Jazz History George Gershwin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jazz History George Gershwin - Essay Example He started his musical training at the age of 13, and was so enthusiastic about it that he dropped out of the school at the age of 15 to work at Tin Pan Alley, a music publishing firm owned by Jerome H. Remick. "Since I found you" and "Raggin' the Traumeri" were the first two songs that George tried to publish but wasn't so lucky. Later on, he was able to get his song "When you want 'em you can't get 'em when you've got 'em you can't get 'em" published but wasn't able to make much impression on the public. First real fame came to him when Al Jolson popularized his song "Swanee" in 1919. Another notable success for him was in 1920, when he was hired to write music for "Scandals". Eventually, George and his elder brother Ira, together, were one of the dominant songwriters of the Broadway. His works such as, Oh, Kay! (1926), Funny Face (1927), Strike Up the Band (1927 & 30), Girl Crazy (1930) and Of Thee I Sing (1931) are one of the few that are worth mentioning. But his most outstanding work was "Rhapsody in Blue" for Paul Whitman Orchestra which opened a new era in the music by bringing Jazz into mainstream music and established it as a credible music genre. Later on he composed "Concerto in F" for New York Symphony Society, which is also considered one of his wonderful works amongst others such as "An American in Paris" and "Second Rhapsody". One of the interesting works he did was folk opera by the name of "Peggy and Bess" along with co-writers, Ira Greshwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, which made its way to Broadway on 10th October, 1935. Disaster struck in July, 1937. George was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was operated. He could not survive and was pronounced dead on 11th July, 1937. His last song "Love is here to stay", is here to stay in the hearts of every one who knew him. In conclusion, Gershwin has always been inspired with the classical European music and he elegantly combined it with something that originated in the gatherings of the African-American communities and managed to bring it into opera houses and Broadway while at the same time inspiring many others. Few of them such as Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Bing Crosby and Sting have recorded many of his songs. Many musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and many more have admired his work by depicting it in their work. In an article by John Rockwell in New York Times, 1987, praises Gershwin by citing Paul Simon's example as how this folk-rock artist carries forward the legacy of the great legend in his work "Graceland". Furthermore, in the same article he says, "If Gershwin didn't push the boundaries of classical music forward in his concert pieces(sic), he at least aspired to transcend the song forms and the limited harmonic language he started with. And that is something that today's ambitious pop art-song composers like Mr. Simon, David Byrne, Stevie Wonder and even Bruce Springsteen could profitably learn from him." In 2007, Library of Congress created Greshwin Prize in the memory of Gershwin brothers, for the artists with lifetime contribution to popular music. So far Paul McCartney (2009), Stevie Wonder (2008) and Paul Simon (2007) have been the three recipients. Works Cited "George Gershwin." The Official Website of George and Ira Gershwin. 2007. Web. 23 Nov, 2010.

Intercultural communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Intercultural communication - Essay Example It is way better than gestures some of which may be unacceptable in the patient’s culture. The use of pictorials involves provision of empty charts and marker pens, or a board where the patient is to describe his ailment or symptoms using pictures such as that of the stomach of head among others (Behar, et al. 201, pp. 476). The nurse will then point to various parts of the body to ask the questions and verify the symptoms. This will take longer as well. When the patients are unable to communicate effectively with the nurses or doctors, it means that diagnosis will be unable to be completed or will have numerous errors which may lead to more health problems with the patient. There are also other traditions which put restrictions on the type of healthcare worker they can have attending to them or the type of medication they can be provided with which hinders the treatment process as well as making the treatment process take unnecessarily longer in order to address the challenges (Srivastava, 2007, pp. 103). Behar, S. et al. (2013, October). Use of an Emergency Medical Pictorial Communication Book During Simulated Disaster Conditions. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 7(5): 475-480. DOI:

Operating system Essay Example for Free

Operating system Essay As an American multinational corporation, Microsoft is regarded as the largest software maker measured by revenue in the software market. However, because Microsoft play an apparently dominate role in the market, more and more people argue that Microsoft have made damage on consumers’ profit through some marketing methods. As we know, Microsoft has been accused of being a monopolist by the antitrust department in US and Europe for almost over ten years. â€Å"Microsoft possesses (and for several years has possessed) monopoly power in the market for personal computer operating systems† the Justice Department declared blatantly in 1988. This paper will examine and analysis the reason why Microsoft is a monopoly, welfare implications as a monopoly and whether the government regulations is successful. Microsoft Corporation products a wide range of products relate to computing. If Microsoft products are divided into five parts, they are Windows, Office, Business solutions, Developers IT pros and some other products like Windows phones, Internet explorer. From now, Microsoft plays a dominate role both in PC operating system and office suite system. According to the annual report of Microsoft in 2012, â€Å"over 50% of enterprise desktops PCs run Windows 7 and Office is now installed on over 1 billion PCs† is reported. This large company own approximately 94,000 employees and the revenue in 2012 by June 30 is 73,723 million. Why the Microsoft cooperation is a