Culture of Madness Essay Example for Free

Culture of Madness Essay Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that enables individuals to engage in unruly behavior. It is a mental disorder that makes individuals deviate from social norms. In the years between 1920s and 1950s, schizophrenia was a general condition that was manifested by emotional disharmony and impacted negatively on the abilities of the white people with regard to thinking and feeling. Research article authors of psychiatric journals described schizophrenia patients as native-born-Americans of white European ancestry. Such patients were termed by psychiatric authors as harmless and instead needed psychotherapeutic care. In 1960s, schizophrenia was described as illness manifested by rage. Research articles asserted that it was a condition that afflicted the Negro men who were hostile and aggressive. These Negroes protested for their civil rights. The protests were organized by black power, black panthers, nation of Islam or other activist group. I disagree with the view that schizophrenia has got popular cultural expression. It is merely a mental disorder that is not influenced by either race or culture. According to Metzl in 1960s, schizophrenia patients were the Negro men, who were described as aggressive and hostile. In the real sense, the black Americans who were oppressed were not hostile neither did they act ragely. They raised their voices to be heard by Americans for a change of lifestyle, from oppression to freedom. In so doing, the black Americans were fighting for their rights as equal human beings since they wanted to be treated with equality. As discussed by Metzl, schizophrenia was associated with racism, thus biased. It was considered to be a disease of the black Americans since they expressed their feelings due to pressure exerted on them. They were out to fight for the state of affairs between the Americans and the Black Americans. Schizophrenia is feared in the current moment. Schizophrenia patients can act unruly in a given surrounding. These patients act to satisfy only their desires not considering the effect of their deeds on other people. They can behave in a way that interferes with other people’s daily life. For example, if the illness drives them to violent behavior, other people will leave what they were doing and deal with them first. Any activity that they engage in, they do it with all their strength and thus can be destructive and fierce. b) According to psychiatrists, schizophrenia is a biological mental illness expressed through defined symptoms like delusions whereby the patient thinks of invisibilities and acts according to his/her thoughts. It is also expressed through hallucinations where by the patient builds castles in the air and imagines that it is real life. The patients as well have disorganized speech whereby they mix issues which do not relate at all. They express catatonic behavior which is a disorganized behavior in a given environment, for instance relieving oneself in the open. Such symptoms are manifested in ways that are specific to the surrounding, assumptions and values of the schizophrenic individual. For instance, a schizophrenic individual can behave unruly in the midst of other people. He can violently attack a group of people for no good reason and cause alarm. This is because the patient is not able to control him/herself due to lack of mental coordination. He/she thus attracts attention of people who may be in the middle of serious events. A schizophrenic patient usually makes undesired assumptions particularly in a group of people. Whenever they see other people talk or laugh, they always think that they are being laughed at because of their condition. They can therefore attack them and end up harming them for no reason. Some usually assume that it’s their duty to perform any role anywhere. For example, some schizophrenic patients assume that it is their duty to clean every environment they are in. They therefore end up collecting wastes everywhere they go. Most schizophrenic patients think that a group of people behave in a certain manner to hurt them or because they want to go against their wishes intentionally. They are in a condition which cannot allow them to reason with the surrounding. They instead act negatively. For example, if a schizophrenic patient is always violent, the people around him and who knows his/her condition may decide to tie him or her with some ropes or lock the person in a house for some time. If he or she happens to see some people hold such ropes in another incident, he/she may try to get hold of the ropes as he/she thinks that he/she will still be tied up. On the contrary, this may not be case. As a matter of fact, the ropes might be for a different purpose. c) Symptoms of schizophrenia can be harmless if at all the assumptions; values and norms in the current setting are changed. This can only be achieved if there is freedom in all aspects of life of schizophrenic individuals. For instance, it can be assumed that, if one is talking to himself or herself, he or she is probably talking to the ancestors and should be allowed to do so. It can as well be assumed that if one behaves unruly, he/she is expressing some burning issues within him/herself. Therefore, with this kind of assumptions, nobody would criticize schizophrenic individuals and subsequently, they would have all the freedom they require to express themselves. Schizophrenia cannot cause any distress if the patients are given freedom of speech. For example, a schizophrenic person should not be shut down if he mixes ideas in a discussion. He should be understood the way he is and given time to express himself. In so doing, he will not feel neglected or weak in one way or another. Some may behave in a schizophrenic manner out of a bad experience they have had before. For example, one can become schizophrenic after a divorce or death of his/her partner. Within this context, such people need understanding and a shoulder to lean on so as to counteract the effects of what they are going through. Schizophrenic’s behavior should be termed normal in a surrounding so as not to cause distress. For example, some religions like Islam allow wife battery. Therefore when wife battery cases are encountered in a family with a schizophrenic husband, they are considered to be normal behavior. 