Importance of a Team Charter

Similar to developing a solid foundation when building a home, the team charter is the foundation for building a strong team. The team charter acts as a contract between the members of a team communicating contact information and establishing the ground rules and guidelines for the team. â€Å"Chartering is the process by which the team is formed, its mission or task described, its resources allocated, its goals set, its membership committed, and its plans made† (University of Phoenix, 2011, para. ). The implementation of a team charter will improve the performance of the group because it clearly defines the expectations of the team, permits agreement regarding communication and participation as well as provides the basis for conflict management. The implementation of a team charter will improve the performance of the group because it will help to eliminate conflicts before they arise. By identifying the likely kinds of issues that might bring team members into conflict and agreeing beforehand how to deal constructively with those conflicts, team members will help to ensure the optimum functioning of the team† (University of Phoenix, 2002, para. 8). An area of conflict that tends to arise often is a team member feeling as if he or she is doing all of the work. It is best to try to avoid this by the agreement that has been reached collectively in the team charter. Each individual has contributed to the formulation of the charter and in doing so, has agreed to abide by its guidelines. This should bring about a sense of duty and responsibility to each member to contribute equally to the team. The charter will allow the team to come to an agreement regarding communication, participation, and the consequences for non-participation. This will provide the basis for establishing trust within the members of the group. Each individual in the group has his or her own level of trust that he or she is capable of giving. This will influence how much they are willing to share and give of themselves. It is important that the members respect the privacy and boundaries of the other members, especially if they are less trusting. The same is true of listening skills. One must accept that some individuals are more outspoken than others and may not be as advanced in their listening skills. Others have honed these skills well and will pick up on the smallest nuances. The most important reason the implementation of a team charter will improve the performance of the group is that it clearly defines the expectations of the team so that each member is clear of his or her responsibilities. It is imperative that each member is aware of the objectives of the team and what he or she is trying to accomplish. Each member must know what his or her individual contributions to that goal is and understand that it is the expectation of the team that he or she will complete his or her portion in a timely manner. Although some may say that developing a charter is an unnecessary step that requires too much time, the benefits of forming a charter are well worth the time invested. A charter is the foundation by which the team will collaborate to accomplish their goals. In conclusion, although some believe that the charter is not a useful tool and is not worth the time investment, the implementation of a team charter will improve the performance of the group for two main reasons. First, it will allow the team to come to an agreement regarding communication, participation, and consequences for non-participation. Second, and more important, the team charter clearly defines the expectations of the team so that each member is clear of his or her responsibilities. Just as a person would never think of driving cross country without first checking the oil in his or her car, one should never initiate a group without first developing a team charter. The most successful and productive teams always start with the foundation of a well developed team charter.

The Qualities that Bullies Share

Bullies have always been a threat to every kid in school, in a neighborhood and even to grown-ups in the workplace. A great number of films, most especially teen flicks, have stereotyped bullies as the students who are largely built to physically abuse much smaller students, football jocks who are very popular that every girl adores them and nerds fear them, and attractive girls who are as popular as the jocks who would pick on not-so attractive girls. However, these are merely stereotypes which are used for cinematic drama but they pose a good reflection of real life bullies.Nonetheless, we cannot simply identify them by race, gender, age or the way they look yet they seem to share certain qualties which are common to bullies. These qualities may be seen in their physical looks, built, family background, and emotional stability. The Qualities that Bullies Share Bullying is defined as a â€Å"behaviour which consistently undemrines another's confidence, reducing feelings of self-wor th and self-esteem† (Field, 51). This definition of the term already gives away an image of a bully.A bully cannot regularly be determined by simply judging his or her physical built but rather the person's emotional and psychological stability. One of the few qualities that bullies have in common is their immaturity in handling responsibilities. They try to be destructively critical of others to justify their inability to handle the situation themselves. For example, in school, a bully student could blame all the faults on his or her laboratory partner once their experiment fails. The bully's inability to accept his or her failure shows how irresponsible and immature the person is.They try to cover up some personal vulnerabilities by picking and finding fault on others. They are always full of complaints without first analysing what their supposed role is. In relation to their immaturity and irresponsibility, another quality which can be present in a bully's personality are t heir insecurities in life. They always seem to have a vision that they are above others. They can be considered to be self-absorbed at some point as they would always target people who they think they can manipulate. They try to degrade other people's self-esteem thinking that they could boost theirs.â€Å"He also injects his own insecurity which is then transferred to the victim† (Field, 52). They try to exhaust their insecurities to their victims to avoid having to face their emotional misery on their own. This behaviour in bullies shows how undeveloped their emotional stability is. They cannot handle emotionally-degrading situations so they they try to deal with it by turning them over to their victims. Their immaturity and insecurities are eating up what could have been an oppurtunity for their characters and skills to develop. ConclusionBullies do not have a particular face or look that one can easily pinpoint. They can be anyone in your surroundings who can produce a lo t of destructive criticisms in a snap of a finger. They may not even be aware that they are committing an act of bullying. A bully is not always the fat guy in school or the handsome jocks portrayed on film. They are people who have problems trying deal with their incapacities by degrading others. Work Cited Field, Tim. Bully in sight: how to predict, resist, challenge and combat workplace bullying : overcoming the silence and denial by which abuse thrives. United Kingdom: Success

Human Resource Internal Branding Project Virgin Group Essay

Human Resource Internal Branding Project Virgin Group - Essay Example By 2008, the company was evaluated to have a net worth of approximately 5 billion British Pounds (Gifford 2013). The first essence of internal branding within the company emerges from the name â€Å"Virgin†. The Company was branded the name when Richard Branson and other stakeholders invested in their first shop that focused on provision of record services (McLimore 2013). This name was created due to the fact that Richard Branson and other partners considered themselves virgins in the record shop business. That is they felt they were new to such kind of a business hence decided to use the name Virgin. In addition, the other essence of branding is associated with the Company’s Logo, â€Å"V†. Currently, the Logo used was an original sketch that was created on a napkin paper by the then famous graphic designer Key Trevor. Branson believed that the Logo V is a perfect representation and of the company and gives the company an upper hand in regard to its competitive advantage in the current competitive market environment. The Logo is also seem as a seal of approval and quality mark as well as an expressive tick. One of the problems associated with branding that may affect employees is lack of awareness of the company’s brand name or even logo (Ind 2007). The corpus of brand awareness among employees entails a scenario where employees are capable of recognizing and applying the company’s brand to market and undertake duties assigned to them by the company. Moreover, it involves a scenario where employees are able to indentify that the company’s brand is a unifying factor among themselves and that it is a symbol that indicates commonness towards achieving the same goals and objectives. Inappropriate recognition and application of the company’s brand may be the major challenge facing internal branding within employees of the Virgin Company. Inappropriate branding awareness is a challenge

How effective is the USA coast guard diving team (USA-CG) Essay

How effective is the USA coast guard diving team (USA-CG) - Essay Example action since 4 August 1790 and has marked its existence as a military and maritime multi-mission department having its own a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction in both domestic and international seas and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It was founded by Alexander Hamilton. Another privilege, as Benson .M (2004) puts it, which the coast guard team enjoys in the USA is its functional powers to conduct military operations under defence department. In this connection, coast guard team has performed operations noteworthy in War of 1812, Mexican war, Civil war, World war-1 and World war-2, Korean War, Vietnam war and most importantly the on going war on terrorism etc. According to Deniss .L (2004), enduring roles of the Coast Guard are Maritime Safety, Maritime Security, and Maritime Stewardship. Eleven statutory missions have been established to carry out these roles so that there remains no lapse for any negligence that might occur due to non-attainment of the roles. The claim that the United States coast guard team is the oldest seagoing service can not be denied because it had its origins in the birth of the United States of America. Coast guard team works on the motto of being always ready; in Latin it is known as Semper Peratus. This signifies that coastal guards or coast guard team is always ready for the action if situation calls for the necessity or whenever it is deemed as necessary the coast guard remains ready to take any action. It was calculated in the August 2009 and Benson .M (2004) also says the same, that the Coast Guard had approximately 42,000 men and women working actively while 7,500 working as reserve guards. It also had an estimated 29,000 helping guards; further engagement of 7,700 full-time civilians for operational works when occasion arises, offers a unique and multi-dimensional spectrum to the Coast Guard department. Though USA-CG has multi-dimensional operations to meet with the various

#10 El Nino Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

#10 El Nino - Essay Example In normal years, ocean current flows to the north towards the Equator down the western coast of South America. The water on the ocean surface was being drawn away from the continent and to be replaced by cold nutrient-rich water pushed upwards from the ocean depth. This process is known as upwelling. During this season, a good harvest is being anticipated by fishermen of the area. Further, colder weather is experienced by the people living in this area since the ocean surface is cold during this time. During El Nià ±o year, the warm pool of water flows eastward until it spreads in the entire Pacific Ocean. For this reason, the cool water of the South American coast is replaced by warmer waters, thus weakening the upwelling process (Trenberth 1997). In effect, the surface of the sea temperature rises beyond the normal range. This occurrence means heavy rainfall and eventual flooding in some South American countries and drought and very dry season in Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Northeastern South America with altered patterns of tropical storms in the tropical belt (Enfield n.d.). Global warming is also a great contributor to this kind of phenomena. The coastal warming is being associated with a more widespread irregular ocean warming to the International Dateline and it is this Pacific basin-wide phenomenon that forms the link with strange global climate patterns. This component joined to El Nià ±o is called the Southern Oscillation (Trenberth 1997). ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) is the phenomenon where the atmosphere and ocean collaborates together. The El Nino phenomenon is the warm phase of ENSO, and its opposite, La Nià ±a, the occurrence where cooling of the tropical Pacific takes place corresponds to the cold phase of ENSO. The El Nià ±o, or ENSO for scientists, can be considered as a normal occurrence based on nature patterns studied by some scientists. But still, it greatly affects global climate