monopoly? â€Å"Microsoft monopoly is self evident if Justice Department’s lawyers are to be believed†, as demonstrated by McKenzie Richard B and Shughart II William F (1998). As the largest software company, produces products which is popular with people, there is no doubt that Microsoft is a significant enemy to other companies who produce the similar products. Even though there are more and more companies can become strong competitor like Apple Mac and Linux which are superior to Windows system in some areas ,the percentage they make up can not be compared with Microsoft, Microsoft still play a dominate role in the market. A monopolist is defined as a monopoly occurs when the output of an entire industry is produced and sold by a single firm. (Microeconomics, Christopher T. S. Regan Richard G. Lipsey p218). As we know, Bill Gates has made his Windows operating system become almost the only access to Internet. Moreover, Microsoft was being accused of three specific charges about Microsoft’s illegal behaviors by Justice Department on May 5. The first one is the agreements contract draw up by Microsoft. For example, Microsoft force consumers use their other products when they are using windows systems like when users use windows system; they are required to install Internet Explorer. The second one is the exclusionary contracts which mean that Microsoft try to prevent other products from competitors and potential competitors used and developed by other companies. The last one is that those exclusionary contracts attribute to curbing the competitor’s right of supporting their products and services. Those accuses of Microsoft reflect Microsoft is using its ubiquitous marketing power to squash their competitors and break the market balance. As a monopolist, it controls price of products. Sales can increased only if price is reduced, and price can be increased only if sales are reduced. For quantity of outputs, it is determined by marginal cost and marginal revenue. When marginal cost equals marginal revenue and the price is larger than marginal cost, the profit of Microsoft is maximizing. (Regan Christopher, 1982, Microeconomics-12th edition) If the good and service were delivered in a perfectly competitive market, consumer surplus will increase and producer surplus will decrease. A perfectly competitive industry produces a level of output that the price equals marginal cost; while a monopolist produces a lower level of output and price exceed marginal cost. What’s more, each firm in perfectly competitive market has a horizontal demand curve and the supply curve is the horizontal sum of many marginal cost revenues. the price in a competitive is smaller than in a monopoly because the demand curve is below the marginal revenue curve. Consequently, consumer surplus increase and producer surplus decrease. If the government regulates Microsoft effetely, the prices of Microsoft products will decrease. As we can see from the graph, when prices decrease, quantities increase, consumer surplus increase, producer surplus decrease, deadweight loss decrease. Thus, economic welfare increases. Since the government makes some measures to curb the development of monopolists, monopolists’ marketing power may more or less is influenced. For instance, after the most famous monopoly company-John D. Rockefeller’s standard Oil Trust, the company was broken up in the 19th. Similarily, the Justice Department continually sue monopolists or near monopolists like ATT and IBM, including Microsoft. After Microsoft was accused by European antitrust institution in 2004, the normal Microsoft market was being disturbed. Microsoft had to separate windows media player from windows system when sell their products. Even though the antitrust accuse has influences on the marketing of Microsoft, the revenue of Microsoft is not influenced by the charges after 2011. According to the annual report of 2004 and 2005, the revenue change from $759 in 2004 to $803 in 2005. The statistic prove that the power of Microsoft can never be ignored in computer market. However, the antitrust can not be said it does not influence Microsoft. After being accused, Microsoft regards the possible break up of the company as a serious threat. At the same time, Apple becomes more and more popular in computer marketing as a tremendous competitor. â€Å"Bring an antitrust suit against Microsoft. A government suit would have an immediate, positive effect on other software companies by causing Microsoft to become more cautious and self-controlling just as IBM did in the 1970s† ,suggested by Goetz, Martin A in Jun 19,1995. The government should continue exerting pressure on Microsoft and let Microsoft adjust itself. Furthermore, the government should also require Microsoft operating its market with separate sections to decrease its marketing power. For example, Microsoft should operate its Network Service Division as a separate section rather operating with other products and continue monitoring weather Microsoft force consumers install other products like media player and Internet Explore when they use Microsoft system. Lastly, the software market is changeable compared with other markets. The technique is changing every day; it is difficult for a company dominating the whole market for a long term. Microsoft can not guarantee their products can always be popular with consumers. The government should strengthen the force on Microsoft market and let Microsoft self-regulating. References Microsoft annual report of 2012: http://view. officeapps. live. com/op/view. aspx? src=http://www. microsoft. com/investor/reports/ar12/docs/2012_Annual_Report. docx McKenzie Richard B Shughart II William F (1998), Is Microsoft a monopolist? http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail?vid=13hid=13sid=cb822f92-5712-487e-91af-94eea12c3fb3%40sessionmgr11bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aphAN=1190614 Regan Christopher (1982), Microeconomics-12th edition. HarperCollins Publishers P218, P222 Microsoft annual report of 2004 and 2005 http://www. microsoft. com/investor/reports/ar05/staticversion/10k_dl_dow. html http://www. microsoft. com/investor/reports/ar04/nonflash/10k_dl_main. html Goetz, Martin A (Jun 19, 1995), Is Microsoft out of control? The government has to stop Microsoft now http://search. proquest. com/docview/216031454? accountid=13908.

