Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

Globalization - Essay Example In the recent past, globalization has been given impetus by a number of forces such as the rapid changes in communications (â€Å"Globalization†); the birth of new and sophisticated means of communication such as the telephone, and computer technology such as the internet and email has speeded up the process of globalization. With these new and efficient ways of communication, information, ideas and knowledge can be transmitted everywhere within seconds and this has led to increased connectivity and interdependence, thus globalization. Increased communication at international level has resulted to cross-cultural interactions between people and societies in general; it is now possible to transact business across the globe thus giving rise to what is now referred to as a global economy. The rapid changes in transportation have also been another factor that has led to increased globalization in the modern times (Pettinger); new and efficient means of transportation such as the airplanes, steamer ships, and electric trains among others have increased global connection and interrelatedness. It is now easier for people, goods, and ideas to move across national borders than it was before due to the increased ease in global transportation; in this regard, the whole world has been reduced into a global village due to the interconnectivity. Because of the increased ease of transportation, multinational corporations can now manufacture their goods and products in other countries and sell them across national borders. The increased connectivity and interrelatedness of global economies due to globalization has resulted to a number of effects, both positive and negative; for instance, multinational interactions have led to increased business opportunities and a global common market that is self-sustaining (â€Å"Effects of Globalization†). Multinational corporations can transact businesses

Test Review Chapters 1-3 Essay Example for Free

Test Review Chapters 1-3 Essay Day 1 Review (Monday) * Website review: themes and learning objectives from Chapter 1 * http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072424362/student_view0/chapter1/ * includes review Multiple choice and essay questions Topics to review: * Summarize the changes in European society that led to the era of exploration between 1400 and 1700. (pg. 9-12, 23-28) * Describe the Spanish Empire in the New World during the 1500s. Include political, military, economic, social, and cultural considerations. (pg. 11-20) * Discuss the economic and religious motivations that led to the establishment of English colonies in North America. (pg. 23-27) * Explain the French process of colonization and interaction with the natives. (pg. 27) Day 2 Review (Tuesday) * Website review: major themes and learning objectives from Chapter 2 * http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072424362/student_view0/chapter2/ * Includes review Multiple choice and essay questions Topics to Review: * Compare and contrast the development of Virginia with that of New England. Consider social, economic, political, and religious differences (Page: 34–49) * Explain the underlying causes and the unfortunate consequences of Bacon’s Rebellion. (pg. 39-40) * Contrast the early years of Pennsylvania with the early years of Georgia. (Page: 52–54, 58–59) * Compare and contrast the religious, economic, and social cultures of the Puritans and Quakers. (Page: 40–49, 52–54) Day 3 Review (Wednesday) * Website review: major themes and learning objectives from Chapter 3 * http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072424362/student_view0/chapter3/ * includes review multiple choice and essay questions Topics to Review: * Compare and contrast the institutions of white indentured servitude and African slavery in early colonial America. (Page: 66–67, 71–75) * Compare and contrast the lives of colonial women in the Chesapeake with those in New England. (Page: 69–71) * Compare and contrast the economies of the southern colonies with those of the northern colonies in the 1600s and 1700s. (Page: 77–89) * Compare and contrast the society found on a southern plantation of the late 1600s with that of a Puritan community of the same period. (Page: 83–87) * Explain how religion developed in the New England colonies during the 1600s and early 1700s. (Page: 89–91) * Compare the growth of education and organized religious thought in eighteenth-century colonial America. (Page: 89–94) Test Review Chapters 1-3 Day 1 Review (Monday) * Website review: themes and learning objectives from Chapter 1 * http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072424362/student_view0/chapter1/ * includes review Multiple choice and essay questions Topics to review: * Summarize the changes in European society that led to the era of exploration between 1400 and 1700. (pg. 9-12, 23-28) * Describe the Spanish Empire in the New World during the 1500s. Include political, military, economic, social, and cultural considerations. (pg. 11-20) * Discuss the economic and religious motivations that led to the establishment of English colonies in North America. (pg. 23-27) * Explain the French process of colonization and interaction with the natives. (pg. 27) Day 2 Review (Tuesday) * Website review: major themes and learning objectives from Chapter 2 * http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072424362/student_view0/chapter2/ * Includes review Multiple choice and essay questions Topics to Review: * Compare and contrast the development of Virginia with that of New England. Consider social, economic, political, and religious differences (Page: 34–49) * Explain the underlying causes and the unfortunate consequences of Bacon’s Rebellion. (pg. 39-40) * Contrast the early years of Pennsylvania with the early years of Georgia. (Page: 52–54, 58–59) * Compare and contrast the religious, economic, and social cultures of the Puritans and Quakers. (Page: 40–49, 52–54) Day 3 Review (Wednesday) * Website review: major themes and learning objectives from Chapter 3 * http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072424362/student_view0/chapter3/ * includes review multiple choice and essay questions Topics to Review: * Compare and contrast the institutions of white indentured servitude and African slavery in early colonial America. (Page: 66–67, 71–75) * Compare and contrast the lives of colonial women in the Chesapeake with those in New England. (Page: 69–71) * Compare and contrast the economies of the southern colonies with those of the northern colonies in the 1600s and 1700s. (Page: 77–89) * Compare and contrast the society found on a southern plantation of the late 1600s with that of a Puritan community of the same period. (Page: 83–87) * Explain how religion developed in the New England colonies during the 1600s and early 1700s. (Page: 89–91) * Compare the growth of education and organized religious thought in eighteenth-century colonial America. (Page: 89–94)

