Should Traditional Education Be At Fault Politically

We have met the enemy and he is us (Kelly, 1953)! That famous line uttered by Pogo sums up my feeling about public/ private universities, and the relationship that we have had with for-profit schools. It has been very easy for us to place the blame on the for-profit sector as causing the student debt crisis, but in this concept paper I wanted to discuss where traditional education might be at fault politically. In other words, how were we responsible for helping to create the debt monster through behavior and policy? Students enroll in college to learn. This acquiring of knowledge is so important that most schools like Marshall University have instituted a required general education program to teach composition, communication, math, natural science, social science, humanities, fine arts, and critical thinking (GED, 2015). Yet the same universities that make the assumption that students are ignorant in general education, feel they are sophisticated enough to make major financial decisions that include assuming several thousand dollars in student debt. It is too easy for students to borrow money and colleges have embraced that fact. I used to blame the students for their financial misgivings, but higher education institutions are as much to blame as anyone. We must ask ourselves when the last time a university said, â€Å"we’re making enough money so no tuition increase this year.† Students are marketed to relentlessly by banks telling them borrowing is the way to getShow MoreRelatedTense Present Democracy, English, And The Wars Over Usage1043 Words   |  5 PagesDescriptivist side rejects traditional grammar and usage rules in favor of a however it’s used ideal. Wallace sites Gove’s introduction to Webster’s Third to clearly explain Descriptivist ideals. According to the five points taken from that introduction Descriptivists believe because language is always changing so there is no right or wrong way to use language as long as you can get your point across. Each point of the Descriptivists’ argument is then broken down by Wallace to show faults in each argumentRead MoreAnalysis Of The Article The Fox News Network 1327 Words   |  6 Pagesoutcry that ensued from the Hispanic community after a picture of the cadet was posted on the Academy’s Facebook page. Was it inappropriate for the cadet to wear the sombrero? Was the Academy at fault for posting the photo? Can and should we protect others from feelings and emotions that are a result of politically incorrect expression? Cultural sensitivity is becoming an increasingly popular topic in media, on college campuses, and in the military. We now live in a world where the language we use is underRead MoreHow Does An Ideal Husband Explore Women s Roles?1666 Words   |  7 Pageshis will-power It should be noted however, that also in his case appearance is commented on, though the effect is less superficial and †soft† as the comments of looks are complemented by those of his personality. It is also noteworthy that Wilde writes that †Vandyck would have liked to have painted his head† whereas Mrs Cheveley is described as being †a work of art†, thus we can conclude that instead of being looked at, as in the case of Mrs Cheveley, Sir Robert Chiltern should be painted, whichRead MoreA Refutation of an Argument by William J Bennett on Recognizing Same-Sex Marriage1749 Words   |  7 Pagesto the concept of marriage and to the nation. The only thing more remarkable than the logical fallacies relied upon in the article was the fact that the author was the former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the George H. W. Bush administration. Bennett argues, rhetorically, that recognizing gay marriage would open the door to every other possible marriage, suchRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of A Traditional Family1569 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to Study.com, a traditional family is a family structure that consists of a man, woman, and one or more of their biological or adopted children. Most men and women have goals of falling in love, getting married and raising children together. The U.S Census Bureau conducted research in 2010 and discovered that there are only 20% of traditional families in the US. Most families share common beliefs, rites, and religions. Generally, these families have the same typical daily schedule; theRead MoreThe Notwithstanding Clause : Indefensible And Unviable3173 Words   |  13 Pagesfreedoms, legal rights, and equality rights; however, it cannot be applied to mobility rights, minority language education rights, or gender equality rights. Ultimately, if a legislature is determined to preserve a law that violates Charter-protected rights, it can do so. In assessing the logic, wisdom, and viability of the NC, it is clearly indefensible and unviable; therefore, Canada should abolish it. Firstly, the NC is inconsistent with the entrenchment of rights and freedoms protection embodiedRead MoreObesity : The Condition Of Being Grossly Fat Or Overweight2264 Words   |  10 Pagesto do their job in high-fat, high-sugar, and super-sized foods. Where does all the fault lay? Is it in the person who is seeking these things? Is it in the food industry, the media, or society? The blame gets spread far and wide. Could it be a medical issue? Maybe even genetics? â€Å"The nation treats food as fuel to be obtained at the cheapest price.† Do you think its true? Could it be the government’s fault? Maybe the government is failing to educate consumers about what they are eating. Its asRead MoreEssay on History by Heart: Why Empathy Impedes Accuracy1898 Words   |  8 Pagespedagogy of memory as it relates to a film called Schindler’s List, similarly terms it as one’s incorporation of â€Å"memories of others within his or her own constructed history† (10). Because of this strong influence of others’ experiences, Tom Puk (an education professor, in this instance writing on Social Studies) stresses an importance of â€Å"meta-awareness† in pedagogy, with three separate perspective s: teacher as a learner, teacher as a teacher, and students of his or her own teaching. These are to beRead More American Film and Movies from the 1950’s to Present Essay examples2422 Words   |  10 Pagesmovies were often able to say what political leaders could not. Since the Supreme Court held censorship of films unconstitutional in 1952, then, special-interest groups emerged as the primary protagonist in an ongoing drama about how movie content should be controlled. Films such as 1955’s Rebel Without A Cause, starring James Dean, depicted popular teenage sentiment of anger towards middle-class parenting and the family-values environment. For groups on the right, these movies were too ‘free’ inRead More Poverty and Voting in America Essay3591 Words   |  15 Pagespurely scientific and did not include political biases, but rather examined the facts from as neutral a point of view as possible; 2) the government reports (DeNavas-Walt; Dept. of Commerce; Dept. of Labor, McNeil), which also appeared to be politically neutral and created in a scientific fashion. These two types of sources mainly provided statistics on voting and poverty numbers through charts and graphs. The next set of sources came from less reliable media (â€Å"Election†; Loughlin; Wetherell)

The Cold War Between The United States Of America And The...

The Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union was not only a battle of political conflict but also a rivalry to spread political ideology and influence worldwide. Various pieces of propaganda and articles written during the time had largely impacted American popular opinion and had powerful effects on the culture among young men and women of the 1940’s and 1950’s. â€Å"The Red Iceberg† comic book cover, published and presented during the Cold War era, was one use of media that perpetuated the negative effects of Soviet Union political influence while promoting the righteousness of the United States. The visual rhetoric presented in â€Å"The Red Iceberg† propaganda, and others alike, instigated an emotional and fearful†¦show more content†¦As it sails forward in the sea, it approaches a red iceberg—marked with the Soviet Union hammer and sickle. Along the side of the iceberg there are gravestones with all the names of countries that have fallen under Communist influence. The first aspect of this image that conveys Cold War ideology is the iceberg itself. The red color of the iceberg is the oldest symbol of communism, conveying reference to the Soviet Union’s â€Å"red flag† and â€Å"red army†. The negativity associated with the Soviet Union—thus, the color red—allows the iceberg in the propaganda to become a symbol of Communism and despair. The iceberg itself is the largest and most brightly colored illustration on the cover, compelling the viewer to focus on this structure of â€Å"evil† ideology and representation of Communism over any other aspect. The gravestones resting along the iceberg represent death and doom to nations that cecum to Communist influence (this includes North Korea, Poland, Hungary, China, etc.). This becomes a visual representation of the power Communist possessed worldwide during the Cold War; â€Å"like a persistent toy aut omobile wound up and headed in a given direction† (although in this case, an iceberg) â€Å"stopping only when it meets with some unanswerable force† (Kennan 2), the threat of Communism is made prominent to the comic book’s readers. Should Uncle Sam fail to steer clear of the red iceberg, an inevitable death is