The effects of comorbid psychopathy

The effects of comorbid psychopathy Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatments Criminal Behavior and Cognitive Processing in Male Offenders With Antisocial Personality Disorder With and Without Comorbid Psychopathy Topic: Effects of Comorbid Psychopathy Introduction Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy are two syndromes which are effective in predicting antisocial behavior and identifying dangerous subsets of criminal offenders (Serin, 1991). The distinction between both disorders is often blurred, with DSM-IV–TR suggesting that ASPD and psychopathy can be used interchangeably (American Psychiatric Association, 2006). The two syndromes share important correlates, which does raise the distinct possibility that both ASPD and psychopathy may reflect the same underlying disorder. Conversely, there is evidence that suggests that both syndromes contrast with regards to cognitive and affective correlates. Individuals with psychopathy display adequate cognitive functioning under normal conditions but performance suffers on a variety of cognitive tasks when heavy demand is placed on the brain’s Left Hemisphere (LH); deficits not associated with ASPD (Llanes Kosson, 2006). Prior research has also revealed that individuals with both ASPD and psychopathy exhibit greater criminal activity and weaker affective facilitation than those with ASPD only, suggesting the notion that a qualitative distinction exists between ASPD and psychopathy (Kosson, Lorenz, Newman, 2006). Consequently, it is uncertain if the two disorders reflect the same underlying pathophysiologies, whether they are two distinct syndromes, or whether one is simply a more severe expression of the other. The current study was carried out to address this issue and it does so by measuring the variance in criminal behavior and cognitive processing in an independent sample with regards to the presence of ASPD with versus without comorbid psychopathy. The study, which utilized six-hundred-and-seventy-four [674] male inmates of an Illinois county jail as its sample, was subdivided into two portions; the first which measured criminal behavior based on participant’s prior criminal records and the second which utilized data from a global-local processing task (conducted on a prior occasion) as a laboratory measure of cognitive processing. Participants exhibited either ASPD and comorbid psychopathy, ASPD but not psychopathy, or neither ASPD nor psychopathy. Associated Theories The criminal behavior analysis was conducted under the supposition that the presence of ASPD with comorbid psychopathy in participants would exhibit more severe and varied criminal histories when compared to control or participants with ASPD only. For the cognitive processing portion of the study, the LHA hypothesis was utilized. This theory predicts that psychopaths will display general cognitive ineptness and will respond more slowly than non-psychopaths when primary LH processing systems, specifically the attention, motor, language, and perceptual systems, are substantially and differentially activated. Hypotheses The study evaluates three perspectives. The primary hypothesis of the experiment (H1: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders characterized by distinctly different underlying mechanisms) would be proven if ASPD with and without psychopathy reveal different patterns of performance in cognitive processing and show differences in criminal behavior. If both groups manifest similar measures of both criminal behavior and cognitive processing, it provides evidence for the null hypothesis (H0: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that reflect the same underlying mechanism). The study also specifies a co-primary hypothesis (H2: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that are distinct only in their severity) where criminal behavior and cognitive task performance impairments differ only in degree. Sample and Selection Procedure A stringent criterion was utilized in the selection of the six-hundred-and-seventy-four [674] detainees of an Illinois county jail whom comprised the primary sample used for the study. One-hundred-and-fifty-six [156] men from this primary sample, all whom had previously completed the global-local task, further comprised a secondary sub-sample which was used in the analyses of cognitive processing. In accordance to the inclusion criteria, all subjects were eighteen [18] – forty-five [45] year old males who had estimated IQ levels above seventy [70], could read English, were informed about their prior criminal histories, did not currently take medication that displayed neurocognitive side effects, did not exhibit psychotic symptoms, and were right handed (for analyses of cognitive processing task). Before being classified into groups, the primary sample was subject to a series of interviews and evaluations in order for diagnosis of the relevant disorders. Following an in-depth i nterview and review of available files, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R) was used to assess the presence of psychopathy in the participants. Inmates had to score at least 30/40 to be diagnosed with the disorder. PCL-R scores were slightly modified in order to avoid overlap between psychopathy scores and antisocial behavior The DSM-IV diagnostic criterion was used to assess ASPD. Following an interview and a review of available file material, inmates had to display at least 3 of 7 symptoms be diagnosed with the disorder. Inmates were then subdivided into one of three groups: ASPD with comorbid psychopathy (ASPD + PSY; n = 145), ASPD without comorbid psychopathy (ASPD-only; n = 201), and neither ASPD nor psychopathy (controls; n = 328). Outliers in both portions of the study were identified and dealt with accordingly, resulting in a final sample of one-hundred-and-fifty-three [153] inmates for cognitive analyses with no change to the primary sample (where extrem ities were not excluded but modified). Procedure For the criminal history analysis, the ASPD-only, ASPD+PSY and control groups were evaluated based on three distinctions of criminal behavior: violent crime (murder, sexual assault, armed robbery), nonviolent crime (theft, forgery, arson), and criminal versatility (the variety of offences the inmates were charged with). The Independent variable (IV) in this case would be the grouping of inmates based on their disorders, and the Dependent variable (DV) would be their corresponding criminal charges. The global-local processing task was utilized for the measurement of cognitive processing. This task is designed in such a way that the frequency of presented stimuli on global or local levels could be varied to differentially activate the relevant hemisphere-specific perceptual system. Each participant was provided a computer which displayed stimuli in the form of alphabet letters on the screen; specifically the target stimulus (S or H) presented on a local or global level, and a distraction stimulus (A or E) at the opposite level. Each stimulus was presented for a duration of one-hundred-and-fifty [150] milliseconds and participants responded by pressing the corresponding key (S or H) on the keyboard. Target frequency, the Independent Variable (IV), was fluctuated to manipulate LH versus RH processing while response latency and accuracy of the inmates, the Dependent Variable (DV), was calculated. Under Local Bias conditions (L) the targets had an appearance rate of 80% at the local level and 20% at the global level. The opposite occurred in Global Bias conditions (G). In the Neutral condition (N), the target had chance to appear equally as often at either global or local levels. Participants completed eight [8] practice runs and sixty-four [64] trials per condition. Results A variety of statistical tests were utilized throughout the current study. Chi-square (X2) distribution was used to show that no relationship existed between ethnicity and group membership, and Welch F’ and t’ tests were used to demonstrate that demographic variables such as IQ, and age were not associated with any indices of criminal behavior or cognitive processing in any condition. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and complement t’ tests were the primary means of comparing groups on both the criminal behavior and cognitive processing portions. Cohen’s measure of effect size was used throughout to measure the impacts of the IV in both portions of the study. All the obtained results had very low p values, suggesting that they were not due to simple chance. Primary analyses of criminal behavior expressed that both ASPD-only and ASPD+PSY groups were charged with more violent, more nonviolent, and more types of criminal offences than control groups with a relatively small effect size. Furthermore, ASPD+PSY inmates showed more severity on all three distinctions of measured criminal conduct compared to ASPD-only inmates with small to medium effects. Additionally, the above analyses was repeated but this time involving a much more stringent criteria to diagnose ASPD (5 of 7 symptoms or 71.4%) to make it more comparable to the strict selection criteria for psychopathy (PCL-R score of 30/40 or 75%). The new analyses which involved the updated ‘severe’ ASPD inmates did not bring about any significant change to the results. Primary analyses of cognitive processing illustrated that, for local targets in local bias conditions, the response latencies of ASPD+PSY inmates were greater than both control and ASPD-only inmates to a large effect. However, the ASPD-only group did not differ from the control. The groups also differed in response latencies for global targets in local bias conditions with ASPD+PSY inmates responding more slowly than the ASPD-only group, but not slower than the control group (to a small effect). There were no significant group differences in response latencies for local or global targets under both neutral and global bias conditions. Discussion Dear Dr. Neo Cortex Over the course of writing this paper, I have learnt quite a few things about these two particular personality disorders. Rarely have the relationships between ASPD and psychopathy been explored within the same study, so this particular research provides plenty of new evidence and perspectives into the nature of both syndromes. I would like to discuss with you the end results of the study, which of the observed hypotheses are substantiated, and the implications it might have. Both before and after the stringent criteria was utilized to re-diagnose ASPD, inmates with ASPD with comorbid psychopathy averaged more violent charges and a greater variety of charges than ASPD only inmates. From this, it can be inferred that criminal behavior does not indeed correlate to the severity of the criteria used to diagnose psychopathy. This invalidates the co-primary hypothesis H2 that psychopathy is merely a severe form of ASPD. Also, the results from the cognitive processing analyses are inconsistent with the null hypothesis H0 which states that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that reflect the same underlying mechanism. Under local bias conditions (L), the ASPD+PSY group demonstrated poor response latencies in accordance to LHA hypothesis. However, not only did the ASPD-only group not show similar deficits in cognitive processing, they performed on par with the controls and even better than the ASPD+PSY group in responding to global and local targets under local bias conditions (L). This demonstrates that individuals with psychopathy may host a neurocognitive defect that is not shared by those with antisocial personality disorder only. These results obtained from both the criminal behavior and cognitive processing analyses provide validation for the primary hypothesis H1, that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are not two syndromes which reflect the same underlying pathophysiology but are disorders characterized by distinct mechanisms. The implications of this study are worthy of note, as such findings are inconsistent with the personality disorder revisions in Section II of DSM –V, which continues to categorize psychopathy and ASPD as a singular diagnosis. This would undoubtedly lead to a reduction of diagnostic specificity, especially since this and other studies have (somewhat) established that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are different on the neural, cognitive, and emotional levels. Having said that, this study is not in any way without its flaws and limitations, despite the numerous precautions taken by the researchers. The biggest limitation that I find in this study is that it is restricted within a male population. The study could have greatly benefited from including female participants, or have held separate analyses for women. I assume that females with ASPD and psychopathy would behave in ways different enough (due to social roles, etc.) to warrant study. Understandably, this first limitation is a direct result of the next one; the sample was restricted to one country jail in Illinois. A felony conviction is required for a sentence into such state prisons, making the sample less representative of criminal offenders as a whole (as most convicts with nonviolent or minor offences don’t get sent to maximum security prisons). Also, Illinois is hardly representative of the entire United States, so studies that set out to replicate this one should look i nto collecting samples from correctional facilities across state lines. This sort of study would also be aided if samples (mostly control groups) are obtained from outside of correctional settings. Finding nonclinical participants could help set baseline readings with regards to criminal behavior and cognitive processing. I would also suggest that future studies try to test other variables between ASPD and psychopathy, such as the level of self-esteem, age of onset of criminal behavior, or perhaps something physiological such as structural differences in the brain. I believe that this is just the beginning of research into this topic and would like to see where researchers such as yourself would take the field with the information you have today. Best of luck on your next scheme to rule the world References American Psychiatric Association. (2006). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder: Test revisions (4th ed.). Washington, DC. Kosson, D. S., Lorenz, A. R., Newman, J. P. (2006, November). Effects of comorbid psychopathy on criminal offending and emotion processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(4), 798-806. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.115.4.798 Llanes, S., Kosson, D. S. (2006). Divided visual attention and left hemisphere activation among psychopathic and non-psychopathic offenders. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28, 9-18. doi:10.1007/s10862-006-4533-2 Riser, R. E., Kosson, D. S. (2013). Criminal behavior and cognitive processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder with and without comorbid psychopathy. Personality Disorders:Theory, Research, and Treatment, 4(4), 332-340. doi:10.1037/a0033303 Serin, R. C. (1991). Psychopathy and violence in criminals. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6, 423-431. doi:10.1177/0886260910060040021991