Developing High Quality Multimedia Products

Developing High Quality Multimedia Products Introduction: The increasing development of computer science including the web design in parallel to the huge revelation of media has resulted to an increase in multimedia content at the final product presented to the user (Martin Lynch, 2003). From this statement, we can immediately see the important role the multimedia is playing in our lives. We can hardly find a business product or a technical application that does not contain a multimedia content at the user interface level, in this paper we will be stating the best approach and methodology for Creating a high quality multimedia product with successful user interface. This methodology consists of including some important phases in the development process such as : Quality assurance, risk management and validation and verification, in order to get a maximum quality product ( sherwood Rout , 1998 ) and a content that is not noisy. Furthermore, to reach this objective, developers are obliged to consider the Human Computer Interaction discipline, in order to get interactive computer systems for human use (Hewett et al, (n.d.)). Concerning the evaluation of the final product, the multimedia interface needs to be evaluated on its usability and its purity, simplicity and beauty (Martin, Bolissian pimenidis, 2003). To recapitulate what we have said above, multimedia industry is facing many problems, such as â€Å" Noise â€Å" , developers are obliged to follow the a methodology and take in a serious consideration the human computer interaction discipline in order to overcome the bug of â€Å" Noisy multimedia product â€Å". Multimedia The first question one may ask when we talk about multimedia is, What is Multimedia ? Multimedia is, In short, the usage of different form of media put together in one seamlessly combined context. However, the definition of this word has been a problematic issue among scientists; the artists see it as a means of expression, a way of transmitting the information to the others. Whereas technologists have defined the word â€Å" multimedia † as a group of means that let the media to be obtained, represented, delivered and displayed. ( Mckerrow, 2005 ) . Multimedia has become a big essential part of our daily lives, as practically all types of information we exchange are categorized under multimedia from music to Tv to presentations to magazines to web sites. Multimedia development has been in permanent growth, this important field in the information technology incorporates expertise and knowledge from software engineering, business environment and the multimedia interface; In oth er words, multimedia is involved in the fields of computers, communications and the media. Having defined multimedia, let us now talk about a key factor in designing high quality multimedia products. Human Computer Interaction ( HCI ) Human Computer Interaction can be defined as the science concerned with the â€Å" plan and design â€Å", evaluation and implementation of computer systems that have user interface (Hewett et al, (n.d.)). The multimedia user interface has a very important role in deciding whether the multimedia content has been successful or not, because if the interface is usable and elegant the multimedia application will be achieving a big part of its objectives , such as being noiseless. Evaluation of multimedia products As multimedia is a vast domain and is involved in all domains, the evaluation of multimedia applications has never been an easy task, there are different aspects to look at when measuring the success of any multimedia application, for instance, the designer has to look to the business aspect and see whether his product is still demanded by customers, and does his product still meet all the requirements. In the visual design or web sites, success lies under the leanness concept (Martin, Bolissian pimenidis, 2003). The evaluation of multimedia product is hard and needs a structured framework, one should follow the coming framework to get his product well evaluated: Does the project accomplish the task was designed for ? Is the user happy with it ? Is the application reliable ? Is the application complete ? Can the user interact with the application in the best manner ? Can the system respond to any sudden changes ? Are the users served with only the exact requested information ? Can the system respond to all the stakeholders requirements (Martin, Bolissian pimenidis, 2003). Another important notion in the evaluation of a multimedia product is the term â€Å" Quality Of Service â€Å" ( QOS ). With the â€Å" Quality Of Service â€Å" we can measure how high quality is the multimedia application. According to Vogel et al ( 1994 ) Quality of service is those parameters of a multimedia application that influence the presentation of the content of the multimedia system to the user. In short, Quality of service is the customers satisfaction with the multimedia product. To sum up, The evaluation of the multimedia application and the Quality of service, which shows the users satisfaction with the product, are very important for the developers to design a high quality multimedia systems. Noise Noise is the first enemy of multimedia products producers, as it is very hard to control and it is unexpected problem. To ensure that our multimedia application is not noisy or to get a high quality product we, as developers, have to follow a structured methodology for multimedia systems development. Before we get into this methodology, let us see what noise is, and what existing solutions are to have noiseless multimedia content. In general, noise is known in the electronic and telecommunication field, when transmitting some data in a telecommunication system using a wire, we call any loss of data that may occur, Noise. The piece of information to be sent is ciphered and then sent to its destination ( the user for instance ) when it is received the data is deciphered and then read, any difference between the source message and the resulted message is due to the data loss and it is called â€Å" Noise â€Å" . To make sure that the data received is the same as the original one, computer programmers have added some codes that detect and correct errors to the original message (Martin Lynch, 2003). This solution seems to be effective and successful as it is still being used by telecommunication peoples and networking programmers. But what about Noise in multimedia ? ? ? which is more complicated to get rid of. In multimedia information systems and multimedia product, Noise can be defined as any inappropriate piece of information or content that is received by the user with regard to the