2. Conceptual Tools Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1987). â€Å"The Notion of Witchcraft explains Unfortunate Events,† Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford: Clarendon Press. a) Constitution is in the making of man. It entails a set of laws or norms that are involved in structuring, creating and defining limits of power or authority possessed by government. A constitution is used to give states identify since all states that have got constitutions are referred to as constitutional states. In the context of phenomena, constitution is the process of using a category to create or come up with knowledge or perceptions about something. A description is very different from constitution in that whereas a description is the concerned with defining an item, constitution is creation of ideas, thoughts or shapes. Constitution is used to define the structuring or production process of anything. In the context of culture, the outcome of culture or that which is attributed to culture is considered as a product of the constitution process. On the other hand, definition of the meaning of culture and what it entails is termed as description. A distinction between constitution and description is realized in the description of witchcraft within the Zande community by Evans-Pritchard, 1987. The physiological state of a person that is linked to witchcraft is a mere description of the activity. On the other hand, a constitution is what will yield or be generated from witchcraft. Witchcraft from the wording itself is a mere description of some kind of psychic acts. However, constitution is what is synthesized from this act or from the notion itself. The reason why Evans-Pritchard has made this distinction is to show reality in the light of witchcraft within the Zande community. The Azande are so glued into linking everything with witchcraft; therefore, the writer tries to show distinction between reality and witchcraft by giving an elaborate distinction between description and constitution of categories. This way, he tries to change the notion of Azande from thinking that every mysterious thing that happens is due to witchcraft. In the context of reality and the internal knower, symbols and language are used to describe culture. The shift towards seeing categories as generative is seen through activities which are as a result of certain categories. A category is composed of certain elements with some common characteristics. It is the common characteristics that enable the categories to become active and achieve a certain goal. In the Zande community for example, witchcraft has been described as a psychic act. On the other hand, it has been solely associated with constituting unfortunate events among men. The objective description in this case is that witchcraft is associated with one’s physiological state. Evans-Pritchard believes that the physiological state used to describe witchcraft is nothing more than a passage of food through the small intestines. It is this objective definition of witchcraft that seems to be embedded in the shift of witchcraft from an objective description to a generative category. The generative nature of witchcraft is seen in its role to explain occurrence of unfortunate events as well as in regulating the conduct of people. b) The shift from describing to being generative lies in the fact that, description is the initial process used to come up with a category. Once a certain category of people or items is formed, they are used to generate and produce an intended outcome. Alternatively, they are linked to the generation of certain results. This way, the change in framework from descriptive to generative is enhanced. When this framework changes, explaining the history of a category shifts as well. This occurs in that, instead of giving the history of a category with respect to description, the generated outcome of the category is used to explain its history. In the Zande community, witchcraft is attributed to physiological factors. Consequently, it is associated with generating mysterious negative effects on man. However, with time, the association of categories such as witchcraft, with mysterious negativity derives a different meaning and there is need to shift the explanation. In the Zande community, witchcraft is considered to be generative in every aspect of the Azandes’ lives. Each and every mysterious occurrence in the lives of the Zande community is considered to be linked to witchcraft. Several claims are made with regard to witchcraft. For instance, among the Azandes, when blight attack groundnuts in the field, this is attributed to witchcraft. Also, if women tirelessly bail water from a pool and only manage to draw a few minuscule fish, witchcraft is said to be responsible for this mysterious occurrence. If a wife, contrary to other days, is unresponsive and gloomy, it is said that witchcraft is the cause. Evans-Pritchard has compared the occurrence of misfortunes in the Zande community to the occurrence of misfortunes among the African people. He has gone further to show that the Azande attribute witchcraft to a chain of causation for conditions which when looked at closely, relate a person to natural occurrences. Therefore, if the occurrence of events were to be understood in a more realistic manner, the explanation of generative categories would have to change. Evans-Pritchard has showed how this would be done. In all those circumstances where witchcraft was seen as the cause of misfortunes, it was during that particular moment that witchcraft was seen as the cause of the misfortune. This is perceived to mean that witchcraft is not solely responsible for every kind of bad luck. Therefore, the explanation would shift from a generalized understanding to a more specific one. Witchcraft, according to the people of Azande, is used to explain the occurrence of coincidence which causes harm to man. c) The shift from description to seeing categories as generative provides a way to think about rationality, irrationality or their interrelation. To examine this, the paper will look at the belief held by the people on what and who is associated with witchcraft. From a rationale point of view, this is just a timeless category without any basis or governing principle. The community of Zande can be termed as an irrational group because of the way they attribute witchcraft to occurrences which, a normal and ordinary person would attribute to natural calamity or mere coincidence. The Azande did not practice any rationality in as far as existence of phenomena is concerned. They do not believe in the existence of phenomena, much less mystical causation. They hold the view that witchcraft is the cause for that which happens mysteriously. The irrationality of the Azande is manifested by the fact that they cannot accept that things can occur through mere coincidence. They have used witchcraft to explain the occurrence of mysterious events. This is irrational of them as there are no facts to back up their ideology. The mere fact that witchcraft is a psychic act could also mean that it is attributed to some positive occurrences. However, this is not so as only the negative aspect of occurrences is linked to witchcraft. On the other hand, the Azande have applied some rationale in as far as why some things do happen. For example, the Azande are very much aware that termites eat up the support of a granary thus can fall or collapse at any moment. This is a show that the Azande think rationally. However, irrationality comes in when they relate witchcraft to the collapse of a granary in the presence of people. The Azande do apply rational thinking to explain occurrences but when a negative outcome is impacted on man, this is linked to witchcraft despite the fact that it may not necessarily be the case. This is the interrelation between rationality and irrationality within the category of witchcraft among the Azande.

