Pagkakatulad at Pagkakaiba ng Annulment at diborsyo Introduction free essay sample

An irregular student is one who is unable to follow the subject sequence of the subjects outlined in the program curriculum, due to reasons of failure, dropping, leave of absence, and/or shifting. The program may or may not be finished within the immediate prescribed number of semesters/years. Irregular students handle their own time, they are to fix their desired schedule on their own, so if he or she is lucky enough, he or she can choose a class that suites his or her preferences. Irregular students are oftentimes the ones who have the most friends because they get to meet and stay with new sets of classmates every semester, if they choose a different class each semester. But not all are can adapt easily to the many changes that go with being an irregular student , thinking that they are better off focusing on passing the subject on their own to get back to where they were really supposed to be. We will write a custom essay sample on Pagkakatulad at Pagkakaiba ng Annulment at diborsyo Introduction or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What are the causes of being an irregular student? What are its effects to the students who are in this situation? How does it feel to be an irregular? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being one? How does being an irregular affect a student’s social life and studies? The first thought that comes in mind when students see an irregular student is perhaps they failed the subject they were supposed to be in. Their reasons may vary. And one could probably be failure to meet the requirements of his past subjects but is not always the case. There are also other reasons that cause these students to be in this certain situation. This research will give a clear statement on the life of irregular students in the Institute of Computing in the University of Southeastern Philippines. This research involves a number of students that can surely relate to this certain situation. II. Body III. Conclusion Year Level: It is more likely for Institute of Computing students to be an irregular during their freshmen year, which has a 53 percentage of students being irregular during that year and the most unlikely year for IC students to be an irregular is 3rd year college, since it only has a 16 percent chance of being an irregular during that year. Gender: Based on our data collected female students have a percent of becoming an irregular student since they are 58 percent more than males which only has 42 percent. Type of Subject: Students become an irregular mostly on major subjects which has an 84 percent value higher than minor subjects which only has 16 percent. Reasons: IC students’ most likely reason for failing is getting a failing mark and being given an INC or failure due to absences by the professor, by which failing mark has 25% and INC has 23% both are the two highest reasons chosen among the other reasons prepared and listed by the interviewees, the lowest reason for a student to become a irregular would be the mismatch of course.

How to Write an Informative Essay on Redistricting

How to Write an Informative Essay on Redistricting We have previously explained some interesting facts about redistricting. We then gave you 20 topics which you can use to come up with a topic for your informative essay. Now it is time that we help you write the perfect essay by giving you some very important tips. Before we start, you should all understand that the essay should have a proper structure. According to the general format, the essay should have: introductory paragraph; first body paragraph; second body paragraph; third body paragraph; concluding paragraph. So let’s get started: Analyze the Topic.  This has to be the very first thing you do. In order to write a good essay, you need to analyze the topic itself, and create an understanding. Do not rely on the description in the bulk email, but instead make sure that you discuss the topic with your professor and see what he wants from the students. Do Research on the Topic.  Next, you need to perform an ample amount of research on the matter. The history of redistricting is a big one and there are several books available on the matter. While your teacher will give reading material before assigning a topic, that shouldn’t be your only source of information. Run Up Facts and Figures and a Whole Lot of Material.  This is a touch and go side of the essay, you don’t want your paper to turn out to be a statistical report and you don’t want it to be a conversational message either. You have to put in the right amount of relevant facts and figures that reflect the overall quality of your essay. Maintain Quality Throughout.  Often essays start off strong and become stale and mundane as they progress. Make sure your essay reflects quality of academic standards and a certain continuity and articulation. Remember, you are not going to be there when the essay is being checked, therefore no matter how well you think you know the topic, it won’t matter if it isn’t written down there in the correct way. Make It Orderly and Neat.  If your essay is all cluttered and without any paragraphs separating one topic from the next, then no matter how well it’s written, it won’t get you enough marks. So make sure the punctuation is correct, and you’ve used the appropriate words. The grammar should also be perfect, the articulation neat, and the paragraphs need to have a certain structure. Don’t Be Ambiguous.  While some say it is safe to write an ambiguous essay, it’s actually quite the opposite. Your professor will never appreciate you being ambiguous on key matters in the essay. You have to be straightforward and display command over the topic which being ambiguous doesn’t accomplish. Read the Rules.  The reason essays are given to you is to develop a certain sense of format in your thought process. You already know what you have to write about, but you can’t just write it without keeping the rules in mind. This may involve using a certain font, paper dimensions and font-size etc. Also make sure you follow the correct referencing method referred to you by your professor. So that’s it. If you have any more questions, you can always send us an email and we will try our best to get back to you as soon as we can. We wish you the best of luck for writing an informative essay about redistricting.

Career Outlook For Information Technology

Information Technology is one of the most trending educational sectors in US. Thousands of students are now pursing various courses of Information Technology, since this domain is making significant progress; hence, students are being more attracted towards this field of study. With the advancements in technology all over the world, Information Technology is one of the subjects that is in high demand among the students. Studying Information Technology in bachelors’ level or Masters level opens various career prospects for a student. The various career options are mentioned as follows: One of the most common job profiles that a student with a degree in Information Technology might pursue is being an IT consultant (Badage & Karande, 2016). This is one of the most common designations where the students find employment. Being an IT consultant, an employee has to work in partnership with the clients and advising them successfully to meet the business objectives, using all the resources in the best way, with the minimum cost.    A web-content developer design and create various websites. They take care of the various features of a website and enhance the performances, such that the users are able to experience a good user interface and a better navigation in the website (Baller, Dutta & Lanvin, 2016).   Ã‚   A system administrator has the responsibility for the overall administration of a computer system, such that the system works efficiently and performs well, in order to maintain the ease of usability, along with decreasing the wait time for each activity (Benson, Morgan & Filippaios, 2014).   Ã‚   One of the most popular career options that a person with a degree in Information Technology might pursue is that of a Network architect. This person is responsible for designing of the computer network, along with enhancing the communication systems of a business organization. A database administrator is responsible for maintaining the integrity of a database of any organization (Benson, Morgan & Filippaios, 2014). The responsibilities include maintaining the security of a database and troubleshoot as and when there is trouble in the database. Studying Information Technology might find employment as a data analyst as well. A data analyst is responsible for interpreting graphs and charts that are generated from various computerized reports and interpret them successfully to understand what the statistical data represents in the given business context (Benson, Morgan & Filippaios, 2014).    Programming languages are used to make Software. A computer programmer has the responsibility of making various software using coding. Various programming languages such as C, C++, Java, Python, dot net is used in order to make various applications and software. A computer support specialist provides technical support to all computer related queries and questions and solves those issues (Lloyd, 2017). These professionals might run diagnostic programs in order to detect the area of issues and solve them with his skills and expertise. All of the above mentioned job roles need in-depth knowledge and understanding of the various subjects of Information Technology (Ã…  krinjari?, 2014). The domain of Information Technology is not a theoretical one. It needs practical experiences and hands-on skills for working successfully in the various career options. In BC, Canada, Information Technology is in high demand. A recent report revealed that more than 182000 people are needed in various IT positions by 2019, to fulfill the demand in Canada (Ã…  krinjari?, 2014). This statistics provides an idea about the prospect of IT in Canada. In order to meet these demands, the business organizations have been recruiting students with IT background. Canada has been facing major IT talent shortage, since the number of people studying IT is not enough to fulfill the created demand (Wong, 2015). The government of Canada has also been taking initiatives to encourage the students of various other backgrounds to pursue short-term courses of IT, so that they might also join the pool of potential IT employees. Thus, the talent gap is to be fulfilled such that the advancements in the information technologies could be carried out successfully. Figure 2: Province-wise ICT labour demand in Canada (Source: Benson, Morgan & Filippaios, 2014) British Columbia, Canada has one of the most popular companies that need IT employees. Thus, the career prospect for the students studying Information Technology is high and diverse. Moreover, various new research domains of Information Technology such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being developed, thus widening the career prospect of IT even more. Thus, the career outlook of Information technology is high and increasing day by day, with the increase in the technological demands all around the world.   Badage, R. N., & Karande, K. J. (2016). Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) In Career Planning of Rural Youth of India. Baller, S., Dutta, S., & Lanvin, B. (2016). The global information technology report 2016. In  World Economic Forum, Geneva  (pp. 1-307). Benson, V., Morgan, S., & Filippaios, F. (2014). Social career management: Social media and employability skills gap.  Computers in Human Behavior,  30, 519-525. Lloyd, I. (2017).  Information technology law. Oxford University Press. Ã…  krinjari?, B. (2014). William G. Bowen: Higher Education in the Digital Age.  Croatian Economic Survey,  16(1), 171-185. Wong, Z. (2015). Student Attitudes toward Information Systems Management as Major and Career Options.  International Journal of Information and Education Technology,  5(6), 409.  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Rhetorical Analysis based on the rhetoric of a SPECIFIC web site(s) Essay

