Lab Report On Sensory Threshold Essay Example for Free

Lab Report On Sensory Threshold Essay Lab report on Sensory Threshold In this lab the purpose is to test the sensory threshold of a human body. To say it in terms that are easier to understand, we are testing how accurate certain points are on a body with response to touch. We are using three points on the body, the forearm, palm, and index finger. With these three points we will be testing to see how sensitive each point on the body is by measuring the distance of which we can feel one or two points. The part of the brain that allows us to feel, the somatosensory cortex, is mapped out in relation to which parts of the body it processes its touch. Parts of our bodies have different densities of pressure receptors, the densities of these receptors correlates to the amount of brain tissue devoted to processing the somatosensory information. The face for example has a high densities of pressure therefor the somatosensory cortex has a large amount of area for the face, compared to the leg that doesnt have as much pressure receptors, and therefore uses a small area of the somatosensory cortex. (See illustration Fig. 511) With this information about how touch relates to the somatosensory cortex I expect that the index finger will be the point where we are the most sensitive then the palm followed by the forearm. The index finger should be able to detect the smallest distance between pokers than the palm or the forearm. To test the threshold of the human body we took a divider with two sharp points on the end of it. With the pointer we were able to set it to different measurements. We used measurements from .25 centimeters to 4 centimeters with an increment of .25 centimeters. After me measured the distanced out we taped the individual with the point, set to a certain distance, on either ; the forearm, palm, or index finger. The individual then had to decide wether we poke them with ether one or two points. Every once and a while we would tap the individual with one point so that they wouldnt be able to just guess that we were using two points. To keep everything on track we chose one side to do the testing on, and varied the distance of the pointer throughout the experiment and also the location of the tap. After conducting this experiment we compiled all of the data from every PSY  201 lab class and averaged the results together to give us a larger testing group. With the data we took the average of the percent correct for each distance for each position on the body. (see fig 1.1 From the data we noticed that the index finger had the greatest sensitivity with 67% of the answers were correct at .25 centimeters. The forearm seemed to be the next sensitive at .25 centimeters with 22% answering correct. The palm seemed to be the least sensitive at the smallest distance, .25 centimeters, with only 18% getting it correct. In the smallest distance there seems to be some what of a deviation from what the rest of the data states, because in the rest of the data the palm seems to be more sensitive with the percents being higher with correct answers, so it seems that the palm is more sensitive than the forearm. As the distance of the pointers increased so did the percent of correct answers, with a larger pint it seems as though it is easier to distinguish between on and two points. The index finger started to reach 100% correct at the distance of 1.75 centimeters, compared to the palm obtaining 100% correctness at 2.5 centimeters and the highest that the forearm ever got was 78% correct at 4 centimeters. This data seems to show the relation to he area of the brain tissue used in the somatosensory cortex does relate to the sensitivity of a particular area. The finger has the largest area then the palm has the second most area followed by the forearm with the least area amount. This experiment happened as I thought it would with the finger being able to detect the smallest distance followed by the palm and then the forearm. The index finger data shows that it was able to detect a tap from two points at a distance of .25 centimeters apart 67% of the time that is a very good strong average proving that it is the most sensitive of the three. In the .25 distance for the palm the average was only 18% correct, yet when tested with a poker with a distance of .5 centimeters the average percent correct jumped up to 40%. It seem as tough there was an error at this distance for the palm perhaps both pointers didnt hit or even the tester might not of taped them good enough. This large of a jump deviates to much compared to the next increment to be correct. The rest of the percents seem to rise a little as the size goes up by around 2% to 18% seeming like they are a  normal jump. Just as I predicted the forearm is the least sensitive of the three, it never reached 100% at any distance and the numbers didnt get very high relaying that it is the least sensitive. In my graphs you will notice a trend, that as the distance of the pokers increases so does the percent correct.(fig 1.2-1.4) This is because by increasing the distance between the pokers your touching the same pressure receptors and so they translate easier wether it was one or two. Also the percents were the highest for the Index finger followed by the palm and then the forearm and the greater sensitivity relates back to the area used in the somatosensory cortex. Perhaps to better test the points on the body we could use a smaller distance an see how small of a distance the index finger can notice this would give us a better idea how sensitive the fingers are. This data compile d from our experiment helps to support the idea that the more sensitive parts of our body use more brain tissue in the somatosensory cortex.