The Turing Test Essay -- essays research papers fc

One of the hottest topics that modern science has been focusing on for a long time is the field of artificial intelligence, the study of intelligence in machines or, according to Minsky, â€Å"the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men†.(qtd in Copeland 1). Artificial Intelligence has a lot of applications and is used in many areas. â€Å"We often don’t notice it but AI is all around us. It is present in computer games, in the cruise control in our cars and the servers that route our email.† (BBC 1). Different goals have been set for the science of Artificial Intelligence, but according to Whitby the most mentioned idea about the goal of AI is provided by the Turing Test. This test is also called the imitation game, since it is basically a game in which a computer imitates a conversating human. In an analysis of the Turing Test I will focus on its features, its historical background and the evaluation of its validity a nd importance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, the Test itself doesn’t really have any complex features. As described by Haugeland, the procedure of the game is simple. Suppose that we have a person, a machine, and an interrogator. The interrogator is in a room separated from the other person and the machine. The participants in this game use teletypewriter to communicate with one another -- to avoid clues that might be offered by tone of voice, etc.The object of the game is for the interrogator to determine which of the other two is the person, and which is the machine. The interrogator knows the other person and the machine by the labels ‘X’ and ‘Y’ -- but, at least at the beginning of the game, does not know which of the other person and the machine is ‘X’ -- and at the end of the game says either ‘X is the person and Y is the machine’ or ‘X is the machine and Y is the person’.(29-30) The object of the machine is to try to cause the interrogator to mistakenly conclude that the machine is the other person; the object of the other person is to try to help the interrogator to correctly identify the machine. If a machine passes the test, then it is clear that for many ordinary people it would be a sufficient reason to say that that is a thinking machine. And, in fact, since it is able to conversate with a human and to actually fool him and convince him that the machine is human, this would seem t... ...ing Test and scientists of AI have different opinions about it. However there are some facts of which we can be sure of. The Turing Test was invented by a great scientist, it has had a long and rich history of 55 years and has played an important role in the science of Artificial Intelligence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bibliography Artificial Intelligence. BBC. Mar. 3, 2005 Copeland, Jack. Artificial Intelligence: A philosophical introduction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oxford: Blackwell, 1993. Floridi, Luciano. Philosophy and Computing: An introduction. London: Routledge, 1999. Haugeland, John, ed. Mind Design II: Philosophy, Psychology, Artificial Intelligence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  USA: MIT Press, 2000. Hodges, Andrew. Alan Turing and the Turing Test Mar. 15 2005 < http://www.turing.org.uk/turing/scrapbook/test.html> Millar P. H. â€Å"On the point of the Imitation Game.† Mind, New Series, Vol. 82, No 328 (Oct. 1973): 595 par1. Mar. 20, 2005 Oppy, Graham, Dowe, David, The Turing Test, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2003 Edition), Mar. 10, 2005 . Whitby, Blay. Artificial Intelligence: a beginner’s guide. Oxford: Oneworld, 2004.

01.02 What is Citizenship? (Honors Extension) FLVS Essay

The bill, titled to provide discretionary authority to an immigration judge to determine that an alien parent of a United States citizen child should not be ordered removed, deported, or excluded from the United States, â€Å"amends the Immigration and Nationality Act, in the case of an alien subject to removal, deportation, or exclusion and who is the parent of a U.S. citizen child, to authorize an immigration judge to decline to order such removal if the judge determines such action to be against the child’s best interests†. It also states that â€Å"such discretion shall not apply to an alien when the judge determines that the alien is, one, excludable or deportable on security grounds, or two, has engaged in sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking in persons†. This bill was originally introduced to the House Committee on the Judiciary in late January of this year. It was later referred to the subcommittee of Immigration and Border Security in February. Representative Jose Serrano introduced the bill to protect the parents of US citizen natural born children from being deported or removed from the country, who are at illegal status, at discretion of the immigration judge. If the bill was passed, many of the illegal immigrants who have children who are citizens of the United States will be able to stay and be legalized into the country, just because they have a child born on U.S. grounds. The people it would affect are illegally residing on U.S. grounds, but have children who were born here. The government will be positively affected through this bill. The numbers of immigrants in the country will decrease by a significant amount if this bill is passed. Many citizens may find this to be a controversial issue. On one hand, the bill allows for these families to be kept together and not separated from one another, but other citizens may argue that there are too many immigrants residing in the country as is, and permitting the parents of these children to stay would be a mistake. Family is a very important thing in life. Immigrant or not, family is family. Intentional separation of a family is unmoral and wrong. This bill would make a positive impact rather than a wrongful one. It gives this group of illegal parents of citizen children and opportunity and a chance to make a good life and provide for their children. If these parents can prove that they deserve to be here and that they can provide a good life and are willing to work to deliver and meet all the necessities of their children if given the chance, why would it be a negative impact on our government or society to pass this bill? Equality makes the United States the so-called â€Å"land of freedom† it is. A mother is a mother, a father is a father, and a child deserves to grow up with the warmth and love from each one. Every child, immigrant parents or not, deserves this opportunity. That is equality.