Rhetorical Analysis based on the rhetoric of a SPECIFIC web site(s) that writes about creationism and, or evolution - Essay Example there is an improvement and support of education in evolution, change in climate, science nature and the general increment of public understanding of the subjects (NCSE). Through their website, the centre has been able to identify their target market which is the main audience who happen to be the teachers thereby ensuring that the knowledge put on their website will be put through to the students by teachers through educating them on the issues that concern science and the science world. This is mostly done before the launch of the website although hit is a continuous process that goes beyond the launching into actual hosting with the help of the marketing fraternity. Moreover, the centre has been able to determine the size of its target market-who are mostly teachers and other concerned parties. They are sure that the teachers in public schools are growing with the increase of pupil in school hence facilitating the education of science and science world, which is their main aim as a centre. Through their website, it is evident that (NCSE) has been able to meet their mission and purpose especially with the fact that the information put is been used by the audience appropriately. The NCSE has been able to identify with the teaching fraternity all over the world since it was started over three decades ago, by ensuring that there is a production of a series of publications, which report on the creationism and or evolution controversy as well as providing resources for activists, which in this case are the teachers and other concerned parties. In essence, it has been able to give a wide coverage of all aspects of science that revolve around these theories. Additionally, NCSE has been able to bring teachers and activists together for a common goal. Members have the privilege of having printed, which help the share knowledge to other people. NCSE has been able to pass its message to the audience in several ways. First, the centre has been able to give information

Facebook & Myspace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Facebook & Myspace - Essay Example Both the communities have a somewhat different target audience. As FaceBook was originally offered only to the Harvard Business Students and later they became public therefore an average person on the website is a either a college student or a recently passed college graduate. However MySpace has a much broader audience with a diverse array of users. As far as comparing the essential features of both the websites, MySpace has got a hand over FaceBook in terms of personalization and customization of user profiles. MySpace is potentially flexible as it allows its user to express them in a broader way and users can incorporate a diverse range of colours, personal photos and flash applications to their pages. We know that the most of the revenue generated by these types of web communities is through advertisement therefore it has a profound implication. In the future the businesses would be targeting to individual needs and preferences therefore MySpace would be considered as a better source of partnering and placing your ads. One of the research firm predicted that MySpace will sell $525 million worth of advertising, whereas FaceBook will be able to sell only $125 million (Kirkpatrick, 2007). This financial impact shows that the personalization of content has provided a greater leverage to MySpace. When it comes to customer privacy, FaceBook does ensure maximum security and protects the privacy of the users better than the MySpace. The reason is that the FaceBook was first launched for private community (Harvard Students) therefore it is relatively secure. Whereas MySpace was initially targeted to a much larger group therefore it is open to many and different kind of users. One of the critical issues faced by MySpace is of spamming as the users are inundated with spam and pornographic comments. Every other day you would find that you are being requested by tons of anonymous users. It is socially acceptable to request a random person via

Mother and Twin Brothers Eli Essay Example for Free

Mother and Twin Brothers Eli Essay In The Droughtlanders, by Carrie Mac, Twin brothers Eli and Seth, both Keylanders, live inside a privileged and protected city surrounded by huge walls to protect them from the filthy, sick Droughlanders. Eli’s mother teaches him to view Droughtlanders sympathetically and Eli changes his opinion about them. As a result Eli joins a rebellion group against the Keylands. Initially Seth is furious about Eli’s decision and attempts to hunt Eli and kill him but ultimately realizes the truth and joins his brother. At the beginning Eli and Seth have a bitter hate for each other which intensifies due to their different view points regarding the Droughtlanders. In the end, they make up and the hate they had between them fades away. Right from the start Eli and Seth do not get along, this relationship soon turns into hate and distrust between them. Near the end Seth also changes his mind about Droughtlanders and they get along. From the beginning Eli and Seth dislike each other because of Seth’s constant harassment. Seth is constantly making harsh jokes about Eli’s bladder problem, â€Å"do you have to sit down like a girl?† (36). This quote shows how Seth bullies Eli. Seth and Eli get in a lot of fights and Seth says mean thinks like â€Å"If father wasn’t in the room I’d kick your face in† (44). Seth bullies Eli because he thinks that he is weak and pathetic. After getting in yet another fight Seth says to Eli â€Å"You really are a baby. Get a diaper, Eliza† (55). Eli hates Seth’s bullying and they never get along. They have always had a poor relationship, but it becomes worse once Eli sympathizes with the Droughtlanders. Seth and Eli’s relationship and distrust gets even worse. When the explosion goes off where their mother is, Eli cries â€Å"Maman. She was in there, Seth† (45). Eli had a very strong connection with his mom, but Seth not so much. Eli tells Seth how their father killed their mother and Seth whispers into his ear â€Å"Say that one more time, or to anyone else, ever, and I will kill you† (54). This quote demonstrates how seriously angry they are with each other. Eli tries to tell Seth that their mother was a rebel but Seth responds â€Å"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say† (56). This quote illustrates how much distrust they have between them. When Eli secretly leaves to look for the Droughtlander rebels, Seth views him as a traitor and this betrayal leads to Seth hunting Eli. When Seth finally catches up with Eli, he tells Seth the truth about their mother’s death and how their father was responsible. Seth also comes to accept the Droughtlanders for the decent and ill-treated people they are. Eli and Seth find each other in a forest. â€Å"When Eli heard the name he’s not been called in so long, he felt some thing snap with a sharp, invigorating pain. Keenly aware of his intentions, he brought out his own knife and in one fluid motion flicked the wider blade open, turned and plunged the knife through Seth’s pants and as deep as it would go† (300). It is this moment that Seth gains respect for Eli and starts to question his own beliefs. After Seth is captured he does his sin inventory and comes to realize how horrible of a person he was. Although Eli is still very angry with Seth, Seth says, â€Å"I’m sorry, Eli, for being such a terrible brother† (317). This is the start to their relationship reuniting. They discuss and finally agree about the tragic events that lead to their mother’s death. Sabine, their triplet sister, is also there and for the first time they all connect peacefully. During the circus they all collapse and are sent to the infirmary. â€Å"They speculated on why only now they felt a connection† (323). They figured it was because this was the first time they were all happy together. In the end, Seth and Eli are no longer enemies and can be happy. The relationship between Seth and Eli started with mutual hostility and ended in admiration. It is a unique relationship between Seth and Eli in search of the truth. Eli pursues the truth of his mothers legacy as Seth searches for the truth about Eli’s defection.

