The Pros and Cons of Facebook Essay Example For Students

The Pros and Cons of Facebook Essay In the past, we had limited options to connect with people. Making a phone call or sending a text message seemed to be the most convenient ways to communicate. However, those ways of communication faced a major problem which is having a big family and a lot of friends. In 2004, 19 years old Harvard student named Mark Zuckerberg came up with an idea. He thought about the best possible way to keep all of his colleges in touch without wasting time and money. His creativity led to owning one of the biggest social media web sites in the world. That web called Facebook. According to Facebook’s most recent annual report, it hast over one billion active users. Not only that but, the company reported that there is over 600 million people who uses Facebook on the daily (Aaron Smith, 2012). After knowing the huge response that Facebook got, I will be discussing its Benefits and problems. Owning a business with over 600 million daily customers is every business owner’s dream. We will write a custom essay on The Pros and Cons of Facebook specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now However, that requires a gigantic amount of hard work. In other words, keeping a customer satisfied is almost as hard as gaining new customer if not harder and that is what Facebook managed to successfully do. What is on Facebook? Thomas Krivack answers this question in the article: Facebook 101: Ten Things You Need to Know about Facebook â€Å"Simply put, if people have an interest, it is part of Facebook. (Krivack, 2008)† whatever interest you have, there is always someone else who shares the same interest. Sharing your interest makes life more fun. If you are a new user, you can simply type a name of a TV show, game or certain cuisine that interests you and get back thousands of users who have the same interest. From there you can massage, friend or subscribe to the individuals that you like. The best part is users are sorted according to the network. Therefore, Facebook is your easy way to make friends if you are new in town or a freshman in collage. Facebook expands the idea of similar interest by having a feature called groups. That feature allows people to communicate and share ideas in a larger numbers without the need of being friends. In Facebook, you can find different types of groups with different approaches. That benefits the user. In other words, you can like and share different thoughts with multiple groups of people at the same time.

