Podcasts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Podcasts - Essay Example In this scenario, subscribers are able to listen to podcasts using their computers, rather than sending them to a portable audio player. In fact, it is expected that coming editions of podcasting will include video signal. In this scenario, the cell phones with video potential will be capable of playing video podcasts. Actually, Adam Curry presented the idea of Podcasting. The application of this idea rose extensively with the emergence of networks and radio making material available for podcast fans. According to a research conducted by â€Å"USA Today† in February 2005 stated that over 3,300 podcast applications were available, immediately few months after its opening (Egger; Kayne; Lesinski, Walker and Leveque). Moreover, innovative technology based media has often replaced older media. However, it immediately does not take place that way. In fact, there are various aspects that turn out to be strictly out-of-date and have been replaced because of harsh boundaries they had (smoke signals are not that well-known any longer) however by and large, latest and innovative technology based media immediately supplements older media. Though, gestures did not turn out to be out of date for the reason that of speech. Additionally, the speech did not move away for the reason that of writing. In the same way, books did not put back the trend of letters. In addition, radio did not make books go absent, and neither did TV replace radio. On the other hand, the media backdrop is developing and the various kinds of media are affecting each other. Since people usually like to watch the Super Bowl on TV in place of listening to it on the radio. However, that is not equivalent "replacement". Additionally, radio certainly had to alter when TVs turned out to be well-known, however on the alternately, the number of radio stations almost certainly has augmented in those days (Egger; Kayne; Lesinski, Walker and Leveque). In this scenario, we have

Computer Science Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Computer Science Research Proposal - Essay Example Our company stands to gain by creating a smart and easy-to-use debugger. It will make the process of programming swifter and more efficient, leading to both profits by selling the debugger and savings by creating a more efficient software engineering process for ourselves. The main improvement of our debugger over other debuggers will be a visual component; complex data structures like graphs, tables, and trees will be displayed visually as the programmer conceptually sees them, not as lines of text. First of all, we could create our own IDE and implement the debugger along with it. This option would take longer to develop than the first, but would not have the difficulties of interfacing with other IDE's, since the debugger would be tailor-made for our own IDE. Also, we could stand to charge more for this product than for a plug-in(GraphViz). Secondly, we could create the debugger as a plug-in for an environment such as Visual Studio or Eclipse. This would take less time and be cheaper than other options, but may lead to difficulties in interfacing with a variety of IDE's, and may be unstable. Finally, we could link an existing IDE and an existing graph displayer but program the interface between the two. This would take the fastest among the three options but would not lead to much actual profit by sales. It would, however, improve the efficiency of our own programming practices. As for the schedule, option 1 could take many years; it would probably demand constant attention. Several years would be a reasonable period for option 2, and option 3 could be done in a matter of months. The duration of one development cycle within these schedules would vary depending on how many versions we release to the awaiting public, among other factors, but the ideal development cycle would be one version per year. Both Eclipse, which was open source starting on November 7, 2001, and GraphViz, which started in 2000, have maintained a nearly annual release schedule. Management of this Software Management of this project depends on how components of the project will be subdivided. Option 1 will need many more teams and a large staff, to cover the many aspects of an IDE. Option 2 could require one team for interfacing with IDE's, a large one for displaying graphs visually, and other smaller teams for the execution window and the variable window. Wages for programmers could run around $20,000 a year a person. Computer equipment and office space, which requires property taxes, will be needed. I conclude that, with the need for cutting the cost and time associated with debugging, this project is worth the costs, and option 2 is the optimal choice. Introduction An integrated development environment puts jointly the whole lot needed for programming into one application: a text editor, a compiler, a runtime environment, a debugger, and other tools. Some instances of these applications include Visual Studio, JBuilder, and Eclipse. Integrated developm