Scouts Learning Experiences in To Kill a Mockingbird Essays -- Englis

Scout's Learning Experiences in To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout learns valuable lessons on the evil of prejudice present in her Southern town of Maycomb, on the true nature of courage, and on the dangers of judging others before "...climbing into their skin and walking around in it." Set in the mid 1930s, Scout Finch is a young girl living with her older brother, Jem, and her lawyer father. Being a kid, Scout has the simple duties of a minor, to have fun and to stay out of trouble. But along the way, she also learns many important things. Although the majority of her hometown is prejudiced, Scout's innocent mind remains non prejudice and caring of others. To her, all is equal, so therefore, should be treated equal. There is no doubt that Scout's character is one whom is an individual, someone whom will stick to her own perspective no matter how cruel and racist other people can be. In her adult world, Scout learns to treat all people fairly with dignity and respect. One of the most important role models in Scout's life, is her father, Atticus. Atticus is a small town lawyer who deals with a very tough case involving a black man and his rights. Although Atticus is a single father, he manages to teach his children right from wrong. He makes it a common practice to live his life as he would like his children to live theirs, and therefore displays the characteristics of an honest, respectable, and kind man. Atticus demonstrates his feelings for...

Cineplex Entertainment – Loyalty Programs

S w 9B08A008 CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT: THE LOYALTY PROGRAM Renee Zatzman wrote this case under the supervision of Professor Kenneth G. Hardy solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization.To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail [email  protected] uwo. ca. Copyright  © 2008, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2009-05-15 INTROD UCTION Sarah Lewthwaite, marketing director for Cineplex Entertainment, was approached by chief executive officer (CEO) Ellis Jacob in August 2006 to resume the development of a loyalty program.The movie industry yielded inconsistent revenues each year, and Jacob wanted to increase and stabilize Cineplex’s revenues. As chair of the Loyalty Steering Committee (the committee), Lewthwaite was scheduled to present her recommendations to the committee the following week. She would need to make a persuasive argument that included recommendations on program development, the reward structure and the type of promotional campaign that would be most effective under the existing budget constraints. Finally, she needed to suggest whether the rogram should launch regionally or nationally. Her recommendations would be reviewed by senior Cineplex executives to ensure that the recommendations aligned with their criteria. CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT Cineplex Entertainment (Cineplex) was founded in 1979 as a small chain of movie theaters under the Cineplex Odeon name. In 2003, under the direction of Onex Corporation, a Canadian private equity firm that held a major ownership claim in the company, Cineplex merged with Galaxy Entertainment Inc. (Galaxy). The CEO of Galaxy, Ellis Jacob, took over the newly merged company.In late 2005, Cineplex Galaxy acquired its largest competitor, Famous Players, and became Cineplex Entertainment — Canada’s largest film exhibitor. With a box-office market share of 64 per cent, the chain enjoyed approximately 40 million visits per year under the Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy, Famous Players and Cinema City brands. 1 Cineplex’s corporate mission focused on offering movie-goers â€Å"an exceptional entertainment experience. † In addition to seeing a movie, customers could eat at various branded concession counters or play in the arcade.In 2005, Cineplex expanded its strategy to focus on developing new markets, using the theate rs’ 1 Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund 2005 Annual Report,http://dplus. cineplexgalaxy. com/content/objects/Annual%20Report% 202005. pdf, accessed January 3, 2008. Page 2 9B08A008 large screens to showcase live events, such as major hockey games, wrestling matches and the Metropolitan Opera. These events contributed greatly to Cineplex’s success, which was measured primarily on customer traffic and revenue per guest (RPG), which was in turn composed of box-office and concession revenues.In 2005, weak box-office attendance throughout the movie theater industry had affected Cineplex’s operating performance (see Exhibit 1 for Cineplex’s income statements for 2003, 2004 and 2005). Following the acquisition of Famous Players in 2005, Cineplex executives adjusted the pricing and products in the food and beverage concessions in 2006. With these moves, Cineplex was able to increase its average box-office RPG to $7. 73 and its average concession RPG to $3. 44 (see Exhi bit 2).A GROWTH OPPORTUNITY Like the entire industry, Cineplex faced variable attendance levels depending on the crop of new movies. Additionally, RPG fluctuated based on the film genre. Cineplex executives knew that audiences for actionthemed and children’s movies purchased a high volume of concession items, which typically resulted in a higher RPG than dramas. From these viewing patterns, Cineplex executives were able to distinguish the groups of customers that were particularly valuable.However, with no actual link to individual customers, they faced challenges targeting customers for specific movies and special events. Although market research was helpful on an aggregate level, Cineplex executives wanted to link box-office and concession purchases to a particular customer. Senior executives were supportive of Lewthwaite and the committee collecting this information through a customer relationship management program. FILM EXHIBITION The first Canadian film screening took p lace in 1896, in Montreal, Quebec, and the earliest cinema opened in 1906. Attending the cinemas, also known as theaters, became a popular social activity; by the 1930s, a variety of independent and studio-owned theaters competed for customer attention. In 1979, Canada’s first 18-theater multiplex opened in Toronto, Ontario, with several other multiplexes following in subsequent years. After a series of consolidations, by 2005, only three major theater companies existed in the Canadian movie and event exhibition market. To showcase films, theaters required licensing from distributors who purchased rights from the production studios.The licensing agreement stipulated the â€Å"box-office split,† also known as the percentage of proceeds that the theater received from a given film over a specified duration. Although both parties were mutually dependent, distributors held the balance of power and theaters relied heavily on concession revenues, of which they retained 100 pe r cent of the receipts. The margins on customers’ purchases of concession treats and beverages were 65 per cent on average. 3 Table 1 (below) shows one way of characterizing the motivations and frequency of movie-going behavior according to various age segments. Marcus Robinson, â€Å"A History of Film Exhibition in Canada,† Playback: Canada's Broadcast and Production Journal (2005), accessed December 30, 2007. 3 Janet Wasko, How Hollywood Works, Sage Publications, London, 2003. Page 3 9B08A008 Table 1 OBSERVATIONS ON THE MOTIVATIONS AND FREQUENCY OF MOVIE ATTENDANCE BY AGE Frequency, reasons for attendance* Age Segment Labels 13-15 â€Å"Teenagers† 16-19 â€Å"Young Adults† 20-24 â€Å"Young Working† Medium (Special Movies) High (Routine) 36-54 â€Å"Older Families† X Low (Special Events) 25-35 â€Å"Young Families† 55+ â€Å"Retirees† X X X X X These observations were drawn from an independent focus group study conducted in 2 003. â€Å"Teenagers† — Teenagers use the movie theatre and arcade for social gatherings because locations are accessible and movie-viewing is considered by parents to be an appropriate social activity. They are among the highest frequency of visitors. â€Å"Young Adults† — This segment has access to a variety of other social venues because they can drive. Some in this segment are still in high school and others are post-secondary students; this segment visits theatres with high frequency. Young Working† — This segment has disposable income and they combine movies with socializing at other venues such as bars and restaurants. This segment has a high frequency of movie visits. â€Å"Young Families† — This segment struggles to balance family and work-related obligations; they take their children to special movies occasionally. â€Å"Older Families† — With a busy work and family life and varying interests within the h ousehold, older families attend theatres only for special events, and seldom attend as a family unit. Retirees† — This segment has significant free time to attend movies. They attend movies at a medium frequency. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) Customer relationship management (CRM) is a marketing approach in which a company collects individual purchasing information to improve its ability to understand and respond to customer desires and buying patterns. The information is typically stored in a central database from which the company managers can analyse trends and the purchasing behavior of particular market segments.A better understanding of customers enables organizations to develop targeted campaigns to increase marketing effectiveness, such as restructuring its products and services. For Cineplex, a CRM program could also be Page 4 9B08A008 used to share valuable information with concession suppliers and movie distributors. Through the sharing of this infor mation, partners would be better able to develop products for Cineplex’s customer base. Although several mechanisms were available to collect customer information, the most frequently used systems were point-of-sale systems, which scanned barcodes on wallet-sized cards or key chains.A recent trend for CRM programs was to offer incentives such as discounts or points that could be collected and redeemed for merchandise in return for the customer’s permission for the company to collect data on the customer’s buying habits. Among the Canadian companies following this trend were Shoppers Drug Mart with the Optimum card program, Air Canada with the Aeroplan rewards program and Office Depot and Boston Pizza which both participated in the Flight Miles card campaign. CREATING LOYALTY Even with 65 per cent market share in Canada, Cineplex had to aggressively compete for customer attention.Ongoing film piracy, rental movies, concerts and sporting events, combined with inco nsistent box-office revenues encouraged Cineplex managers to explore ways to increase customer spending and frequency, particularly within the lucrative 16- to 24-year-old segment. Before merging with Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy Entertainment had established the Galaxy Elite card, which offered customers the opportunity to accumulate points toward free movie viewing. Although the program had no CRM capabilities, it had been successful in driving customer traffic.During the merger with Cineplex, the program had been disbanded and Galaxy’s customer traffic had promptly waned. In a survey of Cineplex customers in May and June 2005, 95 per cent of respondents stated they were interested in joining a movie rewards program (see Exhibit 3). In 2004, a steering committee composed of different department representatives was established to investigate CRM opportunities for Cineplex. After being put on hold during the acquisition of Famous Players, the committee was anxious to move forward i n investigating a joint loyalty/CRM program.Senior managers had several concerns, primarily regarding data control and ownership, which would be relevant if the program were disbanded. Another criterion concerned resource requirements; a program this size would be a costly investment and would likely require new employees to manage it. Lewthwaite would need to prove that it was a worthy financial investment. Finally, the committee needed to consider the length of time required to establish a new database because most committee members believed that conclusive information on customer behavior could be drawn only from a minimum of 500,000 members.Further, although they thought that an investment in such a program could be largely beneficial for Cineplex, if implemented poorly, the organization’s image and its ability to deliver customer value could suffer widespread harm. Lewthwaite knew that although the following partner options might not meet all the committee’s crite ria, she had to evaluate the most important considerations. LOYALTY PARTNER OPTIONS Internal Development Under this option, Cineplex managers would develop and operate the program; they would then know their brand best and would have complete control over the direction of the program and the data ownership.However, the organization would incur the entire cost estimated at $5. 5 million in the first year with diminishing costs in subsequent years. The company would also be fully exposed to the financial risk of unredeemed points and could face difficulty in divesting the program if it proved unsuccessful; a new Page 5 9B08A008 department would need to be created to manage the exit of the program. This option would also require a new database, which, depending on promotional effectiveness, could take several years to create.However, because of the unlimited data access and control, this option appealed to several members of the committee. Flight Miles Partnership With 72 per cent of C anadian households as active members, Flight Miles was the top Canadian loyalty program. 4 This program gave cardholders the opportunity to earn leisure and travel rewards by purchasing products at various retailers across the country. Flight Miles executives viewed Cineplex as an opportunity to increase its youth membership, and their executives approached Cineplex executives to propose a special joint program.In this program, traditional Flight Miles cards would be used to collect points. Supplementary key tags would be issued for movie customers who opted to receive additional member benefits and rewards. Although the key tags might confuse other existing Flight Miles members, the proposal seemed to offer numerous benefits to Cineplex, including immediate entrance into a database of seven million people. Cineplex would also have the opportunity to access data from other Flight Miles partners, which would be beneficial in targeting specific retail buyers for niche films.Lewthwaite estimated that access to the Flight Miles program would cost Cineplex yearly fees of approximately $5 million. Cineplex would also be required to pay $0. 09 for each point issued. Lewthwaite thought users of the program would expect each movie transaction to be worth a minimum of 10 Flight Miles points. Cineplex would also be required to pay each time it accessed the data, which Flight Miles would own. A commitment of three years would be required, and if Cineplex decided to leave the program, it would lose all access to accumulated data.Lewthwaite recognized that Cineplex would be required to adhere to the partnership’s decisions; no easy out was available if she did not like some aspect of the program after they signed the deal. To make the proposal more attractive, Flight Miles executives offered to contribute $250,000 to launch a Cineplex-designed and -initiated marketing campaign. Scotiabank Proposal Just as Lewthwaite and her committee sat down to examine the two optio ns in further detail, Scotiabank executives approached Cineplex as a potential loyalty partner. The bank had a relationship with Cineplex derived from earlier corporate sponsorships.As one of the Big Five banks in Canada, Scotiabank offered a diverse range of financial services, including domestic banking, wholesale banking and wealth management. Through 950 branches, Scotiabank served approximately 6. 8 million Canadians in 2005. 5 Because banks competed in an intensely competitive marketplace, many banks aligned their brands with sporting events, venues and other companies through corporate sponsorship. Scotiabank executives were interested in acquiring new youth accounts and increasing overall transactions, so they viewed a partnership with Cineplex as a means to achieve their objectives while sharing financial risk.Scotiabank, which had prior experience with data management companies through its gold credit card program, proposed 50-50 cost-sharing. In return for partnering on t he program, Scotiabank expected naming rights on three major theaters and an exclusivity agreement for Scotiabank bank machines in all Cineplex theaters. 4 5 â€Å"Air Miles Rewards Program,† http://www. loyalty. com/what/airmiles/index. html. accessed November 2, 2007. Scotiabank, 2005 Annual Report, http://cgi. scotiabank. com/annrep2005/en/rbl_ov. html, accessed February 10, 2008. Page 6 9B08A008Scotiabank proposed a three-card rewards strategy. The basic reward card would be Cineplex-branded and used at theaters; the Scotiabank debit and credit cards would act as reward accelerators that accumulated additional points based on customers’ purchasing habits. Any Scotiabank debit- or credit-card user enrolled in this program would be issued the Cineplex card, and holders of basic Cineplex theater cards would not be required to open an account at Scotiabank. Lewthwaite considered that the multiple card system might discourage some customers who disliked carrying additio nal cards.Secondly, because it would be a 50-50 partnership, Cineplex’s decision-making power would be constrained, and the direction of the program would be subject to mutual agreement. Also, owing to privacy laws, Cineplex executives would not be able to access individual-level banking information on the Scotiabank program users, data that might be helpful in targeting specific retail consumers. However, this program could be promoted in theaters and bank branches across the country. The costs to develop and maintain Cineplex’s portion of the partnership were estimated to be $3 million, $1. million and $1. 