Critically evaluate and discuss Balanced Scorecard Essay

Critically evaluate and discuss Balanced Scorecard - Essay Example customer issues, internal business processes, employing activities and share holders concern. Kaplan and Norton labelled the new tool the balanced scorecard. Many organizations have started using balanced scorecard in order to attain efficiency in their processes. Since it considers all the major components in an organization a total efficiency management is possible in an organization. The four components of balanced scorecard are properly managed in order to create a total efficiency. Balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system, which is extensively, used in business and industry, government, and non profit organizations for doing the business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization. Balanced scorecard is using for improving the internal and external communications and monitoring the organizational performance against the strategic goals of the organization. In earlier stage it was used for the measuring the simple performance of the organization to a full strategic planning and management. New card is focusing not only the performance measurement but also helping the managers what should be done and what should be measuring for attaining the organizational objectives in competitive basis. ... overall business strategy into specific, quantifiable goals and to monitor the organization's performance in terms of achieving these goals." (Balanced Scorecard Methodology, 2005). Competitive Advantage enables the company to operate in a more efficient manner and higher quality manner than the companies to compete with and which helping the company for getting higher more profit. "A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices." (Strategy -competitive advantage). Balance score card is focusing the strategy and its results and improving the organizational performance through measuring the measures in a competitive basis, Focusing on a basis of future performance and also which is used as prioritize projects and initiative basis. Kaplan and Norton described in the following manner, "The balanced scorecard retains traditional financial measures. But financial measures tell the story of past events, an adequate story for industrial age companies for which investments in long-term capabilities and customer relationships were not critical for success. These financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation." (Gnanapoo, 2008). According to his perspective Balanced scorecard having the following areas, Learning and growth perspective Customer Perspective Financial Perspective International Business perspective (What is balanced scorecard 2007). The learning and growth perspective is related to the learning and development

It's Beginning to Hurt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

It's Beginning to Hurt - Essay Example He gets astonished to see a young woman that his father was marrying. Although he lacks authority over his father’s choice in marriage, he commands to a great extend through his facial expression that the woman was not the best for his father. The father is the most authoritative person in the setup. He cautions his son not to send a message that can instigate his wife to leave him for his son. The father who is now a widower had earlier been a victim of infidelity in his marriage and were not ready to face the situation again. The newly wedded wife also shows some authority when she offers to embrace her stepson. The son had missed the nuptial, but heads to the reception. He was dressed in a muddy clothes after getting stuck into the mud on his way to the wedding. The mud he got stuck in acted as a cleansing agent for the admiration of his father’s wife. His stepmother embraces him in his muddy clothes as a way of showing him love and as an authority that she will love him just like her son. The three characters best demonstrates the authoritative personality in the

How Ruth Portrays Herself From Never Let Me Go Essay Example for Free

How Ruth Portrays Herself From Never Let Me Go Essay In the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Ruth wants to portray her as being better than other clones. Ruth portrays herself in this matter because she does not want to be a typical clone. This is because a clones’ only purpose is to donate organs. For example in the text it states â€Å"what you’ve got to realize,† she said to Chrissie, â€Å"is that even though Tommy was at Hailsham he isn’t like a real Hailsham student. He was left out of everything and people were always laughing at him. So there’s no point in asking him about anything like this† (Page 155). With this quote one can see that Ruth is trying to down grade Tommy and make her seem special by inferring that she is qualified for deferrals and Tommy is not. Also in the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro it states â€Å"For the first weeks after we arrived, she made a big deal of it, always putting her arm around Tommy, sometimes snagging him in the corner of a room while other people were still about† (Page 120). With this quote one can see that Ruth is trying to make herself feel superior because she is in a couple and the others are not. Another example that’s Ruth wants to better then other clones is in the novel when if states â€Å"She was the one always pretending to have finished anything anyone happened to be reading; and she was the only one with this notion that the way to demonstrate your superior reading was to go around telling people the plots of novels they were in the middle of† (Page 123). With this quote one can see the effort Ruth puts in to try to be better than the other clones by reading books before everyone else to be able to rub in their faces that she knows the plot already. Also in the text it states â€Å"Ruth came a step closer.†My best horse,† she said,† is thunder. I can’t let you ride on him. He’s much too dangerous. But you can ride Bramble, as long as you don’t use your crop on him† (Page 46). With this quote one can see that Ruth is trying to be special by stating that only she  can ride the best house and Kathy cannot. Last but not least in the novel Ruth states â€Å"I know how it worried you,† she said. â€Å"I should have told you, I should have said how it was the same for me too. Just the way you described it. You realise all of this I know. But you didn’t back then, and I should have said. I should have told you how ever though I was with Tommy I couldn’t resist doing it with other people sometimes† (Page 231-232) with this quote one can see that Ruth is confessing that she was trying to be better than Kathy because Kathy once told Ruth that she had desires about sex and Ruth acted as though Kathy was weird because she never had feeling such as the ones Kathy described. With these quotes from the passage it is clear that Ruth wants to portray herself as special among other clones.