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buy custom Cabanatuan essay This discussion deals about the raid in Cabanatuan where a joint operation by the American Forces took place to rescue the POWs among vast number of civilians who struggled during the Bataan Death March. There were thousands of American Troops who surrendered during the infamous battle which took place in Bataan. Many prisoners were detained at Cabanatuan prison camp and some were transferred to other places. There were about 500 American soldiers alongside Allied POW and Filipino civilians who were imprisoned. The POWs experienced the atrocities of the Japanese; they faced different kinds of torture which no one can imagine including the health condition and malnourishment they had experienced. When the Japanese heard about the return of Gen. Douglas MacArthur together with his forces, the prisoners feared for their life as there was a plan for mass execution. Sometime in January 27, 1945, the Sixth Army with its leaders set a plan with the Filipino guerillas to save the prisoners[1]. The plan was to travel behind Japanese lines. More than a hundred Ranger and Scouts as well as Filipino guerillas traveled for 30 miles just to reach the place without being noticed. It was nightfall when the group made a surprise attack with P-61 Black Widow[2] as their back-up to distract the Japanese. It only took 30 minutes to topple down the camp where vast number of Japanese troops got killed with only minimal casualties on the side of the penetrators. The POWs were rescued and sent back to their lines. The brutal and bitter experience of the prisoners in the hands of the Japanese were exposed which prompted Americans to fight back and end the Japanese brutality. Because of the heroic deeds of rescuers were given commendations by Gen. Douglas MacArthur duly recognized and honored by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As a memoriam, a memorial was set right at the site where the event took to depict that memorable day in the lives of the prisoners. The event was portrayed in various films for the world to know of such tragic event. Had the operation failed, the Prisoners Of War in Cabanatuan Camp would have met a tragic death and more prisoners would have suffered in the hands of the Japanese[3]. It was during early month of December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese forces when the United States entered WWII and joined their Allied forces[4] to combat the fury of Axis powers[5]. Few hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the Philippines were also attacked by the Japanese force. During that time, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was already based in Philippine Islands as a camouflage against the Japanese invasion. On March 12, 1942, General Douglas MacArthur with his selected officers was summoned by President Roosevelt on March 12, 1942. Leaving his men behind, he left in compliance to the presidents order with a promise to come back with reinforcements. About 72,000 soldiers consisting American and Filipino fought against the Japanese with obsolete weapon. Due to lack of supplies and afflicted with skin disease and malnutrition, they eventually renounced their defeat on April 9, 1942 to Japanese force during the Battle of Corregidor. These 72,000 sold iers among hundreds of civilians became captives and were forced to walk 60 miles going to Camp ODonnel now known at the death march[6]. There were approximately 20,000 prisoners who died due to illness, starvation, torture or execution. Only 52,000 survived when they reached the camp. The Japanese basically planned for lesser number of prisoners ranging from 10,000-25,000 but there were a devastating number of more than 72,000 prisoners with only two hospitals to accommodate them. Some were transferred to Cabanatuan prison camp. The POW camp was named Cabanatuan prison or Camp Pangatian derived from the nearby village with 50,000 locals. The camp was previously used by the Americans as Agricultural Station Department then it was converted to a training ground for Filipino army. When the Philippines were invaded by the Japanese, the camp was reconverted to accommodate the American POWs purposely to house the sick detainees. To give a birds-eye view, the camp was rectangular-shaped occupied 25 acres and separated by a roadway at the middle part. The other side was for the Japanese guards and the opposite side was barracks for prisoners and another section as their hospital. The hospital was named Zero Ward whereby the prisoners who are in their worst condition await on their death bed. Serious illnesses during that time were severe diarrhea and malaria. The camp was surrounded with 8 ft. high out of barbed wire and many pillbox bunkers. Overlooking the camp were 4-story towers for the guards. At the peak were 8,000 soldiers most of whom were American soldiers and other soldiers from other counties and civilians from UK, Norway and Netherlands which made it the Philippines biggest concentration camp. The number of prisoners dropped considerably when those were still fit and able to work where transported out of camp and were forced to do manual labor in other locations along the Philippine archipelago, Japan, Formosa as well as Manchuria. They were forced to work doing slave labor or work in Japanese weapon factory, unload ships as well repair airfields totally ignoring the Geneva Convention provisions. Those who were left inside the camp were provided meal provisions at least twice a day with steamed rice accompanied by fruits, soup and meat. To add to their provisions, the imprisoned soldiers smuggled food supplies by hiding it under their clothing during occasional trips going to Cabanatuan with consent from the Japanese. To prevent their valuables from confiscation such as jewelries, diaries or even food, they hide them inside their clothing, latrine or buried under the ground before the routine inspection approached. They gather foods in any way they can through stealing or by bribing the guards-on-duty, through gardening or hunt stray animals trapped inside the camp including rodents, snakes, ducks or even dogs. The Filipino subversive movement managed to collect and smuggled thousands of medicines called quinine tablets to the camp to cure malaria which had saved many lives inside the prison. Whenever a radio technician was called to have their radios fixed, he would take with him some spare parts. This allowed prisoners to listen to news as to developments in the outside world. When a group of prisoners from Corregidor came, some had hidden radio part safely tuck under their clothes which were reassembled later. The radios managed to receive US frequency which allowed the prisoners to listen over the radio and know about the condition of the war activities outside the camp. There was a camera smuggled and they used it to record the living condition inside the camp. There were several attempts to smuggle ammunitions and weapon devices to secure a handgun. Several attempts to escape were made for the whole duration inside the prison camp though all efforts were in vain. There was a failed at tempt wherein four soldiers escaped but were recaptured; all the prisoners were forced to look as they were beaten and forced to excavate their respective graves before they were executed. Afterwards, signs were posted warning that an equivalent of ten prisoners against one escapee would be executed for every attempt to escape. The living quarters of the prisoners were sub-divided into set of ten for every group so they could keep easily detect whenever one was missing. A week after, two American soldier made an attempt to escape. Because of this, the guards took ten prisoners and aligned them facing a fence, executed them as the others watched. The POWs were later permitted to construct septic systems as well as irrigation ditches inside the camp within the prisoners side. A small commissary within the site of the Japanese guards was accessible to sell immediate needs of the prisoners. Recreational activities were permitted for game matches. Likewise, a library room was allowed for reading books most of which came from the medical team from the Red Cross and watching movie films occasionally. A bulldog was reared by the prisoners to cheer them up. Each year during Christmas, the prisoners were allowed to receive presents from the Red Cross such as canned corned beef, coffee and cigars. Prisoners could send some postcards to their relatives though they were thoroughly checked.As the American forces were advancing, the Imperial Command of the Japanese gave instructions that all POWs who were physically fit be brought to Japan. In October 1944, more than 1,600 Japanese soldiers pulled out leaving behind those more than 500 POW s who were disabled sick and too weak to escape. By January 1945, all the Japanese troops pulled out from the Camp leaving behind the POWs with a warning at hand as to the outcome of any attempt done by them. The POWs were hesitant of course, having in mind that Japanese forces were not far away and that they were only looking for loopholes for any attempt to escape to give them enough reason to have the all executed before the Americans come to their rescue. The POWs were left unguarded but there were no attempts made. Instead, they went to the Guards side and ransacked their storage for food and other supplies. They were left alone for weeks aside from periodic stay of Japanese forces retreating from combat to rest and ask for provisions. A group would look for carabao to be slaughtered. The food they got from the other camp and animal meats helped the prisoners to gradually recover their strength and stamina. By middle of January, a vast number of Japanese forces came and sent ba ck the prisoners on the other side of the barracks. There were speculations for them to be executed sooner or later. By late October 1944, the US forces returned to the Philippines in Leyte as promised by General Douglas MacArthur himself. The Americans combined forces to set the plan for the invasion in Luzon. Philippine scouts gave information that the Japanese intended to have the POWs in Cabanatuan executed when the Americans would be approaching them. On December 14, 1944, the threats were actually done to approximately150 American soldiers who were captured by the Japanese captors in at Palawan Island. The American soldiers were gathered inside air raid shelters, closed, drenched with gasoline fuel and scorchedalive. The very troubling report was recounted by PFC Nielsen who was one of the survivors on the 7th day of January 1945. Gen. MacArthurs forces landed in Luzon and started their rapid advance. American USAFFE guerilla and senior chief, Major Bob Laphamand guerrilla leader in the person of Juan Pajota, considered to free the prisoners while theyre inside the camp but the question was how and where to hide them without getting caught in their unstable condition. On the other hand, Lt. Col. Bernard Anderson who was the guerilla leader not far from the camp suggested for them to cover the prisoners and guide them towards Debut Day covering 50 miles and transfer them via the 30 submarines but the plan disapproved by Gen. MacArthur for fear that the Japanese forces would only catch up and massacre them all. Likewise, they didnt have the submarines required. On the 26h of January 1945, Maj. Lapham traveled to the Sixth Army headquarters which was 30 miles away from his location and proposed to Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger intelligence Chief Col. Horton White to plan a rescue to free the estimated 500 prisoners at Cabanatuan camp before they could all be massacred by the Japanese. An estimated 100-300 inside the camp were sited, 1,000 along Cabu River on the northeast side and around 5,000 inside the city. Visual images of the camp were providedwhere surveillance images have been taken on January 19 but the first corps as estimated by White would not be available not later than January 31 or on the 1st of February but the most probable attempt would be on the 29th of January. The details were reported to Krueger by White and gave his order to proceed with the rescue plan. White coordinated with Mucci of 6th Ranger Battalion among three other lieutenants from Alamo Scouts of reconnaissance unit, for briefing. The rescue team consist fourteen Scouts by two teams, to depart 24 hours earlier as the advance party to do the surveillance. The major force covering 90 Rangers of Company C and 30 of Company F who would take their post 30 miles before the Japanese borderline, encircle the camp and kill the prison guards and bring back the prisoners to safety. The Americans forces would join the 80 Filipino guerrillas as their guide and join forces in rescuing the POWs. On the nightfall of January 26, the rangers focused on the visual images and communicated with the guerilla intelligence inside the prison. The 2 five-man team Alamo Scouts headed by 1st Lieutenants William Nellist together with Thomas Rounsaville, left the place at Guimba and took off around 19:00 and penetrated behind the enemy line by doing the long walk in an attempt to have a surveillance of the target area. They were loaded withh .45 pistols, 3 grenades, carbines, knives and extra ammo. The following day, the Scouts coordinated with Filipino guerilla units at Platero about 2 miles on the northern part of the prisoners camp.On the other hand, all Rangers were all loaded with different Thompson Garand rifles, submachine guns, BARs, hand grenades, pistols, knives, and extra ammos including bazookas. Volunteers from 832nd Battalion Signal Service composed of four combat photographers and armed with pistols joined each of the teams to cover the said rescue for documentation as suggested by Mucci. The Medical team headed by surgeon Capt. Jimmy Fisher also carried individual pistols or carbines despite the restrictions to carry firearms by medical personnel under the Geneva Convention provisions. Radio outpost to keep track between the penetrating group and main command was set at Guimba. Two radios were on standby on purpose for asking aircraft support only in case large Jap anese forces are encountered on the process or in case of last-minute alterations of the plan and an off friendly fire to be made by the American aircraft. In late January 28, 1945, Mucci among other reinforcement were121 Rangers under the command of Capt. Prince travelled for 60 miles on their way to Guimbabefore going through the Japanese lines duly guided by Filipino guerillas. The Rangers traveled by foot along wide grasslands to evade from Japanese patrol. Other guerrillas used muzzling dogs as well as caged chickens to cover any sounds made by traveling group. There was a situation when the Rangers almost got caught when the Japanese tank was patrolling along the highway when they were following a narrow path near the road. The group stopped at Balincarin which is situated on the northern part about 5 miles away from the Japanese camp. The next day, Mucci coordinated with Nellist along with Rounsaville to conduct reconnaissance before that night and reported that the territory surrounding the camp that would make them as an easy target in the eyes of the enemy. Mucci also communicated with Capt. Juan Pajota, a USAFFE guerilla with 200 men. His knowledge about the activities of the enemy and geographical location of the place were vital information that he had to postpone the planned attack that night. He informed Mucci that his group had been observing the activities of no less than 1,000 Japanese soldiers encamped across Cabu River over a hundred yards near the prison camp. He further confirmed that around 7,000 Japanese troops were posted within Cabanatuan City just miles away. With the American forces stationed along the southwest, the Japanese division retreating towards the north road near the camp was visible. It would therefore be much safer to let the division pass than face them. Mucci took the advice of Pajota and suspended the proposed plan round the clock. He then notified the 6th Army Headquarters of the situation via radio to be on alert with orders to observe and gather more information surrounding the camp. The raid took place on January 30. Outcome and historical significance The raid in Cabanatuan was very significant and it was considered as a great accomplishment for the Americans and the Filipinos. 489 Prisoners of War were set free with other 33 civilians with a total of 492 Americans, 23 British, 3 Dutch, 2 Norwegians, 1 Canadian and 1 Filipino. The rescue paved the way for the prisoners to tell the whole world of the Bataan and Corregidor atrocities by the Japanese forces which had sparked a new upsurge to resolve the issue against Japan. The Alamo Scouts and the Air Force alongside the two great pilots, Capt. Kenneth R. Schrieber and Lt. Bonnie B. Rucks who maneuvered the plane that flew so low were incredible and heroic. An estimated number of 530 to 1,000 Japanese were killed during the assault. Fisher was among those who were fatally wounded. Mucci had ordered to build an air strip next to Plateros to transport Fisher to get immediate medical attention but he succumbs the following day. His last words were Good luck on the way out. The other Ranger killed was Sweezy who got struck by 2 rounds of friendly fire, 20 of Pajotas guerillas were wounded as well as 2 Rangers and 2 Scouts. Fisher and Sweezy were sent to their final resting place at Manila National Cemetery. Most American prisoners were immediately flown to the United States those who were too weak to travel remained to recuperate at American hospitals. On February 11, 1945, 280 POWs were sent off aboard USS General A. E. Anderson bound for San Francisco thru channel Hollandia and New Guinea. The ship arrived safely in San Francisco Bay on March 8, 1945 MacArthur spoke about the raid. He said No incident of the campaign in the Pacific has given me such satisfaction as the release of the POWs at Cabanatuan. The mission was brilliantly successful Awards were presented by General Douglas MacArthur to those who took part during the raid on March 3, 1945. Mucci and Prince both got Distinguished Service Crosses. Mucci got promoted to colonel with the 1st Regiment of the 6rh Infantry Division under his command. All other selected officers received Silver Stars and the rest of American enlisted men as well as the Filipino guerilla officers got Bronze Stars. Nellist, Rousanville with other 12 Scouts got Presidential Unit Citations. By late 1945, the bodies of those who died at the camp were rightfully exhumed and transferred to respective cemeteries. The land was later donated by the Philippine government and was created as a memorial in late 1990s. The Cabanatuan Camp site is now a park with a memorial wall bearing the names of the late 2,656 American prisoners. Former American POWs and veterans helped finance the project and maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. Pres. Ronal Reagan designated April 12, 1982 as American Salute to Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Memorial Day through a joint resolution by Congress. A hospital was also named after guerilla leader Eduardo Joson situated at Cabanatuan City. Bob Lapham managed to write a book about their actual undercover activities and various guerilla operations. Buy custom Cabanatuan essay