Federal programs Essay Example for Free

Federal programs Essay Throughout the twentieth century, Congress has established a great number of federal programs administered by agencies within the Executive Branch. Through this process of a wide-ranging allocation of authority to the executive Branch, Congress has assisted in creating a massive Federal Bureaucracy. The relationship of Congress to the Executive Branch today must therefore be seen in terms of its relation to this Bureaucracy, as well as its relation to the Presidency. In order to gain some control over the operations of the various agencies which had been established within the Executive Branch, in 1946 congress began to develop a sequence of configurations and procedures designed to manage the Administration. This process was also known as congressional oversight. There are several methods through which congressional misunderstanding operations take place: the committee process, congressional administrative offices, casework, as well as a number of administrative practices. Where the congressional oversight functions take place, there are three types of committees: authorizations committees, appropriations committees, and governmental operations committees. The first type of committee is the functional committee which initially establishes or authorizes the program or agency. In the case of a military program, this would be the Armed Services Committees in both chambers. ‘In the case of an urban program, this would be the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee in the House and the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in the Senate. Similarly, each program area within the Federal Bureaucracy is related to at least one specific substantive standing committee in each chamber of Congress. ’ (Issa, 2011) In attempting to follow the oversight activities through these authorization committees, a number of complications are often encountered. One of these is the result from the fact that a particular governmental agency may fall within the authority of several different practical committees or subcommittees. As a result, the agency may play ‘one committee or subcommittee against the other in order to achieve those results in Congress which tend to benefit the agency the most. (Office of The Law Revision Counsel, 2012) Another problem is that a committee which establishes a program is often too involved with the outcome of its own efforts to be willing to investigate adequately the operations of the program it has initiated. One of the most substantial places where an amount of oversight activity takes place is in the appropriations process. The budget for an agency must be approved anew each year. ’ One might assume that this yearly appropriations process would lead to a careful annual inspection of the budgets of all the various governmental agencies. (Issa, 2011) This is not the case. The federal budget is so great and compound that it is impossible to consider carefully the budget of each agency and program on a year-to-year basis. What happens instead is that budgets are often routinely approved from year to year with general reviews only occurring sporadically. In addition, many agencies develop quite close relationships with the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees which spe cifically deal with their agency. These agencies are therefore often able to abstract some special favors from these particular appropriations subcommittees. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Governmental Reform were initially established to manage congressional concern over governmental processes. Thus, many see these committees as an ideal place for maintaining congressional observation over the activities of the vast Bureaucracy located within the Executive Branch. However, because of jurisdictional differences and because of the hesitancy of most representatives and senators to provide for satisfactory independent oversight activities, the efforts of these governmental operations committees have been quite restricted. The three administrative offices within Congress are used to some extent in the congressional oversight process. The General Accounting Office, The GAO has the accountability, not simply for performing accounting audits, but also for judging how various programs are being managed. In other words, the GAO often performs the task of program assessment. The GAO plays a significant role in congressional oversight. The Congressional Research Service, while preparing reports and studies to assist members of Congress, the CRS sometimes includes some information on the activities and routines of various governmental agencies. This is another important source of oversight information for members of Congress. The Congressional Budget Office gathers information on the budgets of the various governmental agencies and to report on new budgetary requirements and propositions that are made through the Executive Branchs Office of Management and Budget. Budgetary information is an extremely important source of data upon which the various congressional committees can judge the effectiveness of specific governmental programs. Granting, the information gathered by the CBO may seem to permit for substantial congressional oversight, the fact is that it is the agencies that often use this informational link for their own purposes in pursuing their requests for additional funding directly to the congressional committee, instead of directing all their communications through the OMB. This short circuits the use of the OMB as one of the Presidents management tools. Efficiency, from an overall standpoint, we can see that these three congressional offices. The General Accounting Office, the Congressional Research Services, and the Congressional Budget Office combined with the staffs of individual congresspersons and senators and the staffs of congressional committees are able to supply our national legislators with vast amounts of information and evaluations of governmental activities. ‘In fact, the United States Congress has available to it one of the most extensive research staffs of any national legislature in the world. ’ (Issa, 2011) Nevertheless, the availability of information and study alone is not sufficient for effective congressional oversight. The desire to follow through on this available information is another necessary ingredient and it is this ingredient which is often lacking. Many times congressional oversight is limited by the worries of various congressional committees and subcommittees over their particular jurisdictions and in a substantial number of instances, the burdens of organized special interests also interfere with the ability or wishes of members of Congress to significantly oversee governmental operations. Aside from these problems, there are also the boundaries of time. Congresspersons are loaded with extremely dense schedules. They have a large number of often conflicting responsibilities to perform. Representatives and senators must therefore place priorities on the use of their time. Often oversight activities lose in this shamble of priorities to legislative activities, to the creation of new programs to deal with current problems, and to casework concerns. Representatives and senators, themselves, do not usually become directly involved in much casework or fundamental services. It is their staff that deals with these matters. However, representatives and senators are usually informed by their staffs of many of these problems, and it is