Transformative Power of Civil Society Free Essays

string(387) " sacrifice and rigour but seldom developed a feminist consciousness and therefore made no analysis of patriarchy or capitalis According to Ismail \(2009\) this social movement also broke the of women learning in informal and non- formal way, there for civil society transformed them because they can now participate in learning in their every day life and support their daily struggles\." Apartheid divided people and was in favour of white people and left the majority of black people poor. This created inequality between black people and white people, thus this resulted in the people in the people who are disadvantaged by apartheid to form civil societies to help fight poverty themselves. This essay will critically discuss whether civil society has transformative potential in south Africa and also to what extent does it have transformative potential, that is if it has transformative potential. We will write a custom essay sample on Transformative Power of Civil Society or any similar topic only for you Order Now This paper will discuss this by looking at what at what civil society is, looking at development and how ordinary people challenge forced development (top down) by engaging in civil society. In this paper three case studies namely the Victoria mxenge and amadiba crisis committee and the xenophobia protest will be used as examples to analyze the topic further. Essentially this paper will attempt to show that civil society is both transformative and non-transformative. Development has been debated by social scientist and they came up with different theories of development. Development theories are trying to equalize the inequalities that were created by apartheid and anlyse and find reasons about why things are like this in south Africa. The theories of development include modernization theory, dependency theory, people centred development theory and sen’s development theory. Modernization theory implies that western culture is more superior and modernization theory looks at the different levels of technological development across the globe and explores development in terms of inequality ( Graaf, 2001). According to Davids (2005) modernization theory focuses on the fact that if the less developed country wants to develop then it should follow the developed countries. According to davids (2005,09) â€Å"modernization theory regards western culture to all others†. This notion of modernization takes us back to apartheid where the western culture was seen as the ideal culture out of the cultures we have in south Africa argues David (2005). This makes the people to start civil societies so that they can voice out their views. Roodt (2001) argues that civil society is formed when the formal government becomes more distant from rural people and the people decide to do things for themselves. Modernization theory is often challenged by civil society by counteracting and challenging the status quo. Graaf (2001) talks about the two main approaches for development which is top-down and bottom up approach. The two approaches monitors how development happens the people that are needed to participate in order for development to happen. According to Roodt (2001,469) argues that â€Å"participation is seen as one of the ingredients necessary to promote sustained development†, thus roodt further says that â€Å"this not to say that development equals sustained development†. The â€Å"top- down approach to development refers to the tendency of the state to implement development with little or no consultation with the people who are meant to benefit† Roodt (2001,469). For example when wanting to develop the poor in south Africa the rich people will come up with ways to do develop them and the poor people will not have a say or will have a little voice. Bottom up approach of development is when the beneficiaries of any proposed development participate through their organizations in determining the type of development most relevant to their needs, and may also participate in the implementation and subsequent running or monitoring of the development† Roodt (2001,469). This approach is dependent o n the needs of the community and its about how the community want to develop its self and not getting some one from the state to tell the community what they should do. But its about the community telling the state what they are doing (Roodt,2001). The bottom-up approach goes hand in hand with civil society and sen’s theory of development. According to Roodt (2001) civil society is the part is the part of the society outside the boundaries of both government and the family which is often seen to be the source of democratic innovation and of resistance to government excess. This means that people create social movements that does not include the government getting involved and so civil society is non-governmental. Walby (2009) argues that the aims of civil society is to respond in changes inresources, power, and material positioning, revorking the frames and material positioning and reworking the frames and discourses that provide meaning. Blaaw (1999) argues that â€Å" civil society is increasingly being looked on as the source of alternative and more equaltable forms of society. Civil society focuses more on people centred development and according to Scholte (1999,07) Civil society exists whenever people mobilise through voluntary associations in initiatives to shape the social order. Civil society challenges top down approach of development because it gets people involve in their own development by challenging the notion of top down approach For example according to Ismail (2009) Victoria Mxenge was building houses for poor people because the houses that the government was building were too small and the government a lot of time to build the house so they built the houses. Note Ismail (2009) notes that since South Africa is a developing country so poor people regards or acknowledges learning and education to overcome poverty. The case study of Victoria Mxenge Housing Development Association part of the south African homeless peoples federation, its an organization made up of women who wants to develop themselves by forming a housing social movement Ismail (2009). In this case study civil society has transformative potential because previously during apartheid â€Å"in South Africa poor women have been excluded from mainstream education by apartheid legislation, lack of money, no easy access to educational facilities, or social prejudices which dictate that women stay at home to care for the family† Ismail (2009,282). So by doing this civil society changed the social order or the functioning of the country by breaking the bounderies. According to Ismail (2009,292) â€Å"The VM women built on traditional notions of African ‘motherhood’ but went further in important ways and developed political skills in mobilising resources and learnt through great personal endeavour, patience, sacrifice and rigour but seldom developed a feminist consciousness and therefore made no analysis of patriarchy or capitalis According to Ismail (2009) this social movement also broke the of women learning in informal and non- formal way, there for civil society transformed them because they can now participate in learning in their every day life and support their daily struggles. Ismail (2009,01) further says that â€Å"in South Africa informal education and learning has developed so that excluded groups do have some opportunity for learning. This development is eople centred because if people where not there it wouldn’t take place. Furthermore â€Å"this development response has given rise to a ‘poor women’s pedagogy’ in which they become the advocators and innovators of development practice†. Victoria mxenge did have transformative potential because it built house for the poor and made a difference and changed the social order that not only can government can build houses for the poor but also women can build houses on their own. However in the end the organization did not have transformative because Victoria mxenge was taking loans from banks to build the houses left the organization in debt and in that sense Victoria mxenge didn’t have transformative potential. Furthermore the state ended up getting involved in the matter and they did not have much of a say now in the development so it didn’t have transformative potential because they did not change the top-down approach of development. Victoria mxenge shows that civil society can be transformative and non transformative. Roodt (2001) talks about sen’s theory, Sen’s theory argues that freedom is the primary end and principal means of development and Victoria mxenge has lost that freedom because they did not choose in the end, but the government choose for them and Victoria mxenge doesn’t have collective agency. Sen’s theory of development talks about development as freedom that looks at human well-being and how to evaluate it. According to Roodt(2001) Sen’s theory values that in order for people or a community to develop, freedon should be taken as the foundation for development. Furthermore more the theory talks about substantial freedoms or opportunities in the sense that if people have substantial freedoms they will have the â€Å"ability to achieve what they value, engage in economic transactions ,participate in political values will be equal to the capability to function in ways they consider valuable archieving the goals they have set for themselves† Roodt,2001. Sen’s theory is people centerd and participation is important in order for development to take place and thus democracy matters in the sense that choice matters and so the theory takes equality and rights of the people seriously ( Roodt,2001). So this means that people centred way of taking decisions about what the community wants and what is valuable is important. sen’s theory of development has human agency because public participation is important. â€Å"Globalization refers to the fact that we all increasingly live in one world , so groups and nations become interdependent† Giddens (2006). The interdependency takes place ecomonically, technology wise and communication wise. During apartheid in south Africa, the global civil society got involved and helped to fight apartheid. According to Klungman (2011,09) â€Å"global civil society is manifestation of social energies released by awakening of human consciousness to possibilities for creating societis that nurture and rejoice in a love of all human beings. According to Scholte (1999) argues and says that global civil society is ensures peace around the world for example if the is war global civil society has to fight and try to create peace there. So in the context of south Africa global civil society helped and fought apartheid . o in this context civil society has shown to have transformative potential by changing the social order that the apartheid government was using and brought democracy in south africa. When globalization takes place they are people who are benefiting from it and some are not benefiting but are actually disadvantaged by globalization. For example looking franchise wise mc donalidazation is not benefiting south Africa in the sense that they build their restaurants but more of the m oney that they get goes to their country of origin so it does not do much on south africa’s economy. So it does not transform south Africa in that context however it does transform south Africa by creating jobs for the unemployed and they get money so it does have transformative power because it helps fight unemployment. Blaauw (2003,02) argues that â€Å"the economic and social choices that government entails for national government also have ernomous implications for civil society organizations and formations†. By this blaauw (2003) argues that the dicisions that the government takes economically and socially affects civil society. Furthermore Blaauw (2003,02) argues that â€Å"the new global reconfiguration, which compels governments to become more responsive to financial markets than the needs of their poor citizens, has met with resistance from social forces ostensibly because of the dialectic of inclusion and exclusion†. This means that since when the state gets involved in global reconfiguration it stops paying attention to the poor and pays more attention to globalisation . n addition Blaauw (2003) argues that as â€Å"global markets forces rise the role of the state as an economic provider lacks and this calls for a need for civil society to develop and grow†. The people respond to being disadvantaged by globalization by striking, forming civil society groups and some by sticking more to their ways of doing things. For example people are afraid of getting involved in globalization because they think they will loose they will loose their money. For example looking at people in eastern cape are still farming for themselves to resist development and globalization. For that reason civil society has changed that and therefore it did not show to have transformative potential, because it did not change the social order of doing things. Looking at the under development in the transkei Bundy cited in (Graaf Venter, 2001) argues that poverty and self-reliance in the former Transkei region was not in the form of the community not wanting to participate to the modern economic sector opportunities. Amadiba community crisis committee is Community-based organisation which has members of about three thousand local people from Amadiba. Amadiba crisis development fought the lobby group against Xolobeni sand dune mining walby (2009). The organisation was fighting to get the mine back so that it can be theirs and amadiba favour sustainable community based eco-tourism argues Walby (2009). by this the community was in charge of their development and the development it their choice . madiba crisis committee has also partnership with ACC and Sustainable community based tourism Civil society has transformative potential because looking at the amadiba case study the community fought to get the mine back from the people from austraila. The people fought by themselves without the help of the government and the government was not part of the people who wanted the mine. This brought transformation to the community because they were fighting for one thing and with the same vision and they got wh at the mine that they were fighting for . However even though they got the mine they are not using it which brings the point that civil society can have transformative potential and non transformative potential. They don’t have transformative potential in the sense that the mine is not benefiting them in any way because it is not opened and they are fighting alone and taking each other to court. Its also not transformative because the people who are fighting might be both members of the state and business and it leads to conflict, so now they don’t know what to choose between the two. his shows that amadiba crisis committee have agency, because it manage to change the social functioning . The paragraph shows that one organization can have society having transformative potential and also not having transformative potential. During may 2008 south African citizens started a xenophobic attack , where by the citizens were removing people who came from other countries to work here while they are not south African cit izens were removed ( Bond,2010). Bond (2010) furthermore argues that the xenophobic attacks were violent such that 62 migrants were murdered while hundreds of people which includes children and women were attacked and some were raped. Bond (2010) argues that not only did the people attack the migrants but they also burnt their houses and some of the houses were destroyed. According to Bond (2010) peoples reasons for the xenophobic attacks was employment in the sense that they saw the migrants taking cheap labour and taking most of the job opportunities. Employment was the key factor for the xenophobic attact because Bond (2010) mentions that some of the citizens were saying that the migrants come in to the country and open businesses so jelousy was also involved and some said its because the number of foreigners was uncontrollable. So this was implemented because of the lack of effective communication between communities and the state so it caused conflict and the citizen were angry and decided to things by the selfs and remove the foreigners out of the country. In this case civil society had transformative potential because the community did what they wanted to do because the government was not doing anything for them. A civil society was formed then to move the people who are not south African citizens out of the country. The movement was not formal in the sense that was not like amadiba crisis committee or Victoria mxenge because this social movement did’nt have a name and it was a group of people from different parts of south Africa who saw the same problem and started the attack. nd it had transformative potential in a bad way, thus according to Scholte (1999) civil society can be good and evil. Xenophobia brought social change because it resulted in the people going back to their countries and south African citizens getting the job. The movement used bottom up approach of development but the question is, is it really bottom-up because they might have been someone who incited it. The transformation also has consequences which resulted in people loosing their lives . he whole xenophobia transformed the image of south Africa and it made people to have doubts about whether the country will be able to host the 2010 FIFA World cup safely . It led to people wanting to change their minds about coming to watch the world cup. The transformation was bad in the sense that it disturbed south africa’s interrelationship with other countries. So this brings out the proves that this social movement was creating the bounderies that globalization is trying to break. So the transformation was against globalization in the sense that people were now not comfortable coming here and they lost their trust in south Africa. This negative transformation leads to a drop in the number of tourists that comes in the country and this ended up affecting the economic growth which ended up affecting those people who started xenophobia. However while people were chasing foreigners out of the country the was also civil societies formed which had people who were protecting the victims by hiding them (Bond, 2010). Bond(2010) argues that the civil societies that were formed to protect the foreigners used mostly churches to accommodate the people who were being chased out of the country until the xenophobic attacks calms down. This brings the thought that not everyone sees things the same way because some saw the chasing the people out of the country as not good and others saw it as being good. This shows that civil societies can clash with one another and throught the clashing it shows that civil society had a transformative potential because a lot of the foreigners when back to their countries. To conclude civil society has shown to have transformative potential as well as not being transformative potential in south Africa. I have proved that civil society has transformative potential it has helped the country to fight apartheid and change the social order of the way things were done during apartheid. This proved that civil society has a lot of transformative power when people have the same goal and showed that participation is important in order to change things. In the case of xenophobia civil society showed to have transformative potential in the sense that it achieved the goal of the social movement and removed the foreigners from the country. The xenophobic attack showed that civil society can be can be evil as Scholte (1999) argues because during the social movement people were killed and some were hurted and this attack showed that civil society can be negative because people ended up looting houses of the people who were foreigners. The xenophobic attack also showed that civil societies can clash because people want different things. The Victoria Mxenge showed that civil society doesn’t have transformative potential because the organization did not change the top down approach. Furthermore the amadiba crisis committee showed that civil society has transformative potential because the people fought for the mine and got the mine. However it showed that even if people form civil societies to fight for things at times they end up not using the things they are fighting for when they have it. By compering this I can conclude that civil society has more transformative potential in south Africa since apartheid as it has changed many social orders. How to cite Transformative Power of Civil Society, Papers