Secure and Sure

Secure and Sure Secure and Sure Secure and Sure By Mark Nichol Secure and sure, along with a handful of other words originating from those terms, share an etymology. These words are listed and defined in this post. The parent word is the Latin adjective securus, meaning â€Å"free from care or danger.† (The first element, se, means â€Å"free from† and is seen in secret, and the second is a form of cura, which means â€Å"care† and is the source of cure.) Secure is both an adjective meaning â€Å"safe† or â€Å"fixed in position† and a verb meaning â€Å"to make safe or fixed.† The noun form is security, extending in meaning to refer to a financial asset or document. The antonymic forms are insecure and insecurity, which also pertain to self-doubt; secure and security are also used in psychological contexts. Sure, from securus by way of Old French, means â€Å"confident,† â€Å"firm,† or â€Å"reliable† or, informally, is a substitute for certainly or â€Å"don’t mention it† in response to a request or an expression of gratitude; the antonym, in the more formal senses, is unsure. Idioms with sure as a foundation include â€Å"for sure† (â€Å"certainly† or â€Å"without a doubt†) â€Å"sure enough† (â€Å"certainly†), â€Å"sure-footed† (â€Å"confident in movement†), â€Å"sure thing† (â€Å"certainly†), and â€Å"to be sure† (â€Å"admittedly†). â€Å"Sure thing† is also an idiomatic noun phrase pertaining to someone or something that is certain to succeed; the phrase â€Å"sure bet† is synonymous. A surety is a guarantee, and insurance refers to a guarantee of protection or safety. Assurance can also refer to a guarantee (including, in British English, what is referred to in American English as insurance in the sense of a contract guaranteeing protection against loss), but it also pertains to security or to confidence (as well as overconfidence). The noun ensurance is obsolete. Although there is some overlap in the meanings of these words’ verb forms, most writers observe the following distinctions: to assure is to convince, to ensure is to guarantee, and to insure is to make certain or safe. Meanwhile, reassure means â€Å"assure again† or â€Å"restore confidence,† while reinsure means â€Å"insure again†; there is no equivalent prefixed form of ensure. Similarly, one can be (better yet, remain) unassured and can be or remain uninsured, but unensured is rare. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:5 Uses of InfinitivesUse a Dash for Number RangesHonorary vs. Honourary

Retail marketing strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Retail marketing strategy - Essay Example The entrepreneurs behind these ventures risk their capital, invest their time and make a living by offering consumers something they need or want. Most retailing involves buying merchandise or a service from a manufacturer, wholesaler, agent, importer or other retailer and selling it to consumers for their personal use. The price charged for the goods or services covers the retailer's expenses and includes a profit. Each year, this vital sector of the UK economy accounts for about 08 percent of our gross national product--more than $1 billion.. Most are store retailers, though there are other types of enterprises--such as e-commerce, mail order, automatic-merchandising (vending) machines, direct retailing (door-to-door and home party sales), and service providers. There are a considerable number of commentaries on the changing food retailing sector in UK. The sector is seen as being at the fore front of change and the leading food retailers are amongst the largest companies. Growing concentration in the economy has been associated with the increasing power of multiple retailers and a decline in the strength of the co-operatives and independents. The rise of the multiple retailers particularly through economies of scale and replication has produced a situation where only a handful of companies dominate food retailing. Currently the leading food retailers are Sainsbury and Tesco with Safeway in third place.

Cap task#3c Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Cap task#3c - Term Paper Example It is therefore very important for the hospital management to consider introduction of an image segmentation facility to help with early warning of breast cancer, because this is literary the key to improve breast cancer diagnosis in the hospital. Image segmentation use contours or the region they are position on to find the features of an image. One of the most common screening methods used by radiologists in analysis of the mammograms is X-ray mammography. This technique is very importance in detection of the presence or absence of lesions from the mammograms (Stems, 1996). It is, however, becomes extremely difficult to detect breast cancer during its early stages because its presence is especially restrained and unsteady. As such, if only experiences are diagnosed, radiologists and doctors can easily fail to detect the presence of abnormality. Having said that, the doctors and radiologists can rely on computer aided screening technology to get a more effective and reliable diagnosis (Sheng, Hong and Enmin, 2011). The aim of having such a computer aided imaging technique is to ensure an accurate segmentation of medical images. This process involves use of different criteria to segment different areas of an image (Chang and Teng, 2007). Use of mammography images in breast cancer image segmentation is a tasking procedure tho ugh its accuracy is essential for screening of tumors as well as classification of tissue for early discovery of breast abnormalities. Although it is not perfect, mammography imaging is recommended for this project because of it is essentially the most efficient imaging method (Guido and Nico, 1999). For women without symptoms, Mammography imaging is believed to detect between 80% and 90% of the breast cancer. A precise image segmentation of the mammography images is very crucial for a computer aided equipment to perform accurate diagnosis. The type of the equipment used is one of

Pacific Healthcare Essay Example for Free

Pacific Healthcare Essay He now has the opportunity to authorize the use of any X ray film other than Kodak. An investigation was complete in where Mr. Rubble had a reason to believe that the current Kodak price was above that of possible competition. There was an existing agreement with Kodak calls for furnishing X ray equipment along with maintenance and service, at a considerable discount for using Kodak as a single supplier of the X ray film. Kodak refused to provide those services if they were not their only source for X ray film. II. Major Problem Kodak has been Pacific HealthCare’s main supplier for X ray film. Now that Mr. Howell has pasted it is Mr. Rubbles’ responsibility to either decide to keep the Kodak for the X ray film or change to a different X ray film supplier. What needs to be kept in mind is that Kodak was also offering Pacific Healthcare discounts for furnishing X ray equipment along with maintenance and service. This was all because they were their only X ray film supplier. If Pacific Healthcare switches to a different X ray film supplier they will lose those discounts. Obtaining the highest quality with the best service at the lowest price is Pacific Healthcare’s supply strategy for medical supplies. Their objective is to find a single source supplier for a one year contract. III. Possible Solutions A. There are four other companies that make X ray films DuPont, Agfa, Fugi, and 3M. The quality of DuPont and Agfa are consistent with Kodak. Mr. Rubble can choose to go with DuPont since it holds the standard of Kodak and cost less than Agfa. The price of DuPont $1. 50 per sheet of X ray film. B. There are four other companies that make X ray films DuPont, Agfa, Fugi, and 3M. The quality of DuPont and Agfa are consistent with Kodak. Mr. Rubble can choose to go with Agfa since it holds the standard of Kodak. The only real issue I see here is that there is another company that makes the same quality of X ray film than both Kodak and Agfa. DuPont make the same quality of film for a lower price. The price of Agfa is $1. 58 per sheet of X ray film and DuPont offers it for $1. 50 per sheet. C. Mr. Rubbles can choose to stay with Kodak. The price for Kodak is higher than the other competition but they give Pacific Healthcare discounts on other services. Kodak furnishes Pacific Healthcare with X ray equipment, along with maintenance and services at a substantial discount for using Kodak as a single supplier for X ray film. I have found three issues with this possible solution. One, I do not know how much of a discount they are getting for the X ray equipment, along with the maintenance and services they are receiving from Kodak. With that I also need to know how much the competitors are willing to give Pacific Healthcare for those additional services that Kodak is offering to them. Last, but not least there are other competitors that are at a lower price range with the same quality as Kodak. DuPont offers their X ray film for $1. 50 per sheet and Agfa offers theirs at $1. 8 per sheet. Kodak is charging Pacific Healthcare $1. 80 per sheet of X ray film. With this solution we have to keep in mind that Pacific Healthcare uses approximately 1,500 sheets of X ray film per day. That is approximately $2,700 per day. If Mr. Rubbles chooses to go with DuPont which is the same quality as Kodak that would be approximately $2,250 per day. By choosing DuPont Pacific Healthcare with be saving about $450 a day. That is $3,150 per week and $12,600 a month by switching to DuPont. That is a huge saving for Pacific Healthcare. Pacific Healthcare can save money as well as keeping the same high quality as Kodak. IV. Choice and Rationale After reviewing all of the possible choices I chose to go with choice A. I chose A, because it saves Pacific Healthcare a lot of money as discussed in choice C. By choosing DuPont the company would save $450 a day compared to Kodak. That is $3,150 per week of savings and $12,600 a month by switching to DuPont. Also in choosing Agfa which is the same quality as Kodak, Pacific Healthcare would save $330. Keep in mind that Agfa and DuPont have the same quality as Kodak. Why choose Agfa over DuPont if they have the same quality of X ray film? That is why I chose DuPont. It is a smart solution, because it saves Pacific Healthcare money while also keeping the same quality as Kodak. Moving on two the other choices Mr. Rubble has. In the beginning I mentioned that there were four competitors that offered X ray films at a much lower rate than Kodak. The competitors were Agfa, DuPont, Fugi, and 3M. I have discussed Agfa and DuPont. The reason for not adding Fugi and 3M to my possible solutions is because Pacific Health care wanted to keep the same high quality in X ray film. Even though Fugi and 3M met minimum requirement they were thought of as having lower quality. Pacific Healthcare was looking for obtaining the highest quality with the best service at the lowest overall cost. To me they did not meet the requirement of Pacific HealthCare’s goal. V. Implementation I would let Pacific Healthcare know of my overall decision. In this brief, I would brief all my possible choices I had and why I chose to go with my choice. If we are in agreement my next step would be to contact DuPont and request their service for X ray film. From there I would let Kodak know that we appreciate their business, but we no longer are in need of their X ray film service. Of course I would make sure that DuPont has agree to be our single source supplier for X ray film prior to finishing the contract with Kodak. Appendix A What alternatives should Barney Rubbles consider when addressing the problem? Barry Rubbles should consider the high quality that Pacific Healthcare would like to keep as well as the best service with overall lower cost. He should consider which one would give the overall high quality as well as trying to save money. Should Pacific’s’ supply policies allow for any medical staff personnel to control sourcing decisions? In my personal opinion no, because they may not have the proper training or know what the companies needs are. I would like the professionals handle that. This case does not show a good example, because Mr. Howell chose the highest competitor. I would definitely have had both Mr. Howell and Mr. Rubbles work together. Sometimes one may come up with a different solution. What are the advantages and disadvantages of staying with Kodak—or changing suppliers? How would you evaluate these? If the Pacific Healthcare would stay with Kodak they could keep receiving their discount for the other services that Kodak provides. This includes the X ray equipment, maintenance and, service for being their only source for X ray film. Like previously stated, I am not sure exactly how much that discount was. Nor did I know how much the competitors were willing to give those services to Pacific Healthcare. With changing suppliers Pacific Healthcare would definitely save a lot of money. This would include changing to DuPont or Agfa. With DuPont the company would save $450 a day and by switching to Agfa the company would save $330 a day. Mr. Rubble has to keep in mind that both have the same quality of X ray film as Kodak. What action could Mr. Rubble have taken prior to Mr. Howell’s death to obtain reduced film prices? Mr. Rubble should have conducted a research just like he did when they put him in charge of the X ray film ordering. He should have presented this information to Mr. Howell and if he had disagreed Mr. Rubble should have taken it up to the company.