9 million in years 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Lewthwaite had to fully consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of each proposal and weigh them against Cineplex’s criteria before recommending which partner to select. She also acknowledged other options were available beyond those that were presented. She knew that this decision could not be made without an alysing the potential reward structure of the program because the committee would expect a detailed net benefit analysis to support her recommendation. STRUCTURING THE REWARD PROGRAMLewthwaite believed it was essential to create a program that would appeal to customers. However, creating a program with valuable and easy-to-gain rewards might be too costly to carry out for an extended period of time. If Cineplex went forward with the Flight Miles partnership, an offer of 10 Flight Miles points per transaction would be required to align with cardholder expectations and could be supplemented with Cineplex discounts. If Cineplex went forward with other loyalty partnerships, it would have full design control over the reward structure of the program.Points could be earned based on box-office transactions, concession transactions, or both. The points could then be used towards movies and concession items. Determining the number and value of points to be given per transaction and the requir ed price per transaction were aspects that Lewthwaite needed to determine. She also needed to decide on the number of points required for particular rewards and whether different reward levels should be created. Among the other options, Cineplex could reward cardholders with a permanent discount on theater tickets or concession items (or both) or possibly provide first access to special events.If Lewthwaite went forward with free or discounted movies and concession items, she would need to estimate the extent to which she would be rewarding customers who would have attended without being offered any rewards,6 the so-called cannibalization rate (see Exhibit 4). To determine the other potential revenues, Lewthwaite needed to perform a sensitivity analysis around any increases in the concession RPG, which she hoped might increase by five to 15 per cent for loyalty program members. She also had the option of charging a nominal one-time or annual membership fee of $2 to $5.Finally, as wi th any loyalty point program, Lewthwaite knew that only 40 per cent of earned points would be redeemed annually. She drafted a preliminary list of four unique reward structures she thought could be effective, but was unsure which, if any, would maximize customer appeal through retail value while minimizing costs (see Exhibit 5). 6 Cannibalization refers to the number of free visits redeemed that would have been paid visits in the absence of a loyalty program. Page 7 9B08A008 SELECTING THE DATABASE VENDORIf a recommendation were made to move forward with program development, the committee would need to select a database vendor to manage customer data and the e-communication site. This vendor would need strong website design capabilities and a technology platform that could collect a variety of data on Cineplex’s customers. Because Canada had only a few such vendors, Cineplex released a request for proposal (RFP) to three major companies: Alpha, Kappa, and Gamma. Each company r esponded with a unique proposal for the project (see Exhibit 6). THE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGNCineplex executives wanted to enroll 500,000 customers per year for the first three years in any loyalty program, After the first year, she believed the data bank would be large enough to derive meaningful customer information, and the organization could then focus on customer retention. To meet these targets, Cineplex would need to build substantial awareness of the program, particularly in markets where the Galaxy Elite card had previously existed. Launching the loyalty card would also require a marketing campaign to fit a variety of geographic markets, including Quebec, a province whose official language was French.Lewthwaite had a budget of $300,000, and she needed to make some creative decisions, including the name of the program, the marketing message to customers and the media to be used to deliver the message. In-Theater Advertising In 2005, Cineplex served 5. 3 million uniq ue visitors annually with an average of 7. 5 visits per guest. No costs were associated with in-theater advertising, and Lewthwaite knew it was an excellent way to reach the market but she was unsure which media would be most effective without overwhelming movie-goers.The program could be promoted on concession products, point-of-purchase displays, backlit posters or on the website. The program could also be advertised to a captive audience via the digital pre-show or during the presentation of upcoming attractions. Newspaper Advertising Lewthwaite wondered whether the target market would respond to regional newspaper advertisements. She knew that the committee was opposed to advertising in a national newspaper, such as the Globe and Mail, because it did not have strong reach in every market in which Cineplex operated.However, Cineplex was accustomed to promoting events through half-page ads in regional papers. Although this option would be more costly than advertising solely in a n ational paper, several more movie-going markets could be reached. The average weekly cost per half-page ad in the small to medium markets was $1,200, and $3,600 for larger markets, with a development cost of $850 for each advertisement. If this option were selected, Lewthwaite would need to determine in which papers to advertise, and the message and frequency of the insertions (see Exhibit 7).Radio Advertising Local radio advertisements could achieve significant coverage in key markets across Canada. The average weekly cost per 30-second commercial was $160 in small-and medium-sized markets and $225 in larger Page 8 9B08A008 markets. Development of local radio ads would cost approximately $1,100 per city. Because Cineplex had used this medium for other events, particularly in rural theater markets, Lewthwaite was confident Cineplex could also negotiate free advertisement space on many radio station’s websites. Online AdvertisingIn addition to advertising on the Cineplex websi te, the program could be promoted through various websites, such as Google, Muchmusic. ca, MTV. ca and canoe. qc. ca, a French-language news site. Costs varied according to advertisement format and site (see Exhibit 8). Grass Roots Initiatives Lewthwaite had also considered smaller initiatives with the goal of spreading word-of-mouth publicity. Event teams could promote on college and university campuses or at highly visited attractions, thereby raising awareness for the program. Cineplex could also engage in corporate sponsorships.She was unsure what costs would be associated with these options. LAUNCH Launching the program was the final recommendation to be made. Cineplex’s head office was located in Toronto, Ontario, and the company operated in six provincial markets — Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia — but none of the four Atlantic provinces. Lewthwaite would have to decide whether the program should be launched regionall y or across all six provinces. In early 2006, Cineplex had completed the installation of a new point-of-sale platform, which had the technological capability to support a national loyalty rollout.A national launch was appealing to Lewthwaite because it would be cost-efficient and would accrue revenues faster than a regional rollout. However, it was also riskier than a regional rollout: any problem would affect all markets. A regional launch would give Cineplex the opportunity to resolve problems before full implementation. The regional rollout would be more expensive at completion, but it would allow Cineplex to stretch funds over a longer time period. If Lewthwaite recommended the regional option, she would need to decide how the regional launch would be phased in.Lewthwaite knew several complex decisions needed to be made, and she had little time before the steering committee’s meeting the following week. Having a more comprehensive understanding of customer behavior and de mographics was important in improving Cineplex’s success, but could a loyalty program be implemented in such a way to fit senior management’s criteria? If she recommended going ahead with the program, which loyalty partner should she use? How should the rewards be structured and promoted? What would the promotional campaign entail, and how should the launch take place?As she leaned back in her chair, she knew it was going to be a very long week. Page 9 9B08A008 Exhibit 1 CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT INCOME STATEMENTS 2003–2005 (Cdn$ in Thousands) Total revenue Cost of operations Gross income Amortization Loss on debt Impairment on assets Loss (gain) on disposal of assets Interest on long-term debt Interest on loan Interest income Foreign exchange gain Income taxes Income from discontinued operations Non-controlling interest Net Income 2005 490,299 421,529 68,770 42,948 4,156 4,296 122 2004 315,786 248,818 66,968 22,530 – (111) 2003 295,540 242,636 52,904 18,404 – – (92) 18,401 8,280 4,020 14,000 (378) – (1,463) 14,000 (473) – (1,149) 1,381 (922) (3,696) 366 28,116 6,357 6,184 1,828 12,976 – 30,248 304 39,323 Source: Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund 2005 Annual Report, http://dplus. cineplexgalaxy. com/content/objects/annual%20report%202005. pdf, accessed January 3, 2008. Page 10 9B08A008 Exhibit 2 CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT ATTENDANCE AND REVENUE PER GUEST DATA Attendance Box office RPG Concession RPG Film cost as a per cent of box-office revenue 2006E 61,000,000 – 2005 9,945,000 $7. 