Worldview Forums

Question: Stanley Grenz provides three eschatological distinctions and they are personal eschatology, corporate eschatology, and cosmic eschatology. Explain these three eschatological distinctions and how they apply to an understanding of hope in the present. Answer: Explanation of the divisions of eschatology: Eschatology is a basic topic of debate for years. This is related to the future of the church. The word Eschatology means teachings thing like end of time, death, judgment and the afterlife. The divisions of eschatology are: 1) Personal Eschatology refers to the fact which includes individual beliefs about the end of the life and other personal debates. 2) Corporate Eschatology refers to human kind and human history. Therefore, it is more about the species. 3) Cosmic Eschatology is all about the end of the world or the whole cosmos[1]. Applications: The applications of different divisions of Eschatology are: 1) Personal Eschatology is the personal belief about the physical death until resurrection. The other parts are applied to what happens in the church. 2) Corporate Eschatology is applicable for the future of the universe. It highlights the fast onto the present. This helps the society to have knowledge of the future. 3) The cosmic eschatology includes the balance between the individual eschatology or the death, and the time of coming of Jesus. Therefore, unconsciousness leads to a spiritual binding in the society[2]. References: "Individual And Cosmic Eschatology",Presenttruthmag.Com, last modified 2016, accessed June 17, 2016, Last modified 2016, accessed June 17, 2016, [1] "Individual And Cosmic Eschatology",Presenttruthmag.Com, last modified 2016, [2] Last modified 2016, accessed June 17, 2016.