Strategic management and information systems at Tesco

Strategic management and information systems at Tesco Outsourcing ICT is quite commonly used by organisations as an approach to strategic management. Assess the advantages and disadvantages that outsourcing can bring in developing effective uses of information systems in an organisation such as Tesco. What do you understand by knowledge management and knowledge management systems? Analyze how useful such a system could be to Tesco and why it is often difficult to persuade employees to use such systems. As markets evolve the companies that are in the top seats are the ones that excel in organizing human resources and materials, also forecasting the possible changes in markets. To manage this many companies use the help of other companies to grow in this straggle of competition. This is called Outsourcing. If a firm does not want to use its internal resources to build or operate information systems, it can hire an external organization that specializes in providing these services to do the work. The process of turning over an organizations computer center operations, telecommunications networks, and/or applications development to external vendors is called outsourcing (Laudon Laudon, 2005). This definition covers the greatest part of Outsourcing, but what happens when we refer to ICT Outsourcing? First of all, what is ICT? Information Technology (IT) is probably one of the most used terms in business nowadays. Information shouldnt be confused with knowledge, unfortunately this happens occasionally. The term information is used extensively in no formal speech. This, and the different meanings used, makes it hard to define. From my point of view after studying on this subject, information covers data to which meaning is assigned, according to context and assumed conventions. Knowledge is derived from information. (Miller, 1999) Any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the automatic and digital acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information. The term information technology includes computers, ancillary equipment, software, firmware and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources. Taking under consideration the above we conclude that ICT Outsourcing can be defined as follows. Information Technology outsourcing is the concept of an organization contracting-out IT activities to a third party vendor, who in return provides and manages the services for a certain period of time in exchange for a monetary fee. The deal can include the transfer of IT assets and people involved with IT to the external entity. (Roland Booijen 2006) The main trend in international businesses nowadays is to outsource their production process as well as some of their services outside of their base country. The term outsourcing basically refers to the process of subcontracting goods and services from an outside supplier, usually from a different country. Most companies choose to outsource because of its many advantages over the traditional process of production. This article will show you some advantages that outsourcing can do for your business. Most companies choose to outsource because it lowers the cost of production and other expenses such as IT services and customer services. China and Vietnam, popular off shoring countries do not have strict labor laws allowing relatively cheaper wages. This guarantees that the company will get the most out of the capital invested in the business. A consequence of the advantage mentioned, outsourcing will reduce the overhead cost of maintaining the business. Outsourcing will allow you to reduce the number of your employees which will lead to savings in utilities, a save in taxes and less insurance among others. This will increase the funding of your company that can be invested in any other parts of the business. Another advantage of outsourcing is gives you better control of your business. Outsourcing can significantly reduce the number of your employees, thus making the rest of the staff easily manageable. By that, you can increase the responsibility of your workers inside your company and make them feel like a part of the business, something they have put their effort to bloom. Outsourcing gives you the chance to focus on other business aspects like the marketing process. By taking other parts of the business like production and other process away, you have more time to plan others steps of your company like how to sell you r products in a more efficient way. This can give you the weapons to become a recognizable marketing power company. Another advantage of outsourcing is that it allows you to choose professional level of processing or utilization according to the needs of your company. Since you choose expertise in their field, the quality of your service will also improve. Outsourcing would mean to expose your production to external procedures that you may not know or considered looking into. This can provide innovation capabilities for your business. This provides useful information on how to improve your products by using the earned technological info and professional production means. These are some of the benefits that outsourcing can brink to your business. In companies like Tesco using outsourcing can benefit in many ways as this huge business colossus always needs innovation, using outsourcing provides fresh ideas for them and also can keep them focused on other parts of the business like promotion or marketing. As you study your way through using outsourcing you will have to keep in mind that there are advantages to outsourcing and disadvantages of outsourcing. Some of the disadvantages of outsourcing are the following: One disadvantage is loss of management Control .Whether you sign a contract to have another company perform the function of an entire department or single task, you are turning the management and control of that function over to another company. True, you will have a contract, but the managerial control will belong to another company. Your outsourcing company will not be driven by the same standards and mission that drives your company. They will be driven to make a profit from the services that they are providing to you and other businesses like yours. Another disadvantage is hidden costs .You will sign a contract with the outsourcing company that will cover the details of the service that they will be providing. Anything not covered in the contract will be the basis for you to pay additional charges. Additionally, you will experience legal fees to retain a lawyer to review the contacts you will sign. Remember, this is the outsourcing companys business. They have done this before and they are the ones that write the contract. Therefore, you will be at a disadvantage when negotiations start. Yet another drawback may be the threat of Security and confidentiality .The life-blood of any business is the information that keeps it running. If you have payroll, medical records or any other confidential information that will be transmitted to the outsourcing company, there is a risk that the confidentiality may be compromised. If the outsourced function involves sharing proprietary company data or knowledge, this must be taken into account. Evaluate the outsourcing company carefully to make sure your data is protected and the contract has a penalty clause if an incident occurs. One more disadvantage may be quality problems. The outsourcing company will be motivated by profit. Since the contract will fix the price, the only way for them to increase profit will be to decrease expenses. As long as they meet the conditions of the contract, you will pay. In addition, you will lose the ability to rapidly respond to changes in the business environment. The contract will be very specific and you will pay extra for changes. Another disadvantage is to be tied to the