through these specific interactions that these legislators often get the most intense impression as to the effectiveness of many governmental programs. Casework thus provides an important source of direct, specific information which proves very useful in congressional oversight activities. Congress has also passed some major reforms and reconnoitered a number of major legislative techniques, many of which have had the effect of enlightening congressional oversight. Sunshine Laws. During the 1970s, Congress attempted to open up many facets of governmental operations to the general public. This was done through the Freedom of Information Act and the Government in Sunshine Act. By making information more broadly available to the public, these acts also increase the amount of information available to Congress. The Congressional Veto. Very often Congress passes rather broad pieces of legislation. It is then up to specific agencies to fill in the details of these laws, both with regard to the building of governmental agencies and the processes which they follow. One might note for example that while Congress passes general tax laws, the details of the regulations regarding the payment of federal taxes is to be found not in the tax law itself but rather in the Internal Revenue Code which is developed by the Internal Revenue Service, which is an executive agency. The problem that were presented by the executive agencies developing a great many regulations or codes is that the only way Congress is able to affect these details is through the passage of new legislative acts. As we have seen, this is often a burdensome and prolonged process. In order to avoid this, Congress now writes into some authorization bills requirements for a congressional veto. According to this procedure, when an agency disseminates rules filling in the details of congressional legislation, Congress automatically has the power within a specific time period to veto some of these rules and to demand that the agency fill in the details in a different way. The important thing is that Congress can do this without having to go through the process of passing a new law. Although this procedure is rarely used, it does offer the prospective for a far greater legislative control over the procedures by which the Bureaucracy operates. Sunset Legislation. In starting governmental programs or agencies, Congress usually sets no time limit on the functioning of the program or agency. Since the 1970s, a practice developed by which Congress authorizes the existence of a program or agency for only a inadequate amount of time. In other words, Congress specifies a date by which the agency or program will conclude to function. In order for the agency to continue its operations after that time, a new bill must be passed allowing its continued existence for another specified period of time. This practice is obviously intended to avert the continued existence of agencies or programs which no longer meet a legitimate need or which fail to meet a legitimate need effectively. A dissimilarity on sunset legislation is the procedure of annual authorization. According to this procedure, the continued existence of governmental agency must be approved on a year-to-year basis. While this practice obviously creates tremendous difficulties in the ability of such an agency to engage in long-term planning, it does suggestively increase the potential effectiveness of congressional control. ‘Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB). Zero Based Budgeting is a technique through which administrators must carefully justify their entire agencies budgets. Zero based budgeting requires a continual top-to-bottom assessment of all agencies programs designed to insure their cost effectiveness. ’ (Issa, 2011) We can see that many structures and techniques have been developed to allow Congress to be more effective in its oversight activities. However, jurisdictional disputes and pressures from various well organized special interests continue to prevent these new techniques and sources of information from being used effectively. In many occurrences, the actual nature and effect of government policy depends less on the actions of our elected officials than it does on the activities of non-elected bureaucrats who often remain totally immune from the pressures of the general publicalthough not necessarily from those of well-organized special interests. One of the major political issues determining our national future is the question of how well our government is able to represent effectively the needs and desires of the American people. As we have noted, the role of Congress as a representative of the people was one of the most important functions of this first branch of government envisioned by the Founders when they drafted the Constitution. However, the many new needs which our national government has had to meet in this century have placed this role of representation under great stress.

Analysis Of Zipcar Strategy

Analysis Of Zipcar Strategy Executive Summary An assessment of the strategic value of expanding Zipcar business was performed by identifying its resources and core competencies. Through its resources and core competencies, a S.W.O.T. analysis and external environmental analysis were performed to identify its strategic advantage and business model where it should strongly focus on its product differentiation and product cost (efficiency). Based on its strategic advantage and business model, strategic value and expansion into smaller US cities, other segments of the market and other countries were analysed and identified with clear implementation direction and recommendation. Introduction Zipcar was founded in 2000 by two Cambridge (Massachusetts) residents. Today, it is the worlds leader in car-sharing. It provides cars by the hour or by the day to more than 325,000 members and 6500 vehicles in 50 cities in the U.S., Vancouver, Toronto and London [1]. It has redefined the way the present generation perceives alternate transportation and strong focus on the need for environment conversation. Since 2004, it has doubled its membership base with current 10,000 new members joining Zipcar each month. This means that members on an average save about US$7200 per year by using Zipcar services instead of owning a car. Furthermore, it can be a suitable platform for electric vehicles due to the demographic and driving habits of its user base where the average trip in a Zipcar is less than 25 miles and lasts about four hours thus making as much as 95% of all Zipcar trips short enough for 1st generation electric vehicles with limited range. This could further enforce its goal on green initiatives. The company focused on three main customers: Individuals Personal usage by young professional who did not own a car but needed one occasionally for errands and short trips, and families who sometimes needed a second car Companies There are more than 10,000 organisations using its facilities and services for business programmes. Universities There are more than 140 colleges using its campus car-sharing services in U.S. It rents cars by the hour and day to members in Boston, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Chicago and several smaller markets. It aimed to become a billion dollar company. Resources and Core Competencies Its fleet was predominately made up of Volkswagen Golf and Beetle but has expanded to make it more attractive to drivers who first concern was style and not gas mileage. For example, mini-coopers, scion vans, and SUVs