What Opportunities Made Cinemexs Success Possible Finance Essay

What Opportunities Made Cinemexs Success Possible Finance Essay Several factors made it possible for Cinemex to emerge as a highly successful exhibition movie theatre chain. First, the Mexican exhibition market was highly regulated for decades and these regulations established a fixed, low ticket price. This provided a disincentive for exhibition owners to invest in their properties since they were unable to raise ticket prices to compensate for their investments. The end-result was a growing collection of old and dilapidated theatres. When the regulations were lifted, Cinemex co-founders Matt Heyman, Adolfo Fastlich, and Miguel Angel Davila believed that an opportunity to provide a high-end movie watching experience by constructing state-of-the-art theatres existed. The team followed a strategy of differentiation through branding. Cinemex improved moviegoers experiences by installing larger screens, providing better sound, employing courteous staff, and making other improvements over what was considered the typical Mexican exhibition. Based on t he information available, this quality advantage seemed to last at least until Cinemex was acquired by Canadian buyout firm Onex. Next, Cinemex capitalized on the declining value of the peso in late 1994 and early 1995. This decline allowed Cinemex to purchase land at a cheaper price. Furthermore, it fortuitously (for Cinemex) discouraged potential competitors in the high-end field, such as AMC and Lowes, from entering the Mexican market. The value of the Mexican Peso continued to substantially decline. This made it continuously cheaper for Cinemex to use US Dollars to purchase new land to build Mexican movie theatres. Further, the improving Mexican economy, population growth in Mexico City, and continued emergence of middle class in Mexico all provided opportunities for Cinemex. Graph the time series of attendance and prices for each Wednesday in 2001. What factors account for the week-on-week differences in attendance for Cinemex and the city as a whole? What is the interpretation in terms of a demand curve? Several factors account for the week by week differences in attendance for Cinemex and Mexico City theatres. Factors such as the ticket price, time of the year, popularity of current films, local weather conditions, and timing of holidays all made attendance highly variable from week to week. In terms of the demand curve, it may move out or in depending on the combination of the above variables. In Spring 2001, Cinemexs main competitor introduced 2-for-1 pricing. Describe, in conceptual terms (and using a demand diagram), the effect this had on Cinemexs demand curve. In the same diagram show the effect of Cinemexs price response. Conceptually, when Cinemexs competition introduced 2-for-1 pricing, the demand curve for Cinemex moved in (or left). At a given ticket price, a certain percentage of moviegoers who would typically choose to see a film at Cinemex would instead choose to forego the additional quality of Cinemexs theatres and take advantage of Cinemexs competitions lower prices. In the chart below, D0 (blue line) is the demand at a given price for Wednesday showings at Cinemex before the 2-for-1 pricing was introduced by competitors. D1 (red line) represents the reduced demand for Cinemex after 2-for-1 pricing was introduced by competitors. Finally, the bullet point outlined in yellow on line D1 reflects Cinemexs new Wednesday 2-for-1 price. 0: Equilibrium before price changes 2: Cinemex lowers price on Wednesdays 1: Cinemex demand moves left after competitors introduce 2-for-1 pricingC:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeMEDIAOFFICE14BulletsBD21298_.gifC:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeMEDIAOFFICE14BulletsBD21434_.gifC:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeMEDIAOFFICE14BulletsBD21434_.gifC:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeMEDIAOFFICE14BulletsBD21434_.gifC:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeMEDIAOFFICE14BulletsBD21298_.gif Please note, D1 is shown to the left of D0 since we are speaking in conceptual terms. In actuality, other factors beneficially impacting Cinemex may place the true location of D1 to the right of D0. Further, the price change took place over a year after the initial placement of D0. Therefore, there is some time for beneficial factors to have a sum impact that is relatively more positive than the negative impact Cinemex competitors price drop would have. We explore these possibilities in later answers. How would you construct a counter-factual scenario for what would have happened had this 2-for-1 pricing by competitors not occurred? [Suggestion: one useful place to start might be to compare 2001 to 2000. Explain your answer in terms of the diagram you drew in the previous question. The 2-for-1 pricing by Cinemex competitors did not occur until after week 13 in 2001. Therefore, by comparing the weeks 2 through 13 in 2000 and 2001, we can estimate the increase in attendance from comparable periods in the remaining weeks. This growth factor, or ratio, can then be applied to the 2000 attendance figures in order to estimate what the attendance in 2001 would have been if Cinemexs competitors had not put forth the 2-for-1 deal. Applying the growth factor eliminates the effects of Cinemexs competitors 2-for-1 deal and creates counterfactual data that takes into account