The Significance Of The Word Islam - 1439 Words

†¢ The historical importance of the term Allah is that it is the concept of the belief of one God demonstrated by the Muslims. They believed that he was the only God in the universe. †¢ The historical importance of the phrase Muhammad is to describe a messenger of Allah. The reason is that one day he was meditating, he heard the angel Gabriel who told him that he was the messenger of Allah. In addition to that, he was the last prophet. He also spread the religion by converting other people. Also, he became a vital leader. This can be demonstrated when he becomes the political, religious, and military leader of Medina. He destroyed other religions by attacking Mecca and destroyed the idols in the Ka’aba. †¢ The historical importance of the†¦show more content†¦Also, they have to pray five times a day towards Mecca. †¢ The historical importance of the term hajj is to describe one of the five pillars of the Muslim religion. Every Muslim that is physically and financially able, should visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime and wear identical garments there, so they can all stand as equals in front of Allah. †¢ The historical importance of the phrase Qur’an is to describe a book that was written after Muhammad’s death so his followers can recite his revelation. This is considered the holy book of the Muslims. The Qur’an was written in Arabic because it is considered the true word of Allah. †¢ The historical importance of the word Sunna is to describe the body of Islamic customs and practices based on Muhammad’s words and revelations. †¢ The historical importance of the phrase hadith is to describe a collection of traditions that contains the sayings of Muhammad that accounts his daily practices. †¢ The historical importance of the term shari’a is to describe a body of law that was assembled to follow the Qur’an and Sunna. These laws regulated the family life, moral conduct, and business and community life of Muslims. †¢ The historical significance of the word caliph is that it means successor or deputy. †¢ The historical significance of the phrase caliphate is a form of Islamic government led by a caliph. †¢ The historical significance of the term Rashidun is that

Analysis Of The Book The Cask Of Amontillado By Susan...

Although injustice is a common theme throughout the works of C.K. William’s â€Å"The Nail,† Susan Glaspell’s â€Å"Trifles,† and Edgar Allen Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† there are many different forms in which injustice is expelled. For example, the injustice in Poe’s â€Å"The Cask† is dissimilar from the injustice found in Glaspell’s â€Å"Trifles,† and William’s â€Å"The Nail† in the sense that â€Å"The Cask† talks about injustice in the form of one man murdering another without a clear, justly motive. Glaspell’s â€Å"Trifles† talks about injustice through saving the wife whom was the perceived murderer of her husband, because some women withheld key evidence that they found, which would have led to the wife being rightly convicted. And lastly, the injustice found in William’s â€Å"The Nail† is unlike the other stories mentioned, in the context that William’s eludes to the point that injustices are tackled from within one’s sense of reason, and outward injustice is simply a result of inward turmoil. Therefore, one can only conclude that injustice cannot be categorized to simply a terrible act not being rightly judged – nor can it be marginalized. It surpasses the borders of actions which can be judged by law, and can be found just as often in the silence of a thought. Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† begins with a man named Montresor recounting a day, 50 years prior, when he murdered his friend, Fortunato, in cold blood, after much preparation. Though there is vague detail provided by Montresor that

What can the public sector procurement learn from the private organisation procurement teams Free Essays