Mad Magazine: Its Success :: essays research papers

MAD Magazine: Its Success MAD Magazine is a counter culture publication that was founded in the 1960's by William M. Gaines. The magazine satirizes everything from popular television and entertainment, to important political issues and government leaders. Despite the fact that MAD contains no advertisements, it has flourished for more than three decades and is still widely read today. In today's media advertisement has become a necessary part of the business, Ads fill the pages of newspapers, magazines, even comic books. In this clip journal project, I am attempting to determine why MAD Magazine has survived over the years without the aid of advertisement. I have come up with three main factors that could explain MAD's success. The first factor that has made Mad's survival over the years possible is it's foundations. Its creation was during the sixties, when counter culture was at its peak, a time when rebelling against "the system" and not "selling out" were the ideals of popular culture. The fact that the magazine held within its covers no advertisements catered to the ideal of not selling out, which drew a faithful audience. The second factor is tradition. As is true with most MAD readers of my generation, My first encounter with the magazine was when I was a kid, going through some old things of my father's in the attic. I came across an old issue of MAD and became interested in it although I only understood a few of the satires that it contained. It is a fact that most young people who read the magazine have parents who have read or still read it.

Does Oedipus fall due to fate or due to flaw of his character Essay

In the play, Oedipus the King, it was portrayed that Oedipus, the main protagonist, was destined to slay his father and go to bed with his mother as foreseen by the Oracle of Delphi. Although Oedipus did unknowingly kill his own father, Laius, and marry and slept with his own mother, Jocasta, it was the flaws in his character and attitude, and not fate entirely that led to his downfall. In short, even though he was fated to do what he did in the story, he had the option to avoid that fate. However, his very nature prevented him from doing so. In the story, Oedipus was illustrated as a wise and very good ruler. He was sympathetic and compassionate towards his people. However, like most classical Greek tragic heroes, Oedipus also has flaws that eventually led to his downfall. Possibly his most notable flaws include his impulsiveness, rashness, stubbornness, and his tendency to make lapses or errors in judgment. These flaws were shown in several parts of the play, particularly during the time when he was in the process of discovering the truth about his past. When he recounts to his wife and mother, Jocasta, how he killed a group of travelers, one of which was later revealed to be his biological father, Laius, on a crossroad, Oedipus showed that he is highly capable of being rash and short-tempered. Although he was merely defending himself, he could have simply run away and avoided killing the travelers. By doing so, he could have avoided killing his true father while also disproving the prophecy of the Oracle of Delphi. It was also during this scene in the play that Oedipus was portrayed as a man who moves greatly based on impulse and does not think first before acting. Moreover, his rashness was also shown when Tiresias, the blind prophet, refused to tell Oedipus of the truth about the murderer of Laius. Although the prophet warned him that the truth would be bring him only pain and suffering, Oedipus still insisted and even threatened to accuse him of the murdering the fallen king himself. This forces Tiresias to reveal that it was Oedipus who killed Laius. Due to his short-temper, he accused the prophet of conspiring against him, which further showed how foolish he was. In addition, this also showed how blind Oedipus was because even though the truth was already being presented to him, he still refused to acknowledge it. Furthermore, it was his stubbornness and his desire to seek the truth that eventually led to his downfall. When he was still prince of the kingdom of Corinth, he overheard in a banquet that he was not the true child of the king and queen. He immediately sought the truth from the Oracle of Delphi, who simply told him that he would murder his own father and sleep with his own mother. This forced him to flee his home and it was during this time that he met the group of travelers whom he would all kill. After some time, he saved the kingdom of Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx by answering its riddle. This led to this coronation as the king of Thebes and also led to his marriage to Jocasta, whom he did not know to be his biological mother at the time. Finally, when he became king he then sought out to find the murderer of Laius, which set forth the chain of events that brought about his downfall. In other words, in his intense desire to seek the truth and avoid his fate, Oedipus became blinded and unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy of the oracle. Had he not left Corinth, he most probably would have not fulfilled the prophecy and avoided his doomed fate. In short, although it appeared that Oedipus was destined to fall, it was his very nature and lapses in judgment that sparked consequences which, he was not initially aware of. Moreover, it was his fatal flaws such as his arrogance and impulsiveness led him to kills his own father and marry his own mother. It can then be deduced that fate was greatly assisted by Oedipus nature and actions and did not act on its own.