other socioeconomic factors driving increased attendance over time. These socioeconomic factors include low unemployment, low inflation, population and GDP growth, and the continued emergence of the middle class. Essentially, this methodology allows our team to reconstruct the original demand curve (D0) and account for growth in the overall market. Construct this counterfactual for attendance. Discuss how you isolate the effect of the competitors price change from the effect of all the other things pushing demand around (the stuff you discussed in part (b)). Be clear about the extent to which you are able to do this (remember no analysis of real data is ever perfect in this regard, but it is important to be able to spot the limitations of whatever methodology you do employ). The table below illustrates attendance at Cinemex on Wednesdays. Weeks 2 through 13 can be analyzed between 2000 and 2001 to determine a growth factor for Cinemex. This growth factor is determined by taking the ratio between the average attendance numbers of 2000 and 2001 for Block 1. In this case, the growth factor is equal to 1.09 (it is the same between 2001 and 2002). The predicted Cinemex attendance for 2001 (depicted in the table below) is determined by multiplying the 2000 attendance numbers, for Blocks 2 through 5, by 1.09. The result of this calculation gives the attendance numbers that Cinemex would have seen had its competitors not established the 2-for-1 deal. Wednesday Attendance Figures Cinemex 2000 2001 (without 2-for-1) 2001 (with 2-for-1) Block Weeks Actual (Avg) Predicted (Avg) Actual (Avg) 1 2 to 13 51602 56445 56445 2 14 to 22 60762 66231 57305 3 23 to 27 66626 72622 67124 4 28 to 34 97717 106511 105479 5 35 to 48 46195 50353 *60642 NOTE: The year was broken down into 5 blocks in order to better analyze the effect of seasonal demand. Week 1 and weeks 49 to 52 were omitted due to the volatility of the holiday seasons attendance. Also, predicted and actual numbers match for Block 1 due to this period being utilized for determination of the growth factor. *- Indicates that both Cinemex and its competitors are using 2-for-1 pricing. Using this counterfactual, quantify the impact of competitors 2-for-1 pricing in Cinemexs Wednesday attendance? Our team analyzed the difference in predicted and actual weekly attendance on Wednesdays at Cinemex during the time period when Cinemexs competitors utilized the 2-for-1 deal and Cinemex maintained its pricing (Blocks 2, 3 and 4). The data indicates that the competitors 2-for-1 deal adversely impacted Cinemexs actual attendance. We observe attendance figures that are lower than the predicted attendance figures. The below table quantifies the average weekly impact of the competitors 2-for-1 deal. To arrive at the estimated dollar impact, we multiplied the difference between predicted and actual attendance by the average ticket prices during each Block. For example, the average ticket price during Weeks 14 to 22 was $20.98. Therefore, $20.98 times 8962 equals $187,288.41. Weekly Impact on Cinemexs Wednesday Attendance 2001 2001 2001 Block Weeks Predicted minus Actual (Avg/week) % Dollar Value of lost Attendance (Avg/week) 1 2 to 13 0 0.00% $ 0.00 2 14 to 22 8926 -13.48% $ 187,288.41 3 23 to 27 5498 -7.57% $ 114,216.15 4 28 to 34 1032 -0.97% $ 21,552.93 Please note, Block 5 was not included in this impact analysis because it encompasses the time period during which Cinemex matched its competitors 2-for-1 deal. Cinemex was most adversely impacted during Weeks 14 to 22 and Weeks 23 to 27. Fortunately for Cinemex, the 2-for-1 deal offered by competitors had only a minimal impact on the summer months. This is likely due to the superior quality of socioeconomic conditions and movies offered during this time (i.e, summer blockbusters). It appears that individuals are willing to pay a higher price to watch superior movies in a superior environment. Overall, Cinemexs actual attendance during Weeks 14 to 34 was 1,589,718. Our team predicted that had the competitors not implemented a 2-for-1 pricing strategy, Cinemex would have had attendance numbers of 1,704,766. This represents an impact of 6.7%, or 115,048, on attendance over the 21 week period in which Cinemex did not offer a 2-for-1 deal and its competitors did. Taking the average ticket prices during Blocks 2, 3, and 4 ($20.98, $20.77, and $20.88 respectively) and multiplying it both actual and predicted revenues allows us to evaluate the dollar impact. Total actual revenue was $33,213,977 and predicted revenue was $35,621,524, a difference of $2,407,547 or 6.76%. Building on the strategy you developed, quantify the impact of Cinemexs own 2-for-1 deal on its Wednesday attendance? Discuss your methodology in terms of a demand diagram framework. Cinemex matched its competitors 2-for-1 deal in Block 5. Based on the data, it appears that this time period has reduced demand compared to the summer months. Demand appears to be similar to Block 2 (Weeks 14 to 22). Therefore, had Cinemex not matched the 2-for-1 deal and maintained their prices, we assume that their attendance numbers for Block 5 would have dropped by the same percentage as Block 2, or 13.48%. Wednesday Attendance Figures Cinemex 2001 No 2-for-1 Deals Both Use 2-for-1 Only Competitors Use 2-for-1 Block Weeks Predicted (Avg) Actual (Avg) Predicted (Avg) 5 35 to 48 50353 60642 43565 As illustrated in the table above, Cinemexs actual average weekly attendance during