Simply viewed, purchasing is ultimately purchasing. Procurement specialists in the two sectors and even from the third sector of charitable, non-profit, and volunteer groups order their purchases from the same suppliers. Both the private and the public sectors pursue value for money. We will write a custom essay sample on What can the public sector procurement learn from the private organisation procurement teams? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Towards this end, they plan responsible efficient and flexible procurement systems. However, few differences draw the distinction between the two sectors. This is reflected in the radically different dynamics in the two sectors’ operations. As the paper unfolds, it emerges that there is a lot which the public sector can learn from the private sector if it is to achieve the same level of success enjoyed by the former (Barrett and Hill, 2004). The volume or size reflects on one of the commonly touted differences in the procurement sectors (Braczyk, Cooke and Heidenreich, 1998). However, it is inevitable to examine differences in reporting, competition, trade agreements, accountability, corporate culture, tendering processing, awarding tenders, and performance. It is also important to look into professionalism across the two sectors. The commonality or difference in skills is critical also. Ethical considerations across the two sectors are equalled examined with a view to raising valuable information whether the public sector has something to learn from the private sector or not. The public sector management environment is heavily regulated by policy, legislation, and specific processes while on the other hand, the private sector remains more receptive to enterprising and entrepreneurial dynamics as exhibited by their differences in corporate culture (Braczyk, Cooke and Heidenreich, 1998). It is true that the private sector is also subject to certain rules and regulations but the difference rests on the nature of the regulations. The entrepreneurial dynamics are apparently an absent phenomenon in the public sector apart from few instances. This entrepreneurial focus is an area where the public procurement sector needs to learn and improve on based on the private procurement sector model. However, the sector may be impeded by the political influence, as the partisan nature of political processes is influential. The professionals who work in the public sector procurement need significantly more than the regular amount of diplomacy, patience, communication skills, and political intelligence if it is to prevail (Barrett and Hill, 2004). On the other hand, private sector procurement operates in more advanced challenges in the form of bigger risks, more recognition, among other issues. It is on this premise that the view that private sector pays more recognition to competence as key towards success in comparison to the public sector is held. The public procurement sector should minimise the diplomacy and political leanings and focus on competency just as the private procurement sector. Such focus should ensure bigger and attractive returns. Accountability and transparency present other areas of concern in reference to procurement (Barrett and Hill, 2004). This is influenced by the fact that the stakeholders in the public sector procurement come from diverse circles and do not stand a meaningful chance in influencing it. The stakeholders largely composed of taxpayers, clients, elected officials, and in other instances; vendors, underscore this realization. On the converse, the private procurement sector employs up-to date mechanisms to ensure accountability ad transparency in engagements. Most private procurement entities also focus on specific markets, an aspect that the public procurement sector can only attain through the establishment of specialised separate units to address the various aspects of procurement demands. It is thus not surprising that before procurement decisions are made, it is preferred that consensus is struck. Public organizations thus focus on consensus building rather than working competitively (Braczyk, Cooke and Heidenreich, 1998). Public procurement officers are as a result under an obligation to work cooperatively as opposed to doing so competitively. This is further under-lied by the idea that public enterprises engage in the sharing of some information, as it is a requirement in most public organisations. Ontario Public Buyers Association offers an example of organisations, which operate under these conditions. Consensus building is desirable towards appeasing contending stakeholders but this holds limited economic sense. This holds true since consensus building does not factor in the essence of time and other factors, which influence business in a positive manner. As proposed earlier, public procurement should be split into specialised units to deal with specific issues in procurement as it happens in the private sector. The freedom and flexibility to conduct business is absent in the public sector (Earl, 2002). On the converse, the private sector enjoys the presence of these attributes, which constitute the dream pursuits of every buyer. Flexibility is examined in reference to the kind of red tape associated with the public sector procurement. The procedural rules negatively influence the procurement process as the lengthening of the exercise proves an unattractive proposition. The red tape as a result puts constraints and unnecessary demands on the process of procurement. Red tape was intended to ensure observance of set rules ad regulations, but this s no longer congruent with emerging trends in business. As a result, doing away with the unnecessary procedural demands is desirable if the public procurement sector is to make progress. The absence of purposeful negotiations, discussions, leniency measures further compounds the shortcomings associated with public sector procurement. It is notable that public enterprises do not take their time in responding to issues like requests for proposals. Precision and detail must be presented to every relevant department before a decision is arrived at. On the converse, in the private sector procurement, the clients’ issues are keenly attended to as required. In the entrepreneurship spirit, private sector procurement allows for the negotiation of deals on the basis of fees and terms of work which appeal to both parties, as a result, growth in private procurement in tandem with quality of work (Earl, 2004). The focus is on building a good and long lasting working relationship between customers and private organizations. In the private sector procurement, if a company or client secures a satisfactory engagement, when similar projects emerge, the need to go through the same sieving exercises are not considered. The basis upon which tenders are given rests o the previous records of accomplishment. The solid ethical and moral aspects, which governmental organizations lean on, account for some unnecessary engagements. Public sector procurement demands that adherence to rules and procedures are unquestionable (Edquist, 1997). The formal protocol on responsibility, liability, accountability, and the need to protect government information constrains public procurement. On the other hand, the private sector procurement extends freedom on contractual engagements. The private sector clients focus on the market share, competitiveness, and visibility, fees, and contracts act as a measure towards achieving these goals. The moment corporate professionalism is established with a private sector client, the credibility set is useful in determining fruitful future engagements. Of late, governments are embracing e-Procurement; this embracement is based on the realization made concerning the beneficial attributes arising from both administrative and cost reductions associated with such in the private sector (Malerba, 2002). Tendering platforms, desktop purchasing systems, and e-marketplaces, features common in private sector procurement have been adopted in the public sector procurement. This is a positive step, which should pave way for similar improvements towards the promotion of efficiency and effectiveness. The nature of public sector procurement goes through rigorous bureaucratic procedures based on institutional demands (Miles, 2004). The regulation process of public procurement, which witnesses different roles played by international, national, and regional authorities, implies that this type of procurement faces a number of hurdles to overcome. This regulation is meant to ensure competition and transparency in the procurement exercise. To cite an example, public procurement in the UK has to be consistent wit the European Union procurement guidelines, which offer a framework of rules on the issue. These rules and regulations deter EU member countries from distorting competition in public procurement on the basis of geographical or national basis. The creation of the European market provides an avenue for getting value for money in the procurement sector. Apart from adhering to the European Union policy on public procurement, the public institutions must also comply with the requirements imposed by the government as reflected by the Value for Money policy. This policy demands that procurement choices should be premised on whole life cost assessment as opposed to lowest price only. On the basis of this synopsis, it is clear that government procurement is diverse in respect to what it has to cover. This extension and complexity implies that achieving efficiency and lower costs is hard to make operational. Reducing the complexity characterising public sector procurement is thus a challenge. The tendering process is designed in a way that ensures that work done by the government is given out fairy. The government considers the pricing and the nature of the entity offering the required services. The aim is to ensure that tender processing is fairly done based on governmental policies. Though important, pricing is not the major focus in public procurement (Malone, 2001). On the other hand, private sector tendering focuses on fairness and effectiveness in reference to competition. This is based on the drive towards achieving the most cost-effective outcomes in the tendering process. The primary focus is the cost effect, an attribute the government needs to learn from the private sector tendering (Malone, 2001). The political elite holds a lot of power when it comes to public tendering. This is partly due to the fact that the political class hold executive powers in country leaderships. On the other hand, in the private sector, key officials of companies who hold the required expertise holds the power of making decisions on the tendering processes (Malone, 2001). The public sector should learn from the private sector by fully authorising the bureaucratic experts to control the tendering process. If the public sector is to be in a position to operate competitively, it needs to posses buyer power. As in the case of the private buyer power, the public purchasing power may rise from the size of demand in reference to the public sector against the total market demand or due to strategic importance (Cohen and Levinthal, 2006). The size of the market however big, it may be affected by the uncoordinated and fragmented approach by the public procurement sector. This uncoordinated approach lowers the purchasing power of the public procurement sector. This presents one area the public sector needs to learn from the private sector. Towards this end, the public procurement sector should learn how to coordinate its activities properly in order to take advantage of its aces to big markets. The public procurement sector is fraught with unnecessary restrictions on participation (Cohen and Levinthal, 2006). The sector is also characterised with cost escalation. This especially affects small bidders. Such represent the level of discrimination in the sector. Large firms who are at a sound financial standing are thus the ones favoured in the public procurement sector. Towards reducing the chances of participation from the procurement process, the nature of restricted communication as reflected in the limited publication of contracting opportunities, this coupled with the narrow based qualification criteria place too much focus on firm size and experience. There are both benefits associated with increasing the number of bidders. However, the question of whether the government attains the balance between increased costs due to the higher number of participants and the expected drop in the prices as a result of the fierce competition both within the short term and the long-term. The pursuit of value for money should ensure the correct trade off is made, however, this may never be the case. This is attributable to the fact that the administrative costs are more visible as compared to the cost savings obtained from intense competition. Further, afield, risk aversion may lead to favouritism in which case, well-established companies and incumbents take the opportunities ahead of new entrants. Incumbency may limit participation. This is possible if minor suppliers believe that the public procurement sector is friendly to senior suppliers. This implies that some suppliers may boycott the bidding exercises, as they fear their success chances are limited. Such boycotts may in turn trigger price increases due to lowered competition (Cohen and Levinthal, 2006). Openness and publicness pass as challenges on the public procurement sector. Everything, which is done by public procurement, is subject to scrutiny from the public. The public purchases are normally orchestrated through invitations for bids. This opens the process to public bidding. In public procurement, public bid tabulations, which are posted on government websites. This implies that everybody understands what is going on. Overall, the private sector procurement focuses on profit, which is achievable through fierce competition. In practice, there is great variation in the way in which private managers go about establishing links with the customers. This is captured by the pursuit of firms’ attempts to lock opponents out of the market (Malone, 2001). Some firms operate in unstable environments, others like do like monopolies, while others operate in relatively protected niches where entrants find it difficult to make inroads, this under-lies the kind of challenges facing private businesses. Some sectors and businesses adopt methods, which are technologically advanced than others, further compounding the challenges (Egeberg, 1995). On the other hand, the public sector passes as a more homogeneous entity operating in a placid environment. Bureaucratic organisations are in most cases long establishments, which act, as monopolistic suppliers. The supply is to the society as opposed to the market, further to this, the pursuit of profits do not take precedence ahead of the provision of services to the citizens. The assumption that the public sector has been lacking in innovation is often advanced. However, Tan, (2004) notes that the spur of competition lacks in public procurement, a stark contrast with the private sector procurement. The public procurement sector should embrace new technological innovations like e-Procurement if it is to gain from benefits associated with such advancements, as is the case in private procurement (Fagerberg, Mowery and Nelson, 2000). Conclusion The drive towards introducing private-like procurement style into the public procurement sector is a plausible effort as this in the end translates into a number of benefits desirable to the needs of the clients its serves. Such adoption is bound to increase efficiency thorough cost reductions and improvement on service provision. The social responsibility is the major bottleneck affecting the public sector procurement. The public institutions remain accused of being irresponsive to the needs of the people they serve. However, all public organisations exist in a global setting, which heavily bears on how operations are conducted. This co-existence; between public and the other sectors imply that there is a lot to be passed or transferred through learning. The continued nature of existence of the public sector also indicates that learning through experience is a possibility since the various governments institutions are in a position to determine what works and the others which fail. The role of competition however desirable it is may prove inapplicable to the public sector procurement. This is the case in reference to when the public institutions are bidding for example, weaponry and other sensitive products. The public sector is also charged with diverse responsibilities, which are not based on economic terms but rather on the social responsibility aspect. Despite this, the public sector should learn from the public sector on how to become competitive on various fronts. On the basis of the above realisation, it is hypothetically presented that adopting measures to delink the public procurement sector from the diplomatic and political machinations presents a way out in the area. The sector should also encourage more competition in terms of recruiting skilful personnel and in allowing a level playground when it comes to the tendering process. The sector is equally expected to alter the procedural requirements, which mire the biding and tendering exercises. Such a move should lead to a flexible system, which paves way for the achievement of efficiency and effectiveness in the sector. How to cite What can the public sector procurement learn from the private organisation procurement teams?, Papers

Evolution of Black Music in America Essay Example For Students

Evolution of Black Music in America Essay African American Studies4/7/04The BluesBlues is a form of music that grew from the social realities of Blacks inthe American South during the last two decades of the 19th century. Early or Rural Blues is probably the oldest form of blues we know. Dominated by men, it used strong vocals accompanied by instruments like theacoustic guitar, piano, and harmonica. It was usually performed by oneperson or a small group. This was a secular type of music focusing on theexperiences of everyday life of African Americans during the late 1800sand early 1900s. Its difficult to determine who the innovators of thistype of music were, because it grew mainly from field hollers, or worksongs, that set the pace for gang labor on slave plantations. Rural Bluesevolved into Urban Blues and Rhythm ; Blues, the forms of Blues that mostof us are familiar with today. W.C. Handy was one of the first musicians to take the tunes and styles ofthe Blues and present them in modern styles with bands and singers. One ofhis most popular songs was the St. Louis Blues. Urban Blues began to come into fruition during the Great Migration. Thisperiod, (1910s-1920s), saw a great number of Blacks moving from the Southto Northern big cities like Chicago and NewYork, and west to Los Angeles. In the move, African Americans carried the Blues with them. This was alsothe period when race records became popular. One recording in particular,Crazy Blues by Mamie Smith sold thousands of copies in the black ghettosof Northern industrial cities. In the 40s and 50s, increased urbanization and amplification led toelectric blues music. Musicians like Muddy Waters used the electric guitarand his bands driving backbeat to gain fame in this new style of Blues. One very famous musician to emerge from this period is B. B. King whorecorded his famous The Thrill Is Gone back in the 1960s. The Blues is arguably the backbone of African American music as we know ittoday. From Blues we have; Gospel, Jazz, Rock ; Roll, just to name a few.