Consumer Behavior Topics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Consumer Behavior Topics - Research Paper Example This document also discusses the influence of culture on consumer behavior with reference to Hofstede’s (1980) cultural model, and the adult consumer’s decision-making process. Impact of Digital Revolution on Consumer Behavior Digital revolution means the massive change brought by the digital electronics and information and communication technology particularly since the second half of the 20th century and continues to this day. Digital revolution is sometimes also referred to as the third industrial revolution. It began with the invention of transistor in 1947 which led to the creation of more advanced and powerful digital computers. First personal computers eventually appeared in 1970s. During 1980s these computers became more familiar with the government and general public of developed nations and by the late 80s computers became a necessity of many businesses around the world. World Wide Web was released to public by 1992 and soon enough many corporations started to quote their websites in their ads. Cell phones became very common in 2000 and 3 billion people use cell phones worldwide by the end of the decade. Tablet computers and smart phones have now appeared and are expected to exceed the number of personal computers by the end of 2015. Digital revolution has made drastic changes to the overall business environment around the world. It has influenced the way consumers around the world think about the products and the way they search for the products that cater to their needs. In short the digital revolution has changed the consumer behavior to a great extent. The revolution has also promoted competition among the global firms. These changes can be seen as follows: Through internet, particularly through the websites of corporations and their products, consumers now have easy access to more information than ever before. Consumers have more choice and more power than before. The way buy and sell transaction and handled and recorded have significantly changed. Marketers can now offer better quality and greater quantity of their products and services to individual buyers. Communication between the marketers and consumers is faster and vivid which enables relationship building, exchange of ideas and negotiation. The great use of digital tools and information and communication technology is the essence of digital revolution and it continues with every new invention that supports the human life. At present day technologies like smart phones, GPS device (Global Positioning System), Notebooks and tablet PCs, social networking etc. have changed our lifestyles by how we communicate, stay up-to-date and interact with each other. Internet has made communication is faster than before and the information is on our finger tips even on the go. All these changes and innovations have had a major impact on both the consumer behavior and marketing. Through the use of latest technology in e-commerce it’s now possible for corporations to showcase their products online at their websites and the customers have the ability to purchase their required products online through credit cards. For example, it’s now possible to order a tailor-made Toyota from a Tokyo car showroom and have the car delivered to you within a short time period. Handheld devices with internet capabilities have made the tasks of end-user buying and selling quite easier. By accessing GPS they can know for sure where in the world their desired product or service is available and best suited to their requirements. Hence, the behavior of consumers has changed in a drastic manner by digital revolution. Through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter; forums and

Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assignments - Essay Example Sporadic outbreak of serious epidemics demands maximum service from the health care sector. The role of nurses becomes crucial at this juncture. A nursing student should be well trained in epidemic management and care. So it is advisable for nursing students to attend such epidemic stricken areas as part of their curriculum. Caring older people is an important aspect of nursing job. The geriatric community is very vulnerable and hence dealing with them requires good training. Usually the elder people are dependent both physically and mentally. Attending to the patient’s nutritional intake, personal hygiene and mobility is a time consuming process. Once they are with the elder patients they get to know them better, especially their individual personality. In addition to these elderly patients suffer from conditions like dementia. Interacting with such patients with mental dependence demands a lot of patience from the nurse’s part. Assignments 1st Assignment Different com munities have their own specific traditions which will be very useful in treating them. Many ethnic medical practices were found to be useful in modern medicine. A close observation of the tribal community opens the storehouse of ethnomedicine and native wisdom. The tribal people are aware of many herbs which have medicinal value and can be used as panacea to many fatal illnesses. In addition to this, knowing the customs and manners of a community makes the interaction with them easier. For that, a trip to any ethnic religious ceremony or family function can be included in the course. â€Å"At a practical level, nurses must be cognizant that culture affects individual and collective experiences that are directly and indirectly related to health† (Singleton & Krause, 2009). This helps the student to experience the intensity of family relationship and moral values particular to that group. This knowledge can be useful for the nurse to make necessary arrangements for them in the hospital when they come for treatment later in life. Knowing more about other culture and customs can help the student improve his outlook about the world, thus broadening the frontiers of knowledge on traditions, religion and languages. As a result of this program the student develops; 1. Awareness of the cultural background of the patient 2. Sensitivity to the cultural needs of the patient 3. Expertise in implementing culturally based strategies to provide better health care 2nd Assignment The need for serving an epidemic affected community can be best illustrated by analyzing the activities of a nurse in an epidemic outbreak like Malaria. In such a situation, a nurse is required to have expertise in taking the medical history of the patient, collecting blood samples, should have an idea of the therapeutic guidelines in treating the disease. The nurse should also know vector management and control, and record keeping and documentation of medical information. While engaging in epi demic management, the student learns to give health promotion guidelines to patients to remain alert in preventing further outbreaks. This rapid assessment of epidemic involves ‘assessment of current circumstances and scope of the damage’ (Veenema, 2007, p. 182). In addition to this, they learn the different follow up techniques to be used among the patients in the post outbreak period. As part of their course, they can keep a record of their activities in the endemic affected area. This

Tort Law - differences between the principles of negligence and strict Essay

Tort Law - differences between the principles of negligence and strict liability - Essay Example Although this notion of liability was not quickly recognised, by the early nineteenth century, it came to be recognised that one could claim damages for negligent or wilful conduct of another contrary to law as held in Ansell v Waterhouse 1. Historical development But this was confined to a few well recognised factual situations wherein a duty had been assumed to exist. Complications arose when defendant acted in pursuance of contractual obligation. Hence, by early nineteenth century, a party to a contract could sue another party for breach of tortious duty mandated by law. Thus, it began to be recognised that a stranger to a contract could sue for damages or injury caused due to negligent conduct in the execution of a contract. For example, pedestrian being injured due to negligence of coachman. Duty existing between manufacturers, suppliers and consumers who are bound by a chain of contracts also came to be recognised in due course. Originally plaintiff could only claim under his c ontract and was barred to claim under contract he was not a party to. This meant that each of the party had to protect its own rights through separate warranties under their respective contracts. Early cases have dealt with manufacturers’/suppliers’ liability for defective goods or equipment supplied. It was often questioned whether a plaintiff not being a party to the initial contract of sale or supply could claim the warranty benefit promised by the manufacturer or suppler2. Negligence In Winterbottom v Wright3, question arose whether the plaintiff could claim for injury sustained by him due to the defendant’s negligent driving of the coach the former had hired under a contract with the Post Master General. Three judges gave opinions favouring the defendant holding that there was no privity of contract between the plaintiff and the defendant as otherwise there would be endless stream of claims coming from strangers. It is argued that the stand taken by the thr ee judges is at odds given that a pedestrian could claim from the defendant for any injury sustained by him due to negligent driving of the defendant coachman. Therefore, negligence claims have to satisfy the following the criteria. 1. The defendant must owe a duty of care towards the claimant (plaintiff). 2. That duty has been breached by the defendant. 3. The breach of the defendant has resulted in loss or damage to the claimant. 4. The loss sustained through defendant‘s negligence is not too remote or is within the scope his duty.4 Three-stage test In order to avoid frivolous claims, a three stage test was prescribed by the House of Lords in Caparo v Dickman 5 by effectively recasting the neighbourhood principle originally enunciated by Lord Atkin in Donoghue v Stevenson6, the three stage-test being 1) foreseeability of harm or loss, 2) sufficiency of proximity of relationship between the parties to the dispute, and 3) justness, fairness and reasonableness of imposing duty on the defendant/injurer in all circumstances. Thus, in Caparo, the auditors Dickman were held not liable to the claimant Caparo for their misstatement in the audited accounts of profits as ? 1. 3 m instead of an actual loss of ? 465,000 relating to Fidelity Plc. The House of Lords reasoned that auditors had no