this period was 60,642. Cinemexs predicted average weekly attendance for Block 5, assuming no 2-for-1 deals, is estimated by using the aforementioned 1.09 growth factor. This provides an estimate of an average weekly attendance of 50,353. If Cinemex had not engaged in the 2-for-1 deal, and its competitors did engage in the 2-for-1 deal, then we predicted the average weekly attendance for Cinemex would decline the same as it did in Block 2, by 13.48% of the No 2-for-1 Deals figure, or a total weekly average of 43,565. This decrease is identical, in terms of percentage (13.48%), as the predicted impact of competitor pricing on Block 2. Blocks 2 and 5 represent the worst case scenario for Cinemex in terms of attendance totals and represent the point of highest demand elasticity. Overall, Cinemexs actual attendance during Weeks 35 to 48 was 848,988. Our team predicted that if Cinemex chose to not use the 2-for-1 promotion, attendance would have been 690,910. This is a difference of 239,078. The actual average ticket price for Block 5 was $15.20. Our team assumed that the average ticket price would have remained roughly the same in Block 5 as it had been in Blocks 2, 3, and 4 had Cinemex not chosen to do the 2-for-1 promotion. The average ticket price for Block 5, therefore, would have been the same as the average ticket price for Blocks 2, 3 and 4, or $20.88. This results in actual ticket revenue of $12,908,555 versus predicted revenue of $12,734,921. The 2-for-1 promotion improved ticket revenue by $173,634.h) Extending the analysis from the previous question, provide an estimate of Cinemexs demand elasticity (with respect to its own price) for Wednesdays. Extending the analysis from Part G, two points on the D1 demand curve have been established and the elasticity (within the 2-for-1 market) can now be estimated for Wednesdays. At the $15.20 ticket price, elasticity is -0.75. This represents a relatively inelastic demand and Cinemex should increase price. Demand Elasticity Estimate Cinemex Block 5 Attendance Block 5 Attendance Cinemex Not Using 2-for-1 Cinemex using 2-for-1 Attendance 43565 60642 Price $20.88 $15.20 Elasticity -0.75 The equation for the 2001 Cinemex Demand Curve is: , or, in other words, . Knowing that ; we can determine elasticity at any point of the curve. Taking the derivative of the Demand curve gives us: ; and so the elasticity equation becomes: ; for any point along the demand curve. Bottom line: Was Heyman right to match the 2-for-1 pricing? Discuss Our team believes that Cinemex should not introduce yearly 2-for-1 pricing. As illustrated in the chart below, our team developed a scoring system to determine which pricing strategy would be most effective. Cinemex Employs 2-for-1 Deal 2-for-1 customer Regular customer 20.43% 79.57% Revenue Ticket Price $15.20 $15.20 Concession Per Person $10.00 $13.96 Other Revenue Per Person $0.20 $0.24 Total Revenue $25.40 $29.40 Expenses Concession Expense Per Person $2.70 $3.77 Payroll Per Person $3.82 $3.82 Supplies Per Person $3.18 $3.18 Occupancy Expense Per Person $6.10 $6.10 Total Expenses $15.80 $16.87 Total Income Per Person $9.60 $12.53 Weighted Average $11.93 x20.43% Attendance Growth Final Score $14.37 The following assumptions were made: We took year 2000 actual attendance for Block 5, multiplied by the expected growth rate of 1.09, and arrived at 50,353. From here, we saw the actual attendance in 2001, when Cinemex did match prices, to be 60,642. This is an increase of 20.43%. Therefore, on average, we expect a 20.43% increase in attendance as a result of the 2-for-1 promotion. This increase in customers would be made up of a stingier group of individuals. These individuals, instead of paying $13.96 on average for concessions, would pay $10.00. Also, the other revenue would drop by roughly the same proportion to $0.20. We found the average income per moviegoer and arrived at the weighted average of $11.93. Then, seeing as attendance increased by 20.43%, we arrived at a final score for this solution of 14.37. Finally, we assumed screen advertising would stay the same since Cinemex is now playing to more full theatres rather than half-empty theatres. Argument can also be made that scale could reduce per-ticket costs, but we did not believe the attendance boost was substantial enough for that. In contrast, had Cinemex not implemented 2-for-1 pricing, the final score would be higher, 18.51. Cinemex Does Not Employ 2-for-1 Deal Regular customer Income Ticket Price $21.18 Concession Per Person $13.96 Other Revenue Per Person $0.24 Total Revenue $35.38 Expenses Concession Expense Per Person $3.77 Payroll Per Person $3.82 Supplies Per Person $3.18 Occupancy Expense Per Person $6.10 Total Expenses $16.87 Total Income Per Person / Final Score $18.51 The final score here is 18.51, higher than 14.37. This is because Cinemex cant discriminate against the type of customer. By reducing the ticket price for all customers, it negatively impacts its box office revenues. 80% of the customers would have attended had prices not been reduced. Furthermore, our assumption that the growth will be fueled by stingier customers reduces concession stands sales. These factors combine to make it a money-losing proposal to offer 2-for-1 deals. If Cinemex could somehow strategically target certain Wednesdays or certain customers, the 2-for-1 proposal may be more viable. Overall, as it stands now, Cinemex should not offer a 2-for-1 deal for all Wednesdays.

Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath

Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath From 911 to Hurricane Katrina the United States government has used many of its different resources to help with the aftermath. After every event that causes panic and destruction in the United States there is always someone there to help clean it up, from large companies to the people just wanting to help. When natural disasters and hurricanes strike its takes us to long to get everything taken care of and there are too many losses of life. When it comes down to it, Its not clear if the United States is truly ready for another emergency. On August 25, 2005 hell struck the southern states of the United States. Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Florida and parts of Alabama were taken over by the massive category 5 hurricane. Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and then crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, killing some and causing flooding there before growing and strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm weakened before making its second landfall as a Category3 storm on the morning of Monday, August 29 in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge and then made its way towards New Orleans where the most damage was caused. As the approaching storm starting growing stronger the citizens of New Orleans we told to evacuate. Many of the citizens did but some stayed. Many of the wealthy and middle class citizens, who had a place to go and money to support them left. The lower class citizens who had no money and nowhere to go, stayed and suffered. As hurricane Katrina mad land fall the destruction started, the winds and the rain were devastating peoples homes became flooded and families were trapped inside of their home and were killed. There were almost 2,000 deaths from the Katrina, hunderds of thousands of people with out homes, water, or food were left on the streets to fight for their lives. The Super Dome played a huge role in the shelter for the people who needed it most. People fled from their unsafe homes to find a spot in the huge covered football field. Many people where inside of the dome when the storm struck, and many came to it after. When staying in the dome you had what you brought with you, a blanket and a pillow and your family. The bathrooms were overflowing and the air smelt of death. People were pushing and shoving to find a spot to sleep in the crowed unsanitary place. If you were to walk outside of the dome and around the corner you would see the bodies of the men and women who didnt make it and who could not be brought in, many of them had a piece of paper with them stating the names of their family members so that after it was all over they could be buried. People went without food and water for many days, some were stranded on top of their own homes. Cars were under water along with some homes and buildings, many people couldnt swim so that was the death of them. The flooding came from the breaking of the levees. Why did the levees break? That was the question on everyones mind. The government should have had the levees in tip top condition, but they did not last very long into the storm. It is believed that because the poor maintaining of the levees most of the things that went under water and were destroyed and killed is the governments fault. That is a questionable statement to make, but the breaking of the levees played a big role in the destruction of New Orleans. As the hurricane came to an end many people came to the rescue, the first on site were the local police and fire departments, but they were not large enough to deal with the terrible conditions. The Coast Guard arrived soon after and many other small agencies, the rescue and clean up began. As there different groups of people started it was chaos no one knew where to even start. There were people living out of the super dome who needed help but also the people stuck in their homes. As the search and rescue began so did the death toll, house by house they number just went up. During the time of Hurricane Katrina President George W. Bush was in office. When news of what had happened in southeast states he did not get on Air Force One and fly down to show his country that he was there to help, he took off to another country to do business. It took the President 12 days to make his way down to New Orleans; he never set foot on the ground though. The president overlooked the city from the comfort of his plane. On April 27th 2011 a ramped F5 tornado took over the town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. President Obama was down there and supporting the efforts within three days. The support that the people of Alabama felt from their President was much greater then the appearance that Bush made in the air. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. FEMA was established to â€Å"support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.† When FEMA was asked about Hurricane Katrina and what it was like down there they layed it all out on the table, they nor was anyone else fully ready to take on what had be done down there. They labeled it a disaster and a disaster is what it all was. â€Å"A disaster, it strikes anytime, anywhere. It takes many forms a hurricane, an earthquake, a tornado, a flood, a fire or a hazardous spill, an act of nature or an act of terrorism. It builds over days or weeks, or hits suddenly, without warning. Every year, millions of Americans face disaster, and its terrifying consequences.