Factors Which Affect Peoples Travel Patterns Tourism Essay

Factors Which Affect Peoples Travel Patterns Tourism Essay This essay will discuss the extent to which the form and structure of the city, along with its transport network influences individual travel patterns. The different types of areas within metropolitan Perth will also be taken into consideration. Due to the fact that the size of a city correlates with its density, the densest cities tend to also be the largest cities, which will in turn mean that people living in such a city are expected to embark on longer commutes. According to Brindle, there is a small but significant relationship between residential density and car ownership: a large increase in residential density is associated with a small decrease in car ownership. It can also be deducted that the primary determinants of car ownership in a home include the size of the household, income, and the number of workers per household. Transit availability is also a significant factoring determining car ownership. (Brindle R 2003) Recent research shows that peoples travel behavior is related to certain characteristics of the built environment. This kind of travel behavior which includes trip-making frequency, distance and time travelled havebeen studied for a variety of land use patterns, street networks and streetscape design features. Table 1gives a synthesis of past research on urban form and travel behaviour relationship. Broadly, it can beobserved that studies related to urban form and travel patterns originate from diverse sources andencompass a variety of geographic scale and locations. To add to this diversity, many differentcharacteristics of urban form too have been examined in these studies and travel patterns have beenmeasured in a number of ways. This section brings together the urban form indicators used and results ofrecent studies concerning urban form and travel patterns.Travel patterns are a result of individual choice to pursue activity at another location, choice ofdestination, choice of mode, choice of route and time (Munshi, 2003). Thus travel is a function ofcharacteristics of the base location (origin of the travel) and the environment surrounding the baselocation. The surrounding environment to the base location has been studied in various terms, e.g.through distance to opportunities, like distance to city centre or sub centres. Distance to the city centrehas been studied in relation to travel distance and transport energy consumption by (Naess and Sandberg,1996; Stead and Marshall, 2001; Mogridge, 1985). Another indicator of the surrounding environment tothe base location is related to the mixing of land use as this is assumed to affect the physical separation ofactivities in the environment surrounding the base location and therefore is a determinant of travel Page 3 XIII Back to menu Retour ausommaire 3 demand. It has been mainly measured as the job ratio and has been studied in relation to journeyfrequency in (Ewing, 1995) as well as in relation to proportion of trips made by non-motorized modes in(Cervero, 1989). The proportion of residential to non residential use has also been studied in relation to atransport mode index in (Zhang and Guindon, 2006). An aggregate measure of land use mix (termed asdiversity) was examined by Cervero and Kockelman (1997), who report a link between land use mix andtotal non-work travel distance. The provision of local facilities and services may clearly reduce traveldistance and increase the proportion of short journeys capable of being travelled by non-motorizedmodes. Winter and Farthing (1997) reported that the provision of local facilities in new redevelopmentreduces average trip distances. Hanson (Hanson, 1982) reports similar findings, showing that theproximity to local facilities is positively associated with average distance taking into account averagesocio-economic characteristics of the trip maker. The type of neighbourhood at the base location is alsoknown to affect travel as reported in Cevero and Kockelman (1997). They found that neighbourhoodswith high proportion of four-way intersection and limited on-street parking abutting commercialestablishment tended to have an average less drive-alone travel for non-work purposes. Factors which affect peoples travel patterns Humans are naturally built to move around and travel. As soon as a person starts growing and has the strength, the person begins to go to various destinations and starts crawling around the house or running around, or walking to a friends house. As adults we frequently hurry to vehicles to go off somewhere. According to their age and other socio-demographic factors, people travel to various places by many modes. As it is though, the environment in which we currently live is planned for and traditionally suited to automobile travel. This narrow transportation planning vision compromises all of our travel decisions, but increasingly so for children and the caregivers who must provide them transportation to their important activities such as education and social events (Beauumont and Pianca 20023.2 Transportation Mode and Spatial Learning Although studies carried out by cognitive mapping researchers point to a connection between spatial learning, and travel patterns, not much can be concluded about the manner in which existing transportation infrastructures affect peoples travel patterns and route selection. Recent research suggests that transportation infrastructure and modal networks such as transit routes, sidewalks, local streets, bike lanes, freeway networks and roads does have an effects on the travel behavior and the development of cognitive maps.The hierarchical nature of both transportation networks and land use systems in an urbanenvironment can affect the cognitive mapping process. In general, the more significant aparticular pathway or landmark is to an individuals navigation, the more it will dominate thecognitive map (7). The hierarchies of pathways in a region, such as highway and freewaysegments dominating arterial and main roads, which in turn dominate local community andneighborhood street systems, contribute to the hierarchical organization of cognitive maps. Infact, individuals will recognize elements in the environment more quickly if primed by a cue Mondschein, Blumenberg, and Taylor6from the same portion of their