such as the Toyota Highlander and Ford Escape were introduced [2]. Since majority of its fleet were idle or unused in the day, it was able to create a sales force to market them to corporation. As such about 25% of its revenue comes from â€Å"Z2B† offering. In other words, it was able to utilise its resources to generate sustainable revenue. Service innovation As mentioned, Zipcar is a young company that has created an alternative to automobile ownership for urban dwellers in several cities across the U.S. Its mission is to offer members affordable 24/7 accesses to private vehicles for short-term round trips. It has been able to build such distinct competitive advantage and succeed in a crowded and established market like the rental car business through wireless technology and the Internet that major competitors like Avis, Hertz, and National have chosen to ignore. It was one the very first few organisations to utilise wireless technology to its advantage. The distinctive competence it developed around this technology meant the company had to create several new technological processes. By investing in RFID, it was able to streamline car rental process and tracks the location of the cars in real-time that helped to improve fleet yield management and mitigate the risk of double-booking and phantom vehicles. The online web portal was fundamental and critical aspects of its business model. For business to function effectively, the hourly rental reservation and payment portal had to be user-friendly and trivial (highly effective human-computer interface) for members to transact online. At the same time, it should virtually be costing zero or very minimal cost to the company for each transaction. This in contract to a typical human agent would have cost the car rental company about 4% to 10% for each transaction. By eliminating complex user interface from within the car, it effectively deploys a simple and effective proximity keycard that is held to the windshield of each car that allows car users to locate and gain access to the cars. With further enhancement, it has been able to effective adapt and used mobile phone like iPhone or Blackberry to locate and gain access to those cars. In other words, it contemplates car sharing through Zipcar to be as easy as drawing cash from any ATM. Zipcar attempts to satisfy driving needs of its customer at a fraction of the cost of car ownership by contemplating to replace twenty private cars for each Zipcar service. Traditional rental companies like Avis, Hertz or Enterprise have adopted a similar business approach but the rental processes is time consuming and entail its representatives handling over car keys at specify rental locations. Thus, the appeal of Zipcar is its flexibility and efficiency where one can pick up a car at any time from any available unmanned location with the car keys waiting in the car for the driver to zoom off on a journey. As mentioned, the company knows that its buyer like â€Å"cool cars†. Thus the fleet includes mini coopers and Volkswagen beetles. However, unlike traditional rental cars, each has a Zipcar logon and web address making the actual car a communication tool that help curious observers learn more about the company. Many of the cars are painted in the signature Zipcar light green that also signals environmental friendly or green initiative aspect of the product experience. By partnership with city governments, landlords, colleges, and business owners, it has formed a dedicated team of customers who evangelise the company to potential renters that produce resonance with drivers or customers. Additionally, it has a strong, focus and effective management team that was capable of stirring the organisation into one of the largest car sharing leader in the industry by exploiting and maintaining core competencies and developing human capital to effectively execute it goals and strategic direction [9][10]. S.W.O.T. Analysis Strength: Ease of use (utilise proximity keycard, Blackberry or iPhone) in term of identifying car make/model, location and rates as well as ease of driving off. Style of its service (cool car) Technological sophistication (Wireless RFID technology) Clean and user-friendly interface within the web portal makes navigation very easy like car browsing, check and compare prices and view membership plans. Effective branding through its website and fleets by using signature Zipcar light green that symbolises environmental friendly. No usual hassles attributed to traditional car rental like reservation after joining as a member. For example, lost time for tedious paperwork, prohibitive car prices and petrol prices, limited certainty about vehicles make and model etc. Avoidance of double-booking or phantom vehicles through effective real-time fleet yield management. Strong partnership or collaboration with governments, landlords, colleges, and business owners. Weakness: High dependency on technology for its seamless operation like online reservation, payment and fleet management. Any failure of its integrated system can be catastrophe. Thus, business contingency plan is critical and needs to be in placed. There is certain weakness in its marketing tactics as it is largely unknown to urban masses. This can result in lost sales if potential customers are looking to rent a car in Chicago may look for traditional rental agencies as opposed to car-sharing. Furthermore its website failed to be search engine optimised. Opportunities By been environmental friendly and adopting the use of electric cars, it is in a very strong position to entice customers who have strong view about environmental and social concern. This is critical to Zipcar in building up its brand and equity apart from attracting more customers. Such trigger in term of economics and social interruption help to create more awareness about car-sharing that can only benefit Zipcar. Increase weekday car usage. Its fleet are only utilised at night and weekend while majority are idling during the day. Besides attracting more private business organisation to use it fleets on employees as opposed to using employee own cars, it can also look into convincing municipal agencies or government workers like social workers or nurse to utilise its services. Furthermore, as pressures mount for reduced fuel consumption and car-usage, its concept can provide a unique and viable long term solution. By establishing its presence on college, it has created a strong awareness and foothold of fans in term of the ease of car sharing as well as marking its environmental and social concern among the new generation. The students are part of the new generation of self-service economy that fits nicely to Zipcar self-service model. By experiencing with Zipcar concept and car sharing service, there is a high chance that those students would continue to use car-sharing as an alternative to car ownerships instead of buying one. Transit connection can provide growth opportunity for Zipcar where it fleet can be strategically parked near train or subway stations to provide members easy access to cars so they can continue their journeys to areas where public transport is not available. By parking at subway station, it can further create awareness of its brand and services Threats With its merger with Flexcar, it is competing in 50 cities in the U.S market including Canada. In another words, it is competing directly with larger operator like PhillyCarShare [5] and I-Go [6] that bring unique set of competitive forces in relation to their tide niche at the city and