73 $3. 44 51. 7% 2004 28,096,000 $7. 45 $3. 04 51. 6% 2003 27,073,000 $7. 28 $2. 91 52. 1% Source: Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund 2005 Annual Report, http://dplus. cineplexgalaxy. com/content/objects/annual%20report%202005. pdf, accessed January 3, 2008. Page 11 9B08A008 Exhibit 3 HIGHLIGHTS FROM CINEPLEX EMAIL SURVEY OF CURRENT CUSTOMERS Survey Period: May–June 17, 2005 Respondents: 4,261 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ à ¢â‚¬ ¢ 95 per cent of respondents were interested in joining a Cineplex Entertainment movie rewards program 87 per cent of respondents currently elonged to the Flight Miles program, and 39 per cent identified Flight Miles as their â€Å"favorite rewards program† 31 per cent of respondents were interested in the opportunity to collect Aeroplan points 56 per cent of respondents indicated that they would be interested in receiving a 10 per cent discount at concessions The majority of respondents suggested that they would be more inclined to join if there were no additional card to carry Page 12 9B08A008 Exhibit 4 SUMMARY OF REVENUES AND CANNIBALIZATION RATES †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢Membership fee possibilities, a one-time fee of $2 to $5 Increase in concession RPG of from 5 per cent to 15 per cent Net increase in attendance (actual incremental attendance times 1- the estimated cannibalization rate) Cannibalization rate assumptions Worst: 50 per cent Most Likely: 25 per ce nt Best: 12. 5 per cent Page 13 9B08A008 Exhibit 5 PRELIMINARY REWARD STRUCTURE OPTIONS Option 1 Membership fee Permanent concessions discount Points? Sign-up points Points per adult movie transaction Points per concession combo transaction Option 2Option 3 Annually $5 Option 4 No One-time $2 – 10% 15% 10% Yes Yes No Yes 500 100 – 250 100 100 – 100 – 75 – – No Reward Items and Maximum Retail Value Points Required 500 750 Free child admission $8. 50 Free concession combo $12. 37 – – – – – – 1000 adult Free adult Free admission admission $10. 95 $10. 95 – 1500 Free event Free event admission1 admission $19. 95 $19. 95 – Free adult admission/concession combo ($23. 32) – Free adult/2 children admission $27. 95 – – 2,000 2,500 – – – Night package2 Free adult admission $10. 95 out $37. 47 1 2Includes admission to the following viewings: the Metropolit an Opera, NHL series, or WWE series. A Night out package includes two adult movie admissions, two large sodas and one large popcorn. Page 14 9B08A008 Exhibit 6 SUMMARY OF CINEPLEX’S REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROGRAM OVERVIEW Cineplex Entertainment is looking into the possibility of creating a new entertainment-focused loyalty program. Members will earn points that can be redeemed for free movies or other entertainment-related rewards. An ongoing marketing program requiring a member database and website is required. VENDORS TO PROVIDE †¢ †¢A proposed approach and high level design concept for the website that is creative and functional Pricing for the database and website build WEBSITE GOALS †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Acquire new customers and deepen relationships with existing customers by enticing them to sign up, then encouraging them to remain active in the loyalty program Provide an easy way to sign up, check status of points earned, get information on rewards t hat can be earned, redeem points, and interact with other members The site will be a major marketing channel to reach members. It will be used for viral and targeted online promotionsProvide an online community for members DATABASE USE †¢ †¢ †¢ For program administration, analysis and reporting For analysis and reporting on moviegoer’s behavior and preferences For marketing to customers THE TARGET MARKET †¢ †¢ †¢ Is very comfortable with the online environment, text messaging, downloading, and browsing Wants and expects discounts and free offers in an attainable timeframe Wants simplicity and convenience WEBSITE REQUIRES †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ A public section accessible to all, a member’s section accessible with member ID and password and an administrative site to be used for customer supportSite must connect to program database to collect, maintain, retrieve and report member data including demographic information and po ints data Integration with Cineplex’s POS equipment and mobile channels for marketing Site will link to and from the sites of main partners and vendors Site must be available in English and French Page 15 9B08A008 Exhibit 6 (continued) VENDORS’ RESPONSES TO THE CINEPLEX REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Alpha Alpha was a leading marketing firm specializing in loyalty programs and performance improvement.As a global company, Alpha’s clients include American Express, Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft. Alpha has served the Canadian marketplace since 1980, and its focus is helping organizations identify, retain, and build customer relationships in order to maximize profit and drive long-term success. With a history of designing and implementing loyalty programs, Alpha’s technology platforms focused on customer behavior tracking and loyalty rewards fulfillment. In preparing its response, Alpha held focus groups to help determine what type of website appealed to Cin eplex’s target market.These groups indicated the importance of security, easy navigation, and keeping site content up-to-date; they also spoke out against pop-up advertisements. All respondents were familiar with e-newsletters, and noted that loyalty members should have the option to opt in, because they do not want to be overwhelmed with promotional messages. Alpha used this information in conjunction with Cineplex’s specifications to present how the website would be designed. The approximate investment cost for the program design was $500,000 with $40,000 per month required for website upkeep.Kappa Known for managing data for the Royal Bank of Canada, Kappa was one of the largest global marketing agencies. With a strong focus on customer loyalty programs, Kappa offered a high standard in data privacy and security and was the undisputed industry leader in mobile marketing, which linked strongly to Cineplex’s target market. The Kappa proposal focused on creating a youth-driven brand identity that engaged viewers to join the program through program incentives and links to third-party social networking sites, such as MySpace.With a significant portfolio of integrated loyalty program solutions, Kappa also had entertainment industry experience, having previously worked on technology platforms with Famous Players, the Toronto International Film Festival and IMAX. Kappa’s main differentiating factor was its proposal to have two distinct sites, one for members and one for non-members. Although similar in nature, one site would focus on member acquisition and program information while the other would focus on member retention through contest promotions and access to personal account activity.Approximate costs would be $1 million. Gamma Gamma, a competitor in the Canadian marketplace for four years, had vast experience in information technology strategy and a track record of developing CRM programs for leading organizations, such as Kaplan U niversity and Citi Financial. Gamma’s response to the RFP included a proposal to plan, design, and manage Cineplex’s marketing and technology programs on its specialized marketing platform that supported all aspects of email management and e-communication campaigns.This platform would also enable Cineplex to track members on an ongoing basis through different promotional mediums, such as web advertisements and search functions, and to respond instantly to member behavior through messaging for those leaving the site. Gamma’s offer was appealing because it included a fixed-price, fixed-time model. Gamma was unable to provide costs for data management because it was unsure of Cineplex’s technical capabilities, but preliminary planning and design costs were estimated at around $200,000. Page 16 9B08A008 Exhibit 7LARGE MEDIA MARKETS Market Calgary Edmonton Montreal Ottawa Toronto Vancouver Newspaper Calgary Herald Edmonton Journal Montreal Gazette Ottawa Citiz en Toronto Star Vancouver Sun Radio VIBE 98. 5 Sonic 102. 9 Q92 BOB FM Mix 99. 9 Z95 FM SMALL- AND MEDIUM SIZED MEDIA MARKETS Market Barrie Cornwall Guelph Kitchener London North Bay Owen Sound Quebec City Regina Saskatoon Sault Ste. Marie St. Thomas Sudbury Thunderbay Windsor Winnipeg Newspaper Barrie Examiner Standard Freeholder Guelph Mercury Kitchener Record London Free Press North Bay NuggetOwen Sound Sun Times Quebec City Journale Regina Leader Post The Star Phoenix Sault Ste. Marie Star St. Thomas Times-Journal Sudbury Star Chronicle Journal Windsor Star Winnipeg Free Press Radio Rock 95 FM Rock 101. 9 Magic FM KOOL FM Fresh FM EZ Rock Mix 106 Le 93. 3 Z-99 C95 EZ Rock 100. 5 Fresh FM Big Daddy 103. 9 FM Rock 94 89X Q94 Page 17 9B08A008 Exhibit 8 COST PER THOUSAND IMPRESSIONS (in Cdn$) Website google. ca mtv. ca muchmusic. ca yahoo. ca imdb. com canoe. qc. ca Big Box Advertisement 20 27 29 19 17 26 Banner Advertisement 12 35 32 13 9 –