Human Sexuality Essay Example for Free

Human Sexuality Essay Sexuality refers to concern or interest in sexual activity. On the same note, human sexuality is a term that implies sexual contact or intercourse as well as concerns in relation to the psychological and physiological features of sexual practices. Internet pornography is the on-line material that explicit sexual activities in order to stimulate profane rather than appeal feelings (Goldstein, Kant, Legal and Behavioral Institute, 1973). It is widespread, cheap, easily accessible and readily available. It bears noting that about ninety percent of pornographic information is from the internet and men are the pre-dominant internet pornography consumers. It is therefore important to study internet pornography since it presents an opportunity to directly target consumers of pornography. The aim of this paper is to show the impacts of internet pornography on individuals, our sexuality and culture as well as that of the society. Dangers of internet pornography consumption cannot be underestimated. For instance, it psychologically diminishes sexual happiness while increasing incidences of oral sex, bestiality and group sex. In addition, many sexual offenders use pornography to arouse themselves just before committing the crime. Additionally, addiction to pornography leads to both low self-esteem as well as a higher degree of tolerance to abnormal sexual behaviors. In addition, internet pornography causes men to start viewing girls and females as sex objects for their lustful sexual needs. Moreover, many young children get exposed to obscene images through internet pornography which lures them to early sexual practices. As a result, they become sexually unhealthy later in life. Among the teenagers, pornography causes poor development of sexuality (Lo Wei, 2005). Pornography causes higher marital infidelity, likelihood of divorce, separation and devaluation of monogamy. On the same note, it causes sexual dissatisfaction as well as debasing thousands of women. Additionally, women who are involved in pornography production suffer both direct and indirect adverse effects. Moreover, children whose parents consume pornography encounter decreased parental attention and financial strain. These consequences expose such children to lifelong traumatic emotional responses and early onset of sexual intercourse which may lead to increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Internet pornography is a social problem that is widespread as it comes with drug addiction. This makes an individual to develop a weakened ability for a meaningful social life. Consumers of internet pornography may sexually molest children as they seek to satisfy their sexual gratification. Furthermore, it causes imitative harm by modeling crimes such as rape which are imitated by offenders. It also harms the moral standards of the community and offends the credibility of the victims of sexual abuse. Besides, indulgence in internet pornography results in more a more sexually dominating behavior in men. In addition, women and girls loose a healthy self-image when they see their husbands and fathers watching pornography. To add to the bargain, internet promotes distortion of minds of young people breeding them into future rapists, sex addicts and homosexuals (Slade, 2001). According to current research, internet pornography presents human sexuality and culture in ways that are distorted and morally wrong. It disrespects the dignity of humans and by acting as a sexist and corroding their conscience. In addition, this vice has affected the lives of people distorting their conceptions on sex and sexuality (Lo Wei, 2005). Based, on the adverse effects of internet pornography, various concerns have been raised in relation to this. There is also the need to protect the purity and innocence of children for a better future. Besides, it is important that parents evaluate the exposure of their children to internet pornography. It is evident that repeated exposure to internet pornography increases prevalence of deviant sexual behavior to an individual as well as distorting the society, culture and perceptions on sexuality. In order to curb this, internet pornography should be censored.

Bakhara marketplace Essay Example for Free

Bakhara marketplace Essay Siad Barre’s rule was oppressive and divisive. Once an intelligence officer of the Italian fascists, he pitted clans against each other as a diversion from his decreasing popularity. Due to the strategic location of Somalia at the entrance to the Red Sea, it became of interest to both the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. By 1966 Soviet Union became a supporter of Somalia and this would go on for 10 years. It supplied the country millions worth of arms and military equipment. But a territorial conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 over the annexation of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia which is believed to be part of Greater Somalia saw a shift of support by the Soviet Union to Ethiopia which strained the relationship of the two countries. Siad Barre renounced their Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, expelled all Soviet advisers, and ejected all Soviet personnel from Somalia. Barre then switched alliance with the United States. It supplied him with a total of $154 million worth of weapons and military equipment from 1981-1991. In this decade, Somalia descended into chaos with the continued warring clans. An insurgent group formed by the Hawieyah clan, the United Somali Congress, ousted Siad Barre from power in January 1991. Internal disputes led to a power vacuum and Somalia plunged into civil war. Two different faction leaders within the United Somali Congress announced their claims to power: Ali Mahdi Mohammed and Mohammed Farah Aidid. â€Å"It was this war, coupled with bad harvests, which led to the horrifying scenes of starvation that were televised around the world in 1992. By the end of 1992 about 350,000 Somalis had died. Another 1. 5 million, close to one-fourth of the remaining population, were thought to be in danger of starvation without massive food aid. â€Å" Somalia’s plight attracted international food aid. The United Nations launched Operation Provide Relief (UNOSOM – I) in August 1992 for Somalia. But the mission failed in their objective because food and supplies were often stolen and utilized as leverage for securing loyalty from clan leaders while almost three hundred thousand Somalis died of starvation. In December 1992, responding to the United Nations’ call for assistance, President George Bush obtained an approval from the U. N. that the United States combat troops lead an intervention force to Somalia. This was the famous Operation Restore Hope whose initial objective was to secure trade routes in Somalia so food could get to the people. The deployed troops would be sent home in time for then President Bill Clinton’s inauguration. Shortly upon his assumption of office, President Clinton intended to trim down U. S. troops in Somalia to be substituted by the United Nations peacekeeping troops. UNOSOM II was launched in March 1993 to restore order, improve infrastructure, and to help set up a representative government as part of its â€Å"nation building† mission in Somalia. During the inspection of Somali weapons storage site on June 5, 1993, 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed and it was believed that Aidid was responsible. The hunt for Aidid followed. Several military operations were done from June 12 to 16 in relation to Aidid’s capture including bombing a house in the capital, Mogadishu, where clan leaders were gathering. Four Western journalists investigated the scene but were beaten to their deaths by Somalis. By August 1993, four U. S. military police were killed and six soldiers were wounded. Then Task Force Ranger consisted of 440 elite troops from Delta Force led by General William Garrison flew into Mogadishu with the mission to capture Aidid. On that fateful October 3, 1993 the group raided the Olympia Hotel in Mogadishu. What followed was a seventeen-hour urban battle where eighteen U. S. soldiers were killed and eighty-four were wounded. Unfortunately, the Olympia Hotel was located east of the crowded Bakhara marketplace. Hundreds of Somalis were part of the casualties. However, the mission led to the capture of three important Aidid senior officers and about twenty Aidid supporters hiding within. News stories flashed and printed by the international media showed â€Å"chilling pictures of dead and captured Americans†, â€Å"television footage on CNN showed a frightened, wounded Blackhawk helicopter pilot†¦under interrogation by his Somali captors†, â€Å"Somalis watching as the body of an unidentified American was dragged through the streets at the end of a rope. †