Theory Observation Distinction Essay Example

Theory Observation Distinction Essay Is there a genuine distinction between observable and unobservable entities? Why does it matter? How, and why, might one distinguish between theoretical and observational statements in science? I have decided to tackle both these questions because they feed into and relate to one another. They emphasize different aspects of a prevalent debate, all aspects of which I wish to touch on. Whether the question of a distinction between observable vs unobservable entities is synonymous to the question of a distinction between theoretical vs non-theoretical statements is itself a matter of debate. Quine advocates semantic ascent, the shift in which the language we use to refer to the world becomes something we talk about in its own right. Semantic ascent is a shift from questions about objects to questions about words or statements. He says we should ‘drop the talk of observation and talk instead of observation sentences, the sentences that are said to report observations’ (The roots of Reference). So obviously Quine thinks the two questions are equivalent. They have often been treated as equivalent questions, or at least not distinguished too carefully. I agree with Van Fraassen that we should at least note and respect the differences between the two ways of talking about what might be the same issue, and not make the category mistake of talking about theoretical entities, just for clarities sake. At any event Paul M Churchland disagrees with Quine that the two debates are parallel , He says â€Å"we agree (Churchland and Van Fraassen) that the observable/unobservable distinction is entirely distinct from the nontheoretical/theoretical distinction†. We will write a custom essay sample on Theory Observation Distinction specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Theory Observation Distinction specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Theory Observation Distinction specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This disagreement / confusion as to the very terrain, layout of the questions of the debate, arises because there is the ordinary language question of how do we naturally apply the terms ‘observed’ and ‘observation’, as well as the question of whether a principled O/T distinction can or should be drawn; as Gerry Fodor’s Granny says: â€Å"True there is an epistemologically important distinction, that it’s reasonable to call ‘the’ observation inference distinction, and that is theory relative. And, also true, it is this theory-relative distinction that scientists usually use the terms ’observed’ and ‘inferred’ to mark. But that is quite compatible with there being another distinction, which it is also reasonable to call ‘the’ observation /inference distinction which is also of central significance to the philosophy of science, and which is not theory relative. † It is this second principled O/T distinction that I will focus on as opposed to the ordinary language distinction, I do not think ordinary language arguments bear on the question of whether there is or should be a principled distinction. Although examining what inclines us one way or another in ordinary language usage may clarify factors that also influence us in an overall distinction, such as naturalness, entrenchment, flexibility and plasticity. After semantic ascent the question of whether there is an O/T dichotomy becomes one of whether all observation reports presuppose some theory. This slightly ignores the question of the ontological status of the entities, whether observed or unobserved, but this will come up when I tackle the subsidiary part of each question the â€Å"why make a distinction, for what purpose? †or â€Å"why does it matter if a distinction presents itself? I think the strategy of semantic ascent is useful and justified since the debate takes place in at least two domains, the perceptual/cognitive (internal) and the observational/inferential (public)â€Å"The strategy of semantic ascent is that it carries the discussion into a domain where both parties are better agreed on the objects (viz. , words) and on the main terms connecting them. Words, or their inscriptions, unlike points, miles, classes and the rest, are tangible objects of the size so popular in the marketplace, where men of unlike conceptual schemes communicate at their best. The strategy is one of ascending to a common part of two fundamentally disparate conceptual schemes, the better to discuss the disparate foundations. No wonder it helps in philosophy. † Quine word and object. But it is a bit confusing and difficult to translate debates or points between the two, and certain debates are clearer at the ground level rather than the meta-level. There are three classes of arguments that bear on the T/O distinction: 1. Meaning holism arguments. Which tend to work against the distinction 2. Ordinary language arguments. Which tend to work for the distinction 3. Psychological arguments. Which can work for or against As well as a specific argument by Grover Maxwell from the continuity of observation with inference which works against the T/O distinction. There are two extant modes for making the theory observation distinction – Fodor’s and Van Fraassen’s. Fodor defends the distinction against the implication from cognitive science that perception is continuous with cognition. Van Fraassen defends the distinction against Maxwell’s challenge that it is impossible to draw the line between what is observable and what is only detectable in some more roundabout way. Fodor and Van Fraassen have different reasons for drawing a distinction, Fodor, to defend realism, Van Fraassen to attack realism, strangely enough. Fodor to defend realism against Kuhnian relativism, and Van Fraassen to defend constructive empiricism, a form of anti-realism, against incoherence, and so pit it against realism. As Andre Kukla notes â€Å"It is not surprising that a realist and an anti-realist should agree on something; but it is curious that van Fraassens and Fodor’s defenses of the theory-observation distinction play diametrically opposite roles in their philosophical agenda’s. † Andre Kukla the theory observation distinction. But should we be driven by a philosophical agenda in debating a question? Or should we resolve the question and then decide on a position which accords with our answer? Shouldn’t we be neutral when we make philosophical decisions? Unfortunately in philosophy there is so little ‘evidence’ making up your mind is more a matter of achieving coherence, it is legitimate to allow justification to flow in all directions. The question of whether there is a T/O distinction is relevant to the debate between realists anti-realists and relativists in the following manner. So far as realists debate with anti-realists is concerned, the T/O distinction is optional for realists. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose by making it unravel. They have everything to gain, because the constructive empiricist position is incoherent without a T/O distinction. But so far as realists debate with relativists goes, realists have conversely everything to gain and nothing to lose by defending a distinction, they would defeat relativists. Kuhnain Relativism requires the lack of a theory neutral language with which to adjudicate our differences, so we get incommensurability, incommensurability leads to the irrationality of theory choice thus we get relativism. But realists cannot have an easy victory against both parties. I suggest that the realist denies the T/O distinction and so wins against the constructive empiricist. The lack of a T/O distinction does not entail relativism; a theory laden observation can still test a theory. To return to the question of whether we should be driven by a philosophical agenda in deciding a point, it must be remembered that we are concerning ourself with the question of whether there is a significant or principled O/T distinction. Its significance comes from its position within a larger debate. Frankly, everyone can admit there is some sort of distinction or difference between direct and indirect observation, the question really is how significant the difference is, whether a distinction can be drawn at a position significant enough to support any theory, the significance depends on the work it is made to do by larger theories. Paul M. churchland defines his scientific realism as a realism entirely in terms of his attitude towards the T/O distinction. He believes any attempt to draw the distinction, particularly Van Fraassen’s, is arbitrary. By any skepticism â€Å"our observational ontology is rendered exactly as dubious as our non-observational ontology† He is not an orthodox scientific realist; he is skeptical about the overall truth of our beliefs, the reference of scientific terms, and the convergence of theory towards truth. But he is skeptical about the success of all our theories, cognition at large, from a low to a high level not just scientific theories, and thus does not distinguish between the integrity of observables and the integrity of unobservables. He states that â€Å"global excellence of theory is the ultimate measure of truth and ontology at all levels of cognition†. Although churchland has exactly the same attitude to observables and unobservables, a cautious skeptical attitude, relative to his peers he has a slightly pro attitude to unobsevables, and a negative attitude to observables. This pro – attitude to the unobservables of science makes him a realist and his slightly negative attitude to the observables of everyday life make him a scientific realist â€Å"the function of science, therefore, is to provide us with a superior and (in the long run) perhaps profoundly different conception of the world, even at the perceptual level†. I agree with Churchland as to the theoretical character of perceptual judgments, I agree that â€Å"perception consists in the conceptual exploitation of the natural information contained in our sensations or sensory states† . Having done part of a module on â€Å"the brain as a statistician† I know that our perceptual judgments are statistical decision problems akin to gambling or any decision based on uncertain evidence. Because inputs are noisy – the external world and inefficient transduction creates noise- the question of whether a signal is present or not will reflect the relative probability that a signal is drawn from distribution A(noise only) or distribution B(signal + noise). Biasing factors are the probability of occurrence of a member of each category, information on which is drawn from memory. Perceptual decisions rely on perception and memory, or evidence and prior knowledge, prior knowledge being essentially a theory about the world. However I disagree with Paul Churchland as to the possibility of our being trained to make systematic perceptual judgments in terms of theories other than the common sense theory we ‘learnt at our mothers knee’ For one, I don’t think we learn our common sense theory rather it is built into our genetics. I do not think we are nearly as plastic as he makes out, on this point I go with Gerry Fodor, perception and cognition are not continuous, and perception can never make judgments in terms of grand theories which we can barely conceive. The boundary between what can be observed and what must be inferred is largely determined by fixed architectural features of an organisms sensory / perceptual psychology† Gerry Fodor Observation Reconsidered. Paul Churchland directly contradicts this saying â€Å"our current modes of conceptual exploitation (perception) are rooted, in substantial measure, not in the nature of our perceptual environment, nor in the innate featu res of our psychology, but rather in the structure and content of our common language†. How plastic the brain may be is an empirical point, and I think Gerry Fodor wins the debate with his analysis of the muller-lyer illusion. Fodor says the robustness of the muller lyer illusion attests to the imperviousness of perception by cognition. There are both perceptual plasiticities and implasticities. Kuhn was impressed by the plasticities, but it is time to dwell more on the implasticities. â€Å"To the best of my knowledge, all the standard perceptual illusions exhibit this curious refractory character :knowing they are illusions doesn’t make them go away† However I don’t think Fodor is being entirely empirically accurate. Some illusions such as the concave – convex illusion, in which heavily shaded circles appear as concave when the shadow is at the top of the circle, and convex when the shadow is at the bottom of the circle, which occurs because we have a strong prior belief / prior assumption that light falls from above, can be reversed or at least nullified if you really try. The famous duck rabbit can definitely be flipped at will. And the old hag, young girl illusion, personally I can never see the old hag unless it is explained to e, then I can. But anyway Fodor makes his point, we cannot always see just what we want to see or think we should see. I agree with Gerry Fodor that perception is fairly modular, and is not (probably) affected (much) by conscious explicit knowledge. Certainly the muller lyer illusion is fairly robust And I think far too much is made of the duck rabbit illusion – Kuhn says â€Å"it is as elementary prototypes for these transformations of the scientists wo rld view that the familiar demonstrations of a switch in gestalt prove so suggestive†. But I do not think they are anything more than just that – suggestive – because a scientist, does not, cannot form an image or representation of quarks and leptons in any way analogous to a duck or a rabbit, so this image cannot ‘flip’. Paul Churchland seems to think we can form such images, but personally I cannot. I see the western sky redden as the sun sets not â€Å"the wavelength distribution of incoming solar radiation shift towards the longer wavelengths†. However I would say our inability to alter our perception does not damage churchland’s essential point which was that perception relies on theory, implicit theory. A very entrenched embedded theory, but theory all the same. Churchland thinks the distinction between the theoretical and the non-theoretical is just a distinction between freshly minted theory and thoroughly thumb-worn theory whose ‘cultural assimilation is complete’. I think some ‘thumb-worn theory’ is actually entrenched in our biology. But maybe individual differences come into play here, maybe some people are more plastic than others, or innately sensitive to some aspects of reality than others, maybe our biology is not universal. Paul Churchland says that the person with perfect pitch is not a physiological freak but a practiced observer. But I think it most likely that there is something unique about them. Maybe I am closed minded in the sort of visualization Churchland encourages, maybe that’s just me, I had no luck with seeing in the fourth dimension even after reading ‘Flatland’ and ‘speculations on the fourth dimension’ whereas other people (the authors) claim to have, still I’m a bit skeptical. Paul Churland’s thought experiments where he gets us to imagine various other beings, with radically different physiology, beings that can visually see infra-red heat for example, raises the idea of the possibility of other sensory modalities. And although we cannot communicate with them, so they are not part of our epistemic community, there are animals on our planet who presumably sense different things to us, such as bats and dolphins. Van Fraassen insists that is ‘observable’ must be observable to us unassisted, and as we currently are, an anthropocentric conception; â€Å"the limitations to which the ‘able’ in observable refers are our limitations qua human beings. † It could be argued that Van Fraassens anthropocentric conception of the observable is not just anthropocentric, but parochial. Alternatively it could be argued that van fraassen draws the line arbitrarily: according to Van Fraassen we can observe planets using a telescope, but we cannot observe viruses using a microscope, because planets are something we could observe without any augmentation of the senses, where we close enough to them, and indeed some of them we can observe from earth, our natural position, (venus) whereas under normal conditions viruses cannot be seen. I do not agree with this objection to Van Fraassen, I think where he draws the line is one natural place to draw it if it has to be drawn, but it is just that I don’t agree with him that the drawing of the line here is very significant. I am a realist and I believe unobservables are generally as real as observables. From his drawing of the line, van Fraassen only believes in observables. Fodor lightly passes over the fact that â€Å"perceptual analyses are undetermined by sensory arrays† and are only resolved by Bayesian reasoning from previous evidence / experience, and that â€Å"the appeal to background theory is inherent to the process of perceptual analysis† Fodor Observaiton reconsidered. I think this fact is indisputable, and it is in this respect that perception and cognition are similar as Paul churchland maintains, both are theories and â€Å"global excellence of theory is the ultimate measure of truth and ontology at all levels of cognition† . The impossibility of our being trained to make systematic perceptual judgments in terms of theories other that the common sense theory we ‘learnt at our mothers knee’, the implasticity of actual human perception, is irrelevant in drawing a theory observation distinction, both perception and cognition are theory dependent. But Granted as Fodor points out against Kuhn scientific knowledge doesn’t actually percolate down to affect the perceptual. Kuhnian perceptual theory loading does not occur. There is some natural barrier. Is this barrier the location of the O/T distinction? I think it probably is if there is one. It is significant, but not significant for the anti-realist, it does not decide our ontology. It is significant in the realists fight with relativism since observations are theory laden, but are not necessarily laden with the high level theories that they must adjudicate between. So perceptions are laden with perceptual theory, but not laden with quantum theory. Fodor makes the O/T distinction in such a way that it is significant for realists against relativism, but not significant for anti-realists. â€Å"Fodor isn’t looking for a notion of observationality that underwrites our granting epistemic privilege to observation statements. He’s looking for a notion that will ward off the incommensurability arguments. And for that purpose anything that produces consensus will do† Andre Kukla The theory observation distinction. Now to explicitly tackle the questions, â€Å"why make a distinction, for what purpose? †or â€Å"why does it matter if a distinction does or does not present itself? †. I have already touched on the answer to these questions when outlining the role of the distinction (or lack of) in larger debates between anti-realists, and relativists. The question of the O/T distinction has epistemological significance; it concerns the epistemic bearing of observational evidence on theories it is used to evaluate. This is part of the debate between realists and relativists. The relativists holding that observation is an inadequate basis for choosing between rival theories, the realists claiming it is an adequate basis, or there is at least something which is an adequate basis. Observational evidence also plays important and philosophically interesting roles in other areas including scientific discovery and the application of scientific theories to practical problems. But we will concentrate on theory testing. It seems that if all observations are theory laden then there is no objective bedrock against which to test and justify theory. The classic or common view of science is that scientific knowledge is derived from the ‘facts’ or observations. Two schools of thought that involve attempts to formalize this common view of science are the empiricists and the positivists. An extreme interpretation of the claim that science is derived from the facts implies that the facts must first be established, and subsequently a theory built to fit them. This is the baconian method building a case from the ground up. This is not how science actually proceeds. â€Å"our search for relevant facts needs to be guided by our current state of knowledge, which tells us for example that measuring the ozone concentration at various locations in the atmosphere yields relevant facts whereas measuring the average hair length of the youths in Sydney does not† A F chalmers What is this thing called Science?. But the fact that science is guided by paradigms does not support kuhnian relativism. Kuhnian relativism can only be established if incommensurability is, that is if high level theory-loading of observation were established. As I have already argued along with Fodor, observation may be loaded with low level perceptual theory but not with high level conscious and elaborate theory. Proponents of competing theories often produce impressively similar observational data, this indicates perceptual theory loading is not that great. If science were blinded by paradigms that would be a different matter. Against semantic theory loading; Often observations reported non-linguistically, pictorially with tables of numbers etc. Late 20th century philosophers may have exaggerated the influence of semantic loading because they thought of theory testing in terms of inferential relations between observational and theoretical sentences. Against Salience or attentional loading scientists under different paradigms attend to different things. Yes, but doesn’t always happen. And scientists may appreciate the significance of data that is brought to their attention that had not been noticed. Attentional loading is not inevitable and not irredeemable. So observation is and adequate basis for adjudicating between theories (unless the theories are underdetermined by data). In conclusion I would say there is no absolute T/O distinction, but there is enough of a difference, enough bottom up flow of justification, to defeat relativism. A. F. chalmers: what is this thing called science? Paul M Churchland: Scientific realism and the plasticity of the mind Paul M churchland: The ontological status of obsservables: In praise of superempirical virtues Gerry Fodor: observation reconsidered Andre Kukla: the theory observation distinction W. V. O Quine: Word and Object Bas Van Fraassen: the scientific image