financial well-being of another company. Since you will be turning over part of the operations of your business to another company, you will now be tied to the financial well-being of that company. It wouldnt be the first time that an outsourcing company could go bankrupt and leave you holding-the-bag. One more disadvantage is bad publicity and Ill-will .The word outsourcing brings to mind different things to different people. If you live in a community that has an outsourcing company and they employ your friends and neighbors, outsourcing is good. If your friends and neighbors lost their jobs because they were shipped across the state, across the country or across the world, outsourcing will bring bad publicity. If you outsource part of your operations, morale may suffer in the remaining work force. Companies like Tesco can use ITC outsourcing in their intercompany communications, by using a system of comlinks or anything like that. Another possible use is better organizing stock and storage of items by using computer based systems, databases for storage and self items would be a great effective way of ICT usage etc. 2. Knowledge management and Knowledge management systems ( KMS) are a class of informational systems that refer to the application of managing informational knowledge in an organization. That is, they are IT-based systems developed to support and enhance the organizational processes of knowledge creation, storage/retrieval, transfer, and application. Although not all KM initiatives involve an implementation of IT, and admonitions against an emphasis on IT at the expense of the social and cultural facets of KM are not uncommon (Davenport and Prusak 1998; Malhotra 1999; O.Dell and Grayson 1998), many KM initiatives rely on IT as an important enabler. While IT does not apply to all of the issues of knowledge management, it can support KM in many ways. A very common application of knowledge management systems is the creation of knowledge networks (Ruggles 1998). For example, when Chrysler reorganized from functional to platform based organizational units, they quickly Knowledge management a nd Knowledge management systems (KMS) are a class of informational systems that refer to the application of managing informational knowledge in an organization. That is, they are IT-based systems developed to support and enhance the organizational processes of knowledge creation, storage/retrieval, transfer, and application. Although not all KM initiatives involve an implementation of IT, and admonitions against an emphasis on IT at the expense of the social and cultural facets of KM are not uncommon (Davenport and Prusak 1998; Malhotra 1999; O.Dell and Grayson 1998), many KM initiatives rely on IT as an important enabler. While IT does not apply to all of the issues of knowledge management, it can support KM in many ways. A very common application of knowledge management systems is the creation of knowledge networks (Ruggles 1998). For example, when Chrysler reorganized from functional to platform based organizational units, they quickly realized that unless the suspension speciali sts could communicate easily with each other across platform types, expertise would deteriorate. Chrysler formed Tech Cul, bringing people together virtually and face-to-face to exchange and build their collective knowledge in each of the specialty areas. In this case, the knowledge management effort was less focused on mapping expertise or benchmarking than it was on bringing the experts together so that important knowledge was shared and amplified. Providing online forums for communication and discussion may form knowledge networks. The idea of a KM system is to enable employees to have ready access to the organizations documented base of facts, sources of information, and solutions. For example a typical claim justifying the creation of a KM system might run something like this: an engineer could know the metallurgical composition of an alloy that reduces sound in gear systems. Sharing this information organization wide can lead to more effective engine design and it could also lead to ideas for new or improved equipment. A very good example in Tescos case is when they decided to implement an online ordering system that connected the customers with the warehouses and the suppliers. Some of the benefits of KMS systems are: Increased order processing capacity, Reduced hardware cost , Increased flexibility in maintaining supplier relationships , Better integration of programs, increased reliability in day to day operations. The key aspect of KM and KMS is to convince existing long term employees to make use of such systems in order to produce/sell more and drive profits upwards. Such a challenged is described in the Tesco Case Study as far as the living service scheme is described in the context of making employees comfortable with the new changes in the way they operates so far. This was achieved by implementing their managers in the process, in order to encourage employees that they have some ownership over their workplace and was achieved with 3 day workshops. However one of the major drawbacks was that the managers had to face was the skepticism of the employees who viewed the whole scheme as suspicious. Trilogy, the group of companies that was outsourced for this purpose made sure that the whole process would like a completely internal Tesco-like procedure to ensure that they had the employees full trust on the living service program. that unless the suspension specialists could communicate easily with each other across platform types, expertise would deteriorate. Chrysler formed Tech Cul, bringing people together virtually and face-to-face to exchange and build their collective knowledge in each of the specialty areas. In this case, the knowledge management effort was less focused on mapping expertise or benchmarking than it was on bringing the experts together so that important knowledge was shared and amplified. Providing online forums for communication and discussion may form knowledge networks. The idea of a KM system is to enable employees to have ready access to the organizations documented base of facts, sources of information, and solutions. For example a typical claim justifying the creation of a KM system might run something like this: an engineer could know the metallurgical composition of an alloy that reduces sound in gear systems. Sharing this information organization wide can lead to more effective engine design and it could also lead to ideas for new or improved equipment. A very good example in Tescos case is when they decided to implement an online ordering system that connected the customers with the warehouses and the suppliers. Some of the benefits of KMS systems are: Increased order processing capacity, reduced hardware cost, Increased flexibility in maintaining supplier relationships, Better integration of programs, increased reliability in day to day operations. The key aspect of KM and KMS is to convince existing long term employees to make use of such systems in order to produce/sell more and drive profits upwards. Such a challenged is described in the Tesco Case Study as far as the living service scheme is described in the context of making employees comfortable with the new changes in the way they operates so far. This was achieved by implementing their managers in the process, in order to encourage employees that they have some ownership over their workplace and was achieved with 3 day workshops. However one of the major drawbacks was that the managers had to face was the skepticism of the employees who viewed the whole scheme as suspicious. Trilogy, the group of companies that was outsourced for this purpose made sure that the whole process would like a completely internal Tesco-like procedure to ensure that they had the employees full trust on the living service program.

