurs in the colonies by making his match away from India. He stays free of the role of imperial actor and continues on with his notions of friendship and peace with the Indian people. I assert that Forster presented Fielding as an example of how to resist the imperial Indian machine and yet still maintain his British culture. Fie lding is the most sympathetic, not wavering on his regard for the people, only realizing the differences that may lie between their personalities and cultures. When he becomes the â€Å"colonizer that refuses,† Fielding shows that resistance of the changes that come upon the colonizer is possible and that the role of imperial actor may be refused. Imperialism was a British institution for a long time. It brought British people in contact with many cultures and peoples. It also helped them to affect a great amount of change on indigenous ways of life. The images and accounts of the brutality and callousness of the Imperial administrators are legendary and will always be the most examined part of its long stretch until its fall in the twentieth century. These effects on the native cultures are important, as are the accounts of their plights, however now we can see that Imperialism and colonization didn’t only affect the colonized, but that it had an effect on the colonizer as well. Aime Cesaire stated that â€Å"colonial activity, colonial enterprise, colonial conquest, which is based on contempt for the nature and justified by that contempt, inevitable tends to change him who undertakes it† (20). Living the life of imperialism has its stamp. It can’t help but have it. As George Orwell insinuated, it is a play, and the imperial citizens and administrators were actors, trying to play their parts as demi-gods with great confidence and authority (Kuinan 55). When any person did not live up to the art of performance, they either returned to England or joined in the plight of the native, being ostracized from their â€Å"people. † Forster presents a picture of this Imperial England. A Passage to India provides a perfect stage in which to watch the action play out among those who accept their role and those who rebel, whether knowingly or not. His portrayal of the characters Ronny, Adela, and Fielding show the three different types of colonizers that Memmi observed in his own life as a suppressed â€Å"native. † Each character portrays a different situation and mind set, demonstrating the different alternatives in the colonial/imperial life. Through these characters we truly see the effects that imperialism had on not only the colonized, but also the colonizer, showing that no one is immune .

Marketing strategy of Pacific Coffee Company (Hong Kong) Essay

Marketing strategy of Pacific Coffee Company (Hong Kong) - Essay Example Coffee retail business is the most flourishing business in the economic recession. With every business facing difficulties in operations, coffee retail business enjoys growth. One such company is Pacific Coffee Company; subsidiary of China Resources Enterprise ltd. Due to the rapid growth of coffee consumption in the mainland China, the company has decided to blanket the market with company’s coffeehouses. It was found that the marketing strategies of the company were to some extent focused on becoming the largest retail of coffee provider and to attract the customers towards the company’s products. By this it was concluded that marketing strategy can play an essential role in the success of the company and to do so effective and efficient marketing strategies are required for the company to live up to their dreams. Some recommended strategies for the company were to enhance the implementation of technology into the business operations, expansion into new markets, diversification of the products, collaboration with banks, colleges and companies to allow selling of company’s products in their premises, promotional strategies, shifting the focus from retail business to under-serviced sectors, additional value creation and last but not the least online pre-ordering of the coffee to reduce the waiting time of the customers. By implementing above mentioned marketing strategies the company would have a competitive edge over the other players in the market. These recommendations would help the company to be the leader of the market with profitability, growth and greater opportunities. Table of Contents Executive summary 1 Introduction 3 Methodology 4 Situational analysis 4 Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) 6 Segmentation: 6 Targeting: 6 Positioning: 6 SWOT analysis 7 Strengths 7 Weaknesses 7 Opportunities 8 Threats 8 Recommended Objectives and Goals 8 Recommended Marketing strategies and Programmes 9 Penetrating the Market 9 New Target Audience 9 Global Expansion 10 Collaboration with Banks, Colleges and Companies 10 Expanding the Coffeehouses in Mainland China 10 Additional Value Creation 10 Introduction of iPhone Applications 11 Product Diversity 11 Promotional Strategy 11 Increasing the Service Time 11 Focusing on under-developed Sectors 12 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction Coffee ret ail business is one of the fastest growing businesses even in such economic conditions (Roast Magazine, 2012). Being inspired from the American and European coffee culture, Pacific Coffee Company (PCC) set its foot in Hong Kong market in year 1992 (Pacific Coffee, 2012a). Being a pioneer in such market, the aim was to provide the customers with â€Å"the perfect cup of coffee† in order to meet the thriving demand of the customers. With the passage of time, the company was known for its quality and a competitive position in the Hong Kong market (Pacific Coffee, 2012a). The PCC’s expansion in the Asian region was another success for the company. Due to the strong brand reputation, the company was able to expand in China, Singapore and Malaysia. With the main focus on Hong Kong’s coffee market, the company operates more than 100 shops in Hong Kong with 130 outlets in China, Singapore and Malaysia (Pacific Coffee, 2012a). With future expansion plan, the company†™s 80 percent shares were bought by China Resources from Chevalier Pacific Holdings (Leung and Lui, 2010). The aim of this expansion was to expand the business in China a lot faster and to be the China’s largest coffee-shop operator (Syed, 2010). In this report, marketing strategies of PCC would be assessed along with the value creation process of the company. The research would also highlight the key strengths and weaknesses of the company’s marketing strategies to provide significant information to the readers. Moreover, it includes the environmental analysis and recommendations for the company to improve the profitability, market share and value creation pr

Individual Project Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Individual Project - Thesis Example In this discussion it will provide the information and detailed analysis of podcasting technology, which will include its introduction, history, current usage, main advantages and disadvantages etc. The purpose of this discussion is to concentrate on this technology regarding educational point of view. The future of this technology will also be part of my discussion. The discussion will be started by providing the information and detailed analysis about Podcasting technology, which will include in first section a complete introduction of this technology then its uses in different field of life, next section will provide the brief but complete history of Podcasting, in next section the technology that is used in podcasting will be discussed, main advantages and disadvantages are in proceeding sections, then It will explain uses of this technology from the educational point of view and the future of this technology will be also part of this discussion, that will show how podcasting is currently in use in education and learning and next section has few suggestions (future of this technology) about podcasting usage for educational point of view. The last section comprises overall conclusion of the topic and discussion. The aim of this discussion is to concentrate this technology regarding educational point of view. In the appendix of this assignment information regarding listening devices technology required for Podcasting, podcasting Resources will be discussed. Finally a list of resources from where data is collected will be provided in the form of references. What’s a podcast? A podcast is at no cost resource video or audio series, looks related to a TV or radio show, that anyone download from iTunes web and watch and listen on your on hand platform . Go to and Visit the iTunes Store to search for podcasts that attract your attention. Once anyone locate one, offer it a rapid listen, and then click a