content, structure of display, time of display, accuracy and in functionality and navigation. Basically , Noise occurs when the usability rules are not taken in consideration (Martin Lynch, 2003). Having defined noise, now, developers need to have a scale so that they can know at what extent their products are noisy or are noiseless, Martin Lynch,( 2003) have done it for us, Here is the recapitulation of their nice work : At first, multimedia is involved in a wide context. To well evaluate multimedia product we need to consider users opinion and do not be satisfied only by the view of visual designers and human computer interaction (HCI) designers. To know how noisy your multimedia system is, you must know the profile and the requirements of all the stakeholders. The system should adhere to the usability rules required by the stakeholders in term of meeting the objectives the system was designed for, with consideration to the computing infrastructure and the location where the multimedia system is operating. The framework for evaluating Noise in multimedia product: Stakeholders : does the system provide the users with only the needed information ? Visual design : is the user interface nice? Usabilty : is the multimedia system easy to use ? Information : is the data given correct ? is it on time ? is it the needed information ? Fit with computing devices : do the computing infrastructures give the results needed with the needed details ? Location : do the infrastructures of the system work in all the places. The need for a methodology to avoid â€Å" Noise â€Å" in multimedia products Multimedia industry is growing more rapidly than expected, high quality product and the gain of the users satisfaction has become now a prime consideration. To reach those objectives, developers must create noiseless multimedia systems. Before, the problem was in the method of production and in the way of thinking of developers and designers, as they used to look to what is being developed rather than looking to how is being developed ( sherwood Rout , 1998 ) . Recently, Multimedia producers have defined a methodology for the development of the multimedia products which leads to a Pure and Simple interface that are â€Å" noiseless â€Å" . Developers can benefit from adopting this well defined approach and a rigorous methodology many advantages such as : the quality of the product will be improved, and the staff will be guided and supported by templates and exemplars ( sherwood Rout , 1998 ) . Brief description of the methodology : The structured approach explained above, can be a benchmark which will help in the increase of the productivity and the quality of the multimedia product ( sherwood Rout , 1998 ) . This methodology brings some innovating ideas and tools. It brings new models of practice and it provides the staff of a multimedia project with templates and models which can be used to create a high quality multimedia products. This methodology, as Sherwood Rout ( 1998 ), have stated, includes six phases of multimedia development: Initiation : during this phase the general planning is done. Specifications : during this phase they test the feasibility and the usability of the Project. Design : during this phase the stakeholders are defined, and solution to perspective problems are found. Production : during this phase the final product will be finalizing. Review and Evaluation : during this phase a critical examination of the final product is done. Delivery and Implementation. during this phase the client is introduced to accept and sign the agreement to finalize the product. The power and the strength of this method is the incorporation of the quality assurance throughout all the development phases, which is a new way and very efficient one to get a noiseless product. Each phase of the previous ones, is divided into three main activities: Development Management : deal with legal issues and risk management Support : quality assurance , validation and verification. Further Issues : Well evaluate the multimedia product and well design it following a structured methodology, is the solution to design noiseless multimedia products. This is what we have given to the readers through this paper. But the problem with this solution is it is just a theoretical process in which the successful result does not follow in all cases. Because in the practical world nothing is perfect, bugs and mistakes have always existed. So in multimedia world also nothing is perfect ( noiseless ). I suggest that rather than trying to develop noiseless multimedia products, developers should try creating applications in which noise is minimized. It is better for both the user and the producer. Conclusion : The multimedia product has been evolving without cease in the last years due to the big importance of this field in the information technology. To have better multimedia systems, developers have to design carefully by including in this process many important points. The most important factor in designing not noisy multimedia product is to follow the structured methodology discussed above. Furthermore, producers or developers should think in the interface of the Human Computer Interaction and work out to develop a usable interface and aesthetic application. In my opinion, I see that if the usability rules are adhered, the developers will have a big step to reach their goal to create â€Å" Noiseless â€Å" multimedia application. But as we know multimedia is a vast domain and the main problem that developers are facing is : The perfect noiseless multimedia product can be developed only theoretically, as in the practical world we, always have some unwanted and unexpected errors and b ugs that make the system noisy. Now, its we who ask this question : â€Å" can we perform such applications in the real word ? ? ? â€Å". References: Hewett, Baecker, Card, Carey, Gasen, Mantei, Perlman, Strong and Verplank (2008), ACM SIGCHI Curricula for Human-Computer Interaction content available at : http://sigchi.org/cdg/cdg2.html#2_1 Martin, S., Bolissian, J., Pimenidis, E., (2003) ‘PURE and SIMPLE: a framework for the evaluation of Multimedia products School of computing and technology, university of east London,Uk Martin, S. and Lynch, J., (2003) ‘VISUAL: a framework for the evaluation of visual ‘noise in multimedia interface School of computing and technology, university of east London,Uk McKerrow, P., (2005) ‘Teaching content creation with programing, IEEE computer society 2005, university of Wollongong, Australia. Sherwood, C., and Rout, T., (1998) ‘a structured methodology for multimedia product and systems development, School of Computing and Information Technology, Griffith University, Australia. Vogel, A. Kerherv, B., Bochmann, G. and Gecsei, J., (1994) ‘Distributed Multimedia Applications and Quality of Service, Universite de Montreal 1994, Canada.