regional hierarchy. Zannaras also found that the layout of a citysignificantly explained variations in the accuracy of wayfinding and location tasks (20). Sectorally-organized cities proved the more effective for remembering locations, whileconcentrically-organized cities made wayfinding and location tasks more difficult. Likewise,familiarity, or route learning, is clearly an important part of both route selection and modechoice because familiarity is dependent on repeated experience. Stern and Portugali highlighttwo aspects of route familiarity: [1] Familiarity with city structures, specific experience of a given locality in the city, and a general familiarity with the road hierarchy, signage, and traffic also affect peoples travel patterns. People who made use of different modes of transportation and travel tend to develop different degrees of familiarity with each transport system. This shows that individuals who use different transportation networks, will understand the same urban environment from differing perspectives. For example automobile users and transit users, will understand a given city in very different ways. Much of the scholarship on cognitive mapping has focused on drivers and the street andhighway network (22). This emphasis is likely due to the dominant role of automobiles as wellas the route flexibility associated with using the street network. Yet preliminary evidencesuggests that cognitive maps are differentially shaped by alternate transportation modes. Forexample, we know that individuals who rely on public transit or walking, on average, travelshorter distances and travel less frequently than those who travel by motor vehicle. Therefore,one can hypothesize that the scope of their spatial knowledge would be more limited anddifferently configured (by, for example, the network of transit routes) than those who rely onautomobiles and can travel longer distances at greater flexibility and speed. The quality and detail of spatial maps also may differ by mode. In a study of childrentraveling to school, active modes of travel, such as walking and biking, appear to contributemore to the development of spatial knowledge than passive modes of travel, such as beingchauffeured by an adult or riding in a school bus. Specifically, walking and cycling to schoolhave been found to increase knowledge of the environment in comparison to children who arebused (23). These results suggest that variation in transportation mode may result in verydifferent levels of functional accessibility for individuals from otherwise similar socioeconomicor cultural backgrounds. Finally, research also suggests that travel behavior is influenced by perceptions ofdistance which affect the decision to stay or goà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the decision of where to goà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[and] thedecision of which route to take (24). Cognition of environmental distance is influenced bypathway features, travel time, and travel effort which are substantially different depending ontravel mode (25). The characteristics of travel by transit, which include indeterminate waiting attransfer points and walking trips between services, may add to cognitive distance in a way thatauto travel does not.Drawing on a path-based theory of spatial learning, differences in cognitive mapsbetween socioeconomic groups may also be explained at least in part by the different travelpatterns of those groups. Certainly, adults in higher income households are more likely to havereliable access to automobiles. In contrast, over one quarter of low-income households do nothave automobiles and are transit dependent (26). But transit use is also high among adults inlow-income households with automobiles since oftentimes there are too few vehicles toaccommodate the number of household drivers. In addition to the well documented role that cognitive maps play in explainingwayfinding and route choice, we hypothesize that travel by different modes in more or lesstransit- and pedestrian-friendly areas systematically manifests in individuals cognitive mapsstructured more by transit networks (i.e. transit lines, stations, and stops) than by the arterials,Mondschein, Blumenberg, and Taylor7collectors, and local streets that make up urban street networks. In other words, a modallyspecific wayfinding experience significantly and systematically influences the formation ofcognitive maps. And these maps, in turn, influence trip generation, trip distribution, and modechoice The impact of differences in socio-demographics on personal travel behavior Individuals generate extremely complex travel-activity patterns as they participate in daily activities at different times and in different locations many researchers have conceptualized this observed behavior patterns as the outcome of choices made within constraints. The preferred activity choices utility maximization is employed. Maintenance of an individuals schedule is the key service, this helps activities to be scheduled, the individuals all have an agenda and all negotiate with other individuals to schedule social activities more especially negotiating about participants, location and time. Individuals update their state after participating in an activity and this depends on their satisfaction with their activity and no doubt individuals will come across new people as a result of this activities Another important service happens to be the maintenance of a personal network because just as their activities are influenced by their social network, their network in turn is influenced by their activity participation; individuals may visit or learn about new locations, they will also keep track of these locations they are familiar with, they will likely share them with others which is a form of influence Interaction design: interaction between agents are an important component of agent- based applications. Agents have agenda, interact and negotiate with others to schedule social activities and it includes participants, locations and time, agents interactionx have several components, the negotiation set ( the possible proposal) strategies, a rule to determine that the interaction is complete (Wooldridge, 2002) Fatima et, al (2002) explains three methods for dealing with issues in multi-issue negotiation: all issues discussed together, issues