The Worldly Impact of Television Essay example -- Television Media TV

The Worldly Impact of Television The television had a very monumental role the world’s history. The television was first introduced in the early 1950’s. This new phenomenon of television took awhile for many people to catch on to, but once this device was received there was no looking back. The television set the stage for many things such as world news, local news, entertainment, and sports. The television allowed what used to be listeners to be able to view what was going on with their television set. The television got its big chance in the early 1950’s with the end of WWII. This time was known as the golden age which followed the great depression. The returning soldiers brought a new sense of hope to the American public which in turn led to the buying of many new houses and television sets. In 1945, there were 8,000 television sets produced (Watrall notes). It was also in this year that the first â€Å"television set extravaganza† was broadcasted at Yankee Stadium (â€Å"History of Television†). It was in Yankee stadium where the Joe Louis—Bill Conn heavyweight competition took place which led to be a success that had an average of 150,000 viewers watching from about 5,000 television sets (Watrall notes). As the 1950’s went on it started to become a norm for people to have a television set in their home. In 1953 color broadcasting arrived in the U.S., but it was not until the 1960’s that the public started purchasing color television set s (â€Å"History of Television†). As time would continue to pass and technology would continue to get better so did television. Today, television is something many people take for granted. In today’s society 99% of all households in this country have at least one television set (Potter 61). There... ... Television from day one to what it is now has probably had one of the biggest overall affects on the world public. All of the main events that have happened since the early 1940’s have been broadcasted on television giving the audience a chance to see it. This also goes for the world of sports. Every major sporting event that has taken place can be found on television such as the Olympics, Super bowl, World Cup, Stanley Cup, Kentucky Derby, and the World Series can all be found on television. The television is completely different from how it started off as being but what is has become today has surpassed everybody’s original expectations. Works Cited Potter, James W. Media Literacy. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Inc, 2001. "History of Television." Hi-Tech Productions. 1996 www.high-techproductions.com/historyoftelevision.html Watrall. Lecture notes

Radiation in Cellular Phones Essays -- Technology Research Essays

Radiation in Cellular Phones Introduction: The use of cellular phones is an ever-increasing necessity. With this growing usage comes the customer concern of the safety of the product. You see, cellular telephones are known to emit low levels of radiofrequency energy in the microwave range when in use. This is the same type of radiation found in household microwaves. Even more significant, the cellular telephones emit the same type of low level radiofrequency (RF) while in standby mode. This indicates that being exposed to the RF does not require the phone to be in use, just that it is nearby. The concern, however, is with "the kind that have a built-in antenna that is positioned close to the user's head during normal telephone conversation... because of the short distance between the phone's antenna -- the primary source of the RF -- and the person's head" (FDA). Thus, there are many ethical issues that need to be considered. How Does a Mobile Call Work Anyway? Basically, the person using the cellular phone makes a call. This is transmitted via low energy radio signals to the nearest tower owned by your service provider. The call can now do either one of two things. If the person on the other end is on a landline, the call is then transferred to them via telephone cables. However, if the other person is on a cellular phone as well, the process is reversed. The signal is sent from the service provider to the nearest antenna site from the receiving person. Professional Issues:  · the cellular phone companies are already making a LOT of money in developing and selling these phones  · cellular phones make it convenient for EVERYONE to keep in contact with each other  · cellular phones... ...s from their current customers, but they will also lose business from prospective buyers. Not fixing the phones and essentially denying that there is a problem, they are sending the message that they don’t care about concerns regarding their product until concrete find factual evidence. They are taking the slippery route in that the outcome can still be that they would have to replace the phones as in the first route. This negative image is definitely what the companies need, ethically as well as business wise. Final Decision: Therefore, my final decision is to take the safe and ethical route, which is to recall all cellular telephones and either fix or replace them to the standards that is not only expected from the public, but also from the government. This action would project a positive image to all of the stakeholders, and is what business is all about.