Topic - An Exploration of My Career Choice dentist Essay

Topic - An Exploration of My Career Choice dentist - Essay Example Dentists are skilled professionals and they contribute to the well being of the society as well. Many dentists also provide free service to the needy poor people showing the humble feelings engraved in their mind during their education. Another advantage of being a dentist is that dentists do not have to work under some other person and they can be their own boss. Since they are self employed they can easily manage and balance their professional and personal lives in a proper manner. Dentists would be in big demand in the coming future mainly because of the modern and stressed lifestyles of the individuals. People would need dentists to maintain their oral hygiene and for keeping their teeth free from dieses in order to avoid any dental problem in the future. As per the information available on the website of world dental federation, there are approximately 1,36,000 dentists working in USA and the demand for them, would only increase as the number of oral problems in the younger gene ration is the highest among the developed world. Dentistry is a profession which is changing and evolving rapidly. Dentists are required to treat patients with a variety of dental issues like teeth scaling, gum dieses, filling and many more.

ROOM by Emma Donoghue - socialization and affects on development Essay

ROOM by Emma Donoghue - socialization and affects on development - Essay Example Somehow, the developments witnessed by the protagonist, portrayed by Donoghue mirror the Freud’s Oedipus Complex theory, which claims to be child’s maintaining physical and sentimental attraction to the parent of his/her opposite gender. Recent studies endorse the very notion that psychodynamic and person-centered methodologies have obtained profound popularity during twentieth century onward with regards to personality development perspectives. One of the most important reasons behind applying these approaches includes the exploration of the factors playing vital role in the personality development and formation during the initial years of human life. Hence, the works created by the writers, poets, philosophers, painters and film directors etc are analyzed and investigated into by keeping in view the psychological approaches articulated by the theorists while determining the factors of cognitive and personality developmental processes. Famous early 20th century American psychologist has articulated his Hierarchy of Needs Theory, where he has discussed the nature of the basic human needs and essentiality of the fulfillment of these needs for the adequate growth of the individuals. Five motivational factors, according to Maslow, include physiological, safety, social, ego and self-actualization. Physiological needs are those, which come under the definition of basic necessities of life i.e. food, clothing, and shelter, all of which are the needs without which man is unable to survive even for long. The second motivational factor i.e. safety discusses the sense of protection man requires for his mental peace and physical well-being.

America in the 1920s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

America in the 1920s - Essay Example Realities of the wartime, accompanied by the scale restrictions of democracy and introduction to violence of tens millions of people, have rendered huge influence on public psychology, morals, valuable priorities. At the same time, the war has also lay the foundation of rather significant industrial growth in the majority of the states of the West that cannot but affect a standard of living of the population. To the full all this was showed in the history of the United States of America. The war and post-war economic boom became the reason of essential social changes in the country, which have turned into partial reconsideration of former, in many respects Puritan, value system. So let us consider 1920s American economic and social developments, including the economic boom (1922-1929), impact of the automobile, introduction of new electrical products and household appliances, improvement of the standard of living and working conditions, and growth of the stock market. Growth of the population and the well-being of the population in the beginning of the twenties century have led to a long growth in economy. In 1920s was carried out railway construction, people spent a lot of money for purchase of the new capital 'consumer blessings', and as a result building sector, automobile and other industries experienced an extraordinary rise. It is possible to say that the most important factor of the amazing economic boom (1922-1929) in the USA is the occurrence of new industries. In particular, phenomenal rise was observed in automotive industry. There has arisen the huge demand for production of allied industries, especially steel, rubber, glass and oil products. In the road building, which has received additional stimulus of development, there were also many new workplaces. In the same period in high gear developed manufacture of radio, other electrical products and household appliances. Installment trading became the powerful factor of growth of interna l consumption. Despite of the existence of variety of laws, called to limit the creation of large corporations, monopolization of economic life occurred very quickly, especially in sphere of public service. As it usually happens during the periods of boom, in the second half 1920s there was a big growth of share prices. And there was a ground for it: manufacture grew, incomes of the population raised, unemployment decreased. "Americans invested in companies by buying shares. They bought shares 'on the margin', paying back loans when share prices went up1". When this speculative boom has reached its limit, it has begun great fall of stocks. Since this moment all financial system of the USA and together with it the financial system of other world has started crackling. It is assumed that the main reason of the Great depression is the stock market crash in 1929. However the process actually has been set by the irresponsible profit making of brokers during the economic boom, which has begun in 1924. During this period the country is unprecedented prospered, however then there was a dangerous skew in incomes. Calvin Coolidge, the president of the USA in 1924-1929, has declared the non-interference of the state in business. The tax on income has been sharply lowered. Illusion of economic growth has led to occurrence of a financial pyramid: the share price were artificially overestimated, Americans counted up dividends and bought new shares,

Obama and the Historical Left Wing Attacks on 2nd Amendment Rights Research Paper