Consumer Behavior Case Study Analysis Essay

During overview of discussions on user behavior and buying decisions, cultural and economic empowerment decision-making, usually needs an evaluation of who will experience advantages or costs as a consequence of a specific decision. For main decisions, the evaluations can include a number of stakeholders – workers, investors, clients, loan providers, vendors and government departments, amongst other people. The more precise we can be about persons and groups which may experience advantages or costs from a specific decision, the more likely you will demonstrate that fair decisions will be made. User behavior is about the results of decisions on identifiable persons and groups. Here you will observe the way the cultural and economical effects of decisions on recognizable persons can alter with time. A short review which describes a few of the fundamental elements behind the objective of this analysis includes, but not restricted to the following: 1. Promote good causes of user behavior and buying variations. 2.Increase sensitivity to a better knowledge of variations. 3.Offer an atmosphere for searching how ideas, generalizations and presumptions regarding various buying decisions restrict efficiency and interactions. 4.Analyze and eliminate misconceptions regarding Apple ® and Hong Kong Disneyland ® marketing methods. Analysis and Assessments There’s a wish to keep a creative atmosphere which will encourage persons to reach their maximum potential. In 2 case studies, one with Apple ® and the other with the Disney world Organization, administration has got the duty to determine ways to enhance income by making careful and fair attempts to fix imbalances in areas which affect user behavior and buying decisions. The goals of both companies are to: generate an atmosphere which will lure the persons or groups to offer chances for efficiently buying the best product and service. Both companies are preoccupied with long-term expansion and operating efficiency; from all sections of the society; and to guarantee organization compliance with federal, state and regional laws, and relevant national rules outside of the U.S. These attributes are essential for an organization to keep a competitive advantage in the international market. It seems interesting to find out precisely what related problem needed handling the most – attempting to know ways of interacting among different groups. Varied groups stayed dedicated to each other, for example, Asians, Middle Easterner’s, Caucasians, Blacks, and Hispanics generally assist groups within their own nationality. To go to more efficient understandings one must analyze the connections and know the part of varied communication. The implications by not interacting groups lead to misunderstandings, avoidance, lack of less listening, mismanaged interactions, insufficient progress in developing relationships. â€Å"The latest version of Apple’s iPhone has usually been a powerful seller all over the world, except in Japan. Although some experts had predicted that Apple would sell a million pieces of its latest iPhone in Japan, modified estimations put the figure at more like 500,000 phones. Therefore what’s the issue? The cell phone uses the quicker 3G network and provides a touch monitor. And Apple iPods as well as computers are famous in Japan. Apple iPhone’s utilization of the 3G network isn’t a big deal in Japan, since 3G accessibility has been a standard feature on Japanese mobile phones for many years. And as far as the touch screen is involved, some Japanese users believe that they would have issues becoming accustomed to it. Probably the greatest obstacle facing Apple, however, is what the iPhone doesn’t have. Keep in mind, Japanese users enjoy a few of the world’s most technologically sophisticated mobile phone qualities, for example â€Å"a high-end color screen, digital TV-viewing ability, satellite navigation service, very good music player and digital camera.† One more â€Å"must have† function in Japan, lacking  in the iPhone, is â€Å"emoji,† that is clip art which can be included into sentences to create e-mails more appealing. Additionally, several cell phones in Japan let their consumers to use their mobile phones like debit cards or railway passes.† â€Å"Debate began brewing at Hong Kong Disneyland before the park opened up in autumn 2005. At Disney amusement parks all over the world, marriages and wedding receptions are a lucrative business. Disney is intending to deliver shark’s fin soup as an alternative on wedding party meals at Hong Kong Disneyland. Obviously, Disney desires to display its love for Chinese customs, and affirms that it’s not doing anything more than following regional standards-the meal is regarded a crucial part of a Chinese wedding celebration, and may cost at as much as $150 at the ideal eateries. But, ecological groups from all around the globe are up in arms on the possibility of Disney offering this soup that highlights a noticeable difference between Chinese and Western customs. Even though shark’s fin soup has been a Chinese favorite for 200 years, some ecological groups are worried that China’s growing prosperity has resulted in a larger desire for unusual varieties. For instance, Hong Kong authorities lately ceased a delivery of 1,800 freeze-dried penguins which were being smuggled into mainland China. A few animal supporters are scared that down the road complete varieties might be endangered.† Consumer Behavior and Why It Matters There’s an inspiration which is rooted in tradition, which impacts the way we obtain and gain. Persons are inspired based on the strength and wish either to buy things in relation to a typical or to flourish in competitive pricing scenarios. Most of an organization’s achievement depends upon many elements: personal and occupational experiences, product development, and the kind of company. Other elements can result in satisfaction, for example organization buying policies, marketing methods, cost elements, user requirements and interpersonal relationships. Finding good and legal rules of user behavior, can present practical factors  to building upon latest forums. There are many primary means of keeping and coping with user behavior problems that contain: what we pay attention to; the way we respond to other people; and becoming role models by way of teaching and coaching. The roles we perceive in user behavior should be practical in setting with our rules. In any tradition, thousands of things can be built and used to express several ideas. Most companies would have a hard time thriving internationally if existing tradition and values weren’t congruent with today’s varied culture. Understanding Diverse Cultural Barriers and Roles As analyzed in our text, the ability of sharing cultural power causes excitement and devotion in other people. Tapping into varied inspirations (i.e., Advertising agency BBDO’s (Chicago) recent â€Å"GenWorld Global Teen Study† revealed a substantial alternation in the world’s teens) and abilities in other people so as to pursue objectives helps us internationally. If we let us to build up and know many traditions, we can interact and make new cultural ideas. The composition of traditions has a number of features which help us build upon the underlying structure for marketing. Finding the moral and legal rules of traditions can offer practical factors to building upon latest forums. As also mentioned in our text: â€Å"It is usually hard for an organization intending to conduct business in overseas countries to carry out cross-cultural user research. For example, it is not easy within the Islamic countries of the Middle East to carry out Western-style consumer research. In Saudi Arabia, for example, it’s banned to stop people on the streets, and focus groups are not practical since most meetings of 4 or more people (except for family and spiritual meetings) are banned. American companies wishing to do business inside Russia have discovered a restricted amount of specifics of user and market data. Likewise, marketing research info on China is usually insufficient, and questionnaires which ask private questions arouse doubt. For that reason marketers have tried different ways to generate the information they require. For instance, Grey Advertising has provided cameras to Chinese kids so they can get photos of the items they like and don’t like, instead of ask them to describe it to an unknown person.  Additionally, AC Nielsen conducts focus groups in cafes and children’s playrooms instead of in meeting rooms; and Leo Burnett has posted researchers to China just to â€Å"hang out† with users.† There are many basic methods for keeping and modifying traditions which include: what we focus on; the way we respond to other people; and becoming role models by way of teaching and coaching. The roles we see in traditions should also be practical in establishing with value systems. We may motivate input about suitable values and practices for applying our traditions to promote products or services. Most companies would have a hard time thriving if existing tradition, traditions and values weren’t congruent with today’s varied culture. Choosing to reach for the varied market is not necessarily the ideal, but it’s best when we can examine techniques to offer variety in dealing with positive roles to boost businesses. Additionally, the increasing varied languages create difficulty in addition to variations in problem-solving styles and behavioral roles of persons. Language is a part of tradition, and yet it’s so varied. It is key to tradition as it is the way by which most language is learned and communicated. In any tradition, thousands of things may be built and used to express several ideas. The tensions between group and individual language interests may be highlighted through the free ride and sucker-effect ideas. Based on the person’s situation, persons use language and tradition so as to intimidate and change conditions. One example would be, when persons know and speak the English language when it’s easy and other times pretend they don’t know or speak it. Identifying Lessons Learned Apple ® and Hong Kong Disneyland ® marketing lessons developed around offering a standard which would not be rewarding along with a conventional idea which didn’t resonate all over the world. The tradition of numerous communities represents an intricate pattern of values and anticipations shared by many people all over the world. There are traditions described with shared ideas, ideologies, values, beliefs, presumptions, objectives, attitudes, and norms.  One must recognize the importance of varied traditions so as to know it, particularly where major values regarding the tradition are generally nice. Even though we might have common knowledge on particular norms, research depending on world views will assist us to build up new senses when we constantly convey them within traditional system. Several organizations show different ways of interaction and development at different levels, occasions and scenarios. Organizations for example Apple and Hong Kong Disney may move towards a balance when coping with other traditions. Nonetheless they might differ in personal traditions, which could vary from one atmosphere to another. Their attitudes and belief, might propose methods for knowing how everybody can personally relate. Modern society in general may benefit from good cultural differences, just like we do personally. For that reason, much may be discovered a person’s history by recognizing there are differences, knowing the social systems, and understanding that structure and development variables impact our activities in the manner we build upon personal customs. Conclusion America is usually regarded as the great meeting place in which people from any background can integrate into a single culture. This idealistic way of thinking isn’t relevant in the country these days. A more practical viewpoint is among cultural user behavior or multiculturalism. Varied user behavior and spending brings different sets of abilities and experience to the maximum and plays a role in the general progress and success of a company. Apple ® and Hong Kong Disneyland ® Corporations have to recognize, and several companies have, that user behavior adds to the bottom line by creating a status which helps lure fresh buyers. Companies need to see that User behavior administration can be viewed as a reaction to the need to recognize, value, and take advantage of various backgrounds. Different social groups have different ideals, styles, and people, who have a considerable impact on how they conduct business. Instead of penalizing or curbing the various administration styles as they do not  comply with conventional styles, companies must look to these differences as benefits. Not just does varied buying achieve exactly the same results like conventional styles, additionally, it may improve the company’s competitive standing in the business field. Additionally, it is crucial that administration be conscious of the significance of respecting user behavior.