discussed separately or issues discussed one after the other. It has been shown that proposing complete deals at each step is computationally more complex because it has such advantage as pareto optimality (Fatima et al 2006). For the negotiation set, list of activity pattern has been developed including the activity purpose and location as well as indication of which acquaintances are likely to be involved and when interacting with colleagues likely during the week while weekend is for family visit In the model, it is difficult to decide issues independently eg the activity is likely to determine time, location etc and the order they should be discussed, should the activity or the location be decided first? However the choices sets for certain issues are decided independently. The protocol proceeds as follows the host proposes an activity to one or more of its acquaintances eg time and location could be there the respondent gives possible days and time they will be available, the host adjust the time to make it convenient for many to be available the respondent suggest location, the host creates intersection amongst those received, the host creates list bof potential activities, the respondent ranks them the host determinesa best activity based on every ones ranking and informs respondent of the details The effects of urban form and structure on personal travel behavior The relationship between city structure and travel behavior has been extensively researched by urban economists, geographers, and city planners. There has been a steady increase in the rate of car ownership and use in the twentieth century. There also seems to have been a steady decline in the use of transit and other modes, and the decentralization of both population and employment. Trends in travel and land use have complimented and re-enforced one another: growingcar ownership generated demand for highways, development of the highway systemchanged accessibility patterns, and population and jobs responded to these new patternsof accessibility (Jackson, 1986; Muller, 1981, 1995). By 1990, the suburbs of USmetropolitan areas were home to about 62 percent of the metropolitan population and 52percent of the jobs. At the same time, per capita car ownership and travel have reachedall-time highs (Pisarksy, 1996). 1 This section is drawn from Giuliano, 2000.2 See reviews by Giuliano, 1995; Anas, Arnott, and Small, 1998; Pickrell, 1999. From a broad perspective, city form, structure, land use and transportation trends are quite closely related. However, the historical record does not necessarily provideuseful evidence for understanding land use and transportation at a single point in time,and the empirical research on relationships between daily travel and land usecharacteristics is far less clear. Metropolitan Size and DensityExtensive research has been conducted on the relationship between metropolitandensity and modal split, commute trip length and total automobile travel. Newman andKenworthy (1989a, 1989b, 1998) conducted comparative studies of per capita gasolineconsumption and metropolitan densities. A comparison of cities around the worldyielded a non-linear relationship of increasing per capita gasoline consumption withdeclining density. Their work has been extensively criticized, primarily because percapita fuel consumption is an indirect measure of auto travel and because they fail toaccount for many other factors which affect automobile use, such as the employment rateor household size (Gordon and Richardson, 1989; Gomez-Ibaņ ez, 1991). Pushkarev and Zupan (1977) documented a positive relationship betweenpopulation density and transit use, using data from 105 urbanized areas for 1960 and1970. Gordon, Richardson, and Jun (1991) found that cities with higher average densitieshave longer automobile commute times than those with lower average densities. Notingthat density is a measure of concentration, the authors conclude that shorter commutesindicate greater efficiency of low density urban form: decentralization of both populationand jobs allows people to economize to a greater extent in selecting their job and housinglocations. The effects of various transport networks and service patterns on personal travel behavior. The personal travel environment can be described in terms of such dimensions as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Location à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Access to the central-place system of the region (Christaller, 1933) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Access to work, shopping and leisure facilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Provision of infrastructure facilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Public transport supply à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Settlement structure and density à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Topographybut also in terms of certain configurations, such as suburban structures, urban blocks or de-tached house-settlements. As an outcome of this differentiation and of the functional separa-tion in general, the individual environments offer different opportunities with regards towork, shopping or leisure activities.This paper analyses the interactions between these spatial dimensions, the individual charac-teristics of the travellers and the observed travel behaviour. The Personal Travel behavior of various individuals is affected by transportation network and service pattern in a city. This personal travel behavior which includes both the short-term and long-term travel choices of individuals in the city constitutes some central elements like car ownership and season tickets for public transportation, as well as destination, mode, activity and choice of location. Going by recent research and literature, there hasnt been any consensus reached about the effects of city spatial structure on personal travel behavior. Generally, there are differeing opinions about thsis. Some studies suggest that the impact of transportation network and service pattern on personal travel behavior is rather small (Bagley and Moktharian, 2000; Schimek, 1996;Petersen and Schallabà ¶ck, 1995; Downs, 1992; Schmiedel, 1984). Some other studies lean towards the conclusion that at least some variables are dependent on the transportation network, spatial structure and service pattern obtainable in the city. (Ewing andCervero, 2001; Newman and Kenworthy, 1999; Wiederin, 1997; Holz-Rau, 1990; Sammer etal., 1990). Travel behavior is also affected by accessibility of facilities. this also goes to show the efforts of the surrounding residential area on individual travel behavior. If a person is able to reach a range of facilities within walking distance, then the probability of a locally oriented travel behavior with smaller distances will increase, as well as increased number of walking trips The reason for this contradiction is not a basic difference in the assumptions accepted, butrather the selected spatial variables and the approaches used. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Spatial structure: For example, some investigations concluding space- independence of travel behaviour characterise the spatial structure of areas only bythe number of inhabitants a variable known to have little explanatory power inother investigations, either. According to other studies the accessibility of facilities is one of the most important spatial variables (Kitamura, Akiyama, Yamamoto andGolob, 2001; Handy and Niemeier, 1997; Simma, 2000). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Approaches used: The question, whether the analyses are conducted at an aggregate or disaggregate level, has influence on the results. Mostly, the results at an aggregatelevel are more conclusive than the results at a disaggregate level. One reason for thisis that other factors influencing travel behaviour are normally not included in aggre-gate models. But especially these factors can be very important, as disaggregatemodels have shown (Bagley and Moktharian, 2000; Simma 2000).The remainder of the paper is organised as follows: First, the study area and the computationof accessibility measures is described followed by a description of the data source used forthe analysis. Then the modelling approach Structural Equation Modelling is briefly out-lined. The core of the paper is the discussion of disaggregate person-level models for twomain trip purposes (shopping and working). The results are summarised and interpreted in thediscussion. Based on this recommendations are given. 2. Study area: Upper Austria The general focus of the study the interactions between the spatial structure, personal char-acteristics and travel behaviour cannot be investigated without a specific spatial frame. Inthis case, the Austrian province (Land) Oberà ¶sterreich was selected for two main reasons. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Availability of suitable travel survey data: The provincial government of Up-per Austria conducted a very detailed and quantitatively rich travel survey in1992, whose data was available for the study. Additional spatial variables foreach municipality were added. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Small Austria: Upper Austria can be regarded as a scale model of Austria.All regional types which can be found in Austria also can be found in UpperAustria a big agglomeration from an Austrian perspective, alpine regions, in-dustrial areas and less developed rural regions. Page 5 2.1 General description Upper Austria is one of the nine Austrian provinces. It is located west of Vienna, east of Mu-nich and south of Prague. It has a size of 12000 km ² and about 1.3 million inhabitants. At avery general level Upper Austria can be divided into three parts into the Bà ¶hmische Massivin the north of Upper Austria, the Alpenvorland in the centre of the province and the Alps inthe south.The northern part of Upper Austria is disadvantaged in several ways. This area is neither wellsuited for agriculture nor for tourism. Additionally the border to the Czech Republic wasclosed for the five decades of the Cold War. As a result, the opportunities for industrial de-velopment after World War II were limited. The situation is different in the other parts of Up-per Austria. The Alpenvorland is the centre of agriculture and industry, including a number oflarge scale factory complexes in the main cities. Half of the population lives in the Alpen-vorland, and 13 of the 15 largest towns are situated here. The Alps, especially the Salzkam-mergut with its lakes and the skiing areas, are dependent on tourism, including second-homeownership.Upper Austria consists of 15 districts, three cities with district status (Linz, Steyr and Wels)and 445 incorporated municipalities. The respective district capitals are both centres of thelocal administration, as well as of shopping and industrial location for their area. Linz is thecapital of the province and by far its largest city. The 445 municipalities are very different intheir spatial, socio-demographic and economic characteristics. The provinces overall struc-ture can be characterised as follows (see Table 1 for a more detailed description of the spatialattributes). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Distribution of the inhabitants: 26% of the municipalities have less than 1000inhabitants, 40% of the municipalities have between 1000 and 2000 inhabitantsand further 18% of the municipalities have between 2000 and 3000 inhabitants.Only one municipality has more than 100000 inhabitants Linz. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Location of the municipalities: The location of a municipality can be describedby two distance-variables the distance to the relevant district capital and thedistance to Linz. For the districts along the border to the Land Salzburg, Salz-burg is the relevant main centre for employment and shopping. The distance toSalzburg replaces the distance to Linz for all municipalities, where more resi-dents recorded trips to Salzburg than to Linz. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Number of accessible facilities: The number of accessible facilities is a meas-ure for the supply of activity opportunities for a particular household. It is high,if a household can reach a shop, a supermarket, a bank, a post-office, a kinder- Page 6 garten, school, a pharmacy and a doctor in walking-distance (ten minutes). Itequals zero, if the household cannot reach any facility within this time. In everymunicipality there are at least some households which cannot reach any facilitywithin a reasonable walking distance. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Share of working women: Between 25 and 50% of the women in a municipal-ity are working. This variable is used in the models, because it characterises theimportance of the traditional nuclear family and the sex-specific division of la-bour within the municipalities. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Commuting: Because workplaces are mainly concentrated in Linz and the dis-trict capitals, people in the small villages often have to commute. In some mu-nicipalities more than 80% of the working adults are commuters. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Share of farms: In some communities, the agriculture is still dominant indicat-ing a relatively low state of development. The importance of the agriculture maynot only be shown by its share of employees, but also by the share of farmsamong all buildings. The latter variable is especially interesting because manyfarms are run by farmers on a part-time basis.Table 1Descriptive statistics for the municipalities of Upper Austria (445 municipalities) MeanStandarddeviationMinimumMaximumNumber of inhabitants308110530245208727Distance to district capital1710059Distance to Linz (Salzburg)46210143Number of reachable facilities (mu-nicipality level)2.61.407.2Number of reachable facilities(household)3.93.208Share of farms1912069Share of commuters62111584Share of working women3642550 These figures are calculated for each single municipality without considering the neighbour-ing municipalities and their attributes. Statements across municipal borders can be made byapplying accessibility-measures. Page 7 2.2 Accessibility measures There is a wide range of possible definitions for the term accessibility, such as the potentialof opportunities for interaction, the ease of spatial interaction or the attractiveness of anode in a network taking into Travel is derived from activities that involve people participating in things such as school, work, sport, shopping, social events leisure. Activities that is non-discretionary such as work and school can be explained in part by the travelers socio-demographic characteristics and generalized travel cost (Hackney and Marchal, 2007). Other things not easily predictable are long term decisions such as moving to a particular town, participating in other activities etc, the reported purpose for a large number of trips are social and leisure ranging from 25 to 40% for various countries (Axhausen 2006). Interest people in activities participation is as well driven by our changing use of information communication technology, the need for physically visiting places is drastically reduced by the use of internet for activities such as banking, shopping and participating in online communication or conversation and in overall, it affects peoples travel behaviors. People could change their activity schedules and their transport plans on the fly as a result of receiving information via a mobile phone whilst traveling or participating in an activity outside the home. A graphic representation of individuals and their relationship could be seen in social network, if these social networks are well understood it will lead to a better prediction of social activity schedules and forecast of travel patterns and demand for urban facilities more especially those that have to do with social and leisure activities. The understanding of these social networks comes in handy in influencing the urban design of residential areas and public spaces in order to encourage participation in social leisure activities in local communities. Trip destination is determined by the members of ones social network because that is where the social activities go towards. Mc Pherson et, al. (2001) defined homophile as principle that contact between similar people occurs at a higher rate than among dissimilar people, some of the attributes used as similar measures includes age, social class, occupation, abilities etc. distance plays a key role in the maintenance of relationships. McPherson et al (2001) claim that the most basic source of homophily is space because according to him we are more likely to have contact with those who are closer to us in geographic distance than those who are distant. People influence each other by providing information or observing behavior eg a friend tells you about a barbing saloon and you wish to go get a haircut there. Other factors that indirectly influence travel behaviors includes moving closer to ones workplace, family or choice of vehicle. Greater proportion of travel has to do with social/leisure purposes; there is every need to understand the reason behind these. Agent based modeling is commonly used for applications where the behavior and intentions of heterogeneous individuals as well interactions between individuals is required. Lists of attributes have been presented by Bonabeau (2002) and Macaland North (2006) that systems should possess in order for agent based modeling to be considered include; relationship form and dissolve, agents have dynamic relationship with other agents, agents have a spatial component to their behaviors and interactions . These are complex relationships and interactions between individuals and the individuals situated ness in an urban environment, each agent will have some level of satisfaction and will derive utility from sharing objectives, if along the line they are not satisfied with this current situation, then they will try to change it. The same applies to their involvement in the community, it depends on their needs The environment has a network representation derived from the actual road network. These links contain attributes for the actual distance and ideas of travel times for different modes. Nodes exist at a point in space and mostly contain location that represent where joint activities take place or can be undertaken; there are different types of location and each type has a set of attributes, the major distinction between private and public residence (eg museums, parks, restaurants, gyms etc) they have opening hours Personal social network defines each persons acquaintances, each pair has a type of relationship (eg friend, work etc) and can also tell how long they have seen each other, this model also contain neighborhood, here groups are formal and informal clubs that the individual is a member of eg special interest clubs, sports club etc, here the individual is effectively connected to many people, some connections may remain as friends even when the individual has left the club, t