Obama and the Historical Left Wing Attacks on 2nd Amendment Rights - Research Paper Example In addition, the paper also has details on the role of the Supreme Court and effects of Obama reelection on the status of the Second Amendment1. The individualism of the Second Amendment has what has brought the modern debate on the issue of owning arms and guns. The State is recognized as supreme and individuals that exist are there to serve the State. Therefore, these freedoms are granted by the State, which act as a protector and provider for individuals and groups. The Democratic Party from the Clinton administration up to the current Obama’s administration has had several attacks on the second amendment. The Clinton administration officials and Obama Attorney General co signed an amicus succinct in the District of Columbia v. Heller. The brief signed was in support of DC’s ban on all hand guns. In addition, the ban was on any use of firearm for self defense at the homes. In the brief, it was argued that the second amendment was a united right, instead of, an indivi dual right. However, the modern day freedom patriots and founders of America saw it differently. The amendment was not put to protect hunters and sportsmen2. The amendment was to protect the individual right of freedom, and further, it was to protect an individual from a dictatorial State. More guns are needed in the communities since citizens ought to be armed and taught how to use the weapons for the nation to be free. However, the obstacle to this objective is the Constitutional right of the American people to bear and keep arms. The keeping of the arms can prevent the government from oppressing the citizens. This is because people will have the guns at their disposal any time the government tries to oppress them. The solution to the gun problem lies in the implementation of the constitution. The ownership of the arms is to be restricted with legislation. The government is trying to replace the 20,000 federal, local, and state gun laws. This is done by prohibiting or controlling of arms with laws3. The second amendment proponents for gun control are trying to strip the constitutional rights of the Americans to bear and own arms. This is being done by advocating for piece-by-piece and step-by-step dismantling of the amendment. This call to dismantle the Constitution is to transfer power from the people to the hands of the minority ruling elite. The gun control laws started way back in 1934 when a Federal Gun Control Act was passed. This law restricted the sale of automatic weapons like machine guns to the citizens. In 1938, another act followed that prohibited the people convicted of felony from possessing weapons. In addition, all the dealers and sellers were to be licensed. These laws induced gun control and restricted availability of guns to the people of America. Another act of 1968, on gun control, regulated the use of imported weapons. In addition, those who were mentally stable, minors, those convicted of a felony, and the people who used illegal guns were forbidden from possessing weapons. The Brandy Handgun Violence Prevention act was put in place in 1994. This act placed a five day waiting period for those who wanted to purchase weapons. There are State laws that have been put in place regarding the second amendment. Most states consider it a crime to leave weapons in a place that can be accessed by

The Market of IKEA in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 15000 words

The Market of IKEA in China - Essay Example 1.1 Product rule 45 4.1.2 Propaganda approach 46 4.2 IKEA stores have a different location principle in China 46 4.2.1 City selection 47 4.2.2 Position selection 47 4.3 IKEA tries to lower the price to fit Chinese consumption level 49 4.3.1 Build more processing factories 49 4.4 The difficulties and challenges for IKEA in China 50 4.4.1 Domestic furniture firms are the main competitors of IKEA 50 4.4.2 IKEA’s products are always imitated by others in China 52 4.4.3 IKEA joint venture with local firms at the early stage of operating in China 52 4.4.4 IKEA developed slowly in China 53 4.5 Chinese furniture market has huge potential 54 5 Conclusion, Limitation and Recommendations 57 5.1 Conclusion 57 5.2 Limitations 58 5.21 The credibility of Chinese media resource 58 5.22 The short history of statistics collection in China 58 5.23 On demand information not available 58 5.24 Regional restriction 59 5.3 Recommendations 59 5.3.1 Appropriate investigations for the market of IKEA in other countries 59 5.3.2 Choose a similar brand as a case study, adding into this paper 59 5.3.3 Adding the research on IKEA’s development planning in China 60 References 61 Bibliography 69 Appendix I Reflection 71 Appendix II Dissertation Log 72 Appendix III Dissertation Proposal 83 Appendix IV Ethic Form 95 1 Introduction With the rapid growth and development of China, especially after 1987, the level of economy and the life quality of Chinese people increased dramatically. When they have enough money for food and cloth, they shift their interests in other aspects, such as furnishing, to make their life more colourful. Due to the increasing needs for furniture, there are more and more furniture companies operating in China. Nowadays, there are a large number of furniture companies...IKEA is a Swedish home furnishing retailer. Since 1973, when IKEA opened its first store in Switzerland, it started its business activities in the foreign markets. Nowadays, IKEA has more than 2 92 stores in 37 countries although it had operations only in Asia about ten years ago. At present, Ikea is trying to expand, to many other overseas markets. International business or cross cultural business is growing day by day after the introduction of globalization. Majority of the countries are trying to attract foreign direct investments as much as possible and hence international companies are getting immense opportunities in overseas markets. As an internationalisation strategy, IKEA has selected the neighbouring countries initially to move into. It is because these countries share a similar language, and traditional culture with Sweden. Following that, IKEA has moved into other Non-neighbouring countries to develop more variety in its market share. It should be noted that culture plays an important role in the internationalization of business. In other words, expansion of business to countries with similar culture is easier than expansion of business to countries with differ ent culture. IKEA aims to offer a better everyday life for a lot of people. The company’s mission is to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products with affordable price (Sandelands, 2009). Earlier, Ikea products were highly expensive and hence only the elite groups in the society were the major customers of Ikea.

Changing social diversity in the United States Essay Example for Free

Changing social diversity in the United States Essay As USA is a land of opportunities, millions of people of different origin have migrated to the country and settled there, thus changing the social and cultural diversity of the nation. Children at the young age face problem as they get exposed to two sets of language and culture at school and home. A massive increase in Hispanic population has increased the importance of Spanish language and more businesses related to Spanish have come up. But this Hispanic population has no difficulty in accepting English as their main language. The uniqueness of the immigration is that everybody wants to get integrated into American mainstream. Changing diversity in USA 3 Changing social diversity in the United States As United States is known as the land of opportunities for many decades, millions of people had migrated to this country since long time. It has been mentioned in the website http://www. sedl. org/pubs/sedletter/v12n02/2. html that the make up of the US population has changed so much over the last three decades that the definition of diversity has itself got transformed in the process. It has also been stated that for the first time in the US census held in 2000, individuals were allowed to tick on more than one race in the form. Due to this change in diversity, cultural and socioeconomic factors are now becoming increasingly important while interacting in the society. The website http://www. naeyc. org/about/positions/pdf/psdiv98. pdf deals with the problem children faces in schools due to increased linguistic and cultural diversities. To quote from the above mentioned website, â€Å"At younger ages, children are negotiating difficult transitions between their home and educational settings, requiring an adaptation to two or more diverse sets of rules, values, expectations, and behaviors. † If the child forgets his home language, it may cause disruption in family communication methods. Thus families are facing increasingly complex responsibilities. The website http://knowledge. allianz. com/en/globalissues/demographic_change/gender_diversity/hispanics_integration_us. html states that there has been a massive growth in Hispanic population in the USA and most of them have accepted English as their main language. But the importance of Spanish is also growing as many newspapers have come up in Spanish and Hispanic related businesses are growing in the United States. Changing diversity in USA Reference List 1) Responding to Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Recommendations for Effective Early Childhood Education; in National Association for the Education of Young Children adopted November 1995; Retrieved on 13th March 2009 from the website http://www.naeyc. org/about/positions/pdf/psdiv98. pdf 2) A Changing Nation: The Impact of Linguistic and Cultural Diversity on Education by Kathleen Trail ; SED letter Volume XII Number 2 December 2000; Retrieved on 13th March 2009 from the website http://www. sedl. org/pubs/sedletter/v12n02/2. html 3) Ethnic Business in a Changing America, Allianz Knowledge Partner site, published on September 11, 2007; Retrieved on 13th March 2009 from the website http://knowledge. allianz. com/en/globalissues/demographic_change/gender_diversity/hispanics_integration_us. html