Charlotte Temple - Ideas of Love Essay -- essays papers

Charlotte Temple - Ideas of Love In the 18th century, when Charlotte Temple was written, society’s ideas about women, love, and obligations were extremely different from views held in the 20th century. Women did not have many rights, and society made them think that their place in life was to marry well. They were not supposed to have desires or hopes for an amazing kind of love. They were merely supposed to marry the man who their families intended them to marry, and live their lives being a dutiful wife and mother. Love had a similar essence in the 1700’s. It was not looked at as being essential to a relationship; convenience and social status was more important than love in an 18th century marriage. Finally, social obligations were almost completely opposite then to what they are now. As opposed to 20th century obligations to the self, education, and wealth, the 18th century focused more on social status and family, and not so many personal or independent obligations. (â€Å"Eighteenth†) In Charlotte Temple, a radical idea concerning a breakdown of social norms, and a restructuring of important obligations was presented. Familial and social responsibilities seemed to take a backseat to Charlotte’s (and other characters) independent and personal lives. For this reason, Charlotte Temple was a revolutionary novel that gave people in the 18th century a new way of looking at life. It emphasized love and emotions, while disregarding normal cultural ideas. In the beginning of the novel, familial or social obligations were told through the stories of Mr. Temple, Charlotte, and La Rue. The narrator remarked that Mr. Temple’s brother was â€Å"made completely wretched by marrying a disagreeable woman, wh... ...iserable and alone. The two women began Charlotte Temple in the same fashion: looking for independence and self-worth. However, then endings of the two women were different. It seemed as if the narrator is saying if one never leaves or even returns to social obligations, the end result will be happiness. If one denies obligations, then the end result will be misery. This novel, however radical it was regarding the risks of social and familial obligations for personal attribution, basically stated at the end that the one who does adheres to obligations will be happy in the end. So, in conclusion, Charlotte Temple did break down social norms by presenting the idea that people could have resisted â€Å"normal† social obligations to pursue personal happiness. However, it was not so radical as to say that one would have been happy if they denied their duties.

Killings vs. in the Bedroom

After reading the story â€Å"Killings† by Andre Dubus and watching the movie â€Å"In the Bedroom,† there are several noticeable differences and a few similarities. Since the movie was derived from the short story, the plot is practically the same throughout. â€Å"Killings† is portrayed as a revenge story, whereas â€Å"In the Bedroom† it appears to be a love story. As the plot progresses we find out this is not the case at all. One of the biggest differences I saw between the two was the arrangement of the story.Dubus’ written version starts out in the middle at Frank’s funeral and the movie starts the story from the beginning with Frank and his lover Mary Ann (Natalie) running in a field. The film gives you more of a sense of the characters, their emotions, and the relationships they share with one another, while the written story gives you the view from Matt’s perspective only. The movie showed a lot more of the background details such as: the father-son bond between Matt and Frank, and the loving bond between Frank and Mary Ann.The story proceeded to show more of Matt’s feelings and internal thoughts on a different level then the film, which displayed very little interaction between him and his son in their lifetime. â€Å"It seemed to Matt that from the time Mary Ann called weeping to tell him until now, a Saturday night in september, sitting in the car with Willis, parked beside Strout’s car, waiting for the bar to close, that he had not so much moved through his life as wandered through it, his spirit like a dazed body bumping into furniture and corners. He had always been a fearful father; when his children were young. t the start of each summer he though of them drowning in a pond or the sea, and he was relieved when he came home in the evening and they were there; usually that relief was his only acknowledgment of his fear, which he never spoke of , and which he controlled within his he art† (100). Another difference that made the movie more personal was by not having Frank’s older brother figure that we read about in the story at the funeral. The movie showed the viewer the connection that they had as a father and a son that the story didn’t portray.Another difference that made the film more enjoyable was the hatred that was shown for Strout. The story didn’t give enough justice for how much the Fowler family really resented him. The moment in the movie when Ruth lays her eyes on him in the convenient store foreshadows the breakdown she had and the isolation she experienced. Ruth knowing that he is a free man that killed her son is something she couldn’t live with under any circumstances. The relationship that Mary Ann’s sons had with Frank in the movie was much stronger than in the book. This partly labels Frank as a hero and makes Strout look like even more of a bad person.In my opinion, One of the best scenes in the movi e was when one of the boys that Frank and Matt took fishing rode his bike down to the docks to see Matt and they just stared at each other with a burning look. This scene wasn’t talked about in the story, however it gave you a view of the actual killing scene. In the book, Strout shot Frank in front of his two sons. â€Å"Richard Strout shot Frank in front of the boys. They were sitting on the living room floor watching television, Frank sitting on the couch, and Mary Ann just returning from the kitchen with a tray of Sandwiches.Strout came in the front door and shot Frank twice in the chest and once in the face with a 9 mm automatic. Then he looked at the boys and Mary Ann, and went home to wait for the police† (100). He shot him in rage without any hesitation. This proves to the reader how much of a terrible, heartless person that he was, but the movie was not able to display such rage. The movie, however, does a great job of telling a clear story from start to finis h without interruptions. It made the makeup of the story so much more powerful.This gives the reader time to establish Frank as the main character that he is. Throughout the story, whether it be the written version or the movie, you really began to understand the love that has not only been lost, but the love that was left behind as the story comes to an end. Overall, love was a major theme in both of these stories, no matter how you look at it. Frank’s life was over much earlier than expected because of love and envy. In the end, Strout was killed because of the love that will never be forgotten between a father and son, and even between a husband and wife.A strong meaning was conveyed when Matt was unsure about not being able to be alone with Strout for that long of a time. He couldn’t stand the thought of being so close to this man that he had so much hatred for. Both of the killing scenes were portrayed in different ways. In my opinion, Matt killed Strout better in the movie than in the book. In the movie, Strout wasn’t trying to escape when Matt shot him. In the story he tried to run away from Matt. This gave Matt more of a justification for killing him. This showed the amount of hatred he had towards Strout, and even more of the endless love he had for his son.