Neural architecture

IntroductionThis article is traveling to discourse nervous web building from a different position than is usual in conventional attacks. This attack, which will be referred to asNervous Architecture, is intended to research building of nervous webs utilizing nerve cells asexplicitedifice blocks instead than anon. elements trained en mass. Simple Python plans will be used to show the construct for simple Boolean logic maps. The attack of this article is deliberately namedNervous Architecturebecause it is meant to parallel the manner in which a traditional designer consistently constructs a all right edifice: by developing well-known forms of building elements, which may be re-used to make of all time more sophisticated constructions. The conventional attack to nervous web development is to specify a web as consisting of a few beds in a multilayer-perceptron type of topology with an input bed, end product bed, and one or two concealed beds. Then a preparation algorithm such as backpropagation is applied to develop the interconnectedness weights. Sometimes a more sophisticated attack is taken such as utilizing a cascade or perennial topology but for all purposes and intents, the terminal consequence is a standard topology of a few highly-connected beds. This attack was a major discovery in the field because it led some people to get down believing outside the box of symbolic logical thinking that dominate d Artificial Intelligence at the clip. It has besides been successfully used in a assortment of pattern acknowledgment and control applications that are non efficaciously handled by other AI paradigms. However, these applications would non by and large be considered to stand for higher degrees of intelligence or cognitive processing. For illustration, say a nervous web is developed that can successfully acknowledge human faces under a assortment of conditions. This is a extremely utile application and good within the kingdom of conventional nervous webs. However, that is where the capableness of the web leaves away — at acknowledging the facial image. Aside from generalising facial characteristics, it can offer nil more in footings of concluding about those facial characteristics. Further, it is asserted that the standard attack to nervous web development is non suited for recognizing these higher degrees of intelligence. One of the cardinal jobs is the limited mode in which we approach the nervous architecture. To exemplify this job, we will return to the edifice architecture analogy. In this manner, our standard attack to nervous architecture can be likened to planing a edifice utilizing bricks. An designer who ever thinks in footings of bricks will non likely advancement beyond a certain degree of edification, because as a constituent, a brick merely offers one intent: to back up other bricks. Alternatively, an architecture increasingly develops more sophisticated, proved constructions based on the brick ( or other crude constituents ) which can be re-used to develop higher-level constituents. A house is conceived, non in footings of bricks and wood, but instead in footings of walls, doors, and suites. A sophisticated designer might even happen these constituents mundane and alternatively believe in more abstract footings of â€Å" infinites † , energy and flow of human traffic. This is the impression of â€Å" forms † , and in fact these ( architectural ) forms were precisely the inspiration for the field ofpackageforms. The same thought can be applied to nervous webs: a nerve cell by itself merely serves the map of exciting other nerve cells. And conventional nervous cyberspace acquisition algorithms are geared toward classification or other mapping operations. As a advocate of nervous webs, one believes that randomly complex intelligence procedures can be realized, and we have the human encephalon as pretty converting support of that belief. However, to go on advancement in this way, it is likely that we have to develop more sophisticated abilities as nervous designers and develop utile, proved nervous forms similar to the manner that edifice designers have done over clip, and in the manner package designers are now making. Adequate doctrine — we will now be taking a fresh expression at how forms can be constructed get downing with simple nervous elements, and specifically we will get down with Boolean logic elements. Architecting utilizing Boolean logic does non instantly offer an advantage over utilizing regular logic Gatess, but illustrates how sharp logic or symbolic elements can originate from fuzzed nervous processing elements. It will besides supply a conceptual foundation for future articles.Nervous websNervous web: information processing paradigm inspired by biological nervous systems, such as our encephalonStructure: big figure of extremely interconnected processing elements ( nerve cells ) working togetherLike people, they learn from experience.Nervous webs are configured for a specific application, such as pattern acknowledgment or informations categorization, through a acquisition procedureIn a biological system, larning involves accommodations to the synaptic connexions between nerv e cells.The first measure in the architecture procedure is to specify the crude edifice block, and if you have n't fallen asleep at this point, you have no uncertainty figured out that this will be anerve cell. The neuron theoretical account we will utilize is a version of the tried-and-true theoretical account used for package nervous webs, besides known as theperceptron. As illustrated in, the perceptron has multiple inputs and one end product. The mathematical theoretical account of the perceptron is given by: a = squash ( & A ; Sigma ; ( iiwi ) ) where:is input I to the perceptronis the weight for input Iis the activation ( end product )andsquash ( x ) = { 1 if x & gt ; threshold 0 otherwise The nature of the perceptron has been discussed many times elsewhere, including in Matthews, so we wo n't brood on it here. But fundamentally, the perceptron calculates a leaden amount of the inputs and so subjects it to a nonlinear â€Å" crushing † map — in our instance, this is a simple threshold operation. The nonlinear threshold operation is portion of what makes a nervous net exhibit interesting behaviour. Otherwise it would amount to matrix operations.Nature of the gameNow that we have the theoretical account for a basic nerve cell defined, we can now continue to specify basic logic Gatess by merely working out two things:the weight valuesthe thresholdFor our treatment we will presume that weights can be positive ( excitory ) or negative ( inhibitory ) and be in the scope between -1 and 1. The threshold will besides be assumed to be in the scope -1 to 1. If we cast this in footings of signals, so it equates to the demand that both inputs have to be sufficiently high to bring forth an end product. So, we will put our threshold to a high value of 0.8. Following we will put the weights for the two inputs at 0.5 each. If one input is one ( =1 ) so the nerve cell activation ( end product ) will be given by a = squash ( 1 * 0.5 + 0 * 0.5 ) = squash ( 0.5 ) = 0 since 0.5 & A ; lt ; 0.8 { the threshold } Therefore if either or both inputs is 0, the end product is zero. If both are 1, so the leaden amount will be greater than the threshold. Listing 1 show the Python plan that demonstrates the nervous AND gate, and will be used as a templet for other logic maps. The writer prefers Python for prototyping, because it consequences in compact codification that looks really close to pseudocode.Plan to prove InverterWe have shown how a simple set of logic Gatess may be implemented utilizing nerve cells. In theory, this is all we would necessitate to implement a cosmopolitan digital computing machine of arbitrary complexness, because that is all a microprocessor does. In fact, it can be shown that all the logic maps can be implemented with one type of gate: either all NAND Gatess or NOR Gatess. However, if that was our end, there would be no advantage to this attack over utilizing standard logic Gatess. The point is that a nervous attack can be used for planing intelligent constructions †” that is explicitly architecting ( there ‘s that word once more ) structures — every bit good as germinating them utilizing conventional nervous web preparation paradigms. With nervous architecture, we can get down with simple logic operations and construct them up into more interesting logical constructions. As an illustration, see our first illustration, the simple AND gate. This could be used to digitally execute an operation on spots, but it can besides be used to execute a logical AND operation on two regulations, for illustration: IF regulation X AND regulation Y THEN fire ( end product is active ) . Furthermore, by utilizing nerve cells, the inputs are non at wholly limited to binary signals, they could be analog signals ( regulation X is kind of true ) or even the end product of an full nervous web.DecisionThe nervous architecture attack can be seen to hold the undermentioned key advantages or possibilities:Can develop constructions built on a cosmopolitan ne rve cell edifice block.The same basic edifice block can be considered as a nerve cell ( standard perceptron ) or a logic gate.The attack allows sharp constructions to interface with fuzzed 1s, uniting the nondeterministic and evolutionary belongingss of nervous webs along with the advantages of explicit, structured design.Can develop recognizable higher degree edifice blocks, a of import demand for recognizing continuously more complex architectures.