helium Essays - Chemical Elements, Industrial Gases, Noble Gases

Helium (Greek Helios,"sun"), symbol He, is an inert, colorless, odorless gas element. In group 18 of the periodic table, helium is one of the noble gases. The atomic number of helium is 2. Pierre Janssen discovered helium in the spectrum of the corona of the sun during an eclipse in 1868. Shortly after it was identified as an element and named by the chemist Sir Edward Frankland and the British astronomer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer. The gas was first isolated from terrestrial sources in 1895 by the British chemist Sir William Ramsay, who discovered it in cleveite. In 1907 Sir Ernest Rutherford showed that alpha particles are the nuclei of helium atoms. Helium has monatomic molecules, and is the lightest of all gases except hydrogen. Helium solidifies at -272.2? C; helium boils at -268.9? C. The atomic weight of helium is 4.0026. Helium, like the other noble gases, is chemically inert. Its single electron shell is filled, making possible reactions with other elements extremely difficult and the resulting compounds quite unstable. Molecules of compounds with neon, another noble gas, and with hydrogen have been detected. Helium is the most difficult of all gases to liquefy and is impossible to solidify at atmospheric pressure. These properties make liquid helium extremely useful as a refrigerant and for experimental work in producing and measuring temperatures close to absolute zero. Liquid helium can be cooled almost to absolute zero at normal pressure by rapid removal of the vapor above the liquid. At a temperature slightly above absolute zero, it is transformed into Helium II, also called superfluid helium, a liquid with unique physical properties. It has no freezing point, and its viscosity is apparently zero; it passes readily through minute cracks. Helium-3, the lighter helium isotope, which has an even lower boiling point than ordinary helium, exhibits different properties when liquefied. Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen; however, it is rare on earth, primarily found mixed with natural gas trapped in underground pockets. Once helium is released it is so light it escapes the earth's atmosphere and cannot be recovered. At sea level, helium occurs in the atmosphere in the proportion of 5.4 parts per million. The proportion increases slightly at higher altitudes. About 1 part per million of atmospheric helium consists of helium-3, now thought to be a product of the decay of tritium, a radioactive hydrogen isotope of mass 3. The common helium isotope, helium-4, probably comes from radioactive alpha emitters in rocks. Natural gas, which contains an average of 0.4 percent helium, is the major commercial source of helium. By far the largest users of helium are agencies of the United States government. Because it is noncombustible, helium is preferred to hydrogen as the lifting gas in lighter-than-air balloons; it has 92 percent of the lifting power of hydrogen, although it weighs twice as much. Helium is used to pressurize and stiffen the structure of rockets before takeoff and to pressurize the tanks of liquid hydrogen or other fuel in order to force fuel into the rocket engines. It is useful for this application because it remains a gas even at the low temperature of liquid hydrogen. A potential use of helium is as a heat-transfer medium in nuclear reactors because it remains chemically inert and nonradioactive under the conditions that exist within the reactors. Helium is used in inert-gas arc welding for light metals such as aluminum and magnesium alloys that might otherwise oxidize; the helium protects heated parts from attack by air. Helium is used in place of nitrogen as part of the synthetic atmosphere breathed by deep-sea divers, caisson workers, and others, because it reduces susceptibility to the bends. This synthetic atmosphere is also used in medicine to relieve sufferers of respiratory difficulties because helium moves more easily than nitrogen through constricted respiratory passages. In surgery, beams of ionized helium from synchrocyclotron sources are proving useful in treating eye tumors, by stabilizing or even shrinking the tumors. Such beams are also used to shrink blood-vessel malformations in the brains of patients. Helium is transported as a gas in small quantities, compressed in heavy steel cylinders. Larger amounts of helium can be shipped as

The Right Prepositions for Geographical Designations

The Right Prepositions for Geographical Designations The Right Prepositions for Geographical Designations The Right Prepositions for Geographical Designations By Mark Nichol The idiomatic idiosyncrasies among references to one’s relationship to geographical or topographical features make selecting the correct preposition a challenge for nonnative speakers, but even those born to English can stumble. This post discusses various classes of phrasing about location. One lives in a town or city, county, state, or nation but on a continent. One writes of one’s residence in a neighborhood or district, but a reference to a side of a city (Chicago’s North Side or New York City’s East Side, for example) is oriented with on. If one lives virtually or literally in the shadow of an imposing natural or artificial edifice, however, one might say that one lives beneath Telegraph Hill or works under the Gateway Arch. If one is referring to some point past one’s current location or another reference point, one might say that the place in question is, for example, below Broadway, even though no change in altitude is involved. In topographical contexts, the preposition depends on the position: One lives in the foothills or in the mountains, even though, presumably, one is not a cave dweller, or in a canyon or valley. But one lives, or stands, on the hillside or mountainside or on the hilltop or the mountaintop or on the valley floor. These distinctions apply to proper names, too: One vacations in the Catskills or backpacks in the Rockies, but one stands on Spyglass Hill (though one can either hike on or up it). One drives on or along a street, road, or highway, but one takes a turn at an intersection or exits at (or onto) an off-ramp. â€Å"In the sea† and â€Å"under the sea† refer to being or traveling beneath the surface of the ocean. However, on, just as on land, is the correct preposition for references to surface travel, though one might also refer to coursing along or over a sea route. One also moves on, along, or over a lake or another body of water, although on also applies to one’s position in reference to a coast, shoreline, or bank, as when visiting friends who live on the ocean, staying at a campsite on a lake, or having a house on a river. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Congratulations on or for?50 Types of PropagandaTypes of Ignorance

Institute of Medicine framework for healthcare quality Assignment

Institute of Medicine framework for healthcare quality - Assignment Example ences and needs), timely (the time it takes to receive and give care to patients), efficiency (use of all resources to the maximum) and equitability (providing equal quality of care to patient of different gender or status). These components can be applied to nursing in order to ensure a high health care quality. The safety component, for instance, can be implemented by ensuring that the nurses possess the necessary knowledge and skills needed in the field. On the other hand, effectiveness and efficiency can be ensured by appointment of a strict managerial team; which will supervise and ensure proper use of the nursing resources. Timely and patient centeredness components of health care quality can be achieved by reducing the ratio of patients to nurses so as to ensure that patients will get the attention they require. Finally, equitability can be met by discouraging discrimination of patients and setting harsh rules to those found discriminating patients. Once the components are implemented and observed strictly, the nursing sector can be of high health care quality. In my actual work setting, the framework components can be applied to improve the quality of healthcare services offered. For starter, all the nurses without a diploma in nursing should be forced to go further their studies; this will consequently improve safety of the health care provided by reducing the numbers of accidents to patients when undergoing treatment. On top of nurses furthering their studies, the manager should be highly qualified and strict; this will ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the health center’s resources. Additionally, the government can increase the number of nurses in the health center so as to ensure timely quality and the ability to provide care which is responsive to patients’ preferences and needs. This will ultimately increase the health care quality of the health

Paradox of Thrift Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paradox of Thrift - Assignment Example This scenario contradicts the individual or household-based argument that saving is good for the economy. In the United States, the Personal Savings Rate (PSR) over the last decade has been increasing and decreasing from time to time depending on the personal savings levels in the economy. The U.S PSR was recorded at 3.40% in December 2011, 5.50% in January 2011, 4.90% in December 2010, 4.50% in December 2009, and 5.70% in December 2008 among others (Yates & Hunter, 2011). This trend can be associated with the performance of the U.S economy at different times of every single year. The spending and saving of a typical American household is guided by the economic potential of the household. This can be held collectively for the entire economy, where the population spends within its financial limits. By observing the PSR trend over the last decade, it is seen that both spending and saving in the economy fluctuate from time to time. Increase in savings directly lowers spending in the economy, and vice versa. Too much savings in the economy lowers total consumption. A typical American household spends more than it saves, but summing up increased savings in the economy can result in the paradox of

See draft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

See draft - Essay Example The author’s information in this selection is significant, she mentions accurate studies and data, and her argument and way of writing is very clear. On the basis of the book by Friedan this paper will prove that suburban housewives’ emotions with matters in the society and marriage, education and profession, and home duties cause unhappy womanhood. The word â€Å"femininity† is defined in many different meanings and according to the dictionary is â€Å"the quality of being female; womanliness†. The femininity that is discussed in the chapter is that what the majority of women dream about, which is marriage. In other words, how femininity and an old-fashion suburban housewife make us understand the word â€Å"woman†. In the 60’s, marriage takes major part of womanliness. Women are influenced to have early marriage. This idea leads women to ignore every position they could achieve. Friedan proves that early marriage is the main reason behind population increase while young women make career out of marriage duties. â€Å"The women’s magazines, deploring the unhappy statistics about these young marriages, urged that courses on marriage, and marriage counselors, be installed in the high schools† (Friedan 16). According to Friedan women career is limited in the twentieth century. Many women look forward an occupation inside the home. Bearing children and being supportive for their husband, women wanted to have profession. The concern to spend most time at home may harm the society. The author includes the fact of few women having professions. (Friedan 4). If women had the opportunity to work, they perhaps would be able to change the situation. Friedan adds the importance of education. Women’s role as housewives is what makes them unhappy with their education (Friedan 10). Women should gain education since it essential to solve problems people had. Education is important and it must be got to develop one’s profession. It is difficult for women not