Colon Cancer Essay -- essays research papers

Colon Cancer What is the disease? Colon and rectal cancer develop in the digestive tract, which is also called the gastrointestinal, or GI, tract. The digestive system processes food for energy and rids the body of solid waste matter (fecal matter or stool). Colon cancer and rectal cancer have many features in common. Sometimes they are referred to together as colorectal cancer. Over 95% of colorectal cancers are ad enocarcinomas. These are cancers of the glandular cells that line the inside of the colon and rectum. Other, less common type of tumors may also develop in the colon and rectum. Carcinoid tumors develop from hormone-producing cells of the intestine. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors develop in the connective tissue and muscle layers in the wall of the colon and rectum. Lymphomas are cancers of immune system cells that typically develop in lymph nodes but may also start in the colon and rectum or other organs. Colorectal cancers are thought to develop slowly over a period of several years. Before a true cancer develops, there usually are precancerous changes in the lining of the colon or rectum. These changes might be dysplasia or adenomatous polyps. A polyp is a growth of tissue into the center of the colon or rectum. Some types of polyps (hyperplastic polyps and inflammatory polyps) are not precancerous. However, having adenomatous polyps, also known as adenomas, does increase a person’s risk of developing cancer, especially if there are many polyps or they are large. In contrast to the inward growth of a polyp, a true cancer can grow inward toward the hollow part of the colon or rectum, and/or outward through the wall of these organs. If not treated, cells from the tumor may break away and spread through the bloodstream or lymph system to other parts of the body. There, they can form "colony" tumors. This process is called metastasis. The colon has four sections. The first section is called the ascending colon. It extends upward on the right side of the abdomen. The second section is called the transverse colon since it goes across the body to the left side. There it joins the third section, the descending colon, which continues downward on the left side. The fourth section is known as the sigmoid colon because of its S-shape. The sigmoid colon joins the rectum, which in turn joins the anus, or the opening where waste matter passes o... ...lon cancers develop from adenomatous polyps. Polyps are precancerous growths in the colon and rectum. Removing them can lower a person's risk by preventing some colorectal cancers before they are fully formed. Is diet a part of this cure? People can lower their risk of developing colorectal cancer by managing the risk factors that they can control, such as diet and physical activity. It is important to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods and to limit intake of high-fat foods. Physical activity is another area that people can control. Even small amounts of exercise on a regular basis can be helpful, at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days. Also, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Some studies suggest that taking a daily multivitamin containing folic acid or folate can lower colorectal cancer risk. Other studies suggest that increasing calcium intake via supplements or low-fat dairy products may lower risk. Studies of vitamin A, C, D, and E supplements have yielded conflicting results, and additional research is needed. Work Cited National Cancer Institute, http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/wyntk_pubs/colon.htm

Anti-Defamation League Essay -- Race Racial Ethnicity Essays

Anti-Defamation League Lawyer Sigmund Livingston in Chicago, IL started the ADL in 1913, with the mission: "to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience, and if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. . . to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike. . . put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens." The ADL has gone from having a small office in Chicago to 30 regional offices as well as international offices in Moscow, Jerusalem, and Vienna. The ADL, as a well-respected political interest group, has been active in influencing United States foreign policy in Middle East countries, such as Israel. Today, under the leadership of National Chair, Howard P. Berkowitz and National Director Abraham Foxman, the ADL remains as the leading opponent of anti-Semitism and they continue to expose all forms of injustice, prejudice, and bigotry. ADL’s primary goals as a religious organization are to bring about social change through the elimination of bigotry and hatred by influencing government legislation. Specifically, one piece of legislation the ADL is working against is the implementation of school vouchers. It is ADL’s position that by using government funds to support vouchers, the quality of education at the public schools will decrease. I completely agree with this position. Education reform doesn’t mean destroying one institution that helps a large majority to promote elitist institutions that only benefit a small minority. The ADL is very large organization with vast influence benefiting millions of people around the globe, and according to Olson’s collective action problem members could be dissuaded from parti... ...ias. The ADL’s religious interests are mainly to promote the interest and betterment of Jews. So to listen to ADL and make legislative changes accordingly is to create a hierarchy among religions that shouldn’t be a part of the government. Even though, I may not agree with everything the ADL says, I think that what they are trying to do is incremental in bringing about the change necessary to improve our society. Works Cited: Bahrampour, Tara & Anthony Ramirez (2001). New Monitor For Hate Groups [Electronic version]. New York Times, B5.1. Falconer, Matthew (1999). Filter blocks hate-promoting Web sites [Electronic Version]. Boston Globe, A40. Olson, Mancur (1965) from Nivola, Pietro S. and David H. Rosenbloom (1990), Classic Readings in American Politics, 2nd Edition, pages 225-240. New York: St. Martin’s Press, Inc.