Free Essays on Combined Coursework

Combined coursework For the combined coursework we decided to use the statue as our stimulus. We looked at the three figures and got the idea of â€Å"hear no evil see no evil speak no evil† and so based our coursework on this. We decided to link each of the figures with each element of performance for example for drama we chose â€Å"speak no evil† for dance we chose â€Å"see no evil† and music â€Å"hear no evil† this means that we would do three scenes which would represent one of these. The statue is joined and so the idea we has was to make all the three scenes join together with the three elements of performance. Looking at the statue it looks unnatural and so we decided that we would go with quite a creepy theme. We now decided on a story line which would basically be about a two friends and one of them gets murders by strangers, the audience don’t know whether the murderers are ghosts or alive this idea came from the shape of the statue because the figures look like people but we don’t know whether they actually are. The opening element we decided would be dance. It starts off with two friends saying goodbye. One of the friends would then be murdered; to do this we used slow movements so that the audience could see what was happening. The movements used by the murderers were dominating and very big. The movements then speed up to represent the struggle of the character trying to get away from the murderers. The murderers movements are done in unison because it shows that they are joined together just like the statue. The stabbing movements at the end represent death. At the end of the dance the figures join together in a similar was as the statue and say â€Å"speak no evil† in a deep and scary tone to the other character this is to remind the audience of the theme and to also represent the statue. Almost immediately after the dance the two characters move apart quickly from the statue position and become diff... Free Essays on Combined Coursework Free Essays on Combined Coursework Combined coursework For the combined coursework we decided to use the statue as our stimulus. We looked at the three figures and got the idea of â€Å"hear no evil see no evil speak no evil† and so based our coursework on this. We decided to link each of the figures with each element of performance for example for drama we chose â€Å"speak no evil† for dance we chose â€Å"see no evil† and music â€Å"hear no evil† this means that we would do three scenes which would represent one of these. The statue is joined and so the idea we has was to make all the three scenes join together with the three elements of performance. Looking at the statue it looks unnatural and so we decided that we would go with quite a creepy theme. We now decided on a story line which would basically be about a two friends and one of them gets murders by strangers, the audience don’t know whether the murderers are ghosts or alive this idea came from the shape of the statue because the figures look like people but we don’t know whether they actually are. The opening element we decided would be dance. It starts off with two friends saying goodbye. One of the friends would then be murdered; to do this we used slow movements so that the audience could see what was happening. The movements used by the murderers were dominating and very big. The movements then speed up to represent the struggle of the character trying to get away from the murderers. The murderers movements are done in unison because it shows that they are joined together just like the statue. The stabbing movements at the end represent death. At the end of the dance the figures join together in a similar was as the statue and say â€Å"speak no evil† in a deep and scary tone to the other character this is to remind the audience of the theme and to also represent the statue. Almost immediately after the dance the two characters move apart quickly from the statue position and become diff...