Buddha and Jesus Christ in Literature Essay -- Buddha Jesus Christ Rel

Buddha and Jesus Christ in Literature Many pieces of literature and characters in literature are based off of religious figures or beliefs. In the literary pieces that we have read this semester, Buddha, Jesus Christ, and their religions have often been motifs. Buddha and Christ have many striking differences, but also quite a few similarities. They have both been very influential in many of the worldly religions of today, and in literature throughout the years. The man commonly known as Buddha was born in 560 B.C. and died at the age of eighty in 450 B.C. He was born to Suddhodana, king of the Sakhyas, and Maya. He was born in Lumbini, near the city of Kapilauastu in the Himalayan mountain ranges. His real name is Siddhartha (meaning â€Å"one who has accomplished his aim†) Gautama (his family name). Unfortunately, Buddha’s mother died a week after he was born, so he was raised by his aunt, Mahaprajapati. Buddha was born during a time of cruelty, degeneration, and unrighteousness. He had a very important purpose—to save the people and spread the message of equality, unity, and cosmic love everywhere. Some strange things happened on the day Siddhartha was born—flowers bloomed and it rained even though it wasn’t the right season, music was heard from the heavens, and delicious scents filled the air. His body was covered in strange marks which indicated his future greatness. When his son was born, Suddhodana went to an astrologer to see what kind of person Siddhartha would grow up to be. This was a common practice of the time. The astrologer said that when Siddhartha became a grown man, he would become either a universal monarch or would leave home to become a monk, â€Å"a perfectly enlightened soul for the salvatio... ... Drummond, Richard Henry. A Broader Vision: Perspectives on the Buddha and the Christ. Virginia: A.R.E. Press, 1995. Fajardo-Acosta, Fidel. â€Å"Atsumori.† World Literature Website (2002). 2 Oct. 2002