Pure Bureaucratic Organization Features

Pure Bureaucratic Organization Features Every organization has a set of objectives it wants to achieve. These can merely be performance targets a management wants to attain, or can better be described as a measure of organizational growth. However, objectives of each individual might not be aligned with those of the organization, and therefore, to ensure that the organization is able to meet its objectives with maximum efficiency, it is imperative to exert some form of control over the organization. Bureaucracy is an authority that maximizes efficiency and effectiveness of the organization and exercises control on the basis of technical knowledge (Weber, 1947:339). Bureaucracy is a form of organizational design defined by a number of formal characteristics focused on centralization, authority, impersonality and a rational career structure; all arranged in a hierarchical ascending order with clear cut division of labour and specialized tasks in line with rights and entitlements linked to the position in hierarchy (Clegg et al., 2008:486; Clegg and Hardy, 1999:8). Max Weber (1864-1920), a great German academic and sociologist was the first to formulate the characteristics of a bureaucracy. Well known for his study of bureaucratization of society, he set the foundations for all subsequent work on this subject. Weber, in his work The Three Types of Legitimate Rules (1958) contrasted three types of authority: traditional authority, charismatic authority and rational-legal authority. However, he identified rational-legal authority to be the heart of bureaucracy and defined it as: an authority resting on a belief in the legality of patterns of normative rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands (Weber, 1947:215). As for this, the authority given to these officials is determined by the office they are appointed to and once these official leave the office, their authority is lost. For Weber, the terms bureaucracy and rationality were both tied together, and thus he coined the term ideal type to the rational-legal form. Primary Features of a Bureaucratic Organization Weber identified what he believed to be the main characteristics of a pure bureaucratic organization. His idea on bureaucracy was to describe an ideal organization one which is perfectly rational and would provide maximum efficiency and consistency to the organization. We are now going to discuss the characteristics that form the essence of Webers rational bureaucracy that be found in his work Economy and Society: an Outline of Interpretive Sociology (1978:221-3). Bureaucratic organizations can be characterized through the formal aspects of Frederick Taylors Scientific Management school of thought which is considered to be the foundation of classical management theory and enhances the idea of improving efficiency and productivity within the workplace (Dean, 1997). First is centralization, which refers to the level of hierarchy with authority to make decisions. Each level is accountable to the level above and controls the level below (Weber, 1978). Hierarchy delineates the line of authority and shows a clear chain of command, allowing job definition to be most rational and most efficient (Grey, 2009). Secondly, there is a highly developed division of labour and specialization of tasks. Duties of all officials are clearly defined such that employees are organized into groups based upon their technical skills, thus covering the area of competence they are technically trained for. In lines with this, Taylors principles of Scientific Management the ory suggests that a trained employee should be selected for the job rather than having him choose his own work and training himself as best he could (Dean, 1997). Another feature that develops a bureaucratic organization is formalization, which refers to the set of written rules and formal procedures management has to abide by. Firstly, there is a strict separation between official duties of a bureaucrat and their private and emotional life. In this, management is operated on certain rules contained in files of written documents rather than personal feelings of the employees (Weber, 1921/1968). This allows a uniform execution of decisions and actions towards the lower levels through formal systems of rules and regulations, and thus it is an imperative source of efficiency maximization. Ouchi (1977) points out that an organizations formal system, identified as written procedures and policies, help meet organizational goals in an efficient manner and detect misconducts taking place within the organization. Moreover, all decision and actions taken by the organization are recorded in written documents. This helps regulate behavior of the employees. Although this might not seem as an essential part of a bureaucracy, yet it is the arrangement that best fits the pure type (Weber, 1957:335). Starting with the mode of recruitment, another feature that develops a pure bureaucratic organization is that personnel are hired on grounds of technical competence and not on any other consideration such as political loyalty or family inheritance. The appointment of an individual is based upon their qualifications and expertise to accomplish the specialized duties effectively. When entering a bureaucratic organization, individuals are expected to make office their sole occupation and make a career within the organization (Weber, 1978:220). Insofar as the remuneration in a bureaucratic organization is concerned, the opportunity for promotion is based upon an elaborate system of seniority and achievement of an individual. Moreover, the bureaucrats are salaried officials and normally receive a fixed salary based more upon the status of their position rather than their productivity or performance. Clegg et al. (2008) asserts that different positions in a hierarchy are differently paid. The characteristics discussed above illustrate Webers ideal type of rational and efficient bureaucracy. Many of these features that now seem common and obvious to us did not always exist, and can therefore be characterized as Webers invention. Furthermore, as suggested in Webers definition and by Scientific Management theory, these features exist as a set of formal entities such that they are predefined by the management and are deliberately and consciously created to achieve specified goals (Dwyer, 2005:1234). Bureaucracy or Post-bureaucracy? For most of us today when we think of the term bureaucracy, negative connotations such as inefficiency, redundancy, rigidity, red tape culture and the like come to mind. However, bureaucracy in Webers period was considered extremely successful and was seen as efficient machine devised to ultimately achieve desired goals. The purpose of this essay however is not to discuss the success or failure of a bureaucracy, but rather to analyze if we still live in a bureaucratic world, or in a post-bureaucratic one. Post-bureaucracy is an refined organizational model developed to best suit todays dynamic organizations. Salaman (2005) asserts that post-bureaucracy is supposed to be more efficient, more dynamic, more innovative and more understanding towards the need to change. It merely refers to a fundamental shift away from traditional bureaucratic features which can be characterized through reduced formal levels of hierarchy, more flexibility than rule-following, decentralization of authority, and a collaboration of trust, teamwork, and shared responsibility (Heckscher, 1994). One of the features of Webers ideal type of bureaucracy is based upon centralization; however most large and successful organizations today are organizing themselves into smaller, autonomous and more manageable units thus becoming more decentralized. Various scholars (Miner et al., 2000; Repenning, 2002; Sigglekow and Rivki, 2003) have recently developed a resurgence of interest towards the linkage of structure and strategy, and have focused on how smaller structures in dynamic environments can be used to produce organizational adaptations. Their study links to how simpler structure can improvise learning, increase professionalism and be an appropriate mechanism for controlling organizations. Although Daft (2009:348) argues that decentralization represents a paradox because, in the perfect bureaucracy, all decisions would be made by the top administrator, who would have perfect control. Nevertheless, it can be seen that larger an organization becomes, the more decentralized and compl ex it gets. The rationale behind this is that when an organization grows, the number of levels in hierarchy (vertical complexity) and the number of departments (horizontal complexity) grow with it, thus decisions are diffused to the lower levels of management and pressure to subdivide arises, or else managers cannot control them effectively. We can see today that most successful companies such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, General Foods, 3M, etc are now seen adapting decentralization. CEO Mike Quinlan of McDonalds says that he pushes directions as far down the hierarchy as he can; otherwise, McDonalds decision making would be too slow. Hage and Aiken (1967) support this idea in their research on organization size that larger organizations permit greater decentralization and use Campbell Soup Company and American Airlines as examples (cited in Daft, 2009:348). A small group of theorists (Heckscher and Donnellon, 1994; Gratton, 2004; Pollitt, 2008) have developed upon the theory of typical shift towards post-bureaucracy that in a world of such increasing uncertainty and complexity; hierarchies have now become flat, horizontal connections are emphasized, companies are now more fluid and virtual. As all of these features can be observed in large-scale organizations today, I am in support of Robbins (1990:308) thought that in large and complex organizations, decentralization has become de riguer. Although we have discussed above that large scale organizations are becoming more decentralized, that is they are lacking the pure bureaucratic feature of centralization and hierarchical authority, this however does not mean that hierarchy has been eliminated in them or that they have left behind the core tenets of bureaucracy. They still abide by the Webers bureaucratic rigid rules, written procedures, and impersonality. Heckscher and Donnellon (1994) argue along these lines and describe them as cleaned up bureaucracies. Moreover, according to HÃ ¶pfl (2006:19), an entirely non- or post-bureaucratic organization without hierarchy is simply inconceivable and in addition asserts that post-bureaucratic arrangements appear as variants within bureaucracy. Today, large organizations tend to be more formalized than the smaller ones. The underlying principle behind this is that in large organizations the number of employees and departments is significantly higher, making them more dependable upon the written rules, regulations and paperwork to standardize operations and exercise control. Robbins (1990:96) uses McDonalds to support this argument and states that McDonalds operating manual has 385 pages describing the most minute activities in each outlet. No cigarette, candy or pin ball machines are allowed. Basic hamburger patty must be 1.6 ounces of pure beef with no more than 19.5% fat content. Buns must have 13.3% sugar in them. In regard with this example, it can be seen that even in todays large-scale organizations employees are taken as machine-like objects with no personal feelings. Bureaucracys strength is its capacity to manage routine tasks efficiently in stable and predictable environments. On the contrary, small organizations these days tend to deploy less degree of formalization in their operations which provides employees with considerable freedom in executing their duties and achieving objectives (Robbins, 1990:93). Having said that, top management in small organizations can nevertheless deploy their personal observation skills as a tool to continuously monitor productivity levels and regulate control (Hall, 1963). This implies that sufficient tools are available in small organizations to positively impact overall team dynamics without having to enforce a set of stringent rules and regulations that individuals are restrained by. This in turn empowers employees with a sense of belonging towards the organization and builds a strong relationship amongst them, weaved by trust and personal loyalties (Maravelias, 2003). In lines with the existence of bureaucratic features in todays era, different schools of thought exist. An extensive number of theorists have conducted case studies on organizational structures existing in both public and private sectors. Harris (2006) conducted a study on British Library to explore widespread adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). He concluded that ICT in modern libraries can foster them to become innovative virtual organizations; putting an end to bureaucracy and thus initiate a new flexible and modern-bureaucratic organizational form. Similarly, Briand and Bellemare (2006), in their study about complex changes taking place in a Canadian International Development Research Centre, propose that a shift away from centralized model of governance is being observed, which is entailed with with a reduction of surveillance and produced a new flat structure of domination. Furthermore, Budd (2007), in his research draws upon the environmental changes suc h as introduction of ICT based services, standardization and flexibility. He claims that these changes have helped replace bureaucracy in public policy and public management operations. In contrast to the aforementioned cases which observe the essence of post-bureaucratic patterns in the transformed era we now live in, another group of research scientists have presented their findings by conducting studies about organizations that have not adapted to a paradigm shift, away from bureaucracy. Hill et al. (2000:578), in their study of UK and US Research and Development (RD) projects considered decentralization as an aspect of post-bureaucratic paradigm in RD functions. They concluded that centralization is still the norm as no evidence of move towards decentralization or was observed. In similar lines, Hodgson (2004) argued in his study that project management can never eliminate central control, not the tensions linked with it; instead it has distinct modalities of control, each of which generates quite specific tensions. These are not so much an innovation in organization form but a repositioning of some classic questions. In addition to this Barker (1993) studied se lf-managing teams in the US and observed that dehumanizing tendencies within them exist, thus tightening Webers iron cage of rational control. As a response to whether we are living in a bureaucratic or a post-bureaucratic epoch, there is certainly no doubt that organizations today are experiencing rapid technological and innovative changes, but these changes however are not leaving bureaucracy behind. Bureaucracy, in some form or the other, still exists in all organizations. Conclusion First part of this essay discusses the general features that constitute a pure bureaucratic organization. Thus, I am of the opinion that these bureaucratic features were consciously formed to meet the organizations objectives in the most productive and efficient manner. Second part of the essay provides an analytical review of the current patterns of organizational structures to help establish the extent of bureaucratic elements that still exists within modern organizations. Due to the given scope limitations, the primary content of this essay only outlines concepts of Webers ideal type bureaucracy and few critical approaches to provide a radical analysis of bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy era. This constraint however limits my analysis and prevents from further building upon the controversies identified by other research theorists which are primarily associated with these core characteristics. Although bureaucracy entails with it words such as red tape and inefficiency, bureaucracy is only a type of an organizational structure and there is no unanimously acknowledged perspective whether it is good or bad. Referring to Greys (2009) idea that bureaucracies are well suited for businesses that involve routine task or machine-like operations rather than for those which experience rapid technological changes, I reject the exclusive consideration of either bureaucracies or post-bureaucracies. The aforementioned idea implies that we live either in a purely bureaucratic epoch, or one which completely washes away the bureaucratic features; in other words a post-bureaucratic one. Although bureaucracy, with its adequately defined rigid features to some extent is indeed incompatible with todays growth and rapid change; yet in my view all organizations in some way or the other demonstrate certain degree of bureaucratic characteristics. As for this, I endorse HÃ ¶pfls (2006) idea that a complete transition from bureaucracy to a modern era would require either a death of hierarchy, or some measures that are entirely incompatible with bureaucracy. In light of all this, it can thus be concluded that despite the criticism directed towards bureaucracy, we are in the midst of a threshold both bureaucracy and modernity still continue to live with us.