Analysis Of Blood Smears

Analysis Of Blood Smears The aims of this experiment are to study the morphology and characteristic of blood; distinguish the disproportion of blood when suffering from different diseases and identified the differences between animal and human blood. To achieve the aims, smears of horse blood are prepared and compare with human blood. Then the prepared human blood smears are observed under electron microscope. INTRODUCTION Blood performs a lot of important functions within the body; it contributes homeostasis to the body and playing major role in defence system by phagocytises activity. On an average male adult who weights 70kg has a blood volume of about 5 litres, about 1/12th of the body weight. Blood consists 55% of blood plasma 45% of hematocrit in men, 58% blood plasma and 42% of hematocrit in women. Hematocrit packed with erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets (Sherwood 2010). Erythrocytes are the most abundant blood cells with about 4-6 millions/mm3 in blood. Erythrocytes are commonly known as red blood cells. In mammalian, erythrocytes are free of nucleus to allow more room for haemoglobin and are biconcave in shape. Hence, vertebrates erythrocytes have a nucleus. Haemoglobin is the main contained in erythrocytes; it carries oxygen to the tissues, collects and transports the unwanted carbon dioxide away, conveys nutritive substances like amino acids, sugars and mineral then gathers the waste materials that want to eliminated through the renal filter, carries hormones, enzymes and also vitamins to their sites of action (Sherwood 2010). Leukocytes or white blood cells are much less abundant than red blood cells but bigger in size. They responsible for the defence of organism or eliminate harmful foreign material and make up the immune system of the body. The density of leukocytes in the blood is 5000-7000/mm3. There are two categories of leukocytes which are granulocytes and agranulocytes. Granulocytes is due to the presence of granules in cytoplasm and agranulocytes is the absent of granule in the cytoplasm. The granules are difference in different types of granulocytes and make it easier to distinguish among them. The granulocytes distinguish themselves as neutrophil, eosinophil and basophil. Agranulocytes distinguish themselves as lymphocytes and monocytes. Beside of the granules, shape of the nucleus help in recognition of leukocytes (Underwood 2004). The proportion of neutrophil amongst leukocytes is about 50-70%. Its main function is phagocytes bacteria and always present in large amount within the pus of wound. Unfortunately, these cells dead after phagocytes due to unable to renew the lysosomes that used in digesting microbes. Well, eosinophils only 2-4% amongst leukocytes, they attack parasites and phagocytes antigen-antibody complexes. Basophil is 0.5-1%, it secrete anti-coagulant and vasodilator substances as histamines and serotonin. It takes part in phagocyte activity but the main function is secreting substances that mediate the hypersensitivity reaction. Lymphocyte own 20-40% proportion of leukocytes, its little cell that compact with round nucleus. Lymphocytes populate the lymphoid tissues (Bajanowski 1997), lymphoid organs (thymus, spleen, lymphoid nodules, and palatine tonsils) as well as the lymph that circulate in the lymphatic vessel (Underwood 2004). Monocytes cooperate in immune defence although they are only 3-8% of leukocytes volume and its the precursors of macrophages (Sherwood 2010). They are large blood cells, which mature in the bone marrows before enter to the blood circulation and they only stay for 24-36 hours then will migrate into the connective tissue, where they become macrophages and move within the tissues. Monocytes migrate very rapidly to site if presence of an inflammation and intense phagocytory activity. Beside phagocytory activity, monocytes involve in secreting lysozime, interfereons and other defensive substances (Underwood 2004). Platelets or thrombocytes are fragments of cells in the blood with diameter about 2-3ÂÂ µm; hence they are much smaller than erythrocytes. Their density in the blood is only 200000-300000/mm3. They are responsible for blood clotting to prevent blood loss from broken vessels. The blood vessel constricts to reduce blood flow and loss. Platelets then aggregate at the point of the broken vessel and produce a plug to stop blood loss. To this purpose, they aggregate and release serotonin to reduce the diameter of lesion vessel and slow down the haematic flux to promote the blood coagulation (Sherwood 2010). Plasma is the most abundant liquid component of blood with a yellowish colour. It makes up approximately 55% of total blood volume. Plasma is alkaline and it functional to maintains the pH of the blood at approximately 7.4. It also maintains the osmotic balance of body cells. The composition of plasma is 90% water and 10% of dry matter like glucose, lipids, protein, glycoprotein, hormones, amino acids and vitamins (Sherwood 2010). The morphology and characteristics of blood will be study by preparing the horse blood smears samples that with and without stained. Blood smears stained by haematoxylin and eosin are easier to identify under microscope during this experiment. Blood smears of different pathologies will be investigated and identified by taking noted the numbers of cells present, shape and sizes of different types of cells and remark with drawing. METHODS First part of this experiment involved preparation of horse blood smear samples. A small drop of horse blood is placed at one end of a slide and placed a cover slip at the edge of the blood then dragged gently through the slide in order to produce a thin blood smears. The blood smear needs to be essentially thin until the blood is hardly visible; this is to ensure that individual cells were easily determined. If the smear appear red that mean it is not thin enough or too thick, this may be hard to observe through the microscope and do the cells count as packed cells is hard to see clearly under microscope. Second slides are prepared by using exactly the same way as the first one. Both slides placed immediately into a container containing ethanol for 2 minutes. Ethanol is a colourless substance and used as a fixative, it helps to preserve cell smear samples so that cells do not denature. It does not damage the cells at all, just helps to maintain them for analysis. After the use of ethanol, the slide then dried by just slanting it on a piece of tissue. Dap and rubs are not allowed, as it will destroy the thin film of smear. The unstained smear was considered ready for analysis. It was placed a side waiting for investigation progress. The second remaining slide then stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Haematoxylin is widely used in medical diagnosis; it is a blue substance stain that used to stained nuclei of cells into blue or purple colour. The nuclear staining is followed by other structures of the cells bodies with eosin stain that stain the granules of the cytoplasm in shades of red, pink and orange. Stained process performed by dipped the slide in a staining container containing haematoxylin for 2 minutes and rinse gently with water followed by dipped in another staining container containing eosin for 30 seconds and again rinse gently with water. A drop of mountant is applied on the smear and then covered with a glass coverslip. Mountant is a medium used for mounting a slid for microscopy purposes. The staining times varied slightly because the specimen was leave in the haematoxylin longer when the colour looks pale or pink and leave in the eosin for longer when it looks very dark blue. Both slides are completed and viewed under microscope. Unstained and stained smears were then observed under the microscope initiate by x10 magnification to find the cells and upgraded to higher definition of x40 magnification for details observation. Observation started with stained smears followed by unstained smears, as stained smears is easier to determine the cells. Both smears were drawn accordingly and labelled all the particular structures of interest. Commend are made upon on how the stained smear differs from unstained smear. In second part of the experiment, human blood smears are observed. Stained human blood smears taken from patients who suffer from no known pathology, sickle cell anaemia, eosinophilia, acute lymphocytic leukaemia and iron deficiency anaemia were observed. A textbook includes of brief description and expectation of what to see from the pathological blood smears are provided during the practical. In this session, each slide provided is observed under microscope. Always started with x10 magnification and moved to x40 magnification while drawing. First, normal human blood smear is observed in order to identified elements in normal blood, then go onto the pathology smears and compared found morphology that identified in horse blood in part A. The cellular elements of each smear were drawn, labelled and recorded any differences observed in pathological smears when compared to normal blood smears. The relative numbers of each cell type are counted. RESULTS: Part A: Horse blood smears Figure 1 illustrated stained horse blood smear under microscope of x40 magnification. The blood cells are stained with haematoxylin and eosin. One monocyte, one small lymphocyte, one neutrophil and bundle of erythrocytes (red blood cells) are seen. Nuclei of the leukocytes were purple-blue in colour due to the haematoxylin staining and the cytoplasm of the leukocytes appeared pink due to eosin staining. The erythrocytes are more abundant compared with leukocytes. Renown, erythrocytes are boconcave disc that absent of nuclei and mitochondria. Figure 2 shows the unstained horse blood smear. The blood cells appeared to be transparent and hard to determine the differences between the erythrocytes and most of the leukocytes except monocyte, as it is greater in size. Part B: Human blood smears Figure 3 shows the human blood smear with no known pathology. Erythrocytes, leukocytes (neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, basophil) and platelets are presented. The smear make out with more abundant of erythrocytes (R.B.C) than leukocytes and they all appeared healthy. The leukocytes were blue-purple in colour surrounded by numerous erythrocytes that were pinkish in colour. Most of the leukocytes seen are neutrophils; this proves the theory stated leukocytes making up with 50-70% of neutrophils. The neutrophils were intermediate in size, lymphocyte was smaller and monocyte was larger. Their cytoplasm appeared pink in colour. The nucleus of neutrophil lobed with clumps of chromatin. Figure 4 shows human blood smear with sickle cells anaemia. Abnormal red blood cell morphology and sickle cells are seen. Figure 5 shows human blood smear with eosinophilia deficiency. Abnormal or sickle red blood cells appeared. Eosinophil and monocytes are broken. Several of smudge cells presented. Figure 6 shows the blood smear for acute lymphocytic leukaemia. The erythrocytes are not as densely pack as in the smear of human blood with no pathology. This observation clearly illustrated the presented of several lymphocytes in the smear and it appeared larger than erythrocytes. Where acute lymphocytic leukaemia is a blood cancer where the body produces a large numbers of lymphocytes. Figure 7 shows the smear for human iron deficiency anaemia. The erythrocytes are pallor in appearance. Some of the erythrocytes were larger in size. Besides that, smudge cells and different types of leukocytes seen in this smear. There are lymphocytes that small in size and also neutrophils. DISCUSSION Many diseases, disorders, and deficiencies can distinguish by observation of blood cells distribution and appearances (Bain 2005). Disproportionate numbers of leukocytes, presence of immature leukocytes, too high or too low of platelets counts, and deformed of red blood cells are all signs of serious diseases. Somehow, blood smear provides the primary evidence of a specific diagnosis. Monocytes of horse blood smear in fig. 1 are greater in size compare with human blood smear in fig.3. The comprehensive kinetic force between erythrocytes of horse blood is stronger and produced closely attached long chain of erythrocytes. The erythrocytes in fig.1 and 3 appeared normal, uniformed in size and do not have a nucleus as most other cells do. They are round and flattened like a donut with a depression in the middle. Due high density of haemoglobin presented inside the erythrocytes (Sherwood 2010), they appear pink to red in colour with a pale centre. While there are some erythrocytes in fig. 4, 5, 6 and 7 had significant different in shape and irregularities that indicate severe problems. The histological section with stained are more visible and can be noted that the nuclei of the cells appeared purple-blue with stained of haematoxylin (Bain 2005); cytoplasm appeared pinkish with stained of eosin. Unstained leukocytes are colourless and hard to determine as they lack haemoglobin (Bain 2005). The stains enhanced the illustration of the leukocytes and make it easier to distinguish. Granulocytes and agranulocytes were differentiated by observed their cytoplasm. Granulocytes are neutrophil, eosinophil and basophil that has granule in their cytoplasm and its cytoplasm is visible when staining, while agranulocytes are lymphocytes and monocytes that absents of granule in their cytoplasm where their cytoplasm appeared transparent although stained. Neutrophils are cells that have cytoplasm with pink granules, intermediate in size with lobed clumped nucleus, can be identified by observing their nuclei; their nuclei are segmented into 2-5 lobed of different shapes. They composed majority of leukocytes and function to phagocytosis . Eosinophils will easily recognize with their large, red-orange granules. Unfortunately, they arent found from the smears because they are generally low in number. Eosinophils most often become elevated in number when the individual are facing with allergies or parasitic infections. Basophils (figure 1) had large black granules and least often seen from the smears as they are only 1% of leukocytes. Increased numbers of basophiles are not often encountered but may be elevated in certain leukaemia, chicken pox, ulcerative colitis, or after an immunization. Monocytes are the largest cell amongst leukocytes with diameter of 12-20 ÂÂ µm and are often referred as phagocytes. They engulf particles such as cellular debris and bacteria. LHYPERLINK javascript: optionsdisplay(../../../glossary/lymphocyte.html)ymphocytes are smaller and have a homogeneous cytoplasm and a smooth, round nucleus. These cells are responsible for the production of antibodies or immunoglobulin (Bajanowski 1997). There are two types of lymphocytes, B and T cells and they mediated within each other. B cells induce production of antibodies; T cells destroy specific cells (Bajanowski 1997). Figure 4 illustrated human sickle cell anaemia. Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) affects millions of people worldwide (Charlotte 2010). SCA is disorders of erythrocytes that caused difficulty to haemoglobin molecules when delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body (Peterson 2009). The change of the amino acid results in haemoglobin that responds to the oxygen deficiency by stacking filaments and clustering in red blood cells containing the mutated protein in such a way that their shape is distorted (Sherwood 2010). Eosinophil usually hardly noticeable in blood smears indicates the response of the body to abnormal cells, parasites, or substances that cause an allergic reaction. Donor of the blood smear illustrated in figure 5 may have eosinophilia disorder as broken eosinophil is presented. Eosinophilia is commonly happened to people who have asthma, hay fever, food allergic or parasitic infections such as intestinal worms (Sherwood 2010). In the acute lymphocytic leukemia sample shown in figure 6, there was a noticeable increase in the number of lymphocytes seen. The erythrocytes are pallor and lymphocytes appeared larger than erythrocytes and this is due to a disease of lymphoid cells causing uncontrolled production of lymphocytes (Underwood 2004). Acute lymphocytic leukaemia is a disease where the physical changes take place within the cell (McClain 1990), a reduced count of red blood cells with a raised level of leukocytes. This may leads to an accumulation of blast cells in the bone marrow and causes bone marrow failure (McClain 1990). All the red blood cells in the iron deficiency anaemia sample appeared pale in colour. This usually caused to people with poor diet that contains little iron especially vegetariansbecause the main dietary source of ion is red meat. Besides that, diseases of the small intestine such as gluten intolerance can reduce its ability to absorb iron (Sherwood 2010).