Skeptics and True Believers :: Free Essay Writer

Skeptics and True Believers In the first chapter, Raymo, opens with talk of his childhood. He brings to the surface the fact that children will believe just about anything they are told. In this chapter Raymo explains how people grow frm children into grown sdluts, peolpe somehow retain some of a child’s ability to believe in the unbelievable. It is the True Believer that retains â€Å"an absolute in some forms of empirically unverifiable make-belive...† (13), wheras the Skeptic always â€Å"keeps a wary eye even on firmly established facts.†(14) For an example, Raymo uses the Shroud of Turin, which simplly a linen cloth that has the likeness of a man on it ( some belive this man to be Christ). He tells of a time when the Roman Catholic authorities allowed scientists to radiocarbon date the Shroud. Small samples of the Shroud where sent with three samples controls of known age, to three independant labs. All three properly dated the controls and dated the Shroud to medieval time. Raymo conclueded that a Skeptic would have taken the evidence and belived it, while the True Beliver would find no truth in what was found. In fact, he said that the True Beliver would come up with explainations as to why the Shroud seems younger than it really is. In the next chapter, Raymo explains the main difference between Skeptics and True Believers is the opposite of what most people would think. He explains how â€Å"scientific concepts can be extraordinarily bizarre...† (27), wheras the True Believer believe what may seem much more sensible and somewhat down to earth. The example Raymo uses for this is DNA and its ability to reproduce itself. This tiny double-helix somehow manages to spilt and make a copy of its self from chemical components from whatever is surrounding it. It may seem easier for one to believe in a Shroud with a man’s face in it, or the picture of God in the Sistine Chapel, but it is the Skeptics who believe in the hard to concieve DNA. It is this DNA that contains the blueprints of what we are to look, talk, and act like. In chapter four, Raymo again brings up his childhood. He tells how he was forced into religion. The Church would not allow doubts to be spoken. For if it where to be questioned the whole religious system may fall apart. The only sources of information were the nuns, priest, and all other authorities that were ‘chosen’ by God.

Balance Sheet For Microsoft Corporation Accounting Essay

Microsoft is the most outstanding engineering corporation in the universe that deals with computing machines, † With one-year grosss of more than $ 32 billion, Microsoft Corporation is more than the largest package company in the universe: it is a cultural phenomenon. The company ‘s nucleus concern is based on developing, fabrication, and licencing package merchandises, including runing systems, waiter applications, concern and consumer applications, and package development tools, every bit good as Internet package, engineerings, and services † . ( http: //www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Microsoft-Corporation-Company-History.html ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/14/Microsoft-Corporation.htmlA A A A hypertext transfer protocol: //www.redciencia.cu/empres/Intempres2000/Sitio/Principal/Conferencias/CUBA_Inteligencia % 20Empresarial/victor/bcrc6.htm †The name of the celebrated individual – Bill Gates comes in one ‘s head with reference of the name of Microsoft. He is the laminitis of the company and is believed to be the smartest coders of all time. † ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bighistory.net/microsoft-a-short-history/ ) . Led by him, Microsoft had witnessed its flowers and has been able to hold its merchandise on about every personal computing machine in the universe, and in the procedure making criterions in the engineering industry every bit good as market re-definition. †Gates was foremost exposed to computing machines at school in the late 60 ‘s with his friend Paul Allen. At 14 ; Gates and he ‘s friend were composing and proving computing machine plans. In 1972 they established their first company, Traf-O-Data, which sold a fundamental computing machine that, recorded and analyzed traffic informations. He ‘s friend went on to analyze computing machine scientific discipline at the University of Washington and so dropped out to work at Honeywell, while Gates enrolled at Harvard. In 1975, Gates and Allen wrote a version of BASIC for the new Altair personal computer kit merely released by MITS Computer. Later that twelvemonth Gates left college to work full clip developing programming linguistic communications for the Altair, and he and Allen relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be close MITS Computer, where Allen took a place as manager of package development. Gates and Allen named their partnership Micro-soft † . ( http: //www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Microsoft-Corporation-Company-History.html ) . The word Microsoft was developed from two different words, micro from personal computer and soft from package. The name was registered in New Mexico in November 1976. On November 1978, the first international office of Microsoft was established in Japan and its name was ASCII ( American Standard Code for Information Interchange ) . It is now known as Microsoft Japan. In January 1979 the company ‘s central office was moved to Bellevue Washington. ( http: //www.bighistory.net/microsoft-a-short-history/ ) . In the early 80 ‘s, Microsoft witnessed a period of great success when IBM contracted the company to develop an operating system for