Case Study Lonely

1. Prepare a report in which you analyze the marketing channel conflicts and cannibalization issues that Lonely Planet faces as it is currently operating. Suggest solutions that might reduce revenue losses or operational frictions that result from these issues. Channel Conflict: when sales through the company’s web site interfere with sales in that company’s retail stores. The potential for significant channel conflict exists in Lonely Planet with the same product (books or content) being sold via multiple channel. Lonely Planet has worked hard to minimize channel conflict by selling books on their website only at the recommended retail price, therefore it does not undercutting their retail resellers. Moreover, most retailers hold only a small selection of the five hundred Lonely Planet titles, and for the many titles they do not hold, channel conflict is minimal. The CitySync product is also carefully positioned to reduce channel conflict, since it targets a specific segment (time-poor, cash-rich travelers) with a new offering that is somewhat different from the existing Lonely Planet city guidebooks. However, over time there may be some conflict between CitySync and products such as customized guidebooks. Cannibalization: The loss of traditional sales of a product to its electronic counterpart. The well-known travel guides company, Lonely Planet gives a lot of guides for free on its website. A few years ago, many major travel-guide publishers were concerned that Lonely Planet website will hurt their sales. If travelers have to travel on board, they could just go on the website in order to read all the information they need without buying the Lonely Planet travel guide paper version. But far from cannibalizing sales instead, the net has helped publishers build their brands and expand into new territory. Moreover, giving information on its own website is a way to do free advertising. Without this display of guides on the website, customer would not have bought the travel guide paper version. Lonely Planet and other leading publishers have recorded growth rates of 15% to 25% per year over the past four years, as much as their guidebook content has migrated online. 2. Prepare a list of a new products that Lonely Planet might introduce to take advantage of Internet technologies (including wireless technologies for mobile devices) and address customer’s concerns about the timeliness and currency of information in the printed travel guides. Briefly describe any problems that Lonely Planet will face as it introduces these new products. In 2008, Lonely Planet launched Pick & Mix which enables travelers to go to a section of the Lonely Planet Website ( http://shop.lonelyplanet.com), select the country or region to which they are travelling and download the chapter for the place they are visiting. Rather than carry loose pages, chapters (served as PDF files) can be downloaded into a hand-held device or e-book reader. Interactive e-book travel guides: Emerging the best of both medium – digital and print – into one interactive ebook guide. Lonely Planet introduced e-books on ipad, so the layout and design is to flip through a guidebook and includes signature stunning images, expert author content and tips from local. Unlike traditional print guide book, the digital format allows to include over 3,000 hyperlinks so readers can get to a particular chapter or map with just a tap of a finger. Thus, travelers can get information on a particular region, point of interest or hotel/ restaurant without flipping through the pages. More, travelers can search terms in Google or Wikipedia for additional content. Travelers can also bookmark the places they don’t want to miss and make notes on the page, just like a print guidebook. Usually traditional publishing cycle for the print guides is every 2 years, but with e-books, it will be updated in a real time. However, unlike apps, ebook updates are not pushed out to end user, and readers will have the opportunity to repurchase the new edition. In addition, due to handheld’s limited memory and bandwidth, the new applications focus on cities, not countries. They obviously can not replace a guidebook for a month-long odyssey in Thailand or an exploration of Italy’s Amalfi Coast. Â  But for the traveler who wants to figure out how to spend a free afternoon or where to go for dinner, these mobile guides – plus a good map are ideal substitutes for printed guides. Lonely Planet therefore should continue to invest in product development to work with the likes of Apple, Google, Amazone, Nokia, etc. 3. Many loyal Lonely Planet customers carry their travel guides (which can be several hundred pages thick) with them as they travel around the world. In many cases, these customers do not use large portions of the travel guides. Also, Internet access can be a problem for many of these customers while they are travelling. Describe a product (or products) that might address this customer concern and also yield additional revenue for Lonely Planet. Your answer here could build on ideas that you developed in your solution to part2. By using interactive ebook travel guides, travelers doing longer trips do not need to carry three or four guidebooks during travelling. Travelers can buy the content directly and save it in their hand-held or ebook before they are going to travel on board if the current destination does not provide good internet connection. It is also an ease to carry around. Moreover, travelers can bookmark the places they don’t want to miss and make notes on the page, just like a print guidebook.