Air Asia Company Analysis

Accounting & Finance TP 023513 UC1F1007BMP (AF) Utari Asmelia Introduction of Management 08 Fall AirAsia Company Analysis Background of AirAsia Company Dato’ Tony Fernandez was the entrepreneur that brought up AirAsia to be the one of the award wining the largest low fare airlines that is currently well known for now in Asia. Since then it has been flying to over 61 domestic and international destination with 108 routes, and furthermore it operates over 400 flights daily from hubs that are basically located in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.Today if we look at their progress, AirAsia has flows over 55million guests across the region and continues to create more extensive route network through its associate companies. The company AirAsia furthermore belives in the no-frills, hassle-free, low fare business concept and feels that keeping costs low requires a specific element of high efficiency in every oart of their business. So, as we know, through the corporate philosophy whi ch stands that â€Å"Now Everyone Can Fly†.AirAsia Berhad is a Asia’s aeroplane largest low-fare, no frills airline and a pionner of low cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations already spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Its affilate airlines Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia respectively. AirAsia won the Skytrax World’s best low-cost airline award in 2009 and 2010. It has the world’s lowest operating costs at $0. 35/seat-kilometre in 2010. It is also the first airline in the region to implement fully ticketless air travel system. THE HISTORY OF AIRASIA CO. AirAsia was established in 1993 and commenced operations on 18 November 1996. It was originally founded by a government-owned conglomerate DRB-Hincom. On 2 December 2001, the heabily-indebted airline was purchased by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes’s company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit. This was after great deliberation was the initial offer was fifty sen.Fernandes proceeded to engineer a remarkable turnaround, turning profit in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur International Airport at breakneck speed, undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines with promotional fares as low as RM 1 (US$0. 27). MEGA ENVIRONMENT i) International Elements Based on the history of these company, on August 2006, Airasia took over Malaysia Airlines’s Rural Air Service routes in Sabah and Sarawak, operating under the FlyAsianXpress brand, the routes were subsequently returned back to MASwings a year later citing commercial reasons.AirAsia’s CEO Tony Fernandes subsequently unveiled a five-year plan to further enhance its presence in Asia. Today, AirAsia has strengthen and enhance its route network by connecting all the existing cities in the region and expanding further into Indochina, Indonesia, Southern China (Kun Ming), Xiamen, Shenzen) and India. The airline focused on developing its hubs in Bangkok and Jakarta through its sister companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia Airasia. Hence, with increase frequency and addition of new routes, AirAsia expects passenger volume to hit 18 million by end-2007.Now, AirAsia has some pathways and more wide network. For demography sectors, AirAsia has more than 558 million inhabitants (ASEAN countries) and over 3 billions with China and India. ii) Economic Elements AirAsia Economic Analysis A successful example of a Malaysian no frills airline is AirAsia. Revolutionized and Reinvented by Tony Fernandez in 2001, like I told before it is based on the low-cost, no-frills model of the US carrier Southwest. The concept of AirAsia is based on the belief that demands for short-haul air transport is price flexible.That means, if prices for flights are being reduced, more people will fly. Traditionally, airline concepts are based on the assumption that airline traffic grows in line with the economy and that cutting prices will only lead to a decrease in revenues. With the introduction of the ‘no frills’ concept to the Malaysian market, AirAsia has proven this theory wrong and goes from strength to strength by actually increasing the size of the market and more recently by taking away passengers from the major airline competitors.With its expending strategy as objectives to reach excellent standard around the world, marketing in Asia has been the key player to achieve success. AirAsia is one of the business that have successfully adopted cost leadership through operational effectiveness and efficiency. The cost advantages have enabled AirAsia to become the Asia’s leading low fare airline. AirAsia has successfully positioned itself in customer’s mind. Its net profit for the second quarter ending 31 December 2004 was reported RM 44. 4 million, a 323% increase over t he previous quarter.AirAsia until today has flown more than 55 million passengers in and around Asia. AirAsia has also ventured into other market that complemets with the airlines business. It has started franchises like the tunes hotels and red box couriers to gain maximum efficiency in and around the airline business. There’s economic aspects which AirAsia did: * AirAsia holds 49% of Thai AirAsia with 1% held by a Thai individual. The remaining 50% is held by Shin Corp. , owned by the former Thailand prime minster, Thaksin Shinawatra. Shin Corp. as financial strength, synergy in information technology and telecomunications, which support AirAsia Internet and mobile phone bookings. * National Trends: Malaysia’s economy may expand as little as 4 percent in 2009, growth will probably be between 5 percent and 5. 5 percent this year, below the official 2008 forecast of 5. 7 percent. * Real GDP % Growth forecast is from 5. 1 in 2008 to 1. 4 in 2009. * The inflation rate ma y fall below 4 percent before the second half of 2009 * Unemployment has remained constant at an average of 3. 6% in July 2008 to 3. 