Nuclear reactors essays

Nuclear reactors essays Nuclear reactors are places where radio active materials are kept. They can be used for things such as medicine or they have even been used for power. However they do not come without their risks. One of the ways nuclear reactors are used is for medical treatments for illnesses such as cancer and leukemia. The reactor at Lucas Heights is Australias reactor which researches and gives cancer treatment to the hospitals. Nuclear reactors can also be used to harness energy, they do this by using the heat that is emitted from the reactor to create steam which they use to spin turbines. An example of a nuclear power plant is Chernobyl. Nuclear power plants do have their risks and there have already been terrible disasters one of which being at Three Mile Island in the u.s. where the reactor had a damaged core. The reason why scientists thought that the core was damaged was because the reactors fuel was overheating and melting through the reactors thick walls made of steel and cement. When scientists found the problem they quickly found out that there was more damage then they expected. Scientists also feared that a hydrogen gas bubble would explode. The site around the rector was evacuated within a ten mile radius, however scientists still think that there was not enough radiation coming out of the plant to seriously harm anyone. Chernobyl in the Ukraine had their reactor overheat in the year of 1986. The reactor in Chernobyl was being used at the time to create power. It happened when the coolant for the reactor was not flowing properly and when the reactor overheated it caused nuclear fission which opened the walls of the reactor releasing radiation into the atmosphere. The disaster killed many and still has effect on some people today as their parents were exposed to the radiation and passed on to their children. After the disaster the reactor ...

See like a Scientist Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

See like a Scientist - Assignment Example In this case, the line length is equated to the product of the represented distance on earth and the distance on scale. In order to understand the linear and the logarithm scale, this paper explores the comparison of the linear and logarithm scales aligning them with clear differences and similarities. The number of fish killed as a human hearing can better be measured using the logarithm scale than the linear scale. This is so because a change between two values, on a linear scale, is considered being the difference between the given values. For instance, the change from 0 to 500 in the linear scale, is perceived to be similar to the change between 500 to 1000. Different from this, on a logarithm scale, the changes between two values is considered as a ratio of the two values. This implies that a change from 1 to 10 in the logarithmic scale (ratio of 1:10) is considered to be a similar quantity of increase as the change from 10 to 100 (also a ratio of 1:10). The hearing sense considers equal frequency ratios as the pitch differences (Kipp 34). Another difference between the two scale is that the logarithm scale can accommodate a great span in comparison to the linear scale. A logarithm scale operates like the case of zooming. For instance, accommodating 10000 fish killed by 1cm would need 10000cm for the linear scale. In a logarithmic scale each cm is taken to be tenfold hence accommodating 10000 fish killed in only 4cm. This means that in the case where the details over a small span should be visualized, linear scale will be appropriate, and in a case where the overall picture is on a large range like in the case of the number of fish killed, then, the logarithmic scale would be the most appropriate scale to be used (Parker 23). In this regard, using the value logarithms rather than the real value will minimize the wide range to form a size that is manageable. Linear scales cannot be used on the charts having the scales

Florida Nurse Practice Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Florida Nurse Practice Act - Essay Example Despite all the hue and cry, these rules and regulations make eminent sense- for taking the responsibility of care of another human being should include reasonable facets like confidentiality, consent and others that are part of the general discipline of nursing. This paper will discuss the important provisions of the Florida Nursing Act. Discussion The Florida Nursing Act was passed in 2002. The sole purpose of this Act is to regulate the conduct of nursing and ensure that every nurse practising in the State of Florida shall meet the minimum requirements for safe practice of the profession. Nurses who fail to show the minimum standard of competency thereby posing a danger to the health and survival of patients or the general public shall be prohibited from continuing to practice in Florida. Incumbents wishing to become Registered Nurses under the Act must meet the minimum educational requirements, completed the requirements for graduation from a recognized institution and take the r equired examination on payment of the required fee. On successful completion of the examination, he or she will be certified to practice as a Registered Nurse or Licensed Professional Nurse in Florida. In case one has moved to Florida from another State of the USA and wishes to practice as a Nurse in Florida, he or she must show a professional and valid license to practice nursing granted by that State.