Who Is Babylon? Essay -- Exploring the Scriptures

In Revelation chapters 17 and 18 we read about the great whore named Babylon who sits on many waters and is the mother of all harlots. The imagery in which the apostle John uses to describe Babylon has very significant meaning, in particular for the church as she approaches the end of the age. It is of paramount importance to understand who this Babylon is and how she affects the life of every believer. Throughout the ages there have been many attempts to identify Babylon. Most have agreed that she is the Roman Catholic Church (in particular the Vatican), even to the point of identifying the Pope as the anti-Christ himself. Others have suggested that Babylon is not a religious structure but more likely political, pointing to the EEC (the European Economic Community), or to the United States (in particular New York with Wall Street). Further more, others have gone as far as to suggest that Babylon is geographical, pointing to modern day Iraq from where that former great civilization originated, and suggesting that one day that civilization will rise again to become a modern superpower. While it is true that one may find levels of Babylon in all these things, however, none of these things in themselves can fully make up Babylon. In other words, Babylon may, and does exist in these things, but no one can point to any one of these things and say, "This is Babylon". The reality is, that all these (ie. the European Union, United States with its "big business", the Vatican, and other political and religious institutions) are made up of people, and it is IN THE HEARTS of people you will find Babylon. These entities have been allowed by God to visibly show us Babylon and point to something of the nature of fallen man. "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jer 17:9). The origins of Babylon, as far as mankind is concerned, dates right back to the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were given a choice as to whether they would follow the Lord through a life of obedience and faith, or try to become as God through their own striving. From the beginning, God's intention was that man would manifest the image of God and grow into full maturity through obedience to the will of the Lord. As we know, Adam and Eve chose to disobey and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that time o... ...e it is the opposite of God's love which allows freedom of choice, it forces a person(s) to behave a certain way, usually through emotional blackmail. Extreme forms of witchcraft used by the occult involve black magic. However, subtle forms of manipulation can not only be found in the personal lives of many believers, but also in the everyday running of many of God's churches. Husbands and wives have found that certain emotions will result in receiving a favourable response from their spouse. Likewise, church leaders have found that certain words said in a particular manner, or maybe a tear at the right time, or even a certain physical gesture, is able to move the congregation towards the goal of that leadership. THIS IS WITCHCRAFT! This takes away a person's ability to make a free choice to obey by FORCING their emotions to make a favourable response towards the one displaying these emotions. THIS RUNS CONTRARY TO GOD'S LAW OF LOVE!..........Love commanded is not love at all. Work Cited The New Oxford Annotated Bible: With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, New Revised Standard Version. Michael D. Coogan, editor. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print. Who Is Babylon? Essay -- Exploring the Scriptures In Revelation chapters 17 and 18 we read about the great whore named Babylon who sits on many waters and is the mother of all harlots. The imagery in which the apostle John uses to describe Babylon has very significant meaning, in particular for the church as she approaches the end of the age. It is of paramount importance to understand who this Babylon is and how she affects the life of every believer. Throughout the ages there have been many attempts to identify Babylon. Most have agreed that she is the Roman Catholic Church (in particular the Vatican), even to the point of identifying the Pope as the anti-Christ himself. Others have suggested that Babylon is not a religious structure but more likely political, pointing to the EEC (the European Economic Community), or to the United States (in particular New York with Wall Street). Further more, others have gone as far as to suggest that Babylon is geographical, pointing to modern day Iraq from where that former great civilization originated, and suggesting that one day that civilization will rise again to become a modern superpower. While it is true that one may find levels of Babylon in all these things, however, none of these things in themselves can fully make up Babylon. In other words, Babylon may, and does exist in these things, but no one can point to any one of these things and say, "This is Babylon". The reality is, that all these (ie. the European Union, United States with its "big business", the Vatican, and other political and religious institutions) are made up of people, and it is IN THE HEARTS of people you will find Babylon. These entities have been allowed by God to visibly show us Babylon and point to something of the nature of fallen man. "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jer 17:9). The origins of Babylon, as far as mankind is concerned, dates right back to the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were given a choice as to whether they would follow the Lord through a life of obedience and faith, or try to become as God through their own striving. From the beginning, God's intention was that man would manifest the image of God and grow into full maturity through obedience to the will of the Lord. As we know, Adam and Eve chose to disobey and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that time o... ...e it is the opposite of God's love which allows freedom of choice, it forces a person(s) to behave a certain way, usually through emotional blackmail. Extreme forms of witchcraft used by the occult involve black magic. However, subtle forms of manipulation can not only be found in the personal lives of many believers, but also in the everyday running of many of God's churches. Husbands and wives have found that certain emotions will result in receiving a favourable response from their spouse. Likewise, church leaders have found that certain words said in a particular manner, or maybe a tear at the right time, or even a certain physical gesture, is able to move the congregation towards the goal of that leadership. THIS IS WITCHCRAFT! This takes away a person's ability to make a free choice to obey by FORCING their emotions to make a favourable response towards the one displaying these emotions. THIS RUNS CONTRARY TO GOD'S LAW OF LOVE!..........Love commanded is not love at all. Work Cited The New Oxford Annotated Bible: With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, New Revised Standard Version. Michael D. Coogan, editor. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.

Studt guide :: essays research papers

Unit #4- Study Guide, Chapter #3 Answer the following questions, IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Of course, this is an â€Å"open book† assignment. 1. Everyone who lives in the United States lives in the same society and, also lives in the same culture. These concepts refer to different aspects of the United States. Using the United States as an example, explain the differences between the concepts of â€Å"society† and â€Å"culture.† Society sets boundaries for our lives. The United States has set out laws that we must abide by and follow. The United States is not different from other countries because of our social status, roles, groups, social institutions, and everyone's surrounding areas has established beliefs or values. Our cultures are ver different because of our languages, mannerisms, values, norms and religion. It is difficult for a foreigner to come to the United States and learn new mannerisms, norms, and a new language. A foreigner now has to adapt to a custom he sees totally different from what might have been normal to him back at his native country. 2. Explain the differences between innovations, discoveries, inventions and diffusion. Give examples of each of these concepts in order to clarify the differences between them. There are all different but somewhat similar. One can't really work without the other in life. Innovations are ways to achieve a certain goal. An example is money. Drug dealers use illegitimate ways to achieve this goal. In the long run they will discover that they reap what they sow. Meaning that they might end up in jail and arrested. Discoveries are a new way of seeking reality as a second process for change. Inventions are combinations of existing elements and materials to form new ones. People invent new drugs for the sick or some people combine drugs just to get a fix or high. The diffusion is that later on in their lives it will affect them greatly or other people might learn for them. 3. Although it would seem that symbolic interactionists would be more interested in language than the proponents of structural functionalism and conflict theory, each of the perspectives has an interest in this important cultural component. Explain why language is important to symbolic interactionists and elaborate on the interest that the other two perspectives would have in language. Language is a system of symbols that can be strung together for the purpose of communicating abstract thought.

Red Bull and Beverage Industry Essay

What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those forces individually or collectively make the industry more or less attractive? Now energy drink, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced is evolving. Energy drink, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced in the beverage market, external and internal environment under pressure, causing it to change. The energy drink, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced from 2009 began to develop, to grow from $1. 58 trillion in 2009 to nearly $1. 78 trillion in 2014. Market is very rapid. I feel the market underlying drivers the following: 1. The influence of Globalization: the global beverage industry was project to grow from $1. 58 trillion in 2009 to nearly $1. 78 trillion in 2014 as beverage producers entered new geographic markets, development new types of beverages and continued to create demand fir popular drink . These new products to market has generated new creativity and new applications, so as to increase the intensity of competition in the market, the beverage market is booming. Because globalization, lead to product innovation development, Each enterprise according to new market policy undertook a series of adjustment. . Buyers demand increases, resulting in the beverage industry development: Now many of the buyers to pay attention to nutritional balance and complement, so energy drink, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced have a more broad market. 4. What  does  your  strategic  group  map  of  the  energy  drink,  sports  drink,  and  vitamin-enhanced  beverage  industry  look  like? Which  strategic  groups  do  you  think  are  in  the  best  positions? The  worst  positions? The  Red  bull  energy  drinks  was  created  in  1966. It  became  the  one  of  the  first  energy  drinks  in  the  world. In the fast moving consumer goods, beverage industry belongs to the keen industry, but the huge demand, walk quantity is the most effective way to enlarge its profit, â€Å"small profits but quick turnover† is also the retailers general technique, so the enterprise sales also often in several hundred million, billions of above, but the investment funds is very big, so the new industry enterprise also often be some big corporations. Marketing force, marketing force, it refers to the marketing strategy and the marketing ability of organization. For example in china, , want to stand out in many products, must be competitive marketing strategy and a good marketing organization system. Channel force, it refers to the channel management ability, in the fast pin product, channel for the king, even if you have good products, put a great amount of expenses to do publicity without to channel intensive cultivation, or do bad market, can not reach walk quantity task, meager profit but high turnover â€Å"pin† link will break chain, will give enterprise to bring the serious loss. . What recommendations would you make to Coca-Cola to improve its competitiveness in the global alternative beverage industry? To PepsiCo? To Red Bull GmbH 1 internal Strengthen control of quality and learn more information about requirements for energy beverage in different nation. And I saw that lots of news about Red bull which include illegal composition in recent years. In 2009, Germany check out Red Bull Cola (Red Bull Cola) contains 0. PPM of co caine 30 may 2009, Taiwan police check out Austria import red bull energy drinks contain extremely trace level of drug cocaine 1 June 2009 Hong Kong, 11 February 2012 China, Negative news would significant impacted a company or industry, especially Drinking and food industry. Everything about eating. In addition, there are lots of new beverage brand in the world. If Negative news led to lose market, company would very hard to get market back