Design Limitations for Speakers

Design Limitations for Speakers Introduction There are many factors which determine the characteristics of a loudspeaker; to produce a successful design a careful balance of many factors must be achieved. Most of the challenges and considerations of loudspeaker design stem from the inherent limitations of the drivers themselves. Desirable Characteristics Real-Word Implementation For a coherent approach to loudspeaker design to be established, one may elucidate the problem by considering two main sets of criteria; the desired characteristics of the finished system and the limitations which impinge on the achievement of these desired characteristics. The key desirable characteristics for the finished system are listed below. Reproduction of all frequencies across input range Flat frequency response across input range Adequate Damping Good Efficiency Adequate SPL or perceived loudness Minimal distortion Minimal noise Many of the above considerations are quite obvious. In terms of frequency response it is desired that the response of the system as a whole should be as flat as possible, since to truthfully reproduce a signal all frequencies across the input range should be represented equally. Weems (2000, p.14) notes that â€Å"smoothness of response is more important than range†. Naturally noise and distortion are undesirable for accurate signal reproduction. Damping is an important concern; when a signal is no longer applied to a loudspeaker there will be a natural tendency for the cone to continue to move under its own inertia. Thus damping must be employed in order to ensure that the SPL generated by such movement is sufficiently low and relatively inaudible. Rossing (1990, p.31) refers to damping as â€Å"loss of energy of a vibrator, usually through friction†. This is a simplification, however, the back EMF generated by the driver and the varying impedance seen by the amplifier of the crossover/driver network play an important role. As Weems (2000, p.17) rightly says â€Å"there are two types of damping, mechanical and electrical†. Another quite obvious consideration is that the loudspeaker must indeed be loud enough. This is related to the issue of efficiency, since the more inefficient the speaker, the more power will be needed to drive it. The choice of enclosure design plays quite a significant role here, as will be seen shortly. In terms of limitations, there are several immediate problems posed by the nature of the drivers themselves that must be addressed. Firstly, the sound from the back of the speaker cone is 180 degrees out of phase with the sound from the front. This phase separation means the sounds will cancel each other at lower frequencies, or interfere with each other in a more complex manner at high frequencies; clearly neither is desirable. In some senses it would be ideal to mount the drivers in a wall with a large room behind, the so-called â€Å"infinite baffle†, having the sound from the rear of the cone dissipate in a large separate space, being thus unable to interfere with the sound produced by the front. In reality this is impractical; however some provision must be made to isolate sound from the rear of the cone. To this end, some sort of enclosure must be made for the drivers, yet this presents a new set of considerations. Without an enclosure, a loudspeaker is very inefficient when the sound wavelengths to be produced are longer than the speaker diameter. This results in an inadequate bass response; for an 8 inch speaker this equates to anything below around 1700Hz[1]. So the infinite baffle is terribly inefficient in terms of the SPL produced at lower frequencies. Furthermore, the free cone resonance of the speaker works against the flat frequency response that is desired; input frequencies close to the resonant frequency will be represented too forcefully. Another real-world complication is the fact that for high-fidelity applications, no one loudspeaker will be able to handle the entire range of input frequencies; â€Å"the requirements for low frequency sound are the opposite to those for high frequencies† (Weems, 2000, p.13). Higher frequencies require less power to be reproduced, but the driver must respond more quickly, whereas low frequencies require a larger driver and hence greater power to be effectively realised. In view of the above, multiple drivers must be used, with each producing a certain frequency range of the input signal; at the very least a woofer and tweeter are required. In order to deliver only the appropriate frequencies to each driver, a device known as a crossover must be implemented. This can take the form of passive filter circuits within the speaker itself, or active circuitry that filters the signal prior to amplification. In the latter case, multiple amplifiers are needed, making this a more costly approach. The fundamentals of crossover design will be dealt with in a separate document and are hence not dealt with in detail here. Enclosure Design Faced with the reality that an enclosure is in almost all cases a practical necessity, perhaps the most important aspect of speaker design in the design of the enclosure itself. The first step in producing a successful design is to decide upon the drivers to be used and use this as a basis for choosing a cabinet design, or to decide upon the desired cabinet type first and allow this to inform the choice of driver. In general, most of the design work with regard to the cabinet is focused firmly toward the woofer, since the enclosure design is most critical with regard to midrange/bass performance. In typical 2-way designs, the tweeter is mounted in the same box as the woofer, but it is the latter which largely defines the cabinet dimensions. In the past the design of enclosures was often something of a hit-or-miss affair, however the research of Thiele (1971) and Small (1973) has led to a much more organised design process. Most transducers today are accompanied by a comprehensive datasheet of Thiele-Small parameters, which allow most of the guess work to be taken out of enclosure design. Ignoring more exotic enclosure designs, the first question is whether the enclosure should be ported or sealed (it should be noted that in reality even â€Å"sealed† enclosures are very slightly open or â€Å"leaky† in order to allow the internal pressure to equalise with the surroundings). If a driver has already been chosen, this can be determined from the Efficiency Bandwidth Product, which is defined as: EBP = Fs / Qes(1) Where Fs is the free air resonance of the driver and Qes the electrical Q or damping. In general, an EBP of 50 or less indicates a sealed box, whilst