Subjugation of Women Exposed in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club :: Joy Luck Club Essays

Subjugation of Women Exposed in Joy Luck Club Is it fair to judge someone by their sex? In traditional Chinese culture, many judgments were made about a person just by observing their sex. The women was looked upon as an inferior being. They had little or no status in society, and little was expected from them. They were discriminated against when they tried to stand up for themselves. Chinese culture was customarily male dominated. The male was expected to do most of the work, and the woman was expected to stay at home with their mouth shut. This custom leaves an unwelcome feeling in a woman's heart. They feel like nobody cares, and it makes it much harder to live with an optimistic view on life. In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, Ann-Mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying Ying St. Clair are all women who grow up in a traditional China, where there is sexism. They deal with serious problems that corrupt their lives. Through perseverance and the passing of time their lives return to normal. Ann-Mei, Lindo, and Ying Ying subjugated by males because of their sex, and Chinese tradition. Ann-Mei is oppressed in many ways. Her mother is invited to spend time at the home of a wealthy merchant named Wu Tsing. During the night he comes into Ann-Mei's mother's room and rapes her. Despite emotionally scaring Ann-Mei this demonstrates the lack of respect for a woman in China. Ann-Mei's mother is forced into concubinage because of her lack of power as a women. She becomes the third wife. As a third wife she maintains very little status in the home of Wu Tsing. Ann-Mei's family disowns her mother because by becoming a third wife she has brought shame to her family. "When I was a young girl in China, my grandmother told me my mother was a ghost". Ann-Mei is told to forget about her mother and move on in her life. The fact that Ann-Mei is told to forget her mother because she has become something she could not control, is preposterous. She was raped and forced into concubinage. The lack of appreciation for a female causes this feeling of shame for the Mei family. Since rape and polygamy is accepted in China, it makes it appear that what Ann-Mei's mother has done is wrong, and what Wu Tsing did was right or normal.