Does School Matter? Essay

It is important that every person in every race, gender and social class be educated by going to school to become more successful in achieving higher goals, better jobs and personal fulfillment. By going to school and obtaining a good education, each individual will be able to seek out higher paying jobs for a better way of life. We live in an era where going to school and graduating is extremely important. We live in an age that encourages everyone to attend school, in order to propel through life more easily with the proper skills to gain employment that will be most crucial in determining one’s lifestyle. Today, people from all races, classes and genders are able to go to school in America to become educated, equally. When enrolling in school, one does not get denied access to an education because of the color of their skin and although an individual may come from a poor family or neighborhood, they aren’t turned away from a proper education but are given the same opportunity as a person from the most prestigious and wealthiest families and areas. Learning is a means for all people; great and small to attend a common ground where each person can learn and grow and decide what type of job they want to perform in their career and can grow from a low social class to the very highest. Education is the key element in determining where a person will go during their life and by going to school and gaining the most from what they are taught by their teachers, they will be able to soar high and become intelligent and important leaders in the workforce. To be the very best you can be, school is most important!

Amazon.com Company Essay

Amazon.com is an e-commerce company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, Amazon was one of the first companies to sell goods on the internet. After it launches, it has been the largest retailer on the worldwide web with its fast growths. Amazon is classified as Consumer Discretionary sector and also Internet Retail industry which sells a broad range of items from books to consumer electronics to home and garden products. Today, Amazon, now became one of Fortune 500 company, was ranked 35th among the largest U.S corporation. The company’s management team consisted of Jeff Bezos who is Chairman of the Board of Amazon.com and also Chief Executive Officer, and an eight-member board of directors. Amazon.com started its business with only a unit of book. Jeff Bezos decided to sell books for first on his website with some special reasons. In 1994, when he started Amazon.com, customer’s reliability on e-commerce was rather lower, so people used to be afr aid of getting delivered wrong products from internet purchases. Therefore, people used to keep aloof from buying products online. Considered this, Jeff Bezos selected books that people could be guaranteed same quality of product regardless of where they purchase. One more interesting about Amazon.com is that it launched in 1994, but the actual transaction happened a year after, in 1995. They established databases of enormous amount of books and convenient purchasing services for a year. In result, Amazon.com was able to carry more than 110 M kinds of book. Amazon.com has brought $ 74,452M revenue which is an increase of 17.9% from 2012. Amazon.com controlled $32.555M in 2012 and $40.159 in 2013. It also profits $274 M which is an increase of 114% from 2012. In 2013, their total cost of goods sold was $18.806 M and gross markup reached to 27.2%.By introducing two new product categories every year for almost a decade, its market share represents one third of U.S e-commerce sales. Amazon.com is often referred as The Everything Store. As we can notice from its second name, Amazon.com carries every items that web retailer could sell. Its top three business units are including books, electronics and Toy & Games. Book has been one of the bestselling categories of Amazon.com. As demand of e-book is going up, electronic book also has recorded high sales (actually, higher than its book sales). With Its own table for e-book and various kinds of books they carry, Amazon not only has competitive advantage among its competitors, but also has already been making high sales on them.  Another bestselling product of Amazon.com is tablets. Amazon has launched its own tablet ‘Fire HD’ which has similar feathers and its own OS but price is much cheaper than any other tablets currently selling in the market. Currently, Amazon has 5.8 percent shares and it maintain in third place following after Apple and Samsung. With its own tablet, Amazon is increasing their market shares on tablets. Amazon already has its own game studio to produce video games and its own Fire receiver, so that they attracted many gamers. Recently, Amazon is planning to take over the video game streaming video platform twitch TV to start their new game business. With so many different products and services, Amazon has a divisional structure. In a divisional structure, different departments for different products and services allow department heads to appropriately focus their resources and results, as well as monitor the organization’s performance. This structure is best for such a large organization because it is the most flexible. Amazon’s organizational structure is comprised of CEO and founder Jeffery Bezos and an eight-member board of directors. The CEO oversees the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Technology Officer and the 8 departments: Business Development, e-Commerce Platform, International Retail, North America Retail, Web Services, Digital Media, Legal & Secretary, and Kindle. The CFO oversees the Real Estate and Control department. International Retail oversees three separate departments: China, Europe and India. North America Retail oversees the following five departments: Seller Services, Operations, Toys, Sports & Home Improvement, Amazon Publishing and Music & Video. The Web Services department oversees Amazon S3 and Database Services. Other departments include Product Development & Studios, Europe Operations, Global Advertising Sales, Computing Services, and Global Customer Fulfillment. 1.3 E-businesses are rapidly evolving and intensely competitive. The principal competitive factors in its retail businesses include selection, price, and convenience, including fast and reliable fulfillment. Additional competitive factors for its seller and enterprise services include the quality, speed, and reliability of our services and tools. As consider these factors, the two top competitors of Amazon.com are E-bay.inc and Google.com. First, between Amazon and Google, the two companies now compete in a wide range of areas such as online advertising, distribution, mobile terminals, cloud computing. Currently, Google is challenging to amazon’s main businesses which are shipping and shopping. So, Google recently has launched its own shipping service ‘Google Shopping Express’ which feathers same as like Amazon prime but with cheaper annual membership fees to enhance its competitiveness. Amazon.com also entered to ‘cloud’ market which Google has strong power on the market to compete. Amazon is expanding the territory of business, so that it is becoming integrated IT enterprise like google. Therefore, of the two companies, are expected to go over further intensify competition. If we put those groups in comparison by company performance, Amazon.com made $ 74,452 M and Google had $59,825M revenues in 2013 which means Amazon.com has more revenue than Google by 19.6%. On the other hands, for the profit and total asset of companies, Google is in the higher position. Google controls $110,920M of total asset, while Amazon controls $40,159M. In addition, Google profits $12,920M, while Amazon is a mere $745M. For number of employees, Google has 52,069 employees and Amazon.com has 132,600 employees. Second, between E-bay and Amazon, E-Bay is always been pointed out as amazon’s top competitors. eBay Inc., (stylized as e bay), is an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide. E-bay has same feather as it is running retail business with Amazon.com, but there is critical difference in that e-bay has auction-style sales. When we look at E-bay’s company performance, it has less revenue which is $16,047M than any its competitors referred above. However, it controls $41,488M which is bigger than amazon has for their total asset. Also, E-bay profits $2,856M in 2013, while Amazon.com did $274M, meaning E-bay made 10times more profits than Amazon.com. E-bay has made 33,500 employees. Alibaba which is noticed as a big foreign competitor of Amazon is a company founded in china. Alibaba’s consumer-to-consumer portal Taobao, similar to eBay, features nearly a billion products and is one of the 20 most-visited websites globally. The Group’s websites accounted for over 60% of the  parcels delivered in China by March 2013, and 80% of the nation’s online sales by September 2014. Alipay, an online payment escrow service, accounts for roughly half of all online payment transactions within China. China’s huge trading merchant Ali Baba’s company value has estimated as $215 billion dollars by IPO. This is astounding figure which is higher than Amazon and e-bay combined and also because other its competitors such as Google and Amazon.com have made better sales than Ali Baba. Investors focus on its high profit and fast growth. Also, it possesses many its stores in china and it has still a high potential for growth within China. Amazon.com,10K, 2013 Emil Protalinski â€Å"IDC: Apple’s iPad fell to 33.8% tablet share in Q4 2013, Samsung took second with 18.8%, Amazon third with 7.6%† from TNW blog. Google.com/finance (income statement, annual data) www.Amazon.com/ investor relation (Annual Reports and Proxies and officer and directors) Ryan mac â€Å"Amazon Pounces On Twitch After Google Balks Due To Antitrust Concerns† on Forbes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibaba_Group (Amazon.com main financial performance for 2013) from google finance (E-bay main financial performance for 2013) from google finance (Google.com main financial performance for 2013) from google finance