an EBP above 90 suggests a ported enclosure (Dickason, 2000). In between, the choice of enclosure lies more or less with the designer and a driver that falls in the middle should perform acceptably in either closed or ported situations. So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of sealed vs ported enclosures? A sealed enclosure is very simple to build, whilst a ported enclosure requires some degree of tuning to ensure the port is matched correctly to the driver – in the ported or â€Å"bass reflex† design a tube extends into the cabinet allowing some air to escape from inside; if correctly tuned the air that leaves the port is delayed in phase by 180 degrees, hence reinforcing the sound from the front of the cone. With a sealed enclosure the air inside acts as an approximately linear spring for the transducer cone and assuming the driver has a low Fs, a healthy bass extension with a gentle roll-off of -12dB per octave can be expected. The disadvantages are several; the enclosure may need to be quite large to achieve an acceptable Qtc (the damping value for a sealed system) and efficiency is poor. Further, with a sealed enclosure the driver reaches maximum excursion at resonance, which translates to greater distortion. Therefore a driver for use in a sealed enclosure requires quite a large linear throw to perform well. By contrast, in correctly tuned ported enclosures the driver is maximally damped at resonance, so a large linear throw is not critical and distortion is lower as a result. The basic methods of sealed and ported cabinet design shall now be explained. Sealed Enclosure Design To design a sealed enclosure the basic methodology is quite straightforward; the essential challenge is simply to find the optimum volume for the cabinet for the chosen driver. First one must decide on the value of the damping constant Qtc; the optimum value is 0.707 since it gives the lowest -3db break frequency and hence the best potential for bass extension, as well as good transient response. If the enclosure size is too large at this optimum value then Qtc may be increased, resulting in a trade-off between bass performance, transient response and enclosure volume. However, the more Qtc is increased, the more boomy and muddy the sound will become. Depending on the application, the enclosure size may not be important; in this case an optimum Qtc is encouraged. Once Qtc is known, the constant ÃŽ ± may be calculated using the below formula, where Qts is the total Q factor of the driver at resonance (this may be obtained from the manufacture’s data sheet). ÃŽ ± = [Qtc/Qts]2 – 1(2) Having calculated ÃŽ ±, the correct enclosure volume Vb is trivial to determine using the relationship below. Note that Vas is the equivalent volume of air that has the same acoustic compliance as the driver; again this may be obtained from the datasheet or experimentally. Note from equation (1) that a lower Qts will result in a higher ÃŽ ±, and hence a smaller enclosure. Thus for two transducers with equivalent acoustic compliance, a lower Qts will result in a smaller enclosure. Vb = Vas/ÃŽ ±(3) Assuming the required box volume is acceptable, one may then also calculate the resonant frequency of the system (fs is the free-air resonant frequency of the driver): (4) Once fc is known the -3db break frequency may also be found: (5) Recall that below this frequency the roll-off is -12dB per octave and one can gain a fairly good impression of the bass performance to be expected. Naturally it is desirable for f3 to be low for maximum extension into the bass area, hence a low fs is a characteristic one should look for when choosing a driver for sealed enclosure use. If it is felt that the break frequency is too high, then a different driver must be selected for the sealed implementation. Ported Enclosure Design For ported cabinet design, the equations are more complex and it is generally not practical to attempt to design such an enclosure by hand. Instead there are a number of free and commercial software calculators available that simplify the process. One good freeware calculator is AJ Vented Designer[2]. Using such a program enables the designer to quickly ascertain what size enclosure and port is required for a given driver and whether this is feasible – for certain combinations the port may not physically fit within the enclosure for example. In addition, the program also plots the theoretical frequency response of the design, which simplifies matters greatly. Acoustic Damping and Avoiding Resonance In addition to the type of enclosure and the calculation of the required volume, diameter and size of ports (if ported), there are several other design considerations. Firstly, standing waves within the enclosure must be minimised. Thus enclosures are often stuffed with fibreglass, long-fibre wool or polyurethane foam. In addition to standing waves and the resonance of the enclosure, one must also bear in mind the possibility of dimensional resonances with sealed designs. To avoid this it is prudent to ensure that length, width and height of the enclosure are all different and to not centrally mount the drivers. The choice of cabinet material and thickness are also factors that require careful consideration; in general wood is the most appropriate material and a thicker structure is likely to be more rugged and be less susceptible to undesirable vibration. The structure should also be isolated from the floor since vibrations passed to a floor (especially a wooden floor) can cause the floor to vibrate which will muddy or colour the sound. Spikes or stands are commonly used to achieve this. Conclusion There are many factors that affect speaker design but perhaps the most important is that of the enclosure itself. More exotic enclosures such as band-pass and transmission line configurations are beyond the scope of this document, however it should be noted that there are many different approaches beyond the common sealed or ported methodologies. As with any engineering problem, successful speaker design requires a careful balance of many often opposing factors to be reached. Sources Borwick, John. (2001). Loudspeaker and Headphone Handbook, Focal Press. Dickason, V. (1995). The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, Audio Amateur Publications. Rosenthal, M. (1979). How to select and use loudspeakers and enclosures, SAMS. Rossing, T. (1990). The Science of Sound, Addison-Wesley. Weems, D. (2000). Great sound stereo speaker manual, McGraw-Hill. 1 [1] Nave R, Coupling Loudspeaker to Air. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/hframe.html [2] http://www.ajdesigner.com/speaker/index.php