Curley’s Wife Essay

Explore the ways Steinbeck presents one or more minor characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ In this essay I will be giving you an insight on how Steinbeck presents one minor character in the novel, Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck wrote the novel in 1937 the novel is set on a ranch in the Salinas Valleys in California during the Great Depression due to the Wall Street Crash in America. America’s stock market crashed and many people ended up unemployed which led to them leaving their families to look for jobs around America including some of the characters in the novel.My essay is focused on Curley’s wife and I will be discussing the ways Steinbeck presents her appearance, personality, dreams and the ranch worker’s views her. Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife as a flirtatious woman and attention seeking towards other men. This is shown on (page 53) â€Å"She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red o strich feathers roughed lips, wide spaced eyes, with red fingernails†. This quote foreshadows and signifies that Curley’s wife will have sexual feelings to other men throughout the story because of the ways she appears and acts.Steinbeck also presents her wearing the colour red throughout the story. The colour red is a colour synchronised with danger this shows that people should keep away from her because she may be dangerous. The colour red can also be synchronised with love and romance this means that she could be flirtatious towards other men and she also can show love towards them. This is why she dresses this way it also suggests to the reader that Curley’s wife acts seductively towards other men because she dresses up in a seductive way so she can catch the attention of other men on the ranch such as George and Lennie.She dresses that way because she is a tramp and they like to seduce other men towards them despite having a husband called Curley. This also shows that she is not really loved by Curley because she needs other men to catch her attention and body. She also could be found innocent â€Å"wide spaced eyes† this is something which she cannot help. The worker’s on the ranch view Curley’s wife in a negative way. Evidence to support this is â€Å"I seen em’ poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her â€Å"Said George (to Lennie).This quote suggests that Curley’s Wife is unsafe to be around because she is â€Å"Jailbait† meaning she is a young woman considered in sexual terms. This shows that Curley’s wife could land Lennie in jail due to her being presented in that way. Due to Lennie calling her â€Å"Jailbait† this means that the reader is supposed see Curley’s wife in a negative way. This would also make the reader predict that Curley’s wife would be dangerous, trouble and bad as the story progresses. George also says â€Å"worse than her† this is suggesting that she is the worst jailbait he has seen.The reader also learns that they have encountered a problem like this before â€Å"I seen em’ poison before† this shows that they have come across another women like this before. We see this in the introduction  In Weed, Lennie â€Å"pets† a girl’s pretty dress and frightens her away which makes George and Lennie run out of town due to people chasing them. This quote may be prejudicing the reader because before the reader has actually learnt much about the character they are already presenting her in a negative way.This is because women were not seen as important in the 1930s and they had no rights therefore women were not well-respected so men could just talk about women in that manner. Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife in a provocative way so she can be noticed. This suggests that she uses provocative body language, ‘she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward’. This is her flimsy excuse to be with the men on the ranch. She both talks and acts playfully and flirtatiously in front of the ranch workers.She behaves in this manner because her sexuality is her only weapon to gain attention. Therefore this makes her body as an object because by using her body she can be noticed. Loneliness is a major theme in the novel. This suggests that she does this because she is lonely; she is the loneliest character in the story. She is also the only woman character so she needs company by anyone. Her husband, Curley does not really love her and she does not love him. Several times throughout the story she does this she says she’s looking for Curley but really that is just an excuse to be with other men.Steinbeck makes great use of isolation; it is shown throughout the story. Curley’s Wife is a character who is isolated. This shows that she is isolated because she can’t really go anywhere nor do much on a ranch so she needs people to keep her busy so her time can pass by. The main theme of the novel is ‘The American Dream’. Like many characters in the book, Curley’s wife also has a dream. She dreams of being a film star. Steinbeck makes very good use of dreams throughout the novel. Steinbeck uses context ‘The American Dream’ to present Curley’s wife’s dream.This can be shown in chapter five on (page 125) â€Å"Could ‘a been in the movies an’ had nice clothes- all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I could ‘a sat in big hotels and had pitchers took of me. This quote shows that ‘The American Dream’ is important context here. ‘The American Dream’ states that anyone can achieve anything they dream of in America. However, for Curley’s wife, like lots of ordinary Americans, this does not turn out to be reality. She also repeats â€Å"I couldaâ €  this suggests that it could have been but now is no longer a possibility.Instead being in Hollywood she is stuck with her unloving husband Curley who does not really care for her. This may be the reason she is always attention seeking around the ranch so she can get noticed because her dream was to be noticed and â€Å"had pitchers† took of her. Steinbeck presents her in regret who has failed in life. In addition she talks about how she wants people to take pictures of her so she can be famous. She also says this before Lennie kills her this suggests Steinbeck’s view of the pointlessness of dreams.

Reading Reflection Essay

Question 1. What does Heilbroner mean by the ‘economic problem’ and how does ‘tradition’, ‘command’ and ‘the market’ â€Å"solve† it? Why does Heilbroner think ‘economics’ is of no use for studying pre-market economies? (chapter 1). In the first chapter of this book, the author illustrated several concepts. Firstly, ‘economic problem’ was defined as â€Å"extraordinary variety of ways in which human communities have wrestled with† (Heilbroner, p.9). Secondly, ‘tradition’ solved the economic problem by customers. For example, a son will do his fathers’ job and run in the family. Thirdly, the ‘Command’ solved the problem by order form above. â€Å"It requires an enforcement mechanism different from internalized pressure of socialization† (Heilbroner, p.12). Lastly, the market solved the problem by the system itself, the author illustrated that â€Å"it’s just the way people behave. No one runs it† (Heilbroner, p.13). Question 2. Difference between Capital and Wealth. Heilbroner illustrated that capital is not wealth. â€Å"Capital thus differs from wealth in its intrinsically dynamic characters, continually changing its form from commodity into money and then back again in an endless metamorphosis that already makes clear its integral connection with the changeful nature of capitalism itself† (Heilbroner, p.30). Question 3. What are the two realms of capitalism? There are public and private realms. For the public realm, the capital normally holds the upper hand (Heilbroner, p.55). And it cannot perform its accumulative task without the complementary support of the state (Heilbroner, p.55). However, for private sector, government treats it as a business.