communities. Furthermore, their grassroots operation, low rental rates and non-profit status may inadvertently make them the preferred choice for business seeking car sharing services. Big car rental companies like Hertz, Enterprise or Avis [8] may make entries into car sharing market. Hertz has 40,000 cars in New York alone while Zipcar has about 6500 vehicles in total. In other words, big car rental companies have better economies of scale to take advantage of existing facilities, expertise and financial support if they chose to enter car sharing market. Rising petrol can be an economic burden to Zipcar since its rate is inclusive of petrol. It may have to increase its rate to cover such increased expense. This may lead to lower car usage by members and more may use cheaper public transport or share their rides. This could hinder membership growth. External Environmental Analysis Economies of scale Zipcar and Flexcar are the two largest and nationwide car sharing companies in the state. With their merger, there is a greater economy of scale as the new company will operate under the Zipcar brand and use its technology. Moreover, the move could help expand the practice of car sharing. By merging, Zipcar effectively operates in 50 cities in U.S., in Vancouver, Toronto and London that brings more members and more benefits in term of access to more fleets in more location and neighbourhoods. With more fleets in more location, it can consider lowering its membership fee to entice more membership enrolments to enjoy greater economies of scale. Barriers to market entry This can be unattractive for Zipcar as large rental companies may enter this market after they have a better understanding of such business model. In addition, there is no government regulation or restriction to prevent anyone from going into car sharing business. In addition, the cost can be low as anyone can start the business with a few vehicles. Diversification Apart from providing car sharing to individual, companies and colleges, it can expand into taxi business, emergency business or ambulances services or health caring services that required vehicles on ad-hoc or certain regular basis. Furthermore, it can also provide vehicles to courier services or mover services. Alternatively, it can provide fleet management services to those organisations as well. In this case, it is restricted to related-constraint diversification for better performance of the company. Product differentiation Zipcar provides unique experience by utilising wireless technology to ease car sharing. By eliminating complex user interface from within the car and deploying a simple proximity keycard that is held to the windshield of each car, it has allowed drivers to locate and gain access to the cars with ease. By integrating iPhone or Blackberry device, it has further improved such experience. Furthermore, it provides a fleet of â€Å"cool cars† that cater to each individual lifestyle and needs. Degree of concentration of firm in the industry There are several car sharing operators within U.S. [7] that operates as a non-profit organisation. However, in term of coverage, they are no as comprehensive as Zipcar that operates in 50 cities and outside of U.S. Thus, it can value add its service like more access to many cities and locations for its members which is inline with Zipcar objective of providing wheels when you want them. Positioning and Business Model Zipcar operates in a model of car sharing business that makes it difficult for competitors to imitate. For example, it utilised wireless technology like 3G, GPRS, GPS and RFID to manage and streamline its operation to maintain lean and low overhead. Traditional car rental companies or non-profit car-sharing would find it difficult to model after it due to their existing infrastructure and model. This is similar to Wal-Mart efficient supply chain management practices that competitors find it difficult to intimate. No doubt, customers can utilise other rental companies or car sharing operators but they would lose the convenience and ease of use offered by Zipcar model of hourly rental agreements and convenient access to 50 cities and locations. Moreover, it has a strong focus on customer needs and lifestyle by providing fleet of hip vehicles like mini cooper, Volkswagen Beetle, BMW Bottella, Mazda and environmental friendly vehicles like Toyota Prius [2] and using cool gadget like iPho ne or Blackberry to locate and gain access to the cars. Zipcar does not need to concern about car manufacturers or other suppliers since it does not use proprietary goods. Been a IT savvy organisation, Zipcar should ride on its existing memberships by using social networking tool so members can exchange and shares ideas and more importantly provide feedback to Zipcar who can them improve on its services and offering. In other word, it should keep listening to customers and continuing to innovate through IT. Based on strategic directive and advantage, Zipcar should continue to focus on product differentiation and product cost (efficiency) through greater economies of scale and product differentiation by offering unique fleet of vehicles coupled with excellence service and ease of usage. Expanding its presence in smaller US cities Zipcar has great appeal to a number of buyer personas like city dwellers that occasionally need to use a car for a few hours where cars ownership are expensive coupled with high parking fee in cities. According to U.S. census back in 1990, there were about one-third of U.S. residents living in cities. Those clustered suburban neighbourhoods would be suitable for car sharing, particularly if they have good transit service, pedestrian-friendly streets and local commercial centres. Assuming that 30% of American drivers live in higher-density, multi-modal neighbourhoods and 20% of these have low annual mileage vehicles; this could mean that about 6% of current privately owned vehicles could shift to car sharing. Of course, potential demand for car sharing will be much higher in urban areas and lower in rural areas. Zipcar can look into merging or buying over smaller operators that operate or have presence in those smaller US cities if viable. Alternatively, it can consider deploying its fleet in those cities since it uses wireless technology to streamline most of its operation and the cost of expanding in those cities would be relatively low. Nevertheless, there should be sufficient number of users within convenient walking or cycling distance where vehicles are parked with good travel alternatives. For example, to have 3 car share vehicles stationed in a neighbourhood with 10 members per vehicle would requires at least 30 member households within one square mile. Therefore, as long as there is high density urban neighbourhoods with good walking or cycling distance and good public transit services as mentioned, it should continue to expand its presence in those area to enjoy greater scale of economies with minimum risks. Expanding to other segments As highlighted, Zipcar should expand into taxi business, courier business, mover business, emergency business, ambulances services or health caring services by not just offering vehicles but also its fleet yield management services to help those companies to better managed and streamline their operations. This can be done in a form of strategic alliance or partnership. In addition, its services could be bundled with public transit passes, taxis service and ride share matching to give customers an integrated package of mobility options. It can