its personal computing machines ( Personal computer ) , which was underway. In the late 80 ‘s Microsoft issued IPOs ( initial public offering ) of over two million portions and in the infinite of one twelvemonth the monetary value or the portions tripled and in the procedure doing Gates a billionaire at about 30 old ages of age. Harmonizing to Richard B, McKenzie ( 2000 ) †Microsoft bases accused of seeking to widen its market laterality by bear downing the lowest of all monetary values for its browser Internet Explorer † . Nonetheless ; the company had tonss of other critics and legal instances against it from rivals and the likes. Microsoft success was further heightened by the tech bubble of the 2000 following the release of the Windowss XP, windows 2000, the acquisition of Visio corporation which stood as the largest acquisition in the life of Microsoft so far with dealing value of about One and half a billion dollars. The company besides spread its tentacles into the universe of bet oning with their popularly known X-BOX which has remained a success boulder clay day of the month. ( http: //www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Microsoft-Corporation-Company-History.html ) .DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF MICROSOFT PERFORMANCE OVERTIMECardinal Dates:1975: Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen ; they sell BASIC, the first Personal computer computing machine linguistic communication plan to MITS Computer, Microsoft ‘s first client. 1981: Microsoft, Inc. is incorporated ; IBM uses Microsoft ‘s 16-bit operating system for its first personal computing machine. 1982: Microsoft, U.K. , Ltd. is incorporated. 1983: Paul Allen resigns as executive vice-president but remains on the board ; Jon Shirley is made president of Microsoft ( he subsequently becomes CEO ) ; Microsoft introduces the Microsoft Mouse and Word for MS-DOS 1.00. 1985: Microsoft and IBM forge a joint development understanding. 1986: Microsoft stock goes public at $ 21 per portion. 1987: The Company ‘s first CD-ROM application, Microsoft Bookshelf, is released. 1990: Jon Shirley retires as president and CEO ; Michael R. Hallman is promoted in Shirley ‘s topographic point ; the company becomes the first Personal computer package house to excel $ 1 billion of gross revenues in a individual twelvemonth. 1992: Bill Gates is awarded the National Medal of Technology for Technological Achievement. 1993: The Company introduces Windows NT. 1995: Bill Gates publishes his first book, The Road Ahead. 1996: The Company acquires Vermeer Technologies and its package application, FrontPage. 1997: The Justice Department alleges that Microsoft violated a 1994 consent edict refering licencing the Windows runing system to computing machine makers. 1998: The U.S. Department of Justice files two antimonopoly instances against Microsoft, avering the company had violated the Sherman Act. 2000: The Company acquires Visio Corporation, its largest acquisition to day of the month. 2001: Microsoft Windows XP is released internationally. 2003: Microsoft launches Windows Server 2003. 2007: Microsoft launches Windows view 2009: Microsoft launches windows 7 Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Microsoft-Corporation-Company-History.htmlBalance sheet for Microsoft Corporation as at 30th June 2010. ( Annually )Assetss [ + ] in Millions of Dollars06/201006/200906/200806/200706/2006Cash and Equivalents 5,505 6,076 10,339 6,111 6,714 Restrictable Cash–––––Marketable Securities 31,283 25,371 13,323 17,300 27,447 Histories Receivable 13,014 11,192 13,589 11,338 9,316 Loans Receivable–––––Other Receivables–––––Receivabless 13,014 11,192 13,589 11,338 9,316 Inventories, Raw Materials 172 170 417 435 465 Inventories, Work in Progress 16 45 31 148–Inventories, Purchased Components–––––Inventories, Finished Goods 552 502 537 544 1,013 Inventories, Other–––––Inventories, Adjustments & A ; Allowances–––––Inventories 740 717 985 1,127 1,478 Prepaid Expenses–––––Current Deferred Income Taxes 2,184 2,213 2,017 1,899 1,940 Other Current Assetss 2,950 3,711 2,989 2,393 2,115Entire Current Assets55,67649,28043,24240,16849,010Land and Improvements 526 526 518 428 362 Buildings and Improvement 8,187 7,824 6,030 4,247 3,146 Machinery, Furniture and Equipment 7,546 6,732 5,996 4,691 3,715 Construction in Advancement–––––Fixed Assets, Other–––––Fixed Assets, Entire 16,259 15,082 12,544 9,366 7,223 Gross Fixed Assetss 16,259 15,082 12,544 9,366 7,223 Accumulated Depreciation ( 8,629 ) ( 7,547 ) ( 6,302 ) ( 5,016 ) ( 4,179 ) Net Fixed Assetss 7,630 7,535 6,242 4,350 3,044 Intangibles 1,158 1,759 1,973 878 539 Cost in Excess 12,394 12,503 12,108 4,760 3,866 Non-Current Deferred Income Taxes–279 949 1,389 2,611 Other Non-Current Assetss 9,255 6,532 8,279 11,626 10,527Entire Non-Current Assetss30,43728,60829,55123,00320,587Entire Assetss86,11377,88872,79363,17169,597Liabilitiess [ + ] in Millions of Dollars06/201006/200906/200806/200706/2006Histories Collectible 4,207 5,008 4,034 3,247 2,909 Short Term Debt 1,000 2,000–––Notes Collectible–––––Accrued Expenses–––––Accrued Liabilitiess 3,283 3,156 2,934 2,325 1,938 Deferred Grosss 13,652 13,003 13,397 10,779 9,138 Current Deferred Income Taxes––––1,557 Other Current Liabilitiess 4,005 3,867 9,521 7,403 6,900Entire Current Liabilitiess26,14727,03429,88623,75422,442Long Term Debt 4,939 3,746–––Deferred Income Tax 229––––Other Non-Current Liabilitiess 8,623 7,550 6,621 8,320 7,051 Minority Interest–––––Capital Lease Obligations–––––Preferred Securities of Subsidiary Trust–––––Preferred Equity Outside Shareholders ‘ Equity–––––Entire Non-Current Liabilitiess13,79111,2966,6218,3207,051Entire