Tiebout mi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tiebout mi - Essay Example This case of Sharon and Ron can be ruled using the Troxel v. Granville case where the mother of the children Granville got sole custody of her children and had the rights to grant visitation or agree to custody to a non-parent or refute it. The parent had the liberty to make decisions for his or her children according to the Supreme Court ruling (Sanger 78). Ron was sure that the child Sharon was carrying was not his and hence his quick agreement to waive all his parental rights and be relieved of any child support of the unborn child once it was born. The agreement will not change once the child is born as it was made to be enforced once the child was born. The fact that the court supports Sharon as the biological parent cements the agreement further. The Troxel case ruling made it clear that the Washington State visitation law which granted the non-parents the right to claim custody and visitation of children would not be applied or used again. The Supreme Court rule that the parent of the child or children holds the fundamental right over the care, control and even custody of the children and hence would be the one to make decisions about any visitation or custody of their children to non-parents (Sanger 87). Any other law that was against or tried to go against the parental liberty towards the custody of their children over that of the non-parents was to be considered unconstitutional and was infringing on the law as well as on the fundamental right of the parent. The standard to be used is that of parental liberty over that of non-parents. The Troxel case does not make any preclusion about the best interests of the children in custody or visitation litigation between a non-parent and a parent. The ruling of the case simply states that the parent of the children has the liberty to make decisions about the custody or care through visitation of