also extend those services by collaborating with state mayors, city councillors, or police force who deals with parking constraints in major cities. Expanding to other countries and cities (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo) Countries like Hong Kong, Singapore or major cities like Taipei or Tokyo are suitable target for Zipcar services as they are typically high density metropolitan areas where walking, cycling and public transit are viable transportation option. Moreover high cost of car ownership coupled with high parking pressure in term of cost and space made these cities suitable market for Zipcar to expand its overseas business similar to those in London. Residents in those cities usually do not require cars to go to work or go about their daily activities. Thus, low vehicle ownership rates are one of the best predictors of the economic viability of car sharing programs. It can consider co-operative strategies by forming a joint local partner to operate fleet of vehicles that utilise it fleet management systems for car sharing. Alliance formation would avoid high cost of investment since resources are shared including risk. By forming synergistic alliance, it can create joint economies of scope between partner firms. For example, by exploring ways to work with car manufacturers like Toyota, its members can test electric cars to designing vehicles specifically for the sharing market. Similarly by working with closely with various authorities and companies, it can bundled public transit passes, taxis service and ride share matching to provide customers a fully integrated package of mobility options just like in its home country. Recommendation Zipcar should continue to focus on product differentiation and product cost (efficiency) through greater economies of scale and product differentiation through its unique fleet of vehicles that comes with excellence service and ease of usage. It should consider lowering it membership fees to attract more memberships to further utilise its fleet. It should continue to collaborate with various authorities and companies to use its fleet management system to enjoy greater economies of scale. It should look out for opportunities to perform consolidation through mergers and acquisition at the same time form strategic alliances with overseas local partners, car manufacturers and IT vendor to further develop its competitive edge. It should continue to adapt to customer needs by using an effective customer relationship management (CRM) system to obtain and to enhance its relationships with customers, retain customers and provide better customer service that leads to competitive advantage for the business. It should institute a more vocal marketing campaign to educate the target demographic about the benefits of car sharing. This could include aggressive print advertising on all urban and public transportation vehicles in addition to its own fleet of vehicles. It should further invest in improving the search engine optimisation of its web portal to attract traditional car renters. This would improve zipcar.com ranking on organic searches and increase the conversion rate. Through integrated marketing strategy this would increase awareness about Zipcar and its car sharing benefits that further reinforcing the firms hip and green identity. Reference: [1] Team: home office. Accessed on 17-01-2010, http://w.zipcar.com/ [2] Four Leaders You Need To Know. Accessed on 17-01-2010, http://stage.fastcompany.com/magazine/91/4-leaders.html [3] Zipcar is shifting into higher gear as market widens. Accessed on, 17-01-2010, http://www.boston.com/cars/news/articles/2008/01/13/zipcar_is_shifting_into_higher_gear_as_market_widens/ [4] Zipcar The best new idea in business. Accessed on 17-01-2010, http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/26/news/companies/zipcar_car_rentals.fortune [5] Philly Car share. Accessed on 17-01-2010, http://www.phillycarshare.org/ [6] IGo Car share. Accessed on 17-01-2010, http://www.igocars.org/ [7] List of carsharing operators. Accessed on 17-01-2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_carsharing_operators [8] Avis: For more on the history of Avis, see www.avis.com/AvisWeb/JSP/global/en/aboutavis/corp_info/historical_chronology.jsp. [9] Zipcar: We interviewed Robin Chase in November 2007. Other useful information came from ‘‘Part-Time Wheels: City Dwellers Share Cars through New Service by Heidi B. Perlman, Associated Press, http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/072000/new_0720000010.shtml; and from ‘‘Scott Griffith: Zipping Ahead by Lisa van der Pool, Boston Business Journal, August 24, 2007; [10] Zipcar is shifting into high gear as market widens by Yoon S. Byun, The Boston Globe, January 13, 2008. http://www.boston.com/cars/news/articles/2008/01/13/zipcar_is_shifting_into_higher_gear_as_market_widens/.

Horror Versus Terror in Gothic Literature Essay -- Gothic Literature

Horror Versus Terror in Gothic Literature  Ã‚   Gothic literature can be described as literature that is used to terrify people by portraying situations that border between reality and unreality. The purpose of Gothic literature is to terrify people, not to horrify them. The definition of horror and terror is often misunderstood, many people think they have the same meaning. Devendra Varma, in the Gothic Flame described the difference between these words as "an awful apprehension and sickening realization." A situation that is horrifying is usually described very distinctly. It usually deals with something that is grotesque and may be so appalling that is it unrealistic. It gives an exact portrayal of what is being described, usually by physical characteristics. Its intention is to appall and scare the reader. A situation that is terrifying is also used to frighten the reader, but it instead suggests something that will happen instead of describing it exactly. It allows the readers imagination to determine the story so that there is a sense of uncertainty. It seems to give a feeling of dread instead of an alarming feeling as with horror. William Faulkner, in "That Evening Sun", uses the distinction between the words terror and horror to portray Jason's, the child, feelings of terror concerning racial differences by creating a situation that would be terrifying to the reader. The feeling of terror, similar to the terror that Jason feels about race, is exemplified several times throughout the story. Faulkner wants the reader to understand the meaning of terror so that they understand Jason's terror. He especially utilizes sound to terrify the reader. "One night we waked up, hearing the sound. It was not singing and it was... ... the possibility of being put in their position. The difference between the words terror and horror is essential to the understanding of "That Evening Sun" as Gothic literature. Varma further explains this distinction by saying, "Terror thus creates an intangible atmosphere of spiritual psychic dread, a certain superstitious shudder at the other world. Horror resorts to a cruder presentation of the macabre: by an exact portrayal of the physically horrible and revolting, against a far more terrible background of spiritual gloom and despair." Faulkner uses the definitions of these words to communicate that people who are prejudice are not scared of people from other backgrounds because of what they look or act like. They are instead terrified of being treated like they are treated. They are also terrified because they are uncertain of what makes them so different.