Business Statistical Analysis Scenario Essay

A GMC manager recently noticed that there is a production difference between the early shift and the late shift. The manager would like to determine why there is a difference in production between the shifts and asked for research on the issue. The research team came up with the following research question: Is there a reason for the different production levels between the day and evening shifts. Our team has come up with the following two null hypotheses: H0 – There is a significant difference in employee productivity between shifts due to worker age. Ha – There is no significant difference in employee productivity between shifts due to worker age. In order to accomplish this, we need to find the average number of errors along with the standard deviation. By doing so, we can set up a confidence interval to see if the late shift is truly doing better when it comes to quality. If they are, we can make the nomination that the manager has the late shift supervisors provide guidance to the early shift supervisors. There are various statistical reports that outsource the relationship between the independent variable(s) and the dependent variable. Here we will realize how GMC will translate the organization problem into a statistical problem, provide a solution to the problem statistically, and then translate the statistical solution into an actionable solution for the company. Literature Review General Motors realized that to stay competitive a number of changes would have to be made starting with production efforts. Based on economic  uncertainty and gas price volatility, adjustments were made to accommodate the needs of the population interested in purchasing vehicles during times of uncertainty. After the fall of the three leading automotive giants, coming back would have to be well thought-out and cost beneficial to the consumer. GM got to work. Production in most plants was one shift, Monday – Friday, 8 hours per-day. At one facility adding a third shift let the plant produce more than 26,000 vehicles within three months, more than it had previously done when it produce 20,000 vehicles. Before incorporating a third shift the plant had approximately 3,300 workers who averaged fewer than 14,000 vehicles per month (Funk, 2011). In another plant that focused on the production of only one vehicle, this plant employed eight hundred production workers who were a one- shift, eight hour Monday-Friday production facility. Another GM plant that makes the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade add a third shift and 800 new jobs was created, the assembly plant employed approximately 2,500 hourly and salaried employees and operates two production shifts. In 2011, the plant produced nearly 270,000 vehicles. â€Å"Demand for full-size SUVs remains stable.† The third shift enable the Assembly plant to meet market demand for the current generation of full-size SUVs and provide relief for employees who have worked extensive overtime since the fourth quarter of 2009. The installation of new tooling and equipment required to build GM’s new line of SUVs limited vehicle production in 2013. A third shift will provide the plant needed production capacity during this transition time (Funk, 2012). There was a time when working a straight day-shift was enough to meet the production demands for General Motors products, however with the versatility and the types of vehicle’s being produced third shift help to meet and exceed demand and provide relief for employees working extensive overtime. Many years, companies have pursued to advance worker output and labor settings. One approach is substitute toil schedules, which comprise flextime, work division, and a compacted workweek. Sleep-related aids are mainly supportive for the salaried period; insufficient sums of nap reduce work output and general well-being. Statistics shows consistent amounts of sleep Improved performance and alertness in the workplace. Therefore, we propose creating work-sleep equilibrium, comparable to work-life stability, as a standard for planning and refining work plans. Prolonging operational times outside nine periods per day did not effect in equal growths in GMC manufacturing. Production increased as working hours increased. According to the survey 1977 Quality of Employment, the impact of unusual toil plans on workers’ personal time has resulted with: Fewer periods in household parts.  Advanced plans of particular forms of struggle among family life besides work. One of the amendments is the decision by GMC to implement twelve-hour work days for all Union employees. This decision did not do well with the Union because most were used to working 8-hour days with weekends off. GMC decision is based on new lines and the demand to cope up with production forecasts. This forecast demands the organization to switch to a 24/7 hour operation. Union employees disagree, as they have a feeling that working 12-hour days will lower their morale. They view the alternative schedule as time that they will be missing from their family. While there has been deep research on the subject of scheduled overtime on the productivity of construction labor, there is little research available that looks at the efficiency, or lack of efficiency that is associated with work accomplished on the second shift. In 2008, Hanna, Chang, Sullivan and Lackey in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, looked at why and how shift work impacts worker productivity, and they attempted to find a relationship between the length of shift work and resulting efficiency. Their objective was to quantify the effects of shift work on labor productivity. Their results showed the potential of shift work can be