(FEMA)† If another emergency was to happen in the United States again the government would have a lot of work to do. When FEMA was added to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security they were thought to be the group that would be able to take care of everything. They are apart of the government she they should have enough money to prepare. At the point we are in with the national debt they money flow to FEMA and all of the other companies in very limited. If and when another emergency happens there is not going to be enough to help feed the people and shelter them. People living in danger zones should also have a plan for another emergency. Such as where they would go if they needed to leave and extra money would help too. Local police and fire departments need more training and funding. The locals are the first to be there and they have to start with the aftermath and if they are not prepared for it then everything starts to slow down and people are stuck in places they will not survive in. New Orleans is still not a clean place, many people had to move from there because they were homeless and the United States government has done nothing to help rebuild home for them. Brad Pitt is donating his time and money to build families homes And even the rapper Lil Wayne has donated his money to help rebuild his home town. Still no money from the government to help out the people that need it the most. When looking at the aftermath of it all and seeing everything that was done and the things that were not done you can see some positive in it. The people of New Orleans have grown stronger and have become more aware of the levees and the problems that come with them. Local police and firefighters have works on new training methods. When President Obama was asked if we were ready to take on another emergency like Katrina he said â€Å"Yes, everyone makes mistakes, but you always get to learn from them.† When the tornado swept through Alabama you could see an improvement in the actions taken by the government. Everything happened so fast, there was a plan and that plan is still in action, there are somethings that still need work but the improvements have been made with the timing and the recovery efforts. Before doing this paper, I got the chance to watch When the Levees Broke. It was an eye opening movie. Just being able to see what the people of New Orleans was going through was un real. People lost the ones they loved and their homes. As a United States citizen I do believe that because part of New Orleans was a very poor mostly black neighborhood that many people had no interest in what the people were going through. But the main point about it is that out government is pending to much of its money overseas taking care of disasters in other countries when our country has still not recovered from our own. Is the government ready to poor their money and help into the next place that needs it. The locals can only do so much they need guidance from the big men, we just need the big men to be there.

Voltage: Ohms Law And Kirchhoffs Rules :: essays research papers

Voltage: Ohm's Law and Kirchhoff's Rules ABSTRACT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ohm's Law and Kirchhoff's rules is fundamental for the understanding of dc circuit. This experiment proves and show how these rules can be applied to so simple dc circuits. INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the theory of Ohm's Law, voltage is simply proportional to current as illustrated in the proportionality, V=RI. As shown in this relation, V represent voltage which is the potential difference across the two ends of a electrical conductor and between which an electric current, I, will flow. The constant, R, is called the conductor's resistance. Thus by the Ohm's Law, one can determine the resistance R in a DC circuit without measuring it directly provided that the remaining variable V and I is known.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A resistor is a piece of electric conductor which obeys Ohm's Law and has been designed to have a specific value for its resistance. As an extension of the Ohm's Law, two more relationship can be drawn for electric circuits containing resistors connected in series or/and parallel. For resistors connected in series, the sum of their resistance is, RTOTAL=R1+R2+ ..... +Rn . And for resistors connected in parallel, 1/RTOTAL==1/R1+1/R2+ ..... +1/Rn . Complex dc circuit involving a combination of parallel and series resistors can be analyzed to find the current and voltage at each point of the circuit using 2 basic rules formulated by Kirchhoff. 1) The algebraic sum of current at any branch point in a circuit is zero. 2) The algebraic sum of potential difference, V, around any closed loop in a circuit is zero. These rules and equations provided by the Ohm's law and the Kirchhoff rule can be experimentally tested with the apparatus available in the lab EXPERIMENTAL METHOD   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The apparatus used in the experiment includes a Voltmeter, an Ammeter, some connecting wires and a series of resistors and light bulb with varies resistance. This experiment could be divided into 5 sections which value of voltage and current measured is noted in all sections for further calculation. In the first section, in order to evaluate the reliability of Ohm's law, a dc circuit was constructed as FIG 2 (on p.4 ) using a resistor with an expected resistance at 2400W*120W. In the second section, we were instructed to determine the internal resistance of the voltmeter. Two dc circuit were constructed as FIG 1. and FIG 2. using a resistor with an expected resistance at 820000W*41000W. In the third section, we were asked to judge if the filament of a light bulb obey Ohm's law, this was done by constructing a dc circuit as FIG 1. with a light bulb instead of a resistor.