Microsoft Surface Table: 3D Modelling and Touch Controls

Microsoft Surface Table: 3D Modelling and Touch Controls Background and Context Three Dimensional (3D) Modelling is the process of creating a 3D representation of any surface or object by manipulating polygons, edges, and vertices, in simulated 3D space ­1. 3D modelling is used in many different industries, including virtual reality, video games, TV and motion pictures. 2A 3D modelling software generates a model through a variety of tools and approaches including: Simple polygons. 3D primitives simple polygon-based shapes, such as pyramids, cubes, spheres, cylinders, and cones 3Spline curves a curve that connects two or more defined specific control points. 3NURBS (non-uniform rational b-spline) Computationally complex, smooth shapes designed by bezel curves. Scope and Objectives In this project, the 3D model produced, was the 5G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey. The final version of the prototype is supposed to be a model of the whole University campus, which would be able to display the temperature, noise levels, and a few other statistics in every single area on the map. In order to record data, an IoT Desk Egg4 was created. This Desk Egg is a multi-sensor suite with feedback mechanisms and wireless communication capabilities. Using this Desk Egg, environmental data, such as light, sound, temperature, noise, humidity, dust density are measured and recorded. Separately, these recordings have limited value, but when combined, and analysed in aggregate, the sensors provide a rich context of its immediate surroundings. 5The objective of this project is to enhance the model with touch navigation capabilities, similar to 3D navigation on a mobile phone or tablet. The current model is constructed for a Samsung SUR40 touch table, running Microsoft Surface. The model has been implemented using PixelSense and in addition, Microsoft Surface Game Studio 4.0 and the Window Presentation Foundation (WPF). To go about enhancing the model, investigations would have to be established, on what changes would be involved to implement touch navigation, before implementation and testing of the aforementioned varieties. Introduction[SO1] Microsoft PixelSense 6Microsoft PixelSense orientation capabilities are used and seamlessly integrated into the application, which also supports multiple simultaneous touch points. The Samsung SUR40 can only run Windows 7, as the Surface SDKs are only fully supported on Windows 7 and not any newer Operating System. Window Presentation Foundation To initiate an application for any Microsoft Surface devices, especially for the PixelSense, the Microsoft Surface Game Studio 4.0 and Window Presentation Foundation (WPF) are required. Rowe (2012) shows a few points that can assist a developer to innovate and create a great application for the Samsung SUR40 Surface Table.7 Implement a darker background as it does better with quality during contact. Multiple screen interactions, in which, the users finger and objects, can be detected. Actions only must be interacted by the users fingers to avoid detection errors, and adding sound effects, acknowledging the users finger interaction, should be done. Ensuring the user immerses into an outstanding experience from the application. Since the PixelSense has 4 corners, it will be more convenient for users to be able to turn the orientation of the application, while offering an easy means of leaving the application. The points of interaction with the application, should be well sized and well-spaced, to prevent manipulation errors during input. Working with Touch Input To implement the 3D touch controls, a key prerequisite for the project is the availability of touch control capability. Using the System Information app, which could be launched from the Run dialog box, with the syntax msinfo32.exe. As seen from the image below, the Samsung SUR40 Surface Table, has 52 individual touch points. This confirms that the table supports the touch interaction and the touch framework is ready to use. Fig 1. The Run dialog, with the corresponding syntax, used to launch the system information window. Fig2. A System Properties window, showing the details on the touch capability. The initial edition of the 3D modelling software has sub-par touch navigation controls, but it makes up in the availability of buttons which are mapped to specific viewing points of the model. Having these buttons provides a way of navigating through, but lack the fluidity of the touch input system you would get from any other 3D modelling software. Fig 3. An image showing the initial edition of the source code, with buttons. Development Environment In order to be able to work on this project, a few software programs have to be installed. These software programs are specifically required to create an application for a Microsoft PixelSense device. These include: Windows 7 Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Microsoft XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0 Refresh Microsoft XNA Game Studio Platform Tools Microsoft Surface 2.0 SDK Microsoft Surface 2.0 Runtime GitEXT Windows 7 Windows 7 is the latest operating system that the Surface SDK supports, hence, all the programming done, had to be on a PC running Windows 7. Running these programs on a Windows 10 PC, gives an unfixable error. A Windows 7 license had to be purchased. Microsoft DreamSpark provides a free license to the University of Surrey students. Using the downloaded ISO file, a USB boot key was made, using DiskPart, so as to dual boot Windows 7 on the laptop used. Using DiskPart, empties the flash drive of all its contents, its advisable to use an empty drive, or back up its contents. Fig 4. The error shown when the program is being opened on a Windows 10 PC. Fig 5. Image showing the free purchase of a Windows 7 Operating System, using DreamSpark. DiskPart is the Windows built in disk management program, using CMD to call it, the following syntaxes will create a custom USB key for any appropriately sized flash drive: List disk This lists out all the disk drives connected to the system, and their sizes, with disk numbers Disk ###, for easier disk reference. After finding your particular disk, use select disk x, x being the respective number of your disk. This basically tells the program you plan on working on this disk. Clean This clears your drive of previous configurations and empties it. Create partition primary This creates a primary partition on the cleaned drive. Select partition 1 This selects the recently created partition. Active this sets the selected partition as an active partition. Format fs=fat32 This syntax formats the flash drive to a requested file system. In this example, the file system being FAT32, the legacy file system recognizable by most BIOS (Basic Input Output System) firmware. Fig 5. The image shows the procedure for creating a USB Key, Disk 2. Visual Studio 2015 Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 is now a free software, but for the Enterprise version, a key is needed, but as a University of Surrey student, one is provided free of charge, under the DreamSpark account. Fig 6. Image shows free purchase of Visual Studio Enterprise, using DreamSpark. Microsoft XNA Framework and Microsoft Surface SDK A Microsoft Surface SDK installer was downloaded and installed, as an extension, for the Visual Studio 15 suite. This enables Visual Studio to compile on the Microsoft Surface XNA Game Studio framework. The installer sets up two important frameworks, which are the Microsoft Surface WPF and Microsoft Surface XNA Game Studio 4.0. These frameworks are applied to help developers with the creation of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) applications respectively. A successful install will show something like this, when creating a new project in Visual Studio. Fig 7. The image shows a properly installed XNA Game Studio Framework. GitEXT GitEXT is an extension for windows, that helps manage a git repository. The programs source code had to be worked on alongside a few colleagues, as they had other objectives in terms of updating the 3D Modelling software. Using a git repository, helps with management of different modifications and changes between different editors of the same source code. Fig 8. The image shows an installed git extension for version management. Camera Movement Running a camera location around an object is a concept of projecting different views from different positions for audiences. It is an essential task for the developer to implement this concept in the application. In order to implement, a series of matrix calculations are required to move the camera from its current position to a desired place and display the object with high quality and performance. The current camera, as stated earlier, seen in Fig 3, has a fixed position, and does not move around the model, rather, there are fixed points in camera can be. These points are controlled by the arrow buttons. To fix this problem the touch framework has to be implemented. Touch Gesture The touch functionality of the program depended on raw input, and only moved the model round a fixed point. The method of implementation made navigation with the touch screen, somewhat ineffective. The XNA framework installed, comes with a touch input namespace namely Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Input.Touch. After extensive research on this library namespace, using this namespace made implementing a new gesture-based, touch framework for the code straightforward. The namespace provides support for gestures like tapping, double tapping, horizontal drag, and a few others. Development After researching various libraries and namespaces for a substantial understanding of the initial source code, coding began. During initial coding, it was discovered that the method of navigating the model, was rotating the camera round a fixed object, as it gives the same illusion as the model moving round its axes, as opposed to the manipulation of the model itself in front of an immovable camera. Using this logic, the touch code had to manipulate the cameras movement and not the movement of the model. While implementing the touch framework, a few redundancies were removed, such as the buttons used in moving the camera and a few others, to provide for a more immersive experience when using the 3D model. Fig 9. The image shows the 3D model with redundancies removed.