both beneficial and detrimental to productivity. Small amounts of well-organized shift work can perform very effectively in response to schedule compression (p.203), but the study also showed that prolonged use of a second shift can lead to a negative impact on efficiency and productivity. The author addresses the attitudes of workers as it relates to the question of productivity of the employee’s in the U.S. automobile industry. Norsworthy and Zabala (1985), attempt to explain the effect on direct labor efficiency (a measure of labor productivity) and product quality of industrial relations performance, as measured by grievances, disciplinary actions, absenteeism, contract demands, negotiations length, and the climate of industrial relations. Their finding state grievance rates are associated with low productivity of production workers which results in high unit costs of production. The study also â€Å"offers strong exhibit that the benefit of improving workers behavior can be enormous† (p.557). The line between labors policies and workers can lead to improved worker attitudes and a rise of productivity. Shift work is the way of life for those who work within the manufacturing industry. Depending on what type of schedule workers on required to be on can have an effect on employee risk or costs to the company. In a report done by Circadian, who specialize in workforce solutions, having those that will be doing the labor work for that manufacturer involved in the decision making with respect to what type shift schedule they are on can go a long ways in having happier, more productive workforce. A resounding message throughout the reports was that one of mostly commonly seen things that affect such things as errors during particular shifts was fatigue. Research methodology Efficiency is an integral requirement in the workplace as it encompasses proper input, output, and high returns for the company (Anderson, 2013). An analysis conducted at GMC, a manufacturing firm, has revealed some inconsistency in the levels of productivity resulting from the activities of its workforce. The early shift workers or employees have posted better output and results more than the late shifts. Two main hypotheses have been supplemented to explain this anomaly. First, the disparity has been linked to machine failure but this has been ruled out due to the routine upgrades and checks, which are usually done on the machines. Secondly, employees in the late night shift may be under-performing as they are making a higher quality product, which takes more time. Management believes there are discrepancies in the quality and quantity of work being produced. Our team was brought in to conduct data analysis to solve and/or assist with the decisions to be made. After listening to their concern the following two variables were developed: Population and Size Collectively, the early and late night shift is composed of 385 employees with twenty in each shift. The population selected for this research activity will be the members of the workforce involved in the early and late night shifts of the company. Target Population and Justification The target populations are the employees who are involved in both the late and early shifts. Their involvement in the research process is based on the fact that they are involved in the activity or area where a problem has been identified in GMC. The equal representation of the employees in the research’s sample size is meant to ensure uniformity in the findings and the recommendations channeled or communicated to the company’s management (Anderson, 2013). Sampling Method The sampling will be conducted through observation and a survey actualized through the administration of a 5-question questionnaire. One research officer will be expected to carefully observe the activities of workers who are part of the early shift while another one will observe the same number of employees in the late night shift. The observation process will be conducted randomly over a 2-week period, with emphasis on the motivation levels of the employees, their input and subsequent output. To supplement the observation process, questionnaires will then be given to employees involved in the analysis process. The questionnaire will contain 5 questions which are listed below: 1. Age: 20-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 >55 2. Sex: F M 3. How many years have you worked nights? 0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 >20 4. Do you feel management is available to assist with your needs? Yes No 5. Are all the tools and supplies necessary for your jobs accessible? Yes No The two sampling techniques will be pivotal in establishing the problems, which are leading or contributing to the company’s low levels of productivity. Random Sampling Technique used and Justification The research will use the simple random sampling technique to obtain people who are supposed to be involved in the study. The rationale behind using the random sampling method is the fact that it gives all the members of the population an equal opportunity to be involved in the research process. The use of this random sampling technique leads to the elimination of bias in the research process thus enhancing the credibility and integrity of the study’s findings and subsequent recommendations (Oliver, 2010). Protection of Human Subjects The 384 employees involved in the research or study process will be protected by ensuring the anonymity of their responses, comments, and conduct on the company’s premises. Where necessary, alphabetical numbers will be assigned to the various subjects involved in the research process. This will prevent any cases of victimization or witch-hunt, which may result from the remarks communicated