1% in Oct. 2008.However, the global credit crisis has raised fears that â€Å"the unemployment rate could double to 6 per cent by 2010 if global demand remains weak†> * International trends: * Malaysia ranks 20th for its ease of doing business out if a total of 181 economies surveyed in the World Bank Doing Business 2009 report. * International global credit crisis has resulted in increasing unemployment and ‘global trade will shrink by 9 percent this year’ * Asian governments are defending less national-flag carriers; in order to revitalize under used airports and increase tourism spending. ii) Technological element AirAsia Company has also used technological sectors to improve their quality work and give best services for all customers. If we can look at advertising side, AirAsia used information technology to make customers easy find the flight they wants. AirAsia has also used Online-Booking System to buy or just booking for flights. It has good way promotion and offers with the low-price surely, some information we can accessed as soon. All the things we need, we just can booking first such as foods and drinks, also available on during our flight.With this strategic move, AirAsia is able to focus on the factors that actually bring value to customer, such as point-to-point travel system, easy reservation system, and etc. This will help AIrAsia, reduce the cost and at the same time, increase the value for customers – Value Innovation. It has synergy in information technology and telecommunications, which support AirAsia Internet and mobile phone bookings. ShinCorp. allows subscribers of the Shin mobile phone flagship, Advanced Information Service, being able toreserve tickets through its short-messaging service (SMS).In aeroplane cabinet, AirAsia was used Airbuss, Boeing, ATR and others sizeable for flight. Technological aspect specifics are : * Ticket-less travel and ‘e-tickets’ have lowered distribution costs. * AirAsia has the youngest fleet in Asia with the new Airbus A330-300; allowing state-of-the-art technology and high fuel efficiency. * Information and communications technology (ICT) has allowed AirAsia to reduce operating costs and provide fast, efficient service in areas including: check flight schedules, book seats, electronic check-in, and pre-order meals. New low cost terminal to be opened in Labu, Malaysia by 2011 will incorporate modern technology, more shops and be privately owned, resulting inn lower airport taxes and fares and reduced government bureaucracy. iv) Sociocultural element AirAsia Company creating and developing a social culture takes time and effort and a new motive driven company such as AirAsia has to develop me method on how to connect with the society’s lifestyle , demographics, and media. For lifestyle sectors, AirAsia Com pany has a magazine, we can took at the flight, and their company.If we look at huge views, there’s another socialize point. They are as : * Demographics: * Ethnic: Malay50. 4% Chinese23. 7% Indigenous11% Indian7. 1% Others7. 8% * Religions: Muslim60. 4% Buddhist19. 2% Christian 9. 1% Hindu 6. 3% Other traditional Chinese 2. 6% Unknown 1. 5% None 0. 8% * Languages:Bahasa Malaysia (Official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai. * Air Asia operates in SE Asia with many countries and languages. SE Asian countries have diverse cultures and religions; troubles continue particularly on the Thai-Malaysian border and Indonesia. * Individualism is less common than cooperation in Asian business values. * Acceptance of laws and rules can vary; many Indonesians, for example, rarely abide to baggage allowance rules and these rules are seldom enforced due to corruption and indolence. * Urbanization: 7 out of the top 10 most populated cities in the world (>14 million) are predicted to be in Asia by 2015, according to the UN. Over 80% of AirAsia’s tickets are sold on-line; thus, eliminating travel agent fees.V) Political elements Political Analysis mainly states about the aviation acts and regulation which needed by aviation company such as AirAsia to operate their business. The political arena has a huge influence upon the regulation of businesses and the spending power of consumers and other businesses. Political stability is inessential to create a safe economy market that enables the market to grow. Political issues may cause problems in the outcome of the company. Some of the political factors that may affect a company are events that affect the operation of the company; therefore regarding an aviation company.It has happens as Air Asia. Air Asia political events will affect the results as well. Political aspects include some points by AirAsia Company. They are : * Political uncer tainty in Malaysia with Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi set to step down in March 2009. * Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to take over the ruling-coalition party, but with a cloud of allegations. * Political unrest in Thailand recently when anti-government protesters recently blocked flights for a week at Bangkok’s main airports. * ASEAN nations have been pushing Indonesia to scrap its Rp. million ‘Fiscal’ charge to all Indonesian citizens and expatriates when leaving the Republic of Indonesia either for business, education or tourism. * Resurgence of violence in Southern Thailand – Northern Malaysian border. * Malaysia granted exploration rights in oil-rich waters off the coast of Borneo; increased tensions with Indonesia. * Terrorism has occurred in Thailand and Indonesia, most notably the Bali bomb of 2002. A. WHY AIRASIA NEED TO CONSIDER A STRATEGY MANAGEMENT? The first reason is because the airline industry is a unique and complex industr y.Based on the statement, the complexity and unique of the airline industry, AirAsia need to come out with the greatest strategy to compete with their rival in the same industry. Without the right strategic management, its possible AirAsia could not be able be compete with the complex business environment the airline industry. Furthermore, the second reason why AirAsia need to consider a strategic management because in a company nowadays, general management which the process of achieving organizational goals by engaging in the four major functions. There are : * Planning * Organizing Leading * Controling It may not sufficient and supportive for the organization succed in the world of complex environments. It concerns about the process to manage the company internally but do not concentrate more on creating competitiveness regarding environments affecting the organization. In addition, the third reason, this is because strategic management becomes important in AirAsia due to the foll owing reasons. The first reason why strategic management becomes important is because the globalization. The globalization consideration impacts virtually all-strategic decisions in a company.The globalization also forced AirAsia Company to survival for business. Too see and appreciate the world from the perspective of others has become a matter of survival business. The current issues in AirAsia Company AirAsia Company are more focused in the competition of the cost among an airplane industry. AirAsia as an industry company which is more focusing in the