Abercrombie and Fitch Popularity Among Youths

Abercrombie and Fitch Popularity Among Youths The study will use consumer behaviour theories and marketing models to explain and analyse why Abercrombie and Fitch (AF) is popular among young generation despite the impact of negative events. Abercrombie and Fitch Co, an American retailer of fashion and casual clothes targets at young people, has already expanded to some European countries and Japan before 2010. AF has become a controversial brand from the last decade, despite it caters to cool, attractive, fashion-conscious consumers by offering product to meet their needs through different life stages ( Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2009) and is high-achievement in sales performance, it was chosen the 9th the most hated companies in America in 2009 (RankingTheBrand, 2009). The company was criticized during 2002 by issuing t-shirt with words Wong Brothers Laundry Service Two Wongs Can Make It White and pictures with stereotype of Chinese people (Appendix 1) which was deemed to disregard Asian people; In June 2003, several Hispanic, black and Asian plaintiffs complained that when they applied for jobs, they were steered not to sales positions out front, but to low-visibility, back-of-the-store jobs, stocking and cleaning up (Greenhouse, 2004). Moreover, AF overemphasizes appearance of its employees, sexual hint in commercial and strong perfume also intrigue the serious social concern. Based on these critical issues mentioned above, the brand still gain profit from the sales of trendy outfits.Brand identity serves to provide direction, purpose, and meaning for the brand (Aaker,2002,p68), and branding is often used by manufabtures as a means of adding symbolic value to a item(Banister,Hogg,2002,p193). Besides, clothing is also deemed as a highly symbolic product category and its high visibility which means that people will often make asumptions about others purely on the basis of their clothes (Banister, Hogg, 2002, p191).Therefore, many people wear specific styles of clothes and brands in order to express their personality and social status. The brand personality is according to peoples personality and characteristics to create its value and image,which can be recognised by or is attractive to the average public of one will not necessarily be recognized or found attractive to the average public of another culture (Mooij,2004); relating to Geert Hofstede Cultural Di mensions, Mooji(2004) also mentions that the different characteristics between individualist cultures and collectivistic cultures; the former consider the brand should unique and distinct but the latter mention that people tend to define a brand as being part of brand world. As AF is origin from the individualistic culture, which define itself as an exclusive American casual clothing brand which has been specially designed for college students of 18 to 22 years old and implies that you are young, beautiful, smart, and chic. Their clothes are worn with confidence and carefree insouciance (Abecrombie4sale, 2010). With these personalities that AF emphasises and expresses by store decoration, commercials and appealing sexy salespeople(Appendix 2). Customers who wear the clothes can express their differentiation, lifestyle and show their good shapes; even more, to pursuit what kind of lifestyle or status they would like to be. Humanizing a brand empowers it to play a more central role in the consumers life, potentially enabling the consumer to project an aspect of his or her self that might be desirable for relationships he or she seeks (Aaker 1997; Wallendorf and Arnould 1988). It is important for brands to position their identity clearly because the symbolism that consumers attach to these brands would become confused if contradictory messages were communicated (Hines, Bruce, 2002). AF clarify its target marketing segment and identity its products are as the best casual wears and outfits that combine style and elegance with comfort and relaxation(Abecrombie4sale,2010). Brand names are symbolic entities that can help consumers in signaling important attributes to others (Belk 1988; Levy 1959; Wallendorf and Arnould 1988).Brands also had many benefit for company. For example, brands can add product value as well as create customer loyalty. In fact, one of important reasons for successful branding is to exhibit itself heterogeneous from others. AF, a fashion brand which is popular among its target consumer ages of 18 through 22, is always a trend leader these years. Fashion innovation is an ongoing process because consumer wants and needs are unending and constantly changing(Mueller Smiley, 1995, p5); therefore, keeping creative and attractive is the consistent mission for fashion marketing because the product life circle is short. Fads are an extreme form of fashion product, accentuating the rapid sales increase follow by the rapid decline(BrassingtonPettitt, 2006), but for a prominent brand which brings and leads market trend rather than be a follo wer. Although the frequent use of celebrities as spokespersons stems from a belief that pairing a product with a well-regarded celebrity would improve consumers perceptions of the brand (Kamins Gupta, 1994), AF only hires models to display its products and images that close to customers. The interial design and ambient are similar to the night club with dynamic music and every salesperson in stores are waggling with music that creates complete different shopping experience for customers. As music provides a vehicle through which young people could express themselves according to their music taste with the appropriate forms of dress and fashion (Miles, 2000). Hence, exposure to exciting brands influences self-perceptions of hedonism, and exposure to competent brands induces higher self-ratings of sophistication (Fennis Pruyn, 2006). We are what we wear (Belk, 1988) to make their personality standout with pride and confidence. AF represents an identity which combines the top fashion style and relaxing atmosphere that match and attract teens to conduct their purchasing activates. Following the writer will analyses the identity issues related to the recent coverage and use Brand Identity Prisom (Kapferer, 1997) to explain the internalization and externalization factors of AF. Identity issues important in press coverage 2-1: Cases for theses issues In fact, there are many controversial issues about the brand including its look policy which is argued by relating to racial discrimination and sexual hint for customers that there are some examples listed below. However, people queue outside the AF stores in London and Tokyo for shopping; still more, it is common for Taiwanese teenagers to order AF products online. These situations involve the teenagers self-identity. (1). A US clothing company has been forced to pull a line of T-shirts from its shops after they triggered protests from Asians who complained they perpetuated racist caricatures.(BBCNEWS, 2002). (2). Clothing retailer Abercrombie Fitch hires a disproportionately white sales force, puts minorities in less-visible jobs and cultivates a virtually all-white image in its catalogs and elsewhere, a lawsuit charges(USA TODAY,2003). (3). Abercrombie failed to accommodate her religious beliefs by making an exception to the Look Policy. These actions constitute discrimination against Ms. Elauf on the basis of religion. (Gregory,2009). (4). Disabled worker wins case for wrongful dismissal against Abercrombie Fitch(Guardian,2009). 2-2 The influence of Brand Identity of AF Brand identity should help establish a relationship between the brand and customer (Aaker, 1996, p68), while brand identity means what the brand wishes to create or preserve and deliver to people depth and fullness (Aperia, Back, 2004) .Thus, when the controversial events occurred, we can examine and relate the brand by Brand Identity Trap (Aaker, 1996) (Appendix 3); there are four parts: brand image trap, brand position trap, predict attribute trap and external prospect trap. The Brand Image Trap: Which means customer perceive the brand from the brand image rather than the identity the brand want to convey. As the discrimination scandal exploded, young, confident, smart, American casual and fashion impression was covered by discriminating people who are not Caucasian or disabled. The Brand Position Trap: How strategists want the brand to be perceived(Aaker,1996) is misled to brand position which is a part of brand identity; therefore, the information couldnt be transferred completely. The tendency to focus on product attribute is intensified that the goal becomes an advertising tag line but no room for brand personality,organizational associations and so on those are crucial to the brand- building(Aaker,1996).To AF, the focus and perception might come from the advertising with young people with good figure and most of them are half-naked with intimate body language which critics complained that its explicit images bordered on pornography (Dunlap,2007). Hence, if the incomplete information adds to negative issues from public media, it is more difficult to expand new market. Therefore, despite the fact that AF still have many loyal customers,these scandals may make customer re-examine the brand.While AF continuely makes effort to manage its identity and use publice relation policy to remain good relationship with customers. The Product-Attribute Fixation Trap: The part indicates a brand emphasizes on the product attributes and ignore other parts. According to Aaker (1996), a brand is more than a product, it includes much more characteristics or it may lose its competitive advantage. For AF, it not only emphasizes its product, but also includes other factors and spirit in the brand: -Brand users: young generation (18-22) -Country of origin: America -Organizational associations: Casual, Trendy, Caucasian -Brand personality: Young, Beautiful, Smart, and Chic. Sexy -Symbols: Moose -Brand-customer relationships: Using social media to communicate with customers, Discrimination -Emotional benefits Self-expressive benefits: modernity, style, slenderness and easy carrying, Based form the above, the Italics are the negative impression percived by some people form controversial news which impact on how people think of the brand. However, because of 2004 class-action settlement, Abercrombie Fitch agreed to add more blacks, Hispanics and Asians to its marketing materials (Steven, 2004). The External Prospect Trap: The trap means the firm fails to realise how important to communicate to customers what is the brand about. From this aspect, AF successful use social media such as official website, blog and facebook (its fans has over one million on facebook) to communicate with customers, explain the idea and diffentiation from other brands. The policy can make the brand more close to the public and can deal with crisis more quickly and directly (Sherman, 2009). 2-3. Why AF is so popular-In-group Out-group Self-identity which consists of whatever individuals consider to be theirs, including their body, family, possessions moods, emotions, conscience, attitudes, values, traits, and social position.(Mooji, 2004, p98); in other word, self-identity is an individual who thinks who he/she is or would like to be. Self, can divide into four part: actual self, ideal self, social self and social ideal self (Mittal,2008).At least four different approach can be identified in self-identity studies that deal directly with product image: (1) product image as it relates to the stereotypic image of the generalized product user; (2) product image in direct the generalized product user; (3) sex-typed product image association with the self-concept(identity); (4) differentiated images(Sirgy,1982). To AF, the image is party-loving jocks and bare-naked ladies living fantasy lives (Leung, 2004), with sexy model and sales people. The clothes are designed to show perfect body curve for each gender; besides, th e decoration, music, perfume and the style are well-recognized from others. Once the image matches to an individuals ideal self, the consumer behaviour of an individual will be directed toward enhancing self-concept through the consumption of goods as symbol (Grubb, Grathwohl, 1976). Group members and different cultures also can influence consumer behaviour. Consumers have stronger self brand connections to brands consistent with an in-group than brands inconsistent with an in-group and weaker self-brand connections to brands consistent with an out-group than brands inconsistent with out-group (Escalas, Bettman, 2005) .In- groups are usually characterized by similarities among members. Individuals have a sense of common fate with members of the in-group; out-groups are groups with which one has something to divide, groups that disagree on valued attributes(Mooji,2004.p160). Nevertheless, in collectivistic cultures in-groups influence members mutually more than individualistic culture because of more frequent and deep interaction. Mooji(2004) points out in-group relationships in collectivistic cultures are usually limited to three groups: family, company and University in-group; members of individualistic cultures have to invest time in friendship, and they belong to many specific in-groups that may change over time. To who from collectivistic cultures, choosing a brand or lifestyle are usually influenced by other in-group members to demonstrate they are belong to the groups, which would decrease the power for the external image damage of the brand. For people from individualistic cultures, individuals are intend to self-oriented, serving and guarding their personal interests and even may oppose to sacrificing for the group or society (Mittal,2008,p230), individuals choose what they want and express rather than change their mind easily by the public media. Due to the brand image, and identity are exactly position for young people, those could be the factors why AF can still possess numerous supporters both in collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Brand identity-Prism The essence of a strong brand is that it is sufficiently differentiated to the extent that it cannot be easily replicated by its competitors (Fill, 2005, p356). Kapferer(1992) indicated that brand identity is the centre concept for building a brand and should be identified and managed by the brand owner. The brand identity prism(Kapferer,2004) is a tool to analyse a brand, which is consisted of six intrinsic and extrinsic facets: Personality,Culture,Self-image,Physique,Relationship,Reflection.The brand owner can use this model to be able to study the brand in depth, and find its strengths and weaknesses; moreover, it gives the full picture of how the brand owner wants the target group to perceive the brands identity(Aperia,Back,2004). 3-1. Brand Identity Prism and AF Internal facets (1).Personality- Human characteristics bestow on a brand: AF displays the personality young, beautiful, smart, and chic. Their clothes are worn with confidence and carefree insouciance (Abecrombie4sale, 2010). In addition, it includes relaxed and sociable personality inside the brand as well as expresses modernity, style, slenderness and easy carrying those have been the most prominent features (Abecrombie4sale, 2010). (2).Culture-Values of a brand: AF mainly represents people between 18 to 22 year-old American middle- to middle-upper class young Caucasian, with casual fashion style and encourage customer to show their body by wearing the AF clothes. It emphasizes the origin of New York City and America leisure culture; even some consider it also belong to the white gay men culture (Mcbride, 2005). (3). Self-image-A individuals internal mirror related to a brand: When people are wearing AF clothes they might feel themselves belonging to middle- to middle-upper class, urban life as well as educated due to the targets are university students with confident, fashion, passionate, popular and enjoy party life. External facets (1).Physique- The sum of a brands basic characteristics: Decoration: The decoration of each store is similar.The exterior of the modern canoe store is designed features white molding and black louvers, and interior is lit with dim ceiling lights and spot lighting (Wikipedia).In entrance, customers can take picture with shirtless male models in artfully unbuttoned jeans s and big poster on the wall. As for the dim light which may influence customers to choose and judge clothes. Ambience: With fierce male fragrance, which is one of the most popular products for the brand for many years, spread around the store. Electronic dance music also permeate the store that make shopping as clubbing(Lane,2009).However, the negative side reveal that some people protest the loud music which may harmful for hearing ability and the perfume is too strong as well as could include some unknowing toxic components. Employees: Employees in AF are chosen according AFs look policy :employees should represent AF with natural, classic American style consistent with the companys brand and look great while exhibiting individuality(Coraline,2009).They wear AF clothes to show their figure as well as dance with music. But the staff look could influence teenagers esthetic conception ; Thus, there are many controversial issues about hiring employees with discrimination standards those would attack AFs reputation. Product Range: Jackets, underwear, swim shorts, t-shirts, and just about any other article of clothing that can be thought of are found among the many Abercrombie Fitch products for males, females even kids, besides the perfumes are also included(Abecrombie4sale,2010). Logo: The famous brand has a well-recognized logo-gray moose. The logo has been heavily printed on AF products including cap, fleece, and logo t-shirts, underwear and others to further promote it (AlaDream, 2007-2008) (2).Relationship-The relationship between a brand and its customers: AF try to remain friendly relationship with customers. Employees are train to have good interaction with customers and enjoy their shopping experience. Customer can use many channels for customer service and share their opinons via phones, websites and social media. Those are useful tool to examine the relationship and satisfaction with customers. (3).Reflection-What customers see a brand? What the customer see the brand are middle-to-middle-upper class, young, fashion and good shape; furthermore, valuing leisure activities and enjoy life as well as popular casual American East Coast and Caucasian styles. The negative reflection, racial discrimination or the brand for gay men may also display on customers reflection. Brand personality, culture and customers self-image are the invisible facets. These cannot be gotten at unless analysis methods focus on penetrating the consumers subconscious mind. Other three concepts, on the other hand, are explicit and fairly easy to pinpoint in conventional studies (Aperia, Back, 2005).Though the tool is practical for analyses of brands, there are still some limitations. The dimensions may overlap and the factors inside the facets are different according to different perception for each customer. However, it is still an essential tool and worth to be utilized by brand owners to consider how to build a successful brand, attract the target segment and enhance the image as well as its reputation. Conclusion: The essay is to analyse why the famous American fashion brand-Abercrombie and Fitch is so popular among young people. With its insist of quality,consistent branding personality and identity, the stock trend are growing overall during the decade except 2008, the period of globally economical recession, the stock price drop dramatically; however, the stock price increases afterward (msnmoney,2010). From the analysis of its personality and identity, it successful builds a kingdom for people hope to fulfill his/her ideal self or even social ideal self. A mans Self is the sum total of all that he CAN call his, not only his body and his psychic powers, but his clothes (Belk, 1988). AF aims the third stage of the extended self possessions help adolescents and adults manage their identities (Belk, 1988) and using marketing strategy to make the brand become the index for young people in terms of fashion and lifestyle. Hence, the in-group members follow the trend who contributes to the market share. Because the brand origin is from a low power distance country- America(Appendix4) that the society are relatively equal as well as encourage more people to fulfill what that want. Brand identity Prism, a model to analyse six facets of AF,is a pratical tool for understand a brand. limitations: Due to the limited time and word limitation, the writer cannot acquire more models to analyse the brand; besides, lacking of enough information also confine the research which needs database about the influence of AFs negative events and opinions for the brand.Through sufficient source, the writer could apply more accurate and penatrating way to discuss those issues in depth. Recommendation: For future analysis, the writer should attribute sufficient time to implement and adopt more marketing and consumer behaviour models as well as theories, which could understand AF thoroughly.Though it is still a popular brand nowadays, some out-group members or segments suffered form unequal treatment form the brand are unwilling to purchase its product or decrease their deire. Such dissociative reference groups have for consumers self-brand connections, evaluations, and choices (Dahl, White, 2007) that can infuence others consumer behaviour. Therefore, it is proper to strengthen its CSR and communication with customers.