by the employees. Data Collection As mentioned earlier, the data will be collected through the observation and survey methods. The survey will be conducted using a 5-question questionnaire as shown above. Data or information collected from the analysis process will be recorded into the soft copy format and then stored in the researchers’ Drop Box account. This is an online information storage service, which is preferred for its top-notch security measures (May, 2011). The secure storage of the data will make certain that it cannot be tampered with to influence the recommendations that are meant to be obtained from the findings. According to Anderson (2013), password protection where cloud or online storage is involved is integral, Drop Box provides this option to all its users. Only authorized individuals will be allowed or able to access the data stored in this online service. Challenges Faced It was difficult and time consuming to reach all the selected employees as some ware available only during night shift. The researchers had to work at night. Descriptive Statistics Interpretation Employees Early and Late Shift 384 employees from the early and late shift were randomly selected. The sample size was 192 employees being selected from each shift. Random sampling was conducted to afford all of the 384 employees an opportunity of being selected and to eliminate bias. Their ages ranged between 20 and 55 years, with variations of plus or minus 19 years. One half or more of the employees were 37.5 years of age or older. The middle half of those selected fell between 28 and 47 years. The most frequent age was 37 years. Their ages were considered to help gage motivation, maturity, and productivity of the employees on both shifts. Interpretation of the results Employees with the least experience (0-5 years) work night shift with those with much experience work (over 20 years) day shift. From the results it’s clear that experience is not affecting productivity. Notably, employees with working experience of 11-15 years’ work day shift. This implies that most night shift workers are youth while those for day shift are aged. This is supported by the number of years night shift employees have spent in the company (Less than 5). Results and Findings Age Almost seventy-eight percent of the workers were between the ages of 26-45. 15.8% were between 20-25, 36.4% were from 26-35, 31.2% were from 36-45, 14% were from 46-55 and only 2.6% were over 55 years of age. Sex Just over twenty-five percent (25.2%) of workers sampled were women and the remaining 74.8% were men. We did not tie worker gender to which shift the worker was employed. Years of Experience The majority of workers selected had either less than 5 years of experience (36.4%) or between 11-15 years of experience (28.6%). Of the 140 workers with less than 5 years of experience, 30% worked day shift and 70% worked night shift. Of the 110 with 11-15 years of experience, 70% worked day shift and 30% worked night shift. See Appendix B for further details. Management Availability and Resources Almost ninety percent (89.9) of workers sampled felt that management was available to assist with any problems and 80% felt they had the required tools to perform their job successfully. Conclusion Team B’s research was not able to show a specific correlation to productivity based on age. There is however, a difference in productivity between the two shifts. Our research appears to show that the day shift, with a larger percentage (65.1%) is more productive and that the decrease in production at night could be related to less experience. Recommendations The management should mix the young employees with the aging ones in both the day and night shift. This does not necessarily need to be a permanent change in shifts but by moving some of the more experienced workers around they can aid in the mentorship of the lesser experienced workers. Doing this can speed the development of those with less experience in order to strengthen the respective shift if management decides alter the shifting in the future when significant ground has been made with evening out the productivity of both shifts. Area for further study Further study should be done to tie and evaluate the impact of age on productivity. Management could also look at better working conditions as an indicator of productivity. Lastly, look age and experience of the employees across the two shifts and how to better mix the levels of both. References Anderson, N. G. (2013). Practical Process Research & Development (Revised ed.). San Diego: Academic Press. Basu, C. (n.d.). Examples of independent variables in business. . Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/141597585/Scienc Boudreau, N. S., & McClave, J. T. (2011). Student’s Solutions Manual, Statistics for Business, 11th edition, Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Davis, W., & Aguirre, A. (2009). Shift Scheduling and Employee Involvement: The Key to Successful Schedules. Retrieved August 7, 2014. Lankford, W. M. (1998, June 21). Changing Schedules: A Case for Alternative Schedules of Work. Career Development international, 3.4, 161-163. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from Miller Library. May, T. (2011). Social Research Issues, Methods and Process (4th ed.). Maidenhead, Berkshire, England: McGraw Hill, Open University Press. Oliver, P. (2010). Understanding the Research Process. Los Angeles: SAGE. Staines, G. L., & Pleck, J. H. (1984). Nonstandard Work Schedules and Family Life. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69(3), 515-523. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.69.3.515. Takahashi, M. (2012, March 13). Prioritizing Sleep for Healthy Work Schedules. Physiological Anthropology. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from Miller Library. Taylor, E. (n.d.). Dependent and independent variables Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://de.cyclopaedia.net/wiki/Dependent_and_independent_variables. Hanna, A.S., Chang, C., Sullivan, K.T. and Lackney, J. A. (2008, March). Impact of Shift Work on Labor Productivity Contractor. Journal of Construction Management, 134(3), 197-204. Norsworthy, J. and Zabala, C. (1985). Worker Attitudes, Worker Behavior, and Productivity in The U.S. Automobile Industry, 1959-1976. Industrial & La bor Relations Review, 38(4), 544-557. Robert Schoenenberger, 2011, General Motors Sets Overtime Shift for Lordstown to Meet Growing Chevrolet Cruze demand. Retrieved from http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/general_motors_sets_overtime_s.html GM News. 2012, GM to Add Third Shift, 800 Jobs at Arlington Assembly, http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Jun/0622_arlington.html

How College Students Use Wikipedia for Course-Related Essay

Why then are academics so wary about the use of Wikipedia within universities? There are a number of related reasons. Before outlining them we should acknowledge that there may be differences according to academic discipline in attitudes towards Wikipedia. Speaking to academics from the natural and medical sciences over the last year, it seems that those subjects are less concerned with issues of originality of source than the arts and social sciences. It also may be [pic] and this is genuine speculation [pic] that academics in the English speaking world, where most of the academic controversy over Wikipedia use has been, are more sensitive to the source than in other parts of the world. These qualifications aside, there are definite reasons why Wikipedia use is, at the very least, contentious in universities. First, it is the product of anonymous individuals rather than known authorities, Wales is quite explicit on this: One of the fastest things we’re beginning to lose is the view of the world that there are a handful of thoughtful, intelligent people that should be broadcasting their views to everyone. And then the public is some sort of crazed rabble, easily swayed by rhetoric and so forth. Now we have to have a more nuanced understanding. Wikipedia is not necessarily anti-academic but it is anti-elitist as evidenced by the short shrift given to eminent academics in debates when they expected deference (see Keen 2007, 43[pic]4). Second, the non-proprietary nature of Wikipedia cuts against academic culture which valorises the rights of the author and publisher. Third, the anonymity of Wikipedia articles is alien to the cache of the named writer of the journal article or book. Fourth, the collaborative process challenges the norm of individual creation, prevalent in the arts and social sciences. Fifth, as intimated, Wikipedia departs from the standard mode of vetting by peer review. It is not true that articles are not reviewed. On the contrary, they are scrutinised by far more editors than for any journal. However, as the contributor is generally not an academic expert, so the reviewer is not generally an academic expert. So Wikipedia rejects academic custom in the compilation of knowledge. In addition, there are a number of what might be termed ‘learning and teaching’ issues pertaining to its use within universities. First, there is the issue of the accuracy of Teaching in Higher Education 651 Downloaded by [University of Glasgow] at 05:27 12 December 2012 Wikipedia entries, something that relates to the lack of formal expertise and peer review. Reviews of the accuracy of Wikipedia entries by formal expert(s) have actually been generally positive (for natural sciences see Giles 2005; American history Meier 2008). Despite this, the suspicion still surrounds Wikipedia that it cannot be trusted. O’Sullivan’s (2009, 119) assertion that ‘most people probably have an ambivalent attitude toward Wikipedia, thankful for its existence, using it frequently, but with reservations about its total reliability’ seems valid. Some academics would no doubt sympathise with the sardonic observation of comedian Frankie Boyle that Wikipedia entries should begin with ‘I reckon’. Second, some have questioned whether Wikipedia’s determination for studied neutrality is convincing. O’Sullivan (2010) complains that as Wikipedia only displays one voice, diversity is not incorporated and therefore articles become bland. Wales’s response is unapologetic: ‘Guilty as charged, we’re an encyclopedia’ (in Read 2006). Not that his approach to knowledge is without theory, it derives rather from his admiration for the convoluted ‘objectivist philosophy’ of Aryan Rand, the Russian e?migre? philosopher and novelist (Younkins 2007). A third learning and teaching concern is that, regardless of the reliability of Wikipedia, it is in itself an illegitimate form of research. Here the thinking would be that a student who culls Wikipedia for assignments does not understand scholarship. This consists of the consideration of various sources: a judicious sifting and ordering of knowledge, rather than lifting bite sized chunks of text that purport to capture a subject. On this Wales concurs, telling students: ‘For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia’ (in Young 2006). Some universities in the US have banned Wikipedia use, whilst others recommend a more discriminating approach (Jaschik 2007; Murley 2008). The latter is what Wales and others within Wikipedia advise: it should be used only as a starting place in academic research, a references source and a revision aid. What, however, is the evidence on Wikipedia use by students and academics at universities?