low cost carrier airplane industry need to consider to make the lowest possible cost to compete with the other competitors in their airplane industry. To achieve the lowest possible cost, AirAsia Company has some strategy to achieve it.B. HOW TO IMPLEMENT AND ACHIEVE IT? With there believes to make a low possible fare for to the customer, AirAsia was cbecoming an Airline company that is chosen by so many customers. The best philosop hy of AirAsia ‘now everyone can fly’ means to giving an opportunity to all the people to flight with the lowest possible fare and making them can flight even the only have the less money. Why AirAsia more stressed to be low cost carrier in airline industry? * AirAsia believes to compete in the airline industry, it must be cost-efficient and profitable, and it must create value.Cost that do not add value must contained, reduced and even eliminated. * Demand for low cost carrier (LCC) industry will keep growing rapidly. * And than the best philosophy of AirAsia ‘now everyone can fly’ means to giving an opportunity all the people to flight with the lowest possible fare. AirAsia SWOT analysis The purpose of this analysis are for identify the internal and external factor that AirAsia need to consider to be low cost carrier in airplane industry. There are : 1. Strengths * AirAsia has a very strong management team with strong links with governments and airline ind ustry leaders. The management team is also very good in strategy formulation and execution. * AirAsia’s brand name is well established in Asia Pacific. * AirAsia is the low cost leader in Asia. * The excellent utilization of IT. 2. Weaknesses * AirAsia does not have its own maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. * AirAsia receives a lot complaint from customers on their service. 3. Opportunities * There are 2 major events that are taking place now or going to take place in less than 6 months from now. * There is also some opportunity to partner with other low cost airlines. The population of Asian middle class will be reaching almost 700 million by 2010. 4. Threats * Certain rates like airport departure, security charges and landing charges are beyond the control of airline operators. * AirAsia’s profit margin is about 30% and this has already attracted many competitors. * Users perception that budget airlines may compromise safety to keep costs low. In concl usion, the SWOT analysis that AirAsia have is on of the major component to make AirAsia more strength in their business and can make they are able to compete with the same low cost carrier airline industry.The strategy that AirAsia was implementing to make they are being a successful in low cost carrier and can compete with other competitors in this field of business are : 1. Maximized IT and implementing E-commerce in AirAsia business. 2. Operation effectiveness and outstanding efficiency 3. Implemented outsourcing in their business Conclusion : The competition among airplane industries is very tough. Each of Airplanes Company in the world trying to conduct some strategies to compete with another competitor in their industry.To compete with their competitor in the business environment, a company needs to make a strategy to achieve their long terms objectives and can be successful for doing their business. The strategic management becomes important due to the following reason such a s globalization to survival their business, and than e-commerce become the critical success to the company nowadays. A company needs to consider the company ability and how to integrating it with the as well as main factor in the internal and external factor. DO YOU THINK THE CHOSEN ORGANIZATION WILL BE SUCCESSFUL UNDER THE CURRENT LEADER IN THE FUTURE? WHY OR WHY NOT?Absolutely yes, I believe AirAsia Company would be make some progress in the future. Based on the fact we know before, AirAsia Company has a lot achievement and awards until now. AirAsia is one of the leader to Low-Cost Carrier Airlines with its best slogan ‘ Now everyone can fly ‘. It such as, new innovation for business world today’s. Lets look at AirAsia statements for future plan. Forward-Looking AirAsia statements Such forward looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Group’s present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Group will operat e in the future.The AirAsia’s future overall business development and economic performance : * The Group’s estimated financial information regarding, and the future development and economic performance of, its business. * The Group’s future earnings, cash flow and liquidity * The Group’s potential growth opportunities, including its route expansion plans and potential joint ventures; the amount and nature of future fleet growth 9including the proposed acquisition of up to 80 new aircraft from Airbus or Boeing consisting of 40 purchase obligastions and 40 purchase options), airport investment and other capital expenditures required by the Group. The Group’s financing plans, business strategy, competitive position and effects of competition; the airline industry environment, including future prices and demand for air travel and future prices and supply of aircraft, jet fuel and spare parts * The regulatory environment and effects of the future regula tion, including the liberalization of the commercial aviation industry in Southeast Asia and the effects of future regulation. According to the forward-looking statements by AirAsia Company.It shown that AirAsia Company making some future plan for improve its business. We could look at AirAsia Company Strategic Management running so well. For additionally, if you haven’t really heard much about AirAsia yet, never fear: according to the CEO Dato’ Tony Fernandes, the whole world will be flying AirAsia soon. Fernandes really loves his airline and has huge plans for it. The first low cost carrier in Asia, coming out of Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia has been flying for over 10 years now and is ready to conquer the world.Fernandes dreams of making the AirAsia brand as big as Coca-Cola Company and the airline’s reach as significant as European LCC Ryanair. Thus, I think all his plan are possible to realize. And for me, AirAsia Company is good inspiration for who those want to improve or follow its business journey. HARVARD REFERENCING Based on, Amandak. , 2008, AirAsia Boss Has Really Big Plan [online], Malaysia, Available from http://www. jaunted. com/story/2008/3/24/201251/894/travel/AirAsia+Boss+Has+Really+Big+Plans, [Accessed 25th March 2008] Sen Ze & Jayne Ng 2008, Air Asia The Story, 2nd edition,