Liabilitiess39,93838,33036,50732,07429,493Preferred Shareholder ‘s Equity–––––Common Shareholder ‘s Equity 46,175 39,558 36,286 31,097 40,104 Common Par 62,856 62,382 62,849––Additional Paid in Capital–––60,557 59,005 Accumulative Translation Adjustments–––149–Retained Net incomes ( 16,681 ) ( 22,824 ) ( 26,563 ) ( 31,114 ) ( 20,130 ) Treasury Stock–––––Other Equity Adjustments–––1,505 1,229 Entire Capitalization 51,114 43,304 36,286 31,097 40,104Entire Equity46,17539,55836,28631,09740,104Entire Liabilities & A ; Shareholder ‘s Equity86,11377,88872,79363,17169Closing monetary value = $ 25.51 Volume sold =25.16m Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.answers.com/main/dsdata? dsid=2940 & A ; templateid=0 & A ; cid=27590212 & A ; qm_page=30703. [ Accessed, 4 April 2011 ] . The balance sheet above gives a brief sum-up of the plus and liabilities of Microsoft at a glimpse, it is evident that Microsoft has been able to keep plus at a greater proportion than liabilities overtime. The company has a good mix of debt and equity, for every $ 1 owned it is borrowing less than 90 cents. This shows that the company is non excessively leveraged and less hazardous while besides basking some degree of revenue enhancement shield from the purchase. Microsoft has a good opportunity of go oning into a traveling concern in the nearest foreseeable hereafter because its capital construction shows more of a residuary ownership. With more descriptive statistics, we can besides analyze the public presentation of Microsoft on a monthly footing from the twelvemonth 1988- 2009 utilizing returns ( unit % ) See excel for descriptive statistics. Microsoft return ( unit % ) Market return ( unit % ) Mean 0.021622876 Mean 0.857870722 Standard Error 0.00618845 Standard Error 0.269942879 Median 0.022084196 Median 1.41 Manner 0.064221396 Manner 1.78 Standard Deviation 0.100359793 Standard Deviation 4.377737838 Sample Variance 0.010072088 Sample Variance 19.16458858 Kurtosis 1.421423202 Kurtosis 1.709578314 Lopsidedness 0.366537791 Lopsidedness -0.812673531 Scope 0.751310392 Scope 29.51 Minimum -0.343529412 Minimum -18.46 Maximum 0.40778098 Maximum 11.05 Sum 5.686816298 Sum 225.62 Count 263 Count 263 From the descriptive statistics above, Microsoft has a positive lopsidedness unlike the market whose lopsidedness is negative, this indicates that Microsoft has a better flow or return than the market. It could besides be noted that Microsoft is ( 1 ) criterion divergence off from its average whereas the market is ( 4 ) criterion divergence off from its mean, this means that the returns of Microsoft had non been excessively volatile over the old ages and return on stocks are less hazardous.COMPARISON OF MOCROSOFT PERFORMANCE WITH S & A ; P 500 ( MARKET ) USING T-TESTSee t-test on Excel H0: Microsoft did non surpass the market H1: Microsoft outperformed the market t-Test: Paired Two Sample for MeansAVariable 1 Variable 2 Mean 0.021622876 0.857870722 Discrepancy 0.010072088 19.16458858 Observations 263 263 Pearson Correlation 0.539530773 Hypothesized Average Difference 0 df 262 T Stat -3.136067434 P ( T & lt ; =t ) one-tail 0.000953757 t Critical one-tail 1.650690284 P ( T & lt ; =t ) two-tail 0.001907515 t Critical two-tail 1.969059657ADecision: From the t-Test above, since the t-stats is greater in value than the t -critical ( irrespective of the -ve mark ) , we need to accept the alternate hypothesis ( H1 ) which says that Microsoft outperformed the market and reject the Null hypothesis ( H0 ) which says that Microsoft did non surpass the market. We can besides deduce this decision by looking at the P- value, here we can see that the p- value is less than the significance degree of.05, therefore we need to accept the alternate hypothesis ( H1 ) .Analysis OF MICROSOFT PERFORMANCE WITH CAPMArrested development Statisticss Multiple R 0.258985259 R Square 0.067073365 Adjusted R Square 0.063498933 Standard Error 0.185690508 Observations 263 Analysis of varianceAdf United states secret service Multiple sclerosis F Significance F Arrested development 1 0.647027164 0.647027164 18.764764 2.11102E-05 Residual 261 8.999531777 0.034480965 Entire 262 9.646558942AAAACoefficients Standard Error T Stat P-value Lower 95 % Upper 95 % Lower 95.0 % Upper 95.0 % Intercept -0.32415329 0.011530623 -28.1123831 6.17385E-81 -0.346858177 -0.30145 -0.34686 -0.30145 X Variable 1 0.011371441 0.002625088 4.331831484 2.11102E-05 0.006202393 0.01654 0.006202 0.01654 CAPM: – Tocopherol ( R ) =RF+I? [ RM-RF ] By replacing the CAPM expression into the arrested development, we have Y= I ±+I?x+e Y = dependant variable I ± = intercept I? = co-efficient of independent variable vitamin E =error When x=0, I ± is an estimation of Y, so extra return of Microsoft would be given as: Excess return= -0.32415329+0.011371441+0.185690508 Adjusted R Square = 0.063498933 The adjusted R Square indicates that 6.3 % of the variableness in the extra return of Microsoft is explained by the market. I.e. for every per centum alteration of return in the market, Microsoft ‘s return alterations by 6.3 % .DecisionMicrosoft

The voice of Faulkner