tragoed Free Essay: Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) as a Greek Tragedy :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

Oedipus the King as a Greek Tragedy The Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles (496-406 B.C.), adheres to Aristotles (384-322 B.C.) definition of a tragedy. The first criterion of a Greek tragedy is that the protagonist be a good person; doubly blessed with a good heart and noble intention. Sophocles reveals immediately at the start of the play that Oedipus is such a man. As is common in the Greek tragedy Oedipus is also an aristocrat. Born of the King and Queen of Thebes he is of true nobility. Oedipus on the other-hand believes his parents are the King and Queen of Corinth. Oedipus was abandoned as a baby and adopted by them. Because that information is known to the audience, and not to Oedipus prior to the start of the play, it is a perfect example of tragic irony because when he declares that he will find the murderer he is the man that he pursues. Here he is told by Tiresias,† I say you are the murderer you hunt† (1235). The theme of Oedipus the King is not clear-cut. The theme in this tragic play seems to be you can‘t escape your fate. Contentment leads to ignorance as Oedipus lends fate a hand in his bitter end. This trait is touched-on in these lines spoken by Creon. â€Å"Look at you, sullen in yielding, brutal in your rage- you’ll go too far. It’s perfect justice: natures like yours are hardest on themselves†(Sophocles 1242-1243). Oedipus is a true hero in the Greek tragedy. He has the fate of the community in his hands along with the noble character to take care of it himself. He announces his convictions to take this problem into his own hands and do whatever is necessary to lift the curse. Oedipus addresses the priests assembled before him, â€Å" You can trust me; I am ready to help, I’ll do anything (Sophocles 1225). The city has this faith in him and the priest come to tell him so he will help them lift the curse. â€Å"Now we pray to you. You cannot equal the gods, your children know that...But we do rate you first of men,†(1226). He also appears to have Apollo’s ear, which makes him seem all-powerful to the audience; this is another stan dard of the classic Greek tragedy. Oedipus told his people, †After painful search I found one cure: I acted at once.

The Marx Brothers :: Research Papers

The Marx Brothers In his book entitled Creating Minds, Howard Gardner (1993) engaged in a thorough study of creativity. He did this by studying the lives of exceptional creators in seven different domains in search of trends that could be readily identified and, perhaps, even help to paint a clearer picture of what the ingredients for creativity are. After examining these creators' lives he came to some conclusions based on the trends he identified and formed a model of creativity. In order to test both his model and his findings, it is necessary to extend the search (and study) beyond his initial seven great creators. In doing this it becomes possible to refute or add credence to his conclusions. This extension also allows for further questions to be asked. During the reading of Creating Minds I happened upon an interesting thought: Could Gardner's model for creative individuals be applied to the study of a creative group? Furthermore, would a group show similar trends in their creative development? If I was going to attempt to answer this question I decided I would have to qualify what a creative group was. I defined a creative group as a group of individuals producing a single creative work. The creativity of this work must be a result of the combination of the individuals' strengths being pooled (as equally as possible) to produce an output that could not have been produced by any of the individuals on their own. The group would be analogous to Gardner's individual creator, and the group's combination of mental talents would parallel the individual creator's personal array of intellectual strengths. Having defined what a creative group was, it became necessary to ask perhaps an even more important question: Could such a group exist? If so, could an example be found? The answer to both questions, I decided, was yes. But who? My ponderings on this subject invariably brought me to the Marx Brothers, kings of comedy. My Method In his study Gardner had followed the lives of his chosen creators and examined the progression of their works as a function of the creator and his or her surroundings. It would be difficult to treat the progression of a group in precisely the same manner. If I chose to treat the group as a single unit and reported on its progress and surroundings, the workings of its component creators could be lost.

Essays --

Throwing a ball over the net is not all there is to volleyball. It might seem like an easy physical activity, but it has its complications like any other sport. The beginnings of volleyball go down in history. For being one of the youngest and widely known sports in the world it still thrives today. It all started with the creation of the sport, what it came to be, and how it grew into what it is today. As always, the inventor of the sport comes first. William G. Morgan created volleyball in the Holyoke, Massachusetts’s gymnasium in 1895 (Jenson 8). He wanted to combine some skills of baseball, basketball, handball, and tennis into a whole different sport (History). He believed that taking aspects of multiple sports and putting them into one, would have a good affect in the sport’s world. In addition, Morgan originally gave the sport the name of â€Å"Mintonette† after badminton (history-of-volleyball). Although; he later realized that in the game, players volley the ball back and forth, so he created the name â€Å"Volleyball.† The ball used in volleyball is the same name as the sport and the first special designed ball was created in 1900. Furthermore, because basketball had already been invented he chose to create a less violent and intense game for older students. Even though volleyball isn’t a fierce game, a lot of your energy is used. In fact, average volleyball players jump about 300 times in a match. Within volleyball, contact is not permitted between teams, because players are divided by a net anyways. Together with playing the game, there are rules and pointers that need to be followed. As well as any other sport, volleyball has its basic rules and way to play. Volleyball is played by two teams of six players on a court divided by... ...held in 1949 and 1952 for woman. Moreover, in most high schools around the world, there is most likely to be a girl’s volleyball team than a boy’s. In addition, volleyball is the second most played and popular sport in the world. An interesting factoid is that the sport was 100 years old in 1995 (history-of-volleyball)! In final consideration, I believe that volleyball is a phenomenal sport. It creates team work, skills, and the confidence to win the game! It has a long history, but it has created something great today. Surely, volleyball will just get better and better as the years go by. The inventor, its basic rules, a different type, and the growth of the sport have all contributed to its beginnings. A volleyball quote says, â€Å"Either it is in your heart, or in your face.† So if I were you, I would head out to the court, and enjoy a game of this fascinating sport!