Input Controls

Input Controls When we talk about input controls, what are we really talking about? Input control includes the necessary measures to ensure that data is correct, complete, and secure. A system analyst must focus on input control during every phrase of input design, starting with source documents that promote data accuracy and quality. (Shelly & Rosenblatt, (2012)). Input controls can help the flow of data in a database to be the same format and easy to understand. Without input controls there can be data integrity errors that could occur and cause information to be incorrect in the database.There are advantages and disadvantages to restricting user interfaces to limit a person ability of typing in too much information or maybe not enough information. Although there are many different types of input controls in this paper there will be only four of them that are addressed in this paper; this would include input mask, validation rules, source documents and batch input. First letâ€℠¢s talk about input mask. Input mask is an appearance that helps to characterize what type of contact is allowed in a given field on a template.The main purpose behind the input mask is to keep the data entry process somewhat the same and decrease the chances for incorrect data to be entered into the field. The input field entry can be configured to allow automatic field input as a way of saving time and resources. Input mask is created doing the process of computer programming. The fields on the template are recognized with specific control values. The values make it impossible to enter data that is not compatible with the values.An example of that would be when a field that contains an input mask that only allows letters will automatically reject the input of numbers and another one would be automatically converting the input into an adequate format an example of that would be when the input mask requires that the date field on the template specifies a format that is structured as date/month/year. Even if you enter the date into the field follows a month/date/year format, the input system reads the entered data and automatically converts it into the proper form.Input mask is a type of tool which had been developed for the purpose of telling the person that what sort of things need to be provided as an input so that the desired output can be achieved. The input mask basically acts as developer software. The text box is the tool where the input needs to be entered. The input mask can also act as a template or a simple format and this basically differs from situation to situation. In this transcription errors are the one which needs to be reduced and this is done through the way of data integrity which is one of the most basic features of the input mask.Validation rule is a criterion used in the process of data validation, carried out after the data has been encoded onto an input medium and involves a data vet or validation program. This is distinct from formal verification, where the operation of a program is determined to be that which was intended, and that meets the purpose. This method is to check that data fall the correct parameters defined by the systems analyst. A judgment as to whether data is official which is possible made by the validation program, but it cannot ensure the entire accurateness.This can only be achieved through the use of all the clerical and computer controls built into the system at the design stage. The difference between data authority and correctness can be illustrated with a trivial example. An example of validations rules is when a user cannot misspell a customer name if it is not entered, or is entered automatically based on the user enter the customer ID. (Shelly & Rosenblatt, (2012)). There are at least eight different types of data validation rules; a sequence check, existence check, data type check, range check, reasonableness check, validity check, combination check and batch controls.Source docume nts is a form used to request and collect input data, trigger or authorize an input action, and provide a record of the original transaction. Source documents generally are paper based. Some examples of source documents would be cash receipt, cancelled check, invoice sent or received, credit memo for a customer refund and employee time sheet. At a bare minimum, each source document should include the date, the amount, and a description of the transaction. When practical, beyond these minimum requirements source documents should contain the name and address of the other party of the transaction.When a source document does not exist, for example, when a cash receipt is not provided by a vendor or is absent, a document should be generated as soon as possible after the operation, using other documents such as bank statements to support the information on the generated source document. Once a transaction has been journalized, the source document should be filed and made retrievable so th at connections can be verified should the need arise at a later date. Batch input is a process when data entry is performed on a specified time schedule, such as daily, weekly, monthly, or longer.An example of this would be when a payroll department collects time cards at the end of the week and enters the data as a batch. Some advantages of batch input are collection and entering can be done off-line, entering data can be done by trained personnel, processing can be done very quickly and can be done during non-peak times. Now for some of the disadvantages are, data collection usually has to be a centralized activity, data entry usually needs to be done by specially trained personnel. The processing activity is delayed; hence the possibility exists for data to be considered old or untimely when it finally gets processed.Since processing is usually done during off-hours, input errors detected during processing would not get corrected until the next regularly scheduled processing of i nput data. The off-hours computer operator may have to call the systems analyst or programmer if the program malfunctions. Below you will see a design for a web-based input for making a hotel reservation which will be using many of the concepts that are mentioned in the paper when talking about input controls. We will look at it in phases. Information gathering Phase 1 – Search and evaluationInput stay requirements – including location (city) and proposed dates of stay Compare and evaluate results – user may view multiple hotel / room / rate combinations Decide – user decides which hotel / room / rate combination meets their requirements Reservation making Phase 2 – Selection Select hotel, room and rate – the user selects the hotel / room / rate they wish to book Select additional rooms and rates – the user adds additional rooms if required Phase 3 – Checkout Input guest details – such as name, address, email address etc . Input payment details – such as credit card details or other payment method Confirm reservationStandard booking processes Screen 1Screen 2Screen 3 Screen 2 Screen 3 Enter search criteria: †¢ Dates †¢ City name [SUBMIT] Display hotels: Hotel 1 [SELECT] Hotel 2 [SELECT] Hotel 3 [SELECT] Display and select rates: Hotel 1 Rate 1 [SELECT] Rate 2 [SELECT] Rate 3 Figure 1: Three-stage screen flow Figure 2: Selection of hotel – ‘Screen 2' example from Opodo. co. uk Figure 3: Selection of rate – ‘Screen 3' example from Trip. com Screen 1Screen 2 Enter search criteria: †¢ City †¢ Dates [SUBMIT] Display hotels: Hotel 1 Rate 1 [SELECT] Rate 2 [SELECT] Rate 3 [SELECT] Hotel 2Rate 1 [SELECT] Rate 2 [SELECT] Rate 3 [SELECT] Hotel 3 Rate 1 [SELECT] Rate 2 [SELECT] Rate 3 [SELECT] Figure 4: Two-stage screen flow Figure 5: Selection of rate and hotel – ‘Screen 2' example from Expedia. co. uk TABLE 1: Search and evaluation styles Sear ch and evaluation style Travel agency Hotel only Hotel chain Total A Select hotel on screen 2 Select rate on screen 3 10 13 6 29 B Select hotel and rate together on one screen 6 17 2 25 Other -132033 Table 1 demonstrates that for travel agencies and hotel-only websites, there is an even split between using style A and style B.The table also shows that hotel chains generally use other search and evaluation styles. References Amas. syr. edu. 8 Dec 2011. Application Self Evaluation. Retrieved 9 Feb 2012 from http://amas. syr. edu/AMAS/display. cfm? content_ID=%23%28%28%25! %0A Noyes, Brian. 2010 June. Enforcing Complex Business Data Rules with WPF. Retrieved on 9 Feb 2012 from http://msdn. microsoft. com/en-us/magazine/ff714593. aspx Shelly, G. B. , & Rosenblatt, H. J. (2012). System Analysis and Design (9th ed. ). Boston: Thomson Course Technology. Input Controls There are many kinds of input controls. Write a 4-5 page paper in which you: †¢Explain the function of input controls. †¢Identify four (4) types of input control and explain the function of each. †¢Provide an example of a data integrity error that could occur if each of these types of input control were not in place. †¢Explain the advantages and disadvantages of restricting user interfaces. (User interfaces can often be restricted, limiting the user’s ability to navigate to other areas of the system, or out of the system. †¢Design and build a graphical representation of a Web-based input for making a hotel reservation, using Visio or PowerPoint or an equivalent. †¢Research and cite at least three (3) reputable academic sources. Darren Blake Week 6 Assignment CIS210 â€Å"An HTML form is a section of a document containing normal content, markup, and special elements called controls. † These controls are commonly referred to as input controls , according to the World Wide Web Consortium. There are many types of input controls that can be used in a web form. They help to provide a framework for the kind of data that will be submitted by users.Selecting the correct input control for a data field is critical. Text input, select box, radio button, and password are four examples of input controls. As pointed out by Ponce de Leon, most input controls are visual and interactive. There is also something called a hidden input control. They can be used to store system critical data, such as database key data, that the user does not need to interact with. Text type input controls are used to input text. They provide a single-line input field in which any text can be entered. The text type input controls are useful for form data such as names, street addresses, and user names.This data is viewable on the screen, so it ought to not be used for passwords. Select box input controls are extremely common in web forms. There are two basic types of select input controls: single select and multi-select. This type of input control provides a list of predetermined options that the user can select. They offer strict control of what can be entered into the form. They are used for items that have limited and predefined options. Good examples of this would be things like credit card type, country, state, and language. Usually, this type of input is used when the number of pre-defined options more than two.If there are only two options, other types of input controls may be more appropriate. If the user is allowed to select multiple options, such as a list of career field interests, a select input control can easily be set up to permit multiple selections. Radio button input controls are always used within a group. This means that there should be more than one radio button that has the same name. When radio buttons have the same name and different values, only one can be selected at a time. They are used when there are few pr edefined options.Predefined option sets of two are usually not put inside of a selection input control. For instance, the options for gender should usually be â€Å"male† or â€Å"female. † It is more fitting in this case to use two radio buttons. This allows the user to enter their data with one click rather than the two which would be required with a select drop down input control. It is up to the programmer to decide if a select input control or a group of radio buttons is more suitable. In general, if the user can easily view all available options on a single line of the form, the programmer should seriously consider using radio buttons.Alternatively, if there are enough options that it would span many lines they should be presented inside of a select input control, like selecting a state. Password input controls, on the surface, looks exactly like the text input control. They also, form an allowed content perspective, functions in an identical manner. However, pas sword input controls hide the data that is entered into the control. This means that each keystroke within the control will result in a dot or star instead of the actual data. This is done to prevent other individuals, who may be able to see the user’s computer screen, from viewing the password as plain text.In order to insure the correct amount of keystrokes by the user, the star or dot remains on the screen. However, the text is not displayed for the world to see. Hidden input controls are extremely useful when performing data entry tasks with a database-driven web application. Often, the forms used to edit data are in reference to an entry within the database that has an integer primary key. This key is usually arbitrary integer that increments automatically, provides indexing, and has absolutely no meaning to the user. When the user selects to update the data, it is important