The voice of Faulkner Introduction William Faulkner’s writing in three short stories (‘A Rose for Emily’, ‘Barn burning’, and ‘As l lay dying’) is highly emotional, complex, gothic and has an unconventional choice of narrators. These attributes denote two literary elements and they are: language and style. One can analyze those two elements in order to understand William Faulkner’s voice.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The voice of Faulkner specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More How Faulkner uses language and style in ‘A Rose for Emily’, ‘Barn burning’ and ‘As I lay dying’ Emotional and poetic language Faulkner has the ability to be intensely emotional in most of his pieces without really sacrificing the story line or the strengths of his characters. In ‘Barn burning’, the author evokes emotions by compressing deep meaning in jus t a few lines. In one scenario, Sarty says ‘Father! Father!’ (Faulkner, As I lay dying 14)These might seem like simple words, but they are packed with meaning. The reader is able to feel a sense of loss, sadness, and a hint of relief as the speaker makes this statement. The author allows his phrases to possess some level of ambiguity in order to give his readers room to interpret or create their own meaning. In ‘As I lay dying’, the author uses one of his characters to convey literary or poetic language. Darl is extremely articulate and his language is quite innovative. Gothic style Faulkner has the ability to bring out elements of death, decay, destruction, isolation and darkness in a unique way. This component in his writings caused him to stand out from his contemporaries. In ‘A rose for Emily’, Faulkner creates an image of a woman who clearly does not belong to her world. She refuses to leave her house for years on end; she stops talking to everyone, has an affair with a disapproved male, and finally murders her lover. Here was a woman who was trapped in the past, and had alienated herself from life. Emily had a lush and beautiful environment outside her house; she never bothered to look at it. She chose to live in darkness, both literally and metaphorically as she never drew her curtains. This depiction of deep darkness was something that Faulkner always focused on; it added a gothic element to his writings and made it distinctive. In ‘As I lay dying’, the author selects a relatively poor family- the Bundrens. Although the group is ignorant and has a series of other weaknesses, the author still conveys their experiences with empathy and grace. The setting of the community in which the Bundrens live has an element of grotesqueness because it focuses on members of the lower class. The death of Addie is also one of the dark and disturbing components of the narration. Additionally, Faulkner describes the des truction of Darl in such a tragic and dignified manner. One cannot help but feel the same devastation that surrounded that development. The gothic style in this narrative is therefore reflective of the author’s preference for dark tales. In ‘Barn burning’, the author’s preference for the bizarre is seen through his choice of characters. This is a dysfunctional family whose head has a need to burn houses. He causes his children to participate in his wrongdoings by instructing them to help him out with a few things.Advertising Looking for critical writing on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It only gets worse for Sarty when the Major chooses to kill his father before he can destroy his barn. Eventually, the young boy keeps running until midnight, when he stops to sit at the crest of a hill. This must be a dark moment in Sarty’s life because he did not have a fathe r anymore, yet he also ran away from people who love him. These are all depressing issues that cause the reader to empathize deeply with Sarty. Complex style Faulkner had a complex style of writing owing to his treated of time, his use of long sentences and unconventional sentence structure, his preference for ambiguity, and his use of stream of unconsciousness. One of the most interesting component’s of Faulkner’s style of writing was his complicated treatment of time. He achieves this by changing from narrator to narrator and from character to character. The lack of chronology in his pieces is the reason why some unseasoned readers find his work difficult to follow. In ‘A rose for Emily’, the story commences with the main character’s death. This is followed by many events that occurred in the modern age to the period just before the Civil war in the South. The present is sometimes interrupted by events in the past and the past sometimes appears to be the present. One is able to deduce this interweaving of events through phrases such as: ‘thirty years before’ or ‘eight years later’ (Faulkner, A rose for Emily 17). It is almost as if Faulkner is giving his audience little pieces of a puzzle that must be put together in order to understand the whole narration. The time movements have been achieved through the use of flashbacks and foreshadows. The end of the story illustrates that the entire piece has been a flashback since it talks about the discovery of the corpse of Homer in Emily’s house. Faulkner did not just choose this non linear approach in order to make his work interesting or to confuse readers; he did it in order to make his readers engage more with the text. As one goes through the story, one is likely to be inspired to compare chronologies with other people so as to detect any possible misreading. In these discussions, one can then analyze the thematic repercussions of those chronol ogies. This unconventional style has a way of making readers more engrained in the narration, and hence more likely to admire his work. The same thing occurs in ‘As I lay dying.’ Although the story spans through a couple of days, the author utilizes the perspectives of several voices in order to bring in a different dimension to the story. Faulkner manages to create a sense of wholeness despite the fragmentary nature of the story. The various sub plots that are added from time to time seem to add more strength to the story. The ambiguity of the narrators requires meticulous analysis of their descriptions because not all of them are credible.