A Chilling History of Frozen Food

A Chilling History of Frozen Food When we crave fresh fruits and vegetables in the middle of winter, we can thank an American taxidermist for making possible the next best thing. Clarence Birdseye, who invented and commercialized a method for quick-freezing food products in convenient packages and without altering the original taste, was  simply seeking a way for his family to have fresh food all year round.  The solution came to him while conducting fieldwork in the arctic, where he observed how the Inuit would  preserve freshly caught fish and others meats in barrels of sea water that quickly froze due to the frigid  climate. The fish were later thawed, cooked and most importantly tasted fresh much more so than anything at the fish markets back at home. He surmised that it was this practice of rapid freezing  in extremely low temperatures that allowed meat to retain freshness once thawed and served months later. Back in the U.S., commercial foods were typically chilled at a higher temperature and thus took longer to freeze. Compared to conventional techniques, fast freezing causes  smaller ice crystals to form, which is less likely to  damage the food. So in 1923, with an investment of $7 for an electric fan, buckets of brine, and cakes of ice, Clarence Birdseye developed and later perfected a system of packing fresh food into waxed cardboard boxes and flash-freezing under high pressure. And by 1927, his company General Seafoods was applying the technology to preserve beef, poultry, fruit, and vegetables.   Two years later, The Goldman-Sachs Trading Corporation and the Postum Company (later the General Foods Corporation) bought Clarence Birdseye’s patents and trademarks in 1929 for $22 million. The first quick-frozen vegetables, fruits, seafoods, and meat were sold to the public for the first time in 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts, under the trade name Birds Eye Frosted Foods ®.   These frozen products were initially only available at 18 stores as a way to gauge whether consumers would take to what was then a novel approach to selling food.  Grocery shoppers could choose from a fairly wide selection that included frozen meat, blue point oysters, fish fillets,  spinach, peas, various fruits and berries. The products were a hit and with the company continued to expand, with frozen food products transported by  refrigerated boxcars to distant stores. Today commercially frozen foods are  a multi-billion dollar industry and  Birds Eye, a top frozen-food brand, is widely sold just about everywhere.  Ã‚      Birdseye served as consultant to General Foods up until 1938 and eventually turned  his attention to other interests and invented an infrared heat lamp, a spotlight for store window displays, a harpoon for marking whales. He would also establish companies to market his products.  By the time of his sudden passing in 1956 he had about 300 patents to his name.

Cold War History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cold War History - Research Paper Example The world quickly turned into polarized and bipolar. Fourth, two superpowers appeared in the world with military and economic power which gave them a significant advantage over the others. Plus, the interests of Western countries in different parts of the globe began to come up against the interests of the Soviet Union. The new political conditions, formed after World War II, were quickly understood by Churchill, who announced the new realia and called them the Cold War1. The defeat of such powerful monsters as Germany and Japan testified that the balance of power in the world was changed. The Allied forces of the Four Powers - the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain and France occupied the territory of Germany and Austria in accordance with the decisions of the Potsdam Conference. The political influence of the Soviet Union extended to Poland, part of Germany, occupied by Soviet forces, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Romania. Though the country was exhausted by war, it badly needed to recover economic and human resources, it still had the most powerful and experienced army of about 11 million soldiers2. On the other hand, the U.S. became the dominant global power after the Second World War, which has enormous economic, air, sea and nuclear power. As a result of the effective strategy the United States increased the gross national product by 1.7 times (excluding inflation) during the war and lost only 300 thousand soldiers. The U.S. dollar became the most stable currency and New York - the largest financial market in the world. The country quickly overcame inflation, raised wages and had the world’s highest productivity. Economic power of the United States, its industrial and financial expansion, contributed to the fact that the United States got the role of global hegemon3. Growing distrust among the former Allies led to the fact that the countries of Western Europe and the U.S. joined forces against the USSR. The Soviet Union, i n an effort to protect its borders, created a kind of a buffer of the countries which formed pro-Soviet government after the war. Thus, the world was divided into two camps: capitalist and socialist. Both established the so-called systems of collective security - military blocs. On 4 April 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty was signed and the world saw a new military organization - NATO, which included the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. In May, 1955, the Warsaw Pact was signed as a countermeasure. It included (that year) Albania (later, in 1968, it denounced the pact), Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, USSR, Czechoslovakia. The polarization of the world was over4. The created coalitions, led by their leaders, began to struggle for influence in third world countries. One of the most memorable results of the Cold War is Arms Race Its start was related to atomic weapons. In 1945 the United States was the only nuclear power in the world. Hiroshima and Nagasaki got â€Å"i nformed† about that. That strategic superiority fostered the U.S. military begin to build a variety of plans of pre-emptive strikes on the Soviet Union. But the American monopoly on nuclear weapons remained only four years. In 1949 the USSR tested its first atomic bomb. This event was a real shock to the Western world and an important milestone of the Cold War.

1200 Middle Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

1200 Middle Ages - Essay Example With my caravan of servants I find myself in a city in the Kingdom of Georgia named Apsaros. This city is a port on the Black Sea. I traveled here to trade with another caravan of merchants which I had been told came from Persia. I met them and they took me into their tents. I could not help but notice that their women never spoke and wore garb from head to toe. Our Greek women, though not immodest, are allowed to show their faces. Not these women. Though I had little to trade, I did fortunately have a large amount of gold coins that I had acquired months prior. With these coins I bought from these Persians many silver plates (a famous Persian product) and, as luck had it, several roles of silk. The head merchant of the Persians, a man by the name of Mahbod Arsham, told me the silk came from yet another group of traders who had traveled across the Asian steppe, to the other side of the Pamir Mountains, where they had encountered a band of Mongolian nomads. Having traveled south, we find ourselves in the Ayyubid Caliphate city of Ar Roha. We are not here for trading purposes. Another large caravan of Muslim traders arrived in the city at about the same time we did. Some of these men were not just any Muslims, they were followers of Sufism. One of them named Abdelaziz Ibn Nasab was kind enough to tell me about his group’s beliefs. He said that they follow all the rules of Islam but also seek to control their bodily impulses. This reminded me of the ascetics in my native Byzantium. They rigorously study the Quran and the teachings of Muhammed. Muslims believe in the submission of oneself to Allah, their god. The Quran is very important, central even, to their religion. The Sufists pride themselves not only as Muslims but also as Muslims who have sought to purify themselves before god. For them the seeker of the divine path, the Dervish, must dedicate himself to fulfilling Allah’s word as expressed in the Quran. I now find myself in