Behavioural Finance

The occurrence of stock market bubbles and crashes is often cited as evidence against the efficient market hypothesis. It is argued that new information is rarely, if ever, capable of explaining the sudden and dramatic share price movements observed during bubbles and crashes. Samuelson (1998) distinguished between micro efficiency and macro efficiency. Samuelson took the view that major stock markets are micro efficient in the sense that stocks are (nearly) correctly priced relative to each other, whereas the stock markets are macro inefficient. Macro inefficiency means that prices, at the aggregate level, can deviate from fair values over time. Jung and Shiller (2002) concurred with Samuelson’s view and suggested that waves of over- and undervaluation occur for the aggregate market over time. Stock markets are seen as having some predictability in the aggregate and over the long runBubbles and crashes have a history that goes back at least to the seventeenth century (MacKay 1852). Some writers have suggested that bubbles show common characteristics. Band (1989) said that market tops exhibited the following features: 1. Prices have risen dramatically. 2. Widespread rejection of the conventional methods of share valuation, and the emergence of new ‘theories’ to explain why share prices should be much higher than the conventional methods would indicate. 3. Proliferation of investment schemes offering very high returns very quickly. 4. Intense, and temporarily successful, speculation by uninformed investors. 5. Popular enthusiasm for leveraged (geared) investments. 6. Selling by corporate insiders, and other long-term investors. Extremely high trading volume in shares. Kindleberger (1989) and Kindleberger and Aliber (2005) argued that most bubbles and crashes have common characteristics. Bubbles feature large and rapid price increases, which result in share prices rising to unrealistically high levels. Bubbles typically begin with a justifiable rise in stock prices. The justification may be a technological advance, or a general rise in prosperity. Examples of technological advance stimulating share price rises might include the development of the automobile and radio in the 1920s and the emergence of the Internet in the late 1990s. Examples of increasing prosperity leading to price rises could be the United States,Western Europe, and Japan in the 1980s. Cassidy (2002) suggested that this initial stage is characterised by a new idea or product causing changes in expectations about the future. Early investors in companies involved with the innovation make very high returns, which attract the attention of others. The rise in share prices, if substantial and prolonged, leads to members of the public believing that prices will continue to rise. People who do not normally invest begin to buy shares in the belief that prices will continue to rise. More and more people, typically people who have no knowledge of financial markets, buy shares. This pushes up prices even further. There is euphoria and manic buying. This causes further price rises. There is a self-fulfilling prophecy wherein the belief that prices will rise brings about the rise, since it leads to buying. People with no knowledge of investment often believe that if share prices have risen recently, those prices will continue to rise in the future. Cassidy (2002) divides this process into a boom stage and a euphoria stage. In the boom stage share price rises generate media interest, which spreads the excitement across a wider audience. Even the professionals working for institutional investors become involved. In the euphoria stage investment principles, and even common sense, are discarded. Conventional wisdom is rejected in favour of the view that it is ‘all different this time’. Prices lose touch with reality. One assumption of the efficient market hypothesis is that investors are rational. This does not require all investors to be rational, but it does require that the rational investors outweigh the irrational ones. However there are times when irrational investors are dominant. A possible cause of market overreaction is the tendency of some investors (often small investors) to follow the market. Such investors believe that recent stock price movements are indicators of future price movements. In other words they extrapolate price movements. They buy when prices have been rising and thereby tend to push prices to unrealistically high levels. They sell when prices have been falling and thereby drive prices to excessively low levels. There are times when such naive investors outweigh those that invest on the basis of fundamental analysis of the intrinsic value of the shares. Such irrational investors help to generate bubbles and crashes in stock markets. Some professional investors may also participate on the basis of the greater fool theory. The greater fool theory states that it does not matter if the price paid is higher than the fundamental value, so long as someone (the greater fool) will be prepared to pay an even higher price. The theory of rational bubbles suggests that investors weigh the probability of further rises against the probability of falls. So it may be rational for an investor to buy shares, knowing that they are overvalued, if the probability-weighted expectation of gain exceeds the probability-weighted expectation of loss. Montier (2002) offers Keynes’s (1936) beauty contest as an explanation of stock market bubbles. The first level of the contest is to choose the stocks that you believe to offer the best prospects. The second level is to choose stocks that you believe others will see as offering the best prospects. A third level is to choose the stocks that you believe that others will expect the average investor to select. A fourth stage might involve choosing stocks that you believe that others will expect the average investor to see as most popular amongst investors. In other words, the beauty contest view sees investors as indulging in levels of second-guessing other investors. Even if every investor believes that a stock market crash is coming they may not sell stocks. They may even continue to buy. They may plan to sell just before others sell. In this way they expect to maximise their profits from the rising market. The result is that markets continue to rise beyond what the vast majority of investors would consider to be the values consistent with economic fundamentals. It is interesting to note that Shiller’s survey following the 1987 crash (Shiller 1987) found that 84% of institutional investors and 72% of private investors said that they had believed that the market was overpriced just before the crash. Shiller suggested that people did not realise how many others shared their views that the market was overpriced. As Hirshleifer (2001) points out, people have a tendency to conform to the judgements and behaviours of others. People may follow others without any apparent reason. Such behaviour results in a form of herding, which helps to explain the development of bubbles and crashes. If there is a uniformity of view concerning the direction of a market, the result is likely to be a movement of the market in that direction. Furthermore, the herd may stampede. Shiller (2000) said that the meaning of herd behaviour is that investors tend to do as other investors do. They imitate the behaviour of others and disregard their own information. Brown (1999) examined the effect of noise traders (non-professionals with no special information) on the volatility of the prices of closed-end funds (investment trusts). A shift in sentiment entailed these investors moving together and an increase in price volatility resulted. Walter and Weber (2006) found herding to be present among managers of mutual funds. Walter and Weber (2006) distinguished between intentional and unintentional herding. Intentional herding was seen as arising from attempts to copy others. Unintentional herding emerges as a result of investors analysing the same information in the same way. Intentional herding could develop as a consequence of poor availability of information. Investors might copy the behaviour of others in the belief that those others have traded on the basis of information. When copying others in the belief that they are acting on information becomes widespread, there is an informational cascade. Another possible cause of intentional herding arises as a consequence of career risk. If a fund manager loses money whilst others make money, that fund manager’s job may be in jeopardy. If a fund manager loses money whilst others lose money, there is more job security. So it can be in the fund manager’s interests to do as others do (this is sometimes referred to as the reputational reason for herding). Since fund managers are often evaluated in relation to benchmarks based on the average performance of fund managers, or based on stock indices, there could be an incentive to copy others since that would prevent substantial underperformance relative to the benchmark. Walter and Weber (2006) found positive feedback trading by mutual fund managers. In other words the managers bought stocks following price rises and sold following falls. If such momentum trading is common, it could be a cause of unintentional herding. Investors do the same thing because they are following the same strategy. It can be difficult to know whether observed herding is intentional or unintentional. Hwang and Salmon (2006) investigated herding in the sense that investors, following the performance of the market as a whole, buy or sell simultaneously. Investigating in the United States, the UK, and South Korea they found that herding increases with market sentiment. They found that herding occurs to a greater extent when investor expectations are relatively homogeneous. Herding is strongest when there is confidence about the direction in which the market is heading. Herding appeared to be persistent and slow moving. This is consistent with the observation that some bubbles have taken years to develop. Kirman (1991) suggests that investors may not necessarily base decisions on their own views about investments but upon what they see as the majority view. The majority being followed are not necessarily well-informed rational investors. The investors that are followed may be uninformed and subject to psychological biases that render their behaviour irrational (from the perspective of economists). Rational investors may even focus on predicting the behaviour of irrational investors rather than trying to ascertain fundamental value (this may explain the popularity of technical analysis among market professionals). There are theories of the diffusion of information based on models of epidemics. In such models there are ‘carriers’ who meet ‘susceptibles’ (Shiller 1989). Stock market (and property market) bubbles and crashes are likened to the spread of epidemics. There is evidence that ideas can remain dormant for long periods and then be triggered by an apparently trivial event. Face-to-face communication appears to be dominant, but the media also plays a role. Cassidy (2002) suggested that people want to become players in an ongoing drama in which ownership of stocks gives them a sense of being part of a social movement. People invest because they do not want to be left out of the exciting developments. The media are an integral part of market events because they want to attract viewers and readers. Generally, significant market events occur only if there is similar thinking among large groups of people, and the news media are vehicles for the spreading of ideas. The news media are attracted to financial markets because there is a persistent flow of news in the form of daily price changes and company reports. The media seek interesting news. The media can be fundamental propagators of speculative price movements through their efforts to make news interesting (Shiller 2000). They may try to enhance interest by attaching news stories to stock price movements, thereby focusing greater attention on the movements. The media are also prone to focus attention on particular stories for long periods. Shiller refers to this as an ‘attention cascade’. Attention cascades can contribute to stock market bubbles and crashes. Davis (2006) confirmed the role of the media in the development of extreme market movements. The media were found to exaggerate market responses to news, and to magnify irrational market expectations. At times of market crisis the media can push trading activity to extremes. The media can trigger and reinforce opinions. It has been suggested that memes may play a part in the process by which ideas spread (Lynch 2001). Memes are contagious ideas. It has been suggested that the success of a meme depends upon three critical factors: transmissivity, receptivity, and longevity. Transmissivity is the amount of dissemination from those with the idea. Receptivity concerns how believable, or acceptable, the idea is. Longevity relates to how long investors keep the idea in mind. Smith (1991) put forward the view that bubbles and crashes seem to have their origin in social influences. Social influence may mean following a leader, reacting simultaneously and identically with other investors in response to new information, or imitation of others who are either directly observed or observed indirectly through the media. Social influence appears to be strongest when an individual feels uncertain and finds no directly applicable earlier personal experience. Deutsch and Gerard (1955) distinguish between ‘normative social influence’ and ‘informational social influence’. Normative social influence does not involve a change in perceptions or beliefs, merely conformity for the benefits of conformity. An example of normative social influence would be that of professional investment managers who copy each other on the grounds that being wrong when everyone else is wrong does not jeopardise one’s career, but being wrong when the majority get it right can result in job loss. This is a form of regret avoidance. If a bad decision were made, a result would be the pain of regret. By following the decisions of others, the risk of regret is reduced. This is safety in numbers. There is less fear of regret when others are making the same decisions. Informational social influence entails acceptance of a group’s beliefs as providing information. For example share purchases by others delivers information that they believe that prices will rise in future. This is accepted as useful information about the stock market and leads others to buy also. This is an informational cascade; people see the actions of others as providing information and act on that information. Investors buy because they know that others are buying, and in buying provide information to other investors who buy in their turn. Informational cascades can cause large, and economically unjustified, swings in stock market levels. Investors cease to make their own judgements based on factual information, and use the apparent information conveyed by the actions of others instead. Investment decisions based on relevant information cease, and hence the process whereby stock prices come to reflect relevant information comes to an end. Share price movements come to be disconnected from relevant information. Both of the types of social influence identified by Deutsch and Gerard (1955) can lead to positive feedback trading. Positive feedback trading involves buying because prices have been rising and selling when prices have been falling, since price movements are seen as providing information about the views of other investors. Buying pushes prices yet higher (and thereby stimulates more buying) and selling pushes prices lower (and hence encourages more selling). Such trading behaviour contributes to stock market bubbles and crashes. People in a peer group tend to develop the same tastes, interests, and opinions (Ellison and Fudenberg 1993). Social norms emerge in relation to shared