Alpen Bank: Launching the Credit Card in Romania

Alpen Bank: Launching the Credit Card in Romania Written Analysis of Case Presented to: Miss Tania Hassan Presented by: * Case Overview: Alpen bank has to make a crucial decision whether or not they should launch the credit card business in Romania. The bank had to come up with a market strategy that can generate at least â‚ ¬5 million in profit within 2 years. Prior to introduction of the credit card in the market the Bank has to analyze whether an opportunity exists for the launch of the credit card. It has to further decide how to position the card in the market, what should be the target audience for the service.The bank has currently established a premium image by targeting the affluent class. Core Problem: Whether to launch credit card if it adds â‚ ¬ 5million profit to consumer bank segment within 2 years. The Alpen Bank seems hesitant to launch the credit card due to the existence of following problems: * Low per-capita income levels. * The population seemed inexperienc e with the usage of credit card. Consumer spending was cash based and merchant acceptance of card payments was low. Analysis: Opportunity: Considering the economic and market conditions as explained in the case, Alpen Bank should launch a credit card.It seems that Alpen Bank has an opportunity as economic environment in Romania had changed from 2006 after it joined European Union. The economy there was developing; a growing trends of luxury purchasing emerged, there was also an increasing likeliness of using card instead of cash and lastly other competitors had already taken similar strategies in the market. The credit and debit card market of Romania is also seen to grow at a good pace of 35% in 2006 and about 9. 5million cards were being used in the market. Apart from certain positives there are certain problems in credit card market too.People use cards generally for withdrawing cash rather than for buying products or services so there is less revenue driven from transactions. Ev en merchants are still ignorant in accepting credit cards and prefer payments through cash Thus it shows that Alpen has an opportunity to cash on the credit card but it would require efforts especially in marketing the card. Positioning: Alpen Bank has established a premium image and reputation of serving the affluent clientele. The bank should focus on its current strength rather than penetrating into a new customer base.The affluent class represents the top 10% of population which has about 24% of wealth. They are priced less sensitive and thus positioning the card on high end would be beneficial for the bank. They are career oriented; active professionals who would like to use their cards frequently for making purchases Moreover, for countries like Romania, it is seen that credit cards are somewhat  stickier as compared to the developed countries. This shows that if Alpen positions its card as a high end product, it will gain a share of market which would stick to its card. The middle class is also a potential market for the credit card.The middle class also has a huge potential especially in terms of the size of  market however they are more price-focused and would only welcome this new credit card if  the interest rates are low. They also have a  monthly income which supports them to have a credit card. Based on the attitudes of customers in other emerging economies it can be said that customers in middle-income class have a lower actual utilization rate when compared  with affluent class. If Alpen Bank currently emphasize on Affluent class it would be safer for it rather than it focuses on middle class. As today’s middle class may become affluent class of tomorrow.The decision whether to target affluent class or middle class depends on the revenue they generate solely or combined. The final objective of the analysis is to identify the profit generated if Alpen Bank serves Affluent class solely or it serves both. For this purpose we have analyzed the financial data provided to us in the case. Target Segment| Annual Income| %age of Potential Card Holders| Potential Card Holders| Annual Revenue| Total Revenue| Middle Class| 3,000-4500| 18. 