A Slice Of Life :: essays research papers

A Slice of Life Thump!Thump! There was a loud noise at the door, "Alright hold on, I'm coming." Tim yelled. Tim was in his early twenties, he had a blue mowhawk, always dressed shabby, and addicted to heroin. Tim walked to the door and opened it, "Yes." he said sarcastically. The man at the door asked if Gwen was home, "Are you Gwen's new boyfriend" Tim asked him. "Yes I am, my name is Tony" he replied. "Nice to meet you" Tim said. "No, Gwen is not here right now. I think she is still trying to get the job at that bar on 6th street" Tim replied. "Oh, well tell her that I came by and just to give me a call, OK?" Tony said. "One problem" Tim said. "Oh, and what's that?" Tony replied. "Didn't Gwen tell you?" Tim said "we don't have a phone, or a T.V or any other appliances, we are gutterpunks. Why do you think we live in this shed?" "Well I guess I will just come back later" Tony said with a strange look on his face. "Tim! Wakeup! " Gwen yelled. "Huh?" Tim replied. "Wakeup!," she yelled back. "Oh, OK" Tim yelled back. "That boy, Tony came by, looking for you, he thought we had a phone." Tim said chuckling. "You didn't tell him that we don't have a phone or the other stuff did you?!" Gwen yelled. "Um, well kinda yeah, why?" Tim questioned. " Why?" she yelled and stormed off. Gwen was the type of girl who didn't care what people thought of her, but she didn't like it when people would find out that she was poor. She had blonde hair, and was very thin. She wore sequined pants, and these funny looking shirts most of the time, unless she went out. "Gwen?, Mike, and Shirley are home. Look I'm sorry I told Tony." Tim said. "Send Shirley in." Gwen yelled back. "Shirley, Gwen wants you." Tim said. " I'll be right in" she yelled back. Shirley was an Irish girl whose parents had both died, and she was sent to America to live with her aunt, she ran away and met Mike. Shirley had red hair, and was also a weird dresser, she had a job at a library filing books. The pay was bad but she would accept anything, that would keep them alive. "I'm outside Gwen, come on out and we will talk." Shirley yelled into the shed. "What's wrong with her?" Mike asked. "Tim told her new boyfreind we were poor," Shirley replied.

An Analysis of the War Powers Act of 1973

One of the hallmarks of a presidential and democratic society is the division of powers among the three main branches of government. This is called the principle of the separation of powers or the principle of checks and balances. This principle seeks to prevent the over concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to an error or abuse to the prejudice of the whole state. Austin Ranney (1995) once said that any concentration of powers in a single branch is tyrannical and only true separation of powers will protect the liberties of the people against the aggressions of government. (Austin Ranney, p. 240) The principle of separation of powers has always been criticized as impeding the enactment of bills and promoting efficiency in the running of the affairs of the government. It is because of this reason why some democratic countries have amended their constitutions and shifted to the parliamentary system. War Powers Act of 1973 A concrete example of the Principle of Separation of Power is the war powers which the US Constitution has entrusted to the Executive and the Legislative Branch. Under the United States Constitution, it may appear that the delineation of war power between the Legislative and Executive Branch is clear. The purpose is to make sure that no one branch of government will have the absolute prerogative in making all decisions in matters pertaining to war. Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution clearly expresses that the Congress shall have the following powers: a) To declare War, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water; b) To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; c) to provide and maintain a navy; d) to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval Forces; e) to provide for the calling of the militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; f) to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress. On the other hand, under Article II Sec. 2 of the United States Constitution the President shall have the following powers: a) The President shall be Commander in Chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States; b) The president shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur. Based on these two provisions in the United States Constitution, the war powers appear to be clearly divided between the two main branches of government. Under these provisions, the President has the power to lead the armed forces in times of war and to make swift decisions on the field of battle. (â€Å"War and Treat Powers†) On the other hand, the Congress has the power to declare war and to appropriate huge amounts of dollars in support of the war effort. The clear division of powers between the two main branches, however, appear to be more apparent than real. In between these two powers lie a vacuum which the framers of the constitution failed to consider. For any other decisions that the US Constitution failed to anticipate, it appears that the President has complete freedom and absolute discretion to act. This is something which is abhorred by our constitution. Consider the Korean War in which the United States army was intensely involved. The Korean War began as a civil war which was fought from 1950–1953 on the Korean Peninsula. It began when North Korean attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950. (â€Å"Korean War†) Eventually China and the United States became involved in this conflict. Although it was called the Korean War, the United States preferred to call it the police action rather than a war in order to avoid the necessity of formal declaration of war by the Congress of the United States. The same thing happened during the Vietnam War or the Vietnam Conflict. This war lasted for 16 which began from 1959 to 1975. (â€Å"Vietnam War†) This involved the United States, its allies and the South Vietnam against Soviet Union, its allies and the People’s Republic of China and the North Vietnam. In this war, the U. S. deployed large numbers of troops to South Vietnam between 1954 and 1973. Some U. S. allies like the Philippines, Australa and New Zealand also sent their troops to aid the United States and South Vietnam. Similar to the Korean War, the United States was also intensely involved in this war without a formal declaration of war by Congress. These two major events in our history have triggered the enactment of the War Powers Act of 1973. It is worth stressing that based on our history Congress has formally declared war in only five conflicts – the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II – while U. S. presidents have committed armed forces to more than one hundred combat operations around the world. (Charles F. Williams, 2003) The purpose of this law is to provide for a limitation on the powers of the President to deploy United States troops into combat areas without the approval of the legislative branch. Congress aims to prevent the possibility that another Korean and Vietnam Wars may be repeated where the United States deployed its soldiers for battle without the formal declaration of war coming from the Congress. Section 2(a) of the said law is clear on this matter, it states that: â€Å"It is the purpose of this joint resolution to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States and insure that the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicate by the circumstances, and to the continued use of such forces in hostilities or in such situations. Under the said law, the president is required to consult Congress in every possible instance before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, and after every such introduction shall consult regularly with the Congress until United States Armed Forces are no longer engaged in hostilities or have been removed from such situations. The War Powers Act of 1973 also requires the President to submit within 48 hours to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President pro tempore of the Senate a report, in writing, setting forth the circumstances necessitating the introduction of United States Armed Forces, the constitutional and legislative authority under which such introduction took place and the estimated scope and duration of the hostilities or involvement in case United States Armed forces are actually introduced for combat. The said law also requires the President to terminate within sixty calendar days after a report is submitted any use of United States Armed Forces unless the Congress has declared war or has enacted a specific authorization for such use of United States Armed Forces or has extended by law such sixty-day period or is physically unable to meet as a result of an armed attack upon the United States. The sixty-day period shall be extended for not more than an additional thirty days if the President determines and certifies to the Congress in writing that unavoidable military necessity respecting the safety of United States Armed Forces requires the continued use of such armed forces in the course of bringing about a prompt removal of such forces. The Congress by concurrent resolution is authorized at all times to order the withdrawal of US troops. Arguments against War Powers Act of 1973 One of the arguments raised against the enactment of the War Powers Act of 1973 is that it is an act of encroachment on the part of the Legislature of a territory which the US Constitution has delegated to the Executive Branch. It must be stressed that the President took his oath before he assumed his office that he will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and he will to the best of his ability preserve and protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The present statute significantly limits the powers of the president to act in times of war which have a serious effect on the performance of his obligation. Arguments In Favor of War Powers Act of 1973 On the other hand, some are in favor of the War Powers Act of 1973. They argue that the consultation and reporting requirements and the power of Congress to terminate the deployment of armed forces do not operate to limit the powers of the president. It merely serves to ensure that the constitutional mandate is observed. As envisioned by the United States Constitution, there shall always be two keys to start the engine of war running – the key given to the Congress and the key given to the President. Thus, the War Powers Act of 1973 does make Congress superior to the President, rather, it only highlights the supremacy of the United States Constitution. Conclusion I believe that the War Powers Act of 1973 is constitutional. Our history has shown that we cannot entrust to a single man the power to deploy United States troops to combat. In the past decade, all the past presidents, including our present president, has deployed hundreds of thousands of US soldiers to battle. This not only led to the death of countless soldiers but it has depleted our resources. The United States Constitution is still the highest law of the land and it is clearly manifested in the enactment of the War Powers Act of 1973.