beliefs. These social norms include beliefs about investing. The social environment of an investor influences investment decisions. This applies not only to individual investors, but also to market professionals. Fund managers are a peer group; fundamental analysts are a peer group; technical analysts are a peer group. Indeed market professionals in aggregate form a peer group. It is likely that there are times when these peer groups develop common beliefs about the direction of the stock market. Common beliefs tend to engender stock market bubbles and crashes. Welch (2000) investigated herding among investment analysts. Herding was seen as occurring when analysts appeared to mimic the recommendations of other analysts. It was found that there was herding towards the prevailing consensus, and towards recent revisions of the forecasts of other analysts. A conclusion of the research was that in bull markets the rise in share prices would be reinforced by herding. Research on investor psychology has indicated certain features about the behaviour of uninformed investors, who are often referred to as noise traders in the academic literature. Tversky and Kahneman (1982) found that they have a tendency to overreact to news. DeBondt (1993) found that they extrapolate trends, in other words they tend to believe that the recent direction of movement of share prices will continue. Shleifer and Summers (1990) found evidence that they become overconfident in their forecasts. This latter point is consistent with the view that bubbles and crashes are characterised by some investors forgetting that financial markets are uncertain, and coming to believe that the direction of movement of share prices can be forecast with certainty. Barberis et al. (1998) suggested that noise traders, as a result of misinterpretation of information, see patterns where there are none. Lee (1998) mentioned that a sudden and drastic trend reversal may mean that earlier cues of a change in trend had been neglected. Clarke and Statman (1998) found that noise traders tend to follow newsletters, which in turn are prone to herding. It seems that many investors not only extrapolate price trends but also extrapolate streams of good or bad news, for example a succession of pieces of good news leads to the expectation that future news will also be good. Barberis et al. (1998) showed that shares that had experienced a succession of positive items of news tended to become overpriced. This indicates that stock prices overreact to consistent patterns of good or bad news. Lakonishok et al. (1994) concluded that investors appeared to extrapolate the past too far into the future. There is evidence that the flow of money into institutional investment funds (such as unit trusts) has an impact on stock market movements. Evidence for a positive relationship between fund flows and subsequent stock market returns comes from Edelen and Warner (2001), Neal and Wheatley (1998), Randall et al. (2003), and Warther (1995). It has been suggested by Indro (2004) that market sentiment (an aspect of crowd psychology) plays an important role. Indro found that poll-based measures of market sentiment were related to the size of net inflows into equity funds. It appears that improved sentiment (optimism) generates investment into institutional funds, which in turn brings about a rise in stock market prices (and vice versa for increased pessimism). If stock market rises render market sentiment more optimistic, a circular process occurs in which rising prices and improving sentiment reinforce each other. It has often been suggested that small investors have a tendency to buy when the market has risen and to sell when the market falls. Karceski (2002) reported that between 1984 and 1996 average monthly inflows into US equity mutual funds were about eight times higher in bull markets than in bear markets. The largest inflows were found to occur after the market had moved higher and the smallest inflows followed falls. Mosebach and Najand (1999) found interrelationships between stock market rises and flows of funds into the market. Rises in the market were related to its own previous rises, indicating a momentum effect, and to previous cash inflows to the market. Cash inflows also showed momentum, and were related to previous market rises. A high net inflow of funds increased stock market prices, and price rises increased the net inflow of funds. In other words, positive feedback trading was identified. This buy high/sell low investment strategy may be predicted by the ‘house money’ and ‘snake bite’ effects (Thaler and Johnson 1990). After making a gain people are willing to take risks with the winnings since they do not fully regard the money gained as their own (it is the ‘house money’). So people may be more willing to buy following a price rise. Conversely the ‘snake bite’ effect renders people more risk-averse following a loss. The pain of a loss (the snake bite) can cause people to avoid the risk of more loss by selling investments seen as risky. When many investors are affected by these biases, the market as a whole may be affected. The house money effect can contribute to the emergence of a stock market bubble. The snake bite effect can contribute to a crash. The tendency to buy following a stock market rise, and to sell following a fall, can also be explained in terms of changes in attitude towards risk. Clarke and Statman (1998) reported that risk tolerance fell dramatically just after the stock market crash of 1987. In consequence investors became less willing to invest in the stock market after the crash. MacKillop (2003) and Yao et al. (2004) found a relationship between market prices and risk tolerance. The findings were that investors became more tolerant of risk following market rises, and less risk tolerant following falls. The implication is that people are more inclined to buy shares when markets have been rising and more inclined to sell when they have been falling; behaviour which reinforces the direction of market movement. Shefrin (2000) found similar effects among financial advisers and institutional investors. Grable et al. 2004) found a positive relationship between stock market closing prices and risk tolerance. As the previous week’s closing price increased, risk tolerance increased. When the market dropped, the following week’s risk tolerance also dropped. Since risk tolerance affects the willingness of investors to buy risky assets such as shares, the relationshi p between market movements and risk tolerance tends to reinforce the direction of market movement. During market rises people become more inclined to buy shares, thus pushing share prices up further. After market falls investors are more likely to sell, thereby pushing the market down further. Projection bias is high sensitivity to momentary information and feelings such that current attitudes and preferences are expected to continue into the future (Loewenstein et al. 2003). Mehra and Sah (2002) found that risk tolerance varied over time and that people behaved as if their current risk preference would persist into the future. In other words the current level of risk tolerance was subject to a projection bias such that it was expected to continue into the future. Grable et al. (2006) pointed out that this interacts with the effects of market movements on risk tolerance. A rise in the market enhances risk tolerance, projection bias leads to a belief that current risk tolerance will persist, people buy more shares, share purchases cause price rises, price rises increase risk tolerance, and so forth. A virtuous circle of rising prices and rising risk tolerance could emerge. Conversely there could be a vicious circle entailing falling prices and rising risk-aversion. The Role of Social Mood People transmit moods to one another when interacting socially. People not only receive information and opinions in the process of social interaction, they also receive moods and emotions. Moods and emotions interact with cognitive processes when people make decisions. There are times when such feelings can be particularly important, such as in periods of uncertainty and when the decision is very complex. The moods and emotions may be unrelated to a decision, but nonetheless affect the decision. The general level of optimism or pessimism in society will influence individuals and their decisions, including their financial decisions There is a distinction between emotions and moods. Emotions are often short term and tend to be related to a particular person, object, or situation. Moods are free-floating and not attached to something specific. A mood is a general state of mind and can persist for long periods. Mood may have no particular causal stimulus and have no particular target. Positive mood is accompanied by emotions such as optimism, happiness, and hope. These feelings can become extreme and result in euphoria. Negative mood is associated with emotions such as fear, pessimism, and antagonism. Nofsinger (2005a) suggested that social mood is quickly reflected in the stock market, such that the stock market becomes an indicator of social mood. Prechter (1999, 2001), in proposing a socionomics hypothesis, argued that moods cause financial market trends and contribute to a tendency for investors to act in a concerted manner and to exhibit herding behaviour. Many psychologists would argue that actions are driven by what people think, which is heavily influenced by how they feel. How people feel is partly determined by their interactions with others. Prechter’s socionomic hypothesis suggests that human interactions spread moods and emotions. When moods and emotions become widely shared, the resulting feelings of optimism or pessimism cause uniformity in financial decision-making. This amounts to herding and has impacts on financial markets at the aggregate level. Slovic et al. (2002) proposed an affect heuristic. Affect refers to feelings, which are subtle and of which people may be unaware. Impressions and feelings based on affect are often easier bases for decision-making than an objective evaluation, particularly when the decision is complex. Since the use of affect in decision-making is a form of short cut, it could be regarded as a heuristic. Loewenstein et al. (2001) showed how emotions interact with cognitive thought processes and how at times the emotional process can dominate cognitive processes. Forgas (1995) took the view that the role of emotions increased as the complexity and uncertainty facing the decision-maker increased. Information can spread through society in a number of ways: books, magazines, newspapers, television, radio, the Internet, and personal contact. Nofsinger suggests that personal contact is particularly important since it readily conveys mood and emotion as well as information. Interpersonal contact is important to the propagation of social mood. Such contact results in shared mood as well as shared information. Prechter suggested that economic expansions and equity bull markets are associated with positive feelings such as optimism and enthusiasm whereas economic recessions and bear markets correspond to an increase in negative emotions like pessimism, fear, and anger. During a stock market uptrend society and investors are characterised by feelings of calmness and contentment, at the market top they are happy and enthusiastic, during the market downturn the feelings are ones of sadness and insecurity, whilst the market bottom is associated with feelings of anger, hostility, and tension. Dreman (2001) suggested that at the peaks and troughs of social mood, characterised by manias and panics, psychological influences play the biggest role in the decisions of investment analysts and fund managers. Forecasts will be the most positive at the peak of social mood and most negative at the troughs. Psychological influences can contaminate rational decision-making, and may be dominant at the extreme highs and lows of social mood. At the extremes of social mood the traditional techniques of investment analysis might be rejected by many as being no longer applicable in the new era. Shiller (1984) took the view that stock prices are likely to be particularly vulnerable to social mood because there is no generally accepted approach to stock pricing; different analysts use different models in different ways. The potential influence of social mood is even greater among non-professionals who have little, or no, understanding of pricing models and financial analysis. Nofsinger (2005a) saw the link to be so strong that stock market prices could be used as a measure of social mood. Peaks and troughs of social mood are characterised by emotional decision-making rather than rational evaluation. Cognitive evaluations indicating that stocks are overpriced are dominated by a mood of optimism. Support for one’s downplaying of rational evaluation receives support from the fact that others downplay rational evaluation. The optimism of others validates one’s own optimism. It is often argued that the normal methods of evaluation are no longer applicable in the new era. Fisher and Statman (2002) surveyed investors during the high-tech bubble of the late 1990s and found that although many investors believed stocks to be overpriced, they expected prices to continue rising. Eventually social mood passes its peak and cognitive rationality comes to dominate social mood. Investors sell and prices fall. If social mood continues to fall, the result could be a crash in which stock prices fall too far. The situation is then characterised by an unjustified level of pessimism, and investors sell shares even when they are already underpriced. Investors’ sales drive prices down further and increase the degree of underpricing. Fisher and Statman (2000) provided evidence that stock market movements affect sentiment. A vicious circle could develop in which falling sentiment causes prices to fall and declining prices lower sentiment. Taffler and Tuckett (2002) provided a psychoanalytic perspective on the technology stock bubble and crash of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and in so doing gave a description of investor behaviour totally at odds with the efficient markets view of rational decision-making based on all relevant information. They made it clear that people do not share a common perception of reality; instead everyone has their own psychic reality.

Logistics and E-Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Logistics and E-Commerce - Essay Example Products and services ordered over internet require more delivery trucks on the road to homes and businesses. This is where Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) relevance to E-commerce is to be construed. Intelligent Transport System is defined as the application of information technology to the surface transport system. ITS covers all modes air, sea, road and rail and components of each mode – vehicles, fixed, infrastructure and control and operational systems. ITS seeks to improve the existing transport system rather than adding vehicles physically resulting in congestion. ITS stresses on reducing traffic congestion, thus reducing travel time, reducing sound and air pollution and also avoiding delays in delivery consequently keeping in time with production schedules (Jerzy Kisielnicki, 2002 ). â€Å"It often seems that net is changing every aspect of our lives, yet in other ways, it has had little effect. There are two opposing ideas of what effect of the net will have on supply chains and logistics. One view suggests that increased efficiency will pay rewards for all parties in a supply chain. The other view is that the net will overwhelm the supply chains, spot markets will make it impossible to plan and instability will dominate. But we have seen stability even during recessions in most of the economy. Important point to note is that web enabled supply chain may be the future but a manufacturer survives on the quality of the goods and relationship with customers and suppliers.