Concept Developed Within Classical Sociology

Choose any one concept or argument developed within classical sociology. Critically evaluate the use of this concept or argument by contemporary sociology in trying to understand a current social issue. In my essay I am going to discuss the current economic upheaval, its impact on modern society and how Marx and his theory of alienation are still relevant today. The topics covered will include classical Marxist sociological thought and modern concepts with regard to the current economic situation, for example, Industrial Action, job insecurity and the erosion of the welfare state. I will argue that people in society today, whether they are private or public sector workers or those claiming welfare are still exploited and alienated by capitalism just as they were in Marx’s day. Marx saw alienation as a process in which humanity is turned into a stranger in a world created by labour (Classical Social Theory, Craib 1997) by this he meant that the worker became a commodity and part of a production line, losing themselves and their identities to the means of production. The shift away from the freedom of human interaction through to the way in which society and social relations impose themselves upon is summed up (at least as far as capitalism is concerned) in the theory of alienation. ’ (Classical Social Theory, Craib 1997). Marx was convinced that the division of labour was the reason that man was alienated from his labour. He saw the proletariat exploited for his labour by the bourgeoisie who owned the means of production. Marx defined labour as â€Å"mans self confirming essence† and noted that capitalism had transformed human labour into an object, an external thing. Classical Social Theory, Craib 1997). It is important to understand Marx’s theory of alienation as I will be discussing its relevance in today’s society and the impact of this theory when applied to modern society. Employers only employ workers if they possess skills that are of a use value to them. In essence there is no point in employing someone who produces work of a value that is less than what they are to be paid. This is the exchange value of the workers labour power. The difference between the endeavours of the worker and the pay supplied by the employer is the surplus value, which is the profit that the empl oyer retains. This is Marx’s definition of exploitation that exists within the wage-labour relationship. In simple terms the worker is working for a wage to sustain them but also to ensure the employer gains a profit. The contrast between the two will always favour the employer not the worker. It is not that the employer overtly seeks to exploit the worker; it is in Marx’s eyes a natural consequence of capitalism. The employer pays the worker not out of the goodness of their heart but as a means of increasing their own wealth. Marx therefore perceived capitalism as being in a state of constant crisis. It is the existence of this exploitation that for Marx causes the crisis to occur. If as a worker I produce ?10,000 of goods in a month (value of labour power to employer) but I am only paid ?1,000 a month for this labour (exchange value of labour power) I do not receive sufficient pay to purchase the value of the goods I have produced. (Classical Social Theory, Craib 1997:pg94) In simple terms a crisis occurs in capitalism when goods produced by the workers are not sold. A consequence of this is that workers will be made redundant; this causes the economy to enter a depression or financial slump. This slump is only reversed when those goods are sold and companies can begin production once more. This is a very basic economic explanation of the cycle of growth and recession that has afflicted capitalism throughout its history. (Classical Social Theory, Craib 1997:pg95) The phenomenon of recession has been a constant threat within capitalist societies, not only in Marxist terms does the worker suffer the alienation and exploitation from his labour, he or she now has to contend with many other threats caused by the unstable nature of the economic system. The worker now faces the prospect of many other economic uncertainties, such as redundancy, pay freezes and pay cuts. The current worldwide recession that has plagued the banking financial sector has caused tremendous hardship for those ill equipped to deal with it. This has lead to a number of changes within the employment market. The fear of job insecurity has never been higher; the days of a job for life are now a thing of the past. Giddens refers to a concept of ‘trust and risk’. In this instance Giddens states that trust refers to the confidence that society has in individuals and its significant institutions. We live more than ever in a globalised community and society, our lives are shaped and influenced by people and institutions; we are never likely to meet. Giddens talks about society having trust in ‘abstract systems’, he uses the example of food regulation and banking systems. The current financial crisis we find ourselves in has lead to an all time low in the faith we once placed in the banking and financial world. In Britain a number of large banking corporations have had to have their losses underwritten by the tax payer. The consequence of this has been for the coalition government having to implement widespread cuts and policies to curb the financial deficit. Public sector workers and those who rely on the welfare state have been hit hardest by the new financial constraints forced upon them. (Giddens 2006:122,123) Those responsible for the current economic crisis, i. e. the banks have not suffered as a result of their mistakes in the same way that the worker or the welfare claimant have. As Marx would say, yet again the owners of the means of production have not been penalised but rather it is the proletariat who has had to incur financial hardship and exploitation. Recent examples of this include, Workers in two unions at Southampton City Council are to start indefinite industrial action from 23 May in a row over proposed pay cuts of up to 5. 5% and Postal workers in London have voted to go on strike in protest at job losses. The Royal Mail cites the need for voluntary redundancies to increase efficiency and profitability but the unions disagree, saying that forced redundancies will have to be implemented. These are two examples in the current economic crisis where workers are paying the price for a recession created by the actions of an unregulated banking system. The welfare state has also suffered in this harsh new financial reality, whilst those at the top of the banking fraternity have suffered no penalty or sanction, in fact quite the reverse, the city continues to hand out excessive bonuses. The glaring unfairness and difference that exists between those in control of the financial institutions and those who are beholden to them has never been more stark. In a bid to reduce the national debt, the coalition government has imposed budget cuts across the entire public sector. NHS, councils, the police have all had severe budget cuts. It will be the poorest in our society who will suffer as a result of these new financial constraints. This new tentative financial situation means that the worker and the claimant now face an uncertain financial future. In conclusion, if Marx were alive today he would see that nothing has changed, capitalism still retains an iron grip upon society and those who live in it. Wealth and inequality continues to widen every year. This has a serious and detrimental impact upon those in our society who can ill afford to suffer the financial hardships that have resulted from the mistakes and risks taken by those who own the means of production. Alienation and exploitation is now so widespread and there has never been a more pressing need for the works of great sociological thinkers like Karl Marx and what he had to say regarding the exploitive nature of the capitalist state. It is of crucial importance to highlight the inequality that exists within modern capitalist society. If we want and desire a fairer society for all we need to recognise those within it who suffer the most. The work of Karl Marx and particularly his theory of alienation has enabled society to understand the relationship that exists between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. The worker will continue to be alienated under capitalism but now the ever increasing unfairness and exploitation suffered by the many as a result of the mistakes made by capitalist institutions will insure that wealth inequality will continue to increase. References Giddens A, 2006, Sociology Polity Press, Cambridge Craib I, 1997, Classical Social Theory, oxford University Press Oxford http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13508478