Jane eyre by charlotte bronte Red Room Essay Example

Jane eyre by charlotte bronte Red Room Essay Example Jane eyre by charlotte bronte Red Room Paper Jane eyre by charlotte bronte Red Room Paper Jane Eyre is a classic romance novel by Charlotte Bronte (in the first person) that was published in 1847; by Smith, Elder Company, London. Charlotte Bronte first published the book as Jane Eyre: an Autobiography under the pseudonym Currer Bell. The protagonist and main character in this novel is Jane Eyre; orphaned at the mere age of one due to the death of both her parents, currently aged ten. When Jane was orphaned, her mothers brother offered to take Jane in and care for her, he then died however before he died he made his wife Mrs. Reed promise to look after Jane as if Jane was her own she agreed. Currently aged 10, Jane lives at Gateshead with: Mrs. Reed, Georgiana, Eliza and John Reed; whom all despise Jane and treat her with confounding cruelty especially John Reed he struck suddenly and strongly Jane feels like an outsider to her family environment `A heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed. ` Bessie chides Jane extensively more than her cousins, also the quote shows that the way Jane feels about herself has been largely influenced by the perception of the other family members. In chapter one Jane had been excluded as a full family member. ` She really must exclude me from privileges intended only for contented, happy, little children. ` As a result Jane slipped in the breakfast-room that adjoined the drawing-room and possessed herself a book which she began to read; Bronte shows Janes character as very independent and mature for her age, it shows she has a mind of her own also it shows she does not give up and is not easily defeated. During Victorian times children who were orphaned with no money, being at the mercy of their benefactors, usually looked at life as being a constant struggle as there were not many choices one could make to guarantee survival and were often seen as obligated to follow the orders of their benefactors; do as they were told and look up to the rest of the family because the orphan was now dependent. At the end of chapter 1 Jane tries to remain unnoticed in the drawing room reading on a rainy day, but John Reed, the fourteen-year-old son of Mrs. Reed, soon finds her. Jane lives in terror of John, as he bullies and punishes her without end. John becomes angry that Jane is reading one of their books, and says that: she is a dependent there, has no money, and should not live [there] with gentlemens children like [them]. John throws the book at Jane, causing her to fall and cut her head against the door. Jane then fights against him, and when Mrs. Reed enters the room she sends Jane to be locked in the red-room. The Red room symbolizes Janes character Bronte shows this in the form of pathetic fallacy; red is often used in conjunction with the themes of passion and fury, and the descriptions such as the curtains of deep red damask mirror physically Janes passionate character. I resisted. Bronte uses first person narrative to convey Janes anger and defiance; Janes state of mind has changed because she is angry she is treated and viewed as a second class to the Reed household which makes her want to fight back/rebel. The juxtaposition and metaphor of Brontes description of Jane as a rebel slave shows the reader Jane is conscious of her rebellion, also it shows the reader and emphasizes the point Jane is rebelling her wrongful placement of a lower-class status to the rest of the Reed household. Although in the times of today this would seem unjust, in Victorian times, this is the way all orphans were treated especially and girls who had an even lower rank but Jane was surprisingly, for an orphan, well educated and so had developed her own views on her difficult situation, thus enabling her to act accordingly. Brontes use of the simile shes like a wild cat creates a vivid image of Janes behavior in the readers mind and also shows Janes excessively passionate character. Master! How is he my master? Am I a servant? Brontes cluster of three and use of sequential rhetorical questions again shows how passionate Jane is about being seen as an equal in the Reed household. Bronte conveys Janes feelings of ignominy; this preparation for bonds, and the additional ignominy it inferred, took a little of the excitement out of me. Janes state of mind has changed seeing the immense degree of humility it inferred and so made the decision to pull her behavior together in order to avoid being further extensively humiliated. During Victorian times many orphans were abused and publically disgraced. Bronte uses metaphors to convey Janes feelings of being trapped; the Red Room itself is described as: a vault, `chamber. The reason for Janes change in state of mind is due to Brontes use of these metaphors which gives the room prison like qualities which creates the element of being trapped. Brontes strong use of imagery, colours, repetition and her use of pathetic fallacy of colours associated with red; Mahogany, crimson and pink show Janes state of mind as angry at being locked in the Red Room on the other hand, Brontes use of the simile like a pale throne suggests Brontes use of the simile `tiny phantoms` gives the scene a scary atmosphere and has a ghostly effect, also it sows the building accumulation of fear in Jane. Brontes use of other similes such as; `half fairy` `half imp` implies the room had stimulated Janes imagination furthermore the mirror may symbolizes Janes inner self. During Victorian times they genuinely believed in super superstitions; during mourning a death mirrors were covered because of a lingering superstition that the spirit of the deceased could become trapped in the reflective glass ` Superstition was with me at that moment`. The metaphor `revolted slave` shows the reader Jane still feels to rebel despite her fears, also again Bronte refers to the theme of slavery, which shows yet again Jane feels trapped she has no freedom, Jane does not want to be in the red room but has no choice. This was the case during Victorian times; orphans had no choice, no say in the matter, orphans had no free will. Janes education and knowledge provided her with a basis to understand her situation, and act impulsively which results in a revolt a rebellion. Jane feels isolated; because shes in so much shock she must think deeply, and gather her thoughts. `I was like nobody there`

How Bat Echolocation Works

How Bat Echolocation Works Echolocation is the combined use of morphology (physical features) and sonar (SOund NAvigation and Ranging) that allows  bats  to see using sound. A bat uses its larynx to produce ultrasonic waves that are emitted through its mouth or nose. Some bats also produce clicks using their tongues. The bat hears the echoes that are returned and compares the time between when the signal was sent and returned and the shift in the frequency of the sound to form a map of its surroundings. While no bat is completely blind, the animal can use sound to see in absolute darkness. The sensitive nature of a bats ears enables it to find prey by passive listening, too. Bat ear ridges act as an acoustic Fresnel lens, allowing a bat to hear the movement of ground-dwelling insects and the flutter of insect wings. How Bat Morphology Aids Echolocation Some of a bats physical adaptations are visible. A wrinkled fleshy nose acts as a megaphone to project sound. The complex shape, folds, and wrinkles of a bats outer ear help it receive and funnel incoming sounds. Some key adaptations are internal. The ears contain numerous receptors that allow bats to detect tiny frequency changes. A bats brain maps the signals and even accounts for the Doppler effect flying has on echolocation. Just before a bat emits a sound, the tiny bones of the inner ear separate to reduce the animals hearing sensitivity, so it doesnt deafen itself. Once the larynx muscles contract, the middle ear relaxes and the ears can receive the echo. Types of Echolocation There are two main types of echolocation: Low-duty-cycle echolocation allows bats to estimate their distance from an object based on the difference between the time a sound is emitted and when the echo returns. The call a bat makes for this form of echolocation is among the loudest airborne sounds produced by any animal. The signal intensity ranges from 60 to 140 decibels, which the equivalent to the sound emitted by a smoke detector 10 centimeters away. These calls are ultrasonic and generally outside the range of human hearing. Humans hear within the frequency range of 20 to 20,000 Hz, while microbats emit calls from 14,000 to over 100,000 Hz.High-duty cycle echolocation gives bats information about the motion and three-dimensional location of prey. For this type of echolocation, a bat emits a continuous call while listening to the change in the frequency of the returned echo. Bats avoid deafening themselves by emitting a call outside their frequency range. The echo is lower in frequency, falling within the optimal range f or their ears. Tiny changes in frequency may be detected. For example, the horseshoe bat can detect frequency differences as small as 0.1 Hz. While most bat calls are ultrasonic, some species emit audible echolocation clicks. The spotted bat (Euderma maculatum) makes a sound that resembles two rocks striking each other. The bat listens for the delay of the echo. Bat calls are complicated, generally consisting of a mixture of constant frequency (CF) and frequency modulated (FM) calls. High-frequency calls are used more often because they offer detailed information about the speed, direction, size, and distance of prey. Low-frequency calls travel further and are mainly used to map immobile objects. How Moths Beat Bats Moths are popular prey for bats, so some species have developed methods to beat echolocation. The tiger moth  (Bertholdia trigona)  jams the ultrasonic sounds. Another species advertises its presence by generating its own ultrasonic signals. This allows bats to identify and avoid poisonous or distasteful prey. Other moth species have an organ called a tympanum that reacts to incoming ultrasound by causing the moths flight muscles to twitch. The moth flies erratically, so its harder for a bat to catch. Other Incredible Bat Senses In addition to echolocation, bats use other senses unavailable to humans. Microbats can see in low light levels. Unlike humans, some see ultraviolet light. The saying blind as a bat doesnt apply to megabats at all, as these species see as well as, or better than, humans. Like birds, bats can sense magnetic fields. While birds use this ability to sense their latitude, bats use it to tell north from south. References Corcoran, Aaron J.; Barber, J. R.; Conner, W. E. (2009). Tiger moth jams bat sonar. Science. 325 (5938): 325–327.Fullard, J. H. (1998). Moth Ears and Bat Calls: Coevolution or Coincidence?. In Hoy, R. R.; Fay, R. R.; Popper, A. N. Comparative Hearing: Insects. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research. Springer.Nowak, R. M., editor (1999).  Walkers Mammals of the World.  Vol. 1. 6th edition. Pp.  264–271.Surlykke, A.; Ghose, K.; Moss, C. F. (April 2009). Acoustic scanning of natural scenes by echolocation in the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus. Journal of Experimental Biology. 212 (Pt 7): 1011–20.