2%| 3385200| 60. 63| 205244676| Affluent| 4500-6000| 15%| 2790000| 123. 38| 344230200| Most Affluent| 6000+| 12. 9%| 2399400| 209. 5| 503274150| Total| | | 8574600| | 1052749026| Total Population Qualify for credit Card = 18. 6million Revenue Per Card Holder (all three classes) = 122. 78 Revenue Per Card Holder ( Affluent+ Most Affluent)=163. 31 In the above scenario we have first calculated the value of each segment. Given in the case is that the population of Cardholders is 18. 6 million. Through exhibit 5 we determine the percentage of potential cardholder for each segment give in the above table column 3. Through that we determine the Potential card holder. After that we multiply the population of each segment with that of annual revenue.After summing up the total revenue we div ide once it with the population of combine three segments to derive Revenue Per card holder, and once with the population of Affluent + Most affluent to derive at the value of Revenue per card holder of affluent and most affluent. Customer Acquisition for All Customers | Unit Cost| Prospect Reached| ResponseRate| Qualification Rate| Conversion Rate| No. of Customer| Total Cost| Cost per Customer| Direct Mail| 0. 50| 2500000| 3%| 60%| 85%| 38250| 1250000| 32. 68| Take One| 0. 10| 2000000| 2. 5%| 30%| 85%| 12750| 200000| 15. 69| FSIs| 0. 05| 3500000| 1. %| 30%| 85%| 13388| 175000| 13. 07| Direct Sales| 3000/rep| 60000| 25%| 60%| 85%| 7650| 3000| 3. 92| Branch Cross-Sell| 1| 50000| 50%| 90%| 85%| 19125| 50000| 2. 61| | | | | | | 91163| 1710000| 18. 75| No. of Customer= 2500000 * 0. 03 *0. 60* 0. 85 In case of Affluent Class the Number of Customer will be reduced by 50% for Direct Mail, Take One and FSIs so the cost per customer for Affluent class will be 18. 31 Profit Calculation All C ustomers| 50,000| | 100,000| Revenue( 122. 78)| 6,139,000| Revenue( 122. 78)| 12,278,000| Acquisition Cost(18. 75)| (937,500)| Acquisition Cost(18. 5)| (1,875,000)| Direct Cost (20)| (1,000,000)| Direct Cost (17. 5)| (875,000)| Revenue| 4,201,500| Revenue| 9528000| Less| | Less| | Fixed Cost| 5,000,000| Fixed Cost| 5,750,000| Advertising Expense| 2,000,000| Advertising Expense| 2,000,000| Total Profit/( Loss)| (2,798,500)| Total Profit/( Loss)| 1,778,000| Through the above calculation of profit we can identify that Breakeven is occurring in between 50,000 and 100,000 customers. So now we calculate the breakeven. X in the following formulae is assumed to be additional customers. 122. 78 ( X+ 50,000) – ( 5,750,000+2,000,000) – ( 50,000*17. 5 + 36. 5*X) =0 X= 28,758 Break Even = 50,000+ 28,758= 78,758 At 150,000 customers we are generating revenue of greater than 5million so to identify the no. customer at which we get 5million profit we develop the following formulae 122 . 78( X+100,000)- ( 650,000+2,000,000) – ( 100,000*15 + 33. 75*Y) = 5,000,000 No. Of Customer =130,574 We apply the same process to the affluent class. Break Even: 163. 31( X+ 50,000) – ( 5,750,000 + 2,000,000) – ( 50000* 17. 5 + 35. 81* X) = 0 X= 3,604 Break Even = 53,604 Revenue Analysis: 163. 31 ( X+50,000) – ( 6,500,000 + 2,000,000) – ( 15*100,000 + 35. 81* X)= 5,000,000 X=42,820No. of Customer = 92,820 Recommendations: After doing the further breakeven and revenue analysis we recommend ALPEN bank to launch credit Card. The Bank is able to generate the profit as required. The bank should Position Credit Card as a high-end premium product in the initial stages. Firstly it is easy for bank to cater the need of the existing customers. By positioning the product in the affluent class the Bank is able to reach breakeven point in less number of customers. After getting a strong foothold in the market the Bank should focus of targeting the middle clas s as they are affluent class of tomorrow.