Soft Money in Economics :: essays papers

Soft Money in Economics With each election cycle rolling around every 4 years, the various political parties, especially the Republican and Democratic parties, are setting new records for campaign contributions and raising higher and higher amounts of money toward their goals. It seems elected officials spend more and more time on fundraising and less time on working for the people they are sworn to serve! Now what is wrong with that picture? Does the phrase "We have the best government money can buy," mean what it says? If it did, our nation would be in serious trouble. Only  ¼ of 1% of the people give 80% of all campaign contributions. These special interest groups and wealthy individuals are controlling the people's government. Whether the issues are concerned over the military, education, Medicare, or Middle East issues, individuals like you and me have little or no say in what should be done to correct the situation. Soft money and the whole campaign finance reform issue is a very big concern to our economy. Yes it does have a more political stance then an economic stance but it will affect the regular hard working families of our nation. Have you ever taken the time to actually read the U.S. tax codes? If not, you are very lucky. It's a huge mess and hardly readable, but there is a reason why you can't read it. Former Sen. Wyche Fowler (D-Georgia) once said, " [E]very single interest that comes to you has got a special private interest where they are seeking to get subsidized, through the tax code†¦" Tax bills are a good place to hide those special legislative favors congressmen and women receive when they are elected. With the money donated from insurance industries, health professionals, and law firms and a huge amount of special interest groups, the resulting factor ends up being a tax system skewed toward big-money interests. How will this affect your standard of living? Well†¦lets look at the something everyone has problems with and that is oil and gas prices. The gas industry is a very generous industry for politicians and in turn very prosperous in reaping the benefits. In the '98 election cycle, ga s companies gave over $22 million in soft money contributions. This huge contribution gave gas companies a long list of tax breaks created by a Congress that is supposed to be the best money can buy.

Being A Centrist :: essays research papers fc

Few people know their own political beliefs. Although this sounds strange I truly believe it, considering the varying political opinions that are constantly being thrown at us from the television, the news, the radio, magazines, our families, and even the president. So much influence makes it hard to maintain personal political views; your own opinion can easily be swayed. The media often presents information on current issues that may cause someone to stray from their original, authentic position. In order to reestablish a personal opinion, everything else must be set aside, and all outside influences disregarded. Having done this, and having taken several political quizzes, I was surprised to find myself, according to the political quizzes, considered a centrist- a moderate or middle grounder. Prior to exploring my own political views I considered myself a conservative. Having been influenced by the media and especially by my family I thought of myself as a true conservative in ev ery way. Until recently, I never even bothered to have my own political views; what I heard from family members I accepted as true and learned what I could from the media. Although I still passionately support the Republican Party on many issues, I discovered that with all other influences set aside, I have more moderate, and surprisingly several liberal opinions than I ever would have acknowledged. Republicans and conservatives are nearly one in the same. A Conservative usually â€Å"favor(s) strong military, oppose(s) bureaucracy and high taxes, favor(s) a free-market economy, and endorse(s) strong law enforcement†(http://www.self-gov.org/quiz-score/quiz.php). Before questioning my political views, I was very conservative because my family was conservative, as I said before, and whenever an issue arose I tended to support the right as opposed to the left. However, having explored political parties a little more in-depth, I’ve found there are several issues, socially and economically, which I disagree on that are supported by the Republican Party, such as the death penalty, restrictions on personal actions that are against traditional values, and drilling in The Arctic National Wildlife refuge. Personally, I’m very opposed to death penalty; under no circumstances should a person be executed for a crime he or she has committed. Although jails have supposedly become more comfortable and beneficial, with access to exercise facilities and libraries, I would much rather see a criminal given a life sentence in jail than the death penalty. Coming from a Catholic family, I think I have developed my stance on this issue due to my faith.