that the systems knows what ID is being updated.However, there is no reason to display this ID to the user. In order to submit the ID of the edited database record along with the modified form fields, the ID can be assigned to a hidden input control. Data integrity with input controls is achieved both by the nature of the controls themselves and basic script validation techniques. As far as scripting is concerned, each data field can be easily verified upon submit before sending the data to the server. For the types of input controls chosen, selecting inappropriate input controls can result in data integrity issues. A text input control is rather straight-forward.It is also the easiest field to realize data issues with. Obviously, you would not want to use a select input control for an individual’s name. However, using this type of control opens databases up to SQL injection attacks, entry of HTML entities, and entry of incorrect or bad data. With SQL injection and HTML entities, it is critical that the data entered is cleaned before being processed by the server. For a field like â€Å"First Name†, entry of SQL or HTML should be identified and rejected. In general, you also wouldn’t want to use a password field for something like â€Å"First Name. While it is great to be able to mask data, the user should be able to see if they have entered a typo. Asking the user to verify the entry of every single text field would be unreasonable. The potential for data integrity issues if a select input control is not used when it should be are obvious. If a user is supposed to choose a U. S. state, allowing him to enter text would be deleterious. The user could enter Whoville. They could also enter â€Å"None of your business. † Restricting entry is important for fields that have limited, predefine options.Radio buttons are in the same category as select input controls when it comes to data integrity. Selecting to use something like text instead of a group of radio buttons would be undesirable. For instance, if the user was supposed to se lect gender, he could type enter eunuch. This would not be helpful if that data is critical for the site’s services or interactions. Password fields come with data integrity issues built in, the data within a password input control are masked. Since the user cannot see the entered data, it is very easy to submit data that contains typos. This is not critical for a log in form.The user would simply be notified that his log in attempt failed. Conversely, for a registration form, this could result in highly undesirable issues. It is therefore common to place two password input controls on a form like this. The second input control is used to validate the entry in the first input control. The user is able to submit the form only when the values in both fields are identical. If a programmer chose to use a normal text field rather than a password field, the integrity of the entire system could be compromised. This has more to do with systems security than data integrity, but is sti ll an important consideration.User interfaces are often restricted by logged in status or type of user. For instances, a member of the human resources department would have access to employee information that a member of the software development department should not have, and vice versa. Obviously, a user who has yet to log in should not be able to access any sensitive data from any department. These offer definite advantages to any system. However, there are caveats that come with setting up a system like this. The first is simply the design and setup of these restrictions.A small bug in the setup or the code can cause an entire department to lose access that they need to do their jobs. Another issues is password management. Designers need to deal with how often passwords must be changed, how strong the password should be, and users forgetting their passwords. Without good forgotten password procedures, employees can be at work-stoppage for a significant amount of time, costing th e organization money. There is also additional overhead when an employee needs to be granted access or removed from access. Finally, an organization can decide to alter the access requirements for an entire section.This makes it necessary that the system access restrictions can be easily updated. All of this adds a large amount of overhead and requires one or more individuals to take responsibility for system support. Web Form References Ponce de Leon, D. (n. d). Forms in HTML. Retrieved from http://www. htmlquick. com/tutorials/forms. html W3Schools (n. d. ). HTML forms and input. Retrieved from http://www. w3schools. com/html/html_forms. asp World Wide Web Consortium (n. d. ). , Forms in HTML documents. Retrieved from http://www. w3. org/TR/html401/interact/forms. html#h-17. 1 Input Controls Input Controls When we talk about input controls, what are we really talking about? Input control includes the necessary measures to ensure that data is correct, complete, and secure. A system analyst must focus on input control during every phrase of input design, starting with source documents that promote data accuracy and quality. (Shelly & Rosenblatt, (2012)). Input controls can help the flow of data in a database to be the same format and easy to understand. Without input controls there can be data integrity errors that could occur and cause information to be incorrect in the database.There are advantages and disadvantages to restricting user interfaces to limit a person ability of typing in too much information or maybe not enough information. Although there are many different types of input controls in this paper there will be only four of them that are addressed in this paper; this would include input mask, validation rules, source documents and batch input. First letâ€℠¢s talk about input mask. Input mask is an appearance that helps to characterize what type of contact is allowed in a given field on a template.The main purpose behind the input mask is to keep the data entry process somewhat the same and decrease the chances for incorrect data to be entered into the field. The input field entry can be configured to allow automatic field input as a way of saving time and resources. Input mask is created doing the process of computer programming. The fields on the template are recognized with specific control values. The values make it impossible to enter data that is not compatible with the values.An example of that would be when a field that contains an input mask that only allows letters will automatically reject the input of numbers and another one would be automatically converting the input into an adequate format an example of that would be when the input mask requires that the date field on the template specifies a format that is structured as date/month/year. Even if you enter the date into the field follows a month/date/year format, the input system reads the entered data and automatically converts it into the proper form.Input mask is a type of tool which had been developed for the purpose of telling the person that what sort of things need to be provided as an input so that the desired output can be achieved. The input mask basically acts as developer software. The text box is the tool where the input needs to be entered. The input mask can also act as a template or a simple format and this basically differs from situation to situation. In this transcription errors are the one which needs to be reduced and this is done through the way of data integrity which is one of the most basic features of the input mask.Validation rule is a criterion used in the process of data validation, carried out after the data has been encoded onto an input medium and involves a data vet or validation program. This is distinct from formal verification, where the operation of a program is determined to be that which was intended, and that meets the purpose. This method is to check that data fall the correct parameters defined by the systems analyst. A judgment as to whether data is official which is possible made by the validation program, but it cannot ensure the entire accurateness.This can only be achieved through the use of all the clerical and computer controls built into the system at the design stage. The difference between data authority and correctness can be illustrated with a trivial example. An example of validations rules is when a user cannot misspell a customer name if it is not entered, or is entered automatically based on the user enter the customer ID. (Shelly & Rosenblatt, (2012)). There are at least eight different types of data validation rules; a sequence check, existence check, data type check, range check, reasonableness check, validity check, combination check and batch controls.Source docume nts is a form used to request and collect input data, trigger or authorize an input action, and provide a record of the original transaction. Source documents generally are paper based. Some examples of source documents would be cash receipt, cancelled check, invoice sent or received, credit memo for a customer refund and employee time sheet. At a bare minimum, each source document should include the date, the amount, and a description of the transaction. When practical, beyond these minimum requirements source documents should contain the name and address of the other party of the transaction.When a source document does not exist, for example, when a cash receipt is not provided by a vendor or is absent, a document should be generated as soon as possible after the operation, using other documents such as bank statements to support the information on the generated source document. Once a transaction has been journalized, the source document should be filed and made retrievable so th at connections can be verified should the need arise at a later date. Batch input is a process when data entry is performed on a specified time schedule, such as daily, weekly, monthly, or longer.An example of this would be when a payroll department collects time cards at the end of the week and enters the data as a batch. Some advantages of batch input are collection and entering can be done off-line, entering data can be done by trained personnel, processing can be done very quickly and can be done during non-peak times. Now for some of the disadvantages are, data collection usually has to be a centralized activity, data entry usually needs to be done by specially trained personnel. The processing activity is delayed; hence the possibility exists for data to be considered old or untimely when it finally gets processed.Since processing is usually done during off-hours, input errors detected during processing would not get corrected until the next regularly scheduled processing of i nput data. The off-hours computer operator may have to call the systems analyst or programmer if the program malfunctions. Below you will see a design for a web-based input for making a hotel reservation which will be using many of the concepts that are mentioned in the paper when talking about input controls. We will look at it in phases. Information gathering Phase 1 – Search and evaluationInput stay requirements – including location (city) and proposed dates of stay Compare and evaluate results – user may view multiple hotel / room / rate combinations Decide – user decides which hotel / room / rate combination meets their requirements Reservation making Phase 2 – Selection Select hotel, room and rate – the user selects the hotel / room / rate they wish to book Select additional rooms and rates – the user adds additional rooms if required Phase 3 – Checkout Input guest details – such as name, address, email address etc . Input payment details – such as credit card details or other payment method Confirm reservationStandard booking processes Screen 1Screen 2Screen 3 Screen 2 Screen 3 Enter search criteria: †¢ Dates †¢ City name [SUBMIT] Display hotels: Hotel 1 [SELECT] Hotel 2 [SELECT] Hotel 3 [SELECT] Display and select rates: Hotel 1 Rate 1 [SELECT] Rate 2 [SELECT] Rate 3 Figure 1: Three-stage screen flow Figure 2: Selection of hotel – ‘Screen 2' example from Opodo. co. uk Figure 3: Selection of rate – ‘Screen 3' example from Trip. com Screen 1Screen 2 Enter search criteria: †¢ City †¢ Dates [SUBMIT] Display hotels: Hotel 1 Rate 1 [SELECT] Rate 2 [SELECT] Rate 3 [SELECT] Hotel 2Rate 1 [SELECT] Rate 2 [SELECT] Rate 3 [SELECT] Hotel 3 Rate 1 [SELECT] Rate 2 [SELECT] Rate 3 [SELECT] Figure 4: Two-stage screen flow Figure 5: Selection of rate and hotel – ‘Screen 2' example from Expedia. co. uk TABLE 1: Search and evaluation styles Sear ch and evaluation style Travel agency Hotel only Hotel chain Total A Select hotel on screen 2 Select rate on screen 3 10 13 6 29 B Select hotel and rate together on one screen 6 17 2 25 Other -132033 Table 1 demonstrates that for travel agencies and hotel-only websites, there is an even split between using style A and style B.The table also shows that hotel chains generally use other search and evaluation styles. References Amas. syr. edu. 8 Dec 2011. Application Self Evaluation. Retrieved 9 Feb 2012 from http://amas. syr. edu/AMAS/display. cfm? content_ID=%23%28%28%25! %0A Noyes, Brian. 2010 June. Enforcing Complex Business Data Rules with WPF. Retrieved on 9 Feb 2012 from http://msdn. microsoft. com/en-us/magazine/ff714593. aspx Shelly, G. B. , & Rosenblatt, H. J. (2012). System Analysis and Design (9th ed. ). Boston: Thomson Course Technology.