Hormone Research :: essays research papers fc

Hormone Research   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hormone research has been greatly influenced by cultural assumptions about the dimorphism of gender. Much of the scientific data produced and taken as ‘knowledge’ reaffirms social ideologies already thought to be true and uses this data to essentially prove these ideas. In the case of hormone research, ideas about the innate differences between males and females were imposed upon the scientific methodologies and the conclusions made. The misconception of estrogen and testosterone projected cultural ideas about femininity and masculinity, and implied difference. The fact that these hormones are secreted from ‘sexual organs’ gave scientific license to claim them as sexual hormones: the explanatory factor of the male female difference. This essay will discuss how the study of hormones reaffirmed culturally constructed notions of the innate difference between male and female and the idea that this fact is biologically determined.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The early 1900s was a time of social and political upheaval regarding developing thought on feminism and equal rights, the hormone studies and ideas of â€Å"sex antagonism† by the physiologist Eugen Steinach greatly show how this science was influenced by cultural notions (Fausto-Sterling, 159). As asserted by Anne Fausto-Sterling, Steinach’s â€Å"entire life’s work was premised on the unexamined idea that there must be a sharp ‘natural’ distinction between maleness and femaleness† (Fausto-Sterling, 158). Instead of observing these hormones without bias and looking to understand how they function, Steinach sets out to prove a difference. The language which he uses to define the characteristics of these hormones reflects the thought process of the times. Describing the interaction of hormones in â€Å"militaristic terms† he relates on the â€Å"battles of the antagonistic actions of sex hormones† and marks th eir â€Å"sharp antagonism† (Fausto-Sterling, 159). The language used to describe this study outlines his agenda as he uses loaded terms like antagonism instead of the more appropriate term, inhibition. This study dealing with the transplantation of ovaries and testes in guinea pigs uses the study of the abnormal or the object of study out of its natural context to understand it. The evidence and the conclusions made by Steinach illuminate his ideas as his data as his data can have many interpretations. This study, though valid in some ways to the understanding and effects of ovaries and testes essentially projects the â€Å"political story of human sex antagonism that paralleled contemporary social struggles† (Fausto-Sterling, 162). These studies and the terms used to define them create a degree of ‘fact’ which leads to further study along with living on in popular thought.

Mock Job Application Formal Letter

Miss B Watkins Darlington College Haughton Road Darlington DL1 1DR 5th November 2012 Mr L Fordham Tewit Park Harrogate HG1 1JD Dear Mr. Fordham I am writing to you with regards to the open job position Business Support Assistant. I discovered this position in a recent internet search and was immediately interested. I am currently searching for a job in which I can broaden my knowledge and progress myself further whilst also gaining experience. I believe I am the best candidate for this particular position as I have a wide business background and will be extremely committed and hard working.As well as this I personally believe I have the correct characteristics for this type of work; confident well organized, polite, punctual, motivated and ready for a challenge. I also have excellent computer skills. I studied ICT at GCSE level and I also have lots of experience using computers throughout my previous jobs. As required I have a great understanding of Microsoft office and can efficient ly use all of the Microsoft programs including Word, PowerPoint, Publisher and Excel. I work well individually as well as part of a team as I love to meet new people and I have a very friendly personality.Due to this, I can communicate very easily and efficiently. I have previously worked in a call centre therefore I have a good knowledge of how to deal with queries over the telephone and I can fulfil this role with confidence. I feel I would thoroughly enjoy being a part of your team and contributing towards your future developments. I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my letter and It would be much appreciated if you could consider my offer and I will look forward to hopefully hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely B. Watkins Miss B Watkins

Outline and evaluate the learning theory of attachment Essay

The learning theory of attachment focuses of two concepts; operant and classical conditioning. Classical conditioning as an explanation for attachment describes the baby receiving food (and unconditioned stimulus) and producing an unconditioned response (happiness) and the mother feeding the baby will be the neutral stimulus. The baby will then experience the mother giving them food (and therefore happiness) a number of times and then learn to associate the mother (now a conditioned stimulus) with the feeling of happiness (a conditioned response) and thus an attachment will form. Operant conditioning describes attachment as a reinforced response. When a baby gets food it’s discomfort will become happiness and the baby will associate this feeling with food and therefore food will become the primary reinforcer. The person feeding the baby will also be associated with the happiness and therefore become the secondary reinforcer and an attachment will form. (evaluate) Even though the learning theory of attachment provides an adequate explanation of attachment it is flawed. Research evidence, such as that of Harlow’s monkey study, opposes the idea of learning theory as an explanation of attachment. Harlow’s monkey study involved giving a baby monkey the choice of either food or comfort (food was portrayed by a wire ‘monkey’ with a feeding bottle attached to it and comfort was portrayed by a wire ‘monkey’ covered in cloth). According to the learning theory of attachment the monkey should have spent most of his time on the food ‘monkey, however the opposite was true – the monkey spent the majority of his time on the comfort ‘monkey’. This decreases the validity of the learning theory of attachment as an explanation for attachment because the findings of Harlow’s monkey study opposed what it suggested. However, the monkey study was conducted on monkeys and it could be argued that this is not an accurate representation of human attachment. Humans are a lot more complex than animals and so therefore research on animals to study behaviour cannot be applied to human behaviour. Outline and evaluate the learning theory of attachment (12 marks) A GRADE (outline)