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The voice of Faulkner specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Complexity is also created in ‘Barn burning through the use of long sentences. This method has also been employed in ‘As I lay dying’. The long sente nces can make it difficult to follow the narrative, if one does not pay close attention 9Faulkner, as I lay dying 65). He is fond of this style of writing because he wants to capture the action and emotions that his characters are going through. When Sarty starts chasing after de Spain, the author describes this experience using very lengthy sentences. As one reads them, one gets lost in the events of the moment. One can feel the confusion and sense of loss that Sarty is going through using this technique. Faulkner therefore achieves his objective by causing readers to get carried away. Since there is no slowing down in the sentences, there is also no slowing down with the actions being described. Unconventional choice of narrators as an element of style In ‘A rose for Emily’, the writer uses the town as the main voice in the short story. As the story continues, one learns about the habits and values of the people in Emily’s hometown. This narrator does not pre-e mpt anything in the short story. He seems to discover new things along with the audience. For instance, in one scenario, the narrator states that there was an awful smell from Emily’s house, and adds that it occurred as soon as her sweetheart died. He does not provide any correlation between these two components of the tale. It is only until the end of the story that the reader is able to know where the smell came from. The narrator, provides additional information, but still strives to maintain suspense in the story. In ‘Barn burning’, the author picks an omniscient narrator who seems very close to Sarty. The purpose of selecting such a voice was to make the main character get closer to readers. At one point, one feels as though one has entered Sarty’s mind. Since he is someone who understands things through symbols, the writer presented or explained things through such a perspective. For example, when Sarty went to court, he describes the crowd as having ‘a lane of grim faces’. Numerous metaphors have been used, that relate to a child’s perspective. In another instance, he describes his father’s voice as being harsh as tin and lacking heat as tin. However, the author manages to illustrate that Sarty was not in fact the real narrator when Sarty and his family are out camping and his father makes a small fire. It is noted that Abner does not hesitate to create large fires when burning other people’s barns. The narrator muses that had Sarty been older, he would have asked himself why this was the case. The author therefore plays with reader’s minds by providing more than one possibility for the narration. This kind of style was fundamental in providing essential details to the story while providing a mechanism for understanding the main character’s actions.Advertising Looking for critical writing on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Perhaps the most complicated choice of narrators occurred when the author wrote ‘As I lay dying’; there are fifteen narrators in the story and each of the descriptions is highly subjective. Each narrator has his own kind of language and tone. Some of the narrators re confessional and seemingly neutral, but they end up loosing credibility later on. For instance, one of the first ones –Darl is an immensely articulate individual who seems to know what he is talking about. However, he is treated negatively by his family members who eventually take him to an asylum when he goes mad. To Faulkner, truth is debatable and depends upon the individual under consideration. The purpose for choosing such a complex interplay of narrators was to create a platform for adding more information to the story. Instead of depending upon one individual to describe everything, the author decides to use both real and interior monologues that the characters have with themselves and others in order to concretize the story. Objectivity is evasive in ‘As I lay dying’, and this causes readers to think a little bit more intensively about the developments in the story (Blotner 44). Stream of consciousness is also an important part of Faulkner’s complex writing. In ‘As I lay dying’, a number of narrators think about the death of the main character and they do this through continuous internal reflections. The same thing occurs in ‘Barn burning’. Sarty often describes his experiences as if they are flowing right out of his mind. For example, when his father walks in, he first describes what his father is wearing before he realizes that his father is in the house. Conclusion Faulkner was unsparing in his pieces; his words, plot and descriptions were intense and bold. His choice of characters and the lives they lived has grotesque or gothic inclinations. This author’s work was complex because of his sentence structures, his preference for ambiguity and his treatment of time. Lastly, the author’s choice of narrators was unconventional, but meaningful. Together, these components make Faulkner’s language and style exceptional in the literary world. Blotner, Joseph. Faulkner: A biography. NY: Random House, 1984 Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying: The corrected text. NY: Vintage publishers, 1991. Print Faulkner, William. A rose for Emily. NY: Dramatic publishing, 1983. Print. Faulkner, William. Barn burning. NY: Harper and brothers, 1939. Print.