Alzheimer’s Disease Research Paper Essay

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in elderly individuals. Currently, 4.5 million people in the United States approximately have Alzheimer’s disease. (Burns) Alzheimer’s disease presents the victim with a sharp decline in memory, language, visuospatial perception, executive functioning and decision-making. Because this disease is so harsh on people’s personality, behavioral and psychiatric symptoms are frequently present in Alzheimer’s disease. The impact Alzheimer’s disease has on health care is significant and estimated to cost $100 billion dollars per year and predicted to rise as it is a demand to find new medication and the number of Alzheimer’s disease individual rise. (Burns) There is medication available, however there is currently no cure, the medications that are given have symptoms that do not alter the negative progression of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is defined as progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells and neurons resulting in a loss of memory, thinking, language skills, and behavioral changes. (Burns) Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by cognitive dysfunction, psychiatric symptoms, behavioral disturbances, and difficulty performing daily activities. Alzheimer’s disease is currently the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and presently 4.5 million Americans are living with it. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia in elder individuals. (Burns) Even though there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, the health care costs are extremely high, being just over 100 billion dollars per year. The hopefulness of the development of a cure or new therapies becomes more desperate every year for new advances in the future. (Burns) The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in every individual vary; the disease can be extremely severe and other times slightly mild. Because Alzheimer’s disease is progressive it advances as time goes on, it starts off as the individual becomes forgetful and looses a small amount of memory and continues to severe dementia and loosing memory completely. The cognitive dysfunction of a person with Alzheimer’s disease includes memory loss, language difficulties, and executive dysfunction, which consists of a loss of higher level planning and intellectual coordination skills. (Burns) The psychiatric symptoms and behavioral disturbances can be anything from depression and agitation to hallucinations. The psychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can also be collectively termed as non-cognitive symptoms. (Burns) The general symptoms of memory loss is always the first symptom of a majority of the cases of Alzheimer’s disease. The gradual onset of memory loss has the same symptoms as normal aging, because ageing shows symptoms of some dementia as well, this can understandably become confusing to diagnose, and however Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. (Burns) The onset of Alzheimer’s disease is sly and emerges with a mild loss of memory and continues on with difficulty in finding the right word to go along with sentences. A diagnoses occurs only when the symptoms interfere significantly with everyday life such as social and work functions. Personal and emotional changes within the individual are very common for people who have Alzheimer’s disease. Major depressive disorder occurs in 20-35% of cases, while anxiety reaches 15-25% of people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. (Burns) Every 67 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease. Women seem to get his the hardest with this disease. In a women’s 60’s, the estimated risk for developing Alzheimer’s is 1 in 6 and two thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease are women. (Burns) Not only are women more likely to have Alzheimer’s, women are also more likely to be caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease leads to nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain. Over time, the brain shrinks dramatically because of this, affecting nearly all of its functions, especially the memory. The cortex of the brain  shrivels up and damages areas involved in thinking, planning, and remembering. (Fackelmann) Shrinkage is especially threatening in the hippocampus, which is the area that forms new memories. The ventricles, which are the fluid-filled spaces within the brain, grow larger to fill in the places that have shriveled up. The tissue within an Alzheimer’s patient has fewer nerve cells and synapses than a healthy brain. Nerve cells and synapses are what carry messages throughout the brain they are crucial to the biological computations that make up perception and thought. The dead nerve cells contain tangles, which are made up of twisted strands of another protein. The small clumps can clock the synapse and can activate the immune system to trigger inflammation. (Fackelmann) The plaques and tangles spread throughout the cortex in a predictable pattern as Alzheimer’s disease progresses. The rate of the progression of the tangles and plaques within the brain varies significantly. (Fackelmann) People with Alzheimer’s disease live an average of 8 years, but some individuals can survive up to 20 years. In a severely advanced Alzheimer’s disease most of the cortex is severely damaged. (Fackelmann) This is where the brain had shrunk dramatically because of widespread cell death. In this stage, individuals lose their ability to communicate, recognize their family and loved ones, and to care for themselves in their daily activities. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown, however researchers have linked several risk factors with Alzheimer’s disease such as an increasing age, family history, head injury (anti-inflammatory drugs have been associated as a reduction of risk), depression, hypertension, high cholesterol, low physical and cognitive activity, diabetes, diseases that cause mutations of chromosomes 1, 14, and 21, ApoE genotype, and individuals diagnosed with down syndrome eventually develops the neurological symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. (Fackelmann) The genetic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease is a risk. The risk for the first degree of relatives of people with the disease is estimated at 10-40% higher than unrelated people. (Whalley) The fact that monozygotic twins (twins who share 100% of their genetic material) have a higher concordance rate than dizygotic twins indicates that there is a significant genetic  component to Alzheimer’s disease. (Whalley) Because of the risks stated above, researches suggest that environmental factors are also a contribution to the diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease. Environmental factors is confirmed by the fact that the strongest association is not true across all races; 50% of white patients with Alzheimer’s disease do not carry an e4 allele (ApoE genotype), which is a significant risk in getting Alzheimer’s disease. (Whalley) The cure for Alzheimer’s disease is uncertain and is mainly focused on therapeutic treatments that help some dementia and other symptoms associated with it. For clinical reasons, non-drug interventions should be used initially, especially if the symptoms are not causing stress or placing the individual at risk to themselves or to others. If non-drug remedial interventions have no effect, cholinesterase inhibitors are the conventional drug treatment of choice for Alzheimer’s disease. Cholinesterase inhibitors have a moderate beneficial symptoms associated with the drug. The drug modifies symptoms in the minority of people with Alzheimer’s disease because it is nicely tolerated in the majority of individuals. Memantine is a drug that is a glutamatergic antagonist that trials have found effective in individuals that have severe dementia, however it is restricted to those in clinical trials. Cholinesterare inhibitors and memantine are known to produce little identifiable improvements in the activities of daily life. Non-drug approaches are not effective in helping memory loss, even though there are therapeutic techniques that help retain memory and can offer support for people with mild dementia. Sources Burns, A. Alzheimer’s Disease. British Medical Journal, 338, 467-471. Retrieved June 2, 2014 Fackelmann, K. Forcasting Alzheimer’s Disease. Science News, 149, 312-313. Retrieved June 2, 2014 Whalley, L. Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease. British Medical Journal (clinical research edition), 1556. Retrieved June 2, 2014