The Buying Decisions of ‘Consumers’ on the Use of Microsoft

â€Å"The Buying Decisions of ‘Consumers’ On the Use of Microsoft or Apple Products† Submitted By: SANUSI SANI BUHARI Student No: 200922R7018 The Dissertation has been submitted to the Skyline University College In partial Fulfillment of the Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration (International Business) December-2012 Acknowledgement The writing of this dissertation has been one of the most significant academic challenges I have ever had to face. Without the support, patience and guidance of the following people, this study would not have been completed.It is to them that I owe my deepest gratitude. * Dr. Rashad Mohammed Al Saed, who undertook to act as my supervisor despite his many other academic and professional commitments. His wisdom, knowledge and commitment to the highest standards inspired and motivated me. * My friends and whoever directly or indirectly helped me to during the course of the dissertation. * The authors of the various books and web sit es as well as the facilities and university library that helped me gain various information for this dissertation. AbstractThis research paper describes the buying decisions of ‘consumers’, as to whether they prefer Microsoft or Apple products. People have different choice according to needs. Business organizations and telecommunication sectors judge product on usability. Data analysis suggests many important elements impact the buying decision of an individual or any specific company. Data analysis also suggests Microsoft and Apple continue to push the envelope when it comes to developing software and hardware. The main objective of this research is- which product do people prefer?To find answers to the research questions of this research, data analysis and descriptive study has been used, because it involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. This method is used to obtain a general overview of the subject, and answers who, what, and why of the study. The two giants pride themselves for producing cutting edge consumer and business products, and are leading the developments in software and hardware. But what about their websites how do they both compare, and more important, which one is better and more usable?This study will help reader to find all this answer. Chapter No. | Particulars| Pg No. | 1| Introduction * Aims of Independent Study * Objectives| 6-7| 2| Literature Review| 8-29| 3| Research Methodology| 30-32| | * Research Design| 31| | * Research Approach| 31| | * Research Instrument| 32| | * Sampling Design| 32| 4| Data Analysis| 33-37| 5| Conclusion| 38-40| | Bibliography | 41-42| | Appendixes | 43-46| Aims of the Study Technology has slowly started to rule our lives. No matter where we are, we have access to some sort of technological appliance such as cell phones, computers or televisions.Anything one could think of that might, in even the slightest way, make our lives easier is now av ailable. So many different types of devices have been conceived and developed that is has become a complicated and confusing decision when trying to choose the right product. Computers and other forms of technology impact our lives daily. We encounter computers in stores, restaurants, and other retail establishments. We use computers and the Internet regularly to obtain information, experience online entertainment, buy product and services as well as communicating with others.Most of us carry a computer or a mobile phone with us at all times so we can remain in touch with others on a continual basis and can access internet information by the touch of a button. Businesses use computers to keep track of bank transactions, inventories, sales, credit card purchases and also provide business executives up to date information to make important decisions. Government’s use computers to support our nation’s defense system, for space exploration, for storing and organizing vital information of citizens, and other important tasks. Computers are used everywhere, and is a vital tool in one’s life.When you turn to your computer, it’s nice to think you’re in control. There’s the trusty computer mouse, which you can move anywhere on the screen, summoning up your music library or the internet browser by one click. Although it’s easy to feel like the director in front of your own desktop or laptop, there’s a lot going on inside, and the real man behind all these operations is the ‘Operating System’. The purpose of an operating system is to organize and control hardware and software so that the device it lives in behaves in a flexible but predictable way.Most desktop or laptop PCs come pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows. Macintosh computers come pre-loaded with Mac OS X. The operating system (OS) is the first thing loaded onto the computer. Without the operating system, a computer is useless. When it comes to co mputer technology, the two biggest giants are ‘Microsoft’ and ‘Apple’. Microsoft and Apple are by and large the biggest producers in cutting edge consumer and business products. Between the two companies, they continue to push the envelope when it comes to developing software and hardware.Question is, which do people prefer? Prior to this, I’ve decided to base my study on ‘†¦ The buying decisions of consumers’, as to whether they prefer Microsoft or Apple products†¦ ’ Research Objectives Research Objectives ascertains specific points that may aid in gathering information related to the main objective. The purpose of this research will be: * To know the factors that affect the buying decisions of customers * To determine the products and services provided to customers Literature ReviewAs stated by (Allan 2001), Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions. While jointly developing a new Operating System (OS), working alongside IBM, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows. On February 26th 1986, moved its headquarters to Redmond, and decided to make the company go public.Microsoft worked closely with Apple during the development of Apple's Macintosh computer, which was introduced in 1984. Revolutionary in its design, the Mac featured a graphical user interface based on icons rather than the typed commands used by the IBM PC, making its programs simple to use and easy to learn, even by computer novices. ( Iceboat, Daniel, and Susan L. Knepper 1991 p. 304) Apple INC was established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and incorporated January 3, 1977; the company was previously named Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years, but removed the word â€Å"Computer† on January 9, 2007, to reflect the company's ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers. (Price 1987) On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer important of the Macintosh 128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive, who would later design the iPod and the iPhone. The iMac featured modern technology and a unique design. It sold close to 800,000 units in its first five months.Through this period, Apple purchased several companies to create a portfolio of professional and consumer-oriented digital production software. On May 19, 2001, Apple opened the first official Apple Retail Stores in Virginia and California. Later on July 9 they bought Spruce Technologies, a DVD authoring company. The same year, Apple introduced the iPod portable digital audio player. The product was phenomenally successful  Ã¢â‚¬â€ over 100 million units were sold within six years. In 2003, Apple's iTunes Store was introduced, offering online music downloads for $0. 99 a song and combination with the iPod.The service quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 5 billion downloads by June 19, 2008. It can understandably be said that when it comes to computer technology, the two biggest names are ‘Microsoft’ and ‘Apple’. (Suhail 2009) It success has become so immense that a customer’s choice can either be one of the two. Other competitors are too far off, but what do these two giants give in return to society? To most people, Microsoft represents computing. Those with a dynamic interest in technology usually believe that Microsoft Windows is the computer.This kind of brand association you won’t see in other companies, which makes it a very powerful source in the world of technology. Apple computers have grown very popular in the last few years, and its simplicity and user-friendly attributes is what keeps customers capti vated. Historically, Microsoft began the personal computer revolution with their Windows Operating System, which offered people a different platform for their computer needs. Apple also introduced, with their own line of Macintosh computers and devices, though it did have it ups and downs.Microsoft followed a general policy by marketing their computers with non-expensive hardware and software parts which allowed every house to have a PC (personal computer). People can afford their computers with no restrictions on the type of hardware. Apple had a different mind frame whereby they went for exclusivity and decided to sell their products at a much higher price than Microsoft PC’s. Its elite hardware and software is what makes it more expensive. (Admin 2010) Although where Apple has the upper hand over Microsoft is related to security. Apple Mac computers are generally more secure because of its OSX operating system. Suhail 2009) It has more protection built in against malware a nd viruses. Customers want to feel comfortable and safe, knowing that the product they are purchasing is protected against threat at all times. Windows (operating system of Microsoft) is more prone to malware and viruses, and requires expensive protection software to make the PC more secure. Another advantage of Apple computers is they are more efficient when it comes to graphics acceleration and games. Microsoft has problems with that. If one would buy a Microsoft based PC, they would need to spend an additional amount to handle graphics of that scale.On the other hand, Microsoft is committed in making its products and services easier for everyone to use. The Windows operating system has many in-built accessibility features that are useful for individuals who have difficulty in typing, using the mouse, seeing or hearing difficulties. Microsoft also produces other computer hardware’s such as Xbox, Zune, Xbox 360 and MSN TV. (MSJ 1986) Apple also offers a wide variety of produ cts such as the iPhone, iPod, Apple TV and the newly introduced iPad. Factors affecting buying decision HomepageThe homepage is one of the most important pages of the whole site because it’s the first, and in many cases the only chance you get to impress the visitor enough to keep them browsing. You’ve got a few seconds to convince them that the site has enough value for them to keep using it, because if it doesn’t, the visitors will leave. Apple’s approach to the homepage has been consistent throughout all the years that the site has been running. They use this page as a kind of advertising board that always shows a big ad of their latest product, followed by 3 other ads to another 3 products or news that is important at the moment.If you’re not interested in any of the 4 suggested items, you can use the large navigation bar at the top, which is split into their core businesses: Mac, iPod and iPhone, followed by a couple of other important links, such as the online store and support pages. The navigation bar also incorporates a search field. (Dmitry Fadeyev) One other thing to note is the lack of content. You’re not distracted by sidebars, notices or extra navigation items — there are only a few items on the page, focusing your attention and making the decision of where to go next easier. Microsoft has a different approach to their homepage.Firstly, they feature a similar style of ad at the top, designed to be attention grabbing. These are large images, but only one out of 3 ads is shown at a time — you have to hover over the other two to expand them. This focuses attention, but may potentially weaken the effectiveness of the two hidden ads since the visitor has to work to see them right at the top of the page is the navigation, together with search. Flow All of the content of Microsoft is extremely monotonous, especially the â€Å"Learn More† box with a list of 8 links. The dry presentation gives the user less incentive to click around.Some Microsoft sites use better layout to direct the flow of attention, but they generally all suffer from the same illness: too much content. When you present the user with too many choices, you make them work — they have to think about what they want and they have to process more information. By reducing choice, Apple directs the users through a more carefully designed funnel, which generally delivers a better experience. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Navigation Apple’s website has a large navigation bar at the top, which remains there consistently whichever section of the site you go to.The options available show the main sections split by its lines of business as well as a couple of essentials, such as support and the store. The bar also integrates search and branding as the home button displays the Apple logo instead of a label. Any extra sub-navigation is located on individual site pages and is placed within the context of that page, w hether on a sidebar, or as a horizontal bar at the top. Microsoft has a similar navigation bar on the homepage, but that navigation bar is not consistent across the site. Actually, all of the sub-pages tend to use their own navigation bar, in style and in content.The homepage navigation thus acts as a site map to the rest of the Microsoft website sections. In a lot of the navigation bars, including the one on the homepage, Microsoft uses drop-down menus — unlike Apple. They don’t just use drop-down menus — they use huge drop-down menus. In some cases, the menu even has a scrollbar (in Firefox): Is this good or bad? In a recent Alertbox entry, Jakob Nielsen, a well known usability guru, has written that mega drop-down menus can work. They work because they present a lot of choices in groups, so they allow for easier scanning as you can jump to the group that you want and scan the items inside them.You have to get certain things right though, like the order of the groups and only mentioning each element once, for them to work well. In this case, it makes sense for Microsoft to go the route of the drop-down menus, but feel that they may have gone a little too far. For example, some options point to the same thing, like the ‘Office’ drop down and ‘Office’ option in the ‘All Products’ drop down. The drop-down also blocks the content below, so if you accidentally moused over the menu, you have to mouse off from it again to get to the content below — all the while being careful not to hover over other items.There are also a lot of options under each group — sometimes showing about 13 items, which makes processing the options much more difficult. Also, the inconsistency of navigation across the different sections makes it much harder to jump from one area of the site to another, e. g from the Office site to the Xbox site. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Readability Because most of the content on the sites is t ext, it’s vital to ensure that everything is readable and legible. Here are the main things to consider when working on readability of your site’s content: * Make the text large enough so that it’s easy to see and read. Ensure that there is enough contrast between the text and background. * Provide enough white space around the text to keep other content and graphics from distracting the reader. * Provide plenty of headings or highlighted/bold text to allow users to quickly scan the content for key information. * Add images and icons to make it easier to focus on individual sections of the text, i. e. product or feature descriptions. * Keep the text short and to the point. Apple does a great job of keeping everything easy to read.The text is generally small, but never too small so as to be a problem. Headings are set in heavier type and stand out, allowing you to quickly get the gist of each section. Apple also makes heavy use of white space to separate everythi ng apart and adds images to make each text blurb more interesting. It follows the general usability guidelines by breaking things down into small bite size pieces of text that are easy to digest. It looks a lot busier than the Apple site because there is more content on one page and there are many different treatments for headings and highlighted words. Dmitry Fadeyev) Too much variety causes visual chaos on the page, with each different colored or bold item competing for your attention. In this case, the page really needs to be simplified to make it easier for the viewer to process. Search Apple’s search is integrated into the navigation bar. When you type something in the search box you actually get live search results with AJAX, by way of a little box which pops up, showing you the results as you type. It’s very well done — there is no lag when typing, the results are grouped in categories and are fetched very quickly, usually before you finish typing your fu ll query.If you want to see more results you can just hit Enter when you’ve finished typing and you’ll be taken to the standard search results page. It’s very clean and organized by categories. You can drill the results further down by category, selectable from the menu on the right. It’s functional and clean, and works well when you’re trying to find any products that they sell. Aesthetics Apple’s website aesthetics closely mirrors that of its product line. The navigation bar looks like it’s crafted out of aluminium and features gentle gradients and indented text. There are also plenty of reflections and minimalist design elements.Apple has always worked on unifying the look and feel of its interface across its entire product line, from the hardware to software, and their website is no exception. Do aesthetics have anything to do with usability? Actually, they do. Research shows that people perceive better looking interfaces as more usable. The site follows a faint Windows theme with the light blue clouds, but there is little else to say that this is a page for Internet Explorer or Windows. The look and feel is very generic and doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself or build a coherent brand.The designs are overall pretty good, but pretty good just isn’t enough. There are plenty of inconsistencies and a lack of polish, which puts Apple ahead in this area. Consistency Consistency is important because it allows you to develop usage patterns. This basically means that if your site has a consistent interface throughout, your visitors will quickly learn how it works and will be able to use this knowledge in any of the new pages that they visit, since they’ll all be using the same, or very similar, interface. Apple does a great job of keeping the interface consistent.All of the product pages feature very similar aesthetics and are structured in the same way. The whole site looks and feels the same throughout and the global navigation bar at the top is always there, on every page. This means that the entire experience is very unified and coherent — you know you’re on the same website wherever you go. Could you tell that this is a Microsoft page if you took away their logo? Custom graphics, styles and colour palettes across all the Microsoft sections help little to maintain a coherent brand image on the web. Microsoft really struggles here.There are many different sections across Microsoft. com and they all feature their own look and feel, including their own navigation. So once you go to a section on their site, be it the Microsoft store, the Office site, or the Security pages, they will all look and feel like separate websites. What’s worse, the global navigation bar is also gone, meaning that you have to go back to the homepage, or the site map, to see an overview of all of their sites. It’s really an ecosystem of websites hosted under the sa me domain and therefore it doesn’t get the benefit of consistency that Apple has.The brand image is also terribly fragmented making it impossible to define what a Microsoft site looks like. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Marketing Nobody will argue that Apple is the kind of viral marketing. You might find some PC ads/commercials on local magazines and newspapers, but you will not find great â€Å"Mac vs PC† / â€Å"Get a Mac† / â€Å"Buy a Mac† / â€Å"Hello, I am a Mac, and I am a PC† commercials like Apple produces. Security When it comes to Mac vs. PC security concerns, many experts think that Windows has caught up with Apple.Before Microsoft Windows 7, we have all heard that Windows operating system is a targeted platform for malicious attacks. Of course it is true, but the question is. Does the operating system has the right tools to defend itself? With Mac computers, you won't need to worry about viruses as you do in Windows operating system. The real prob lem is not only about viruses, but about security breaches that allow hackers to penetrate into your computer, and steal your valuable art works, photographs and important (and sometimes secret) media assets.It was proven that both Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard have their own glitches. DailyTech. com posted an article, saying that one prominent Mac hacker has pointed out that Mac OS X Snow Leopard is less secured than Microsoft Windows 7 OS. Well, if a Celeb hacker says so, we should probably take it pretty seriously. So it seems, at least when making a business decision, that you shouldn't pick a Macintosh over a PC, just because people are telling you that Macintosh doesn't have viruses, or they are more secure. Apple OS X Snow Leopard is based on the UNIX core.That fact alone doesn't make it more secure than Windows 7 as you can see. We just couldn't ignore the fact that viruses are real pain in the axe. As a power PC user, with all those pop-out windows saying â€Å"You h ave been infected with a Virus†¦ † I would probably be very happy knowing that I can work quietly, without worrying about viruses and all that crux horrors that the Internet brings with it. You just can't blame Windows operating system for being more popular. Financial Analysis It's important to step back and examine just how close each of these companies really are in terms of revenue and earnings.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to report approximately $2. 85 billion in net income ($3. 07 in EPS) on about $14. 62 billion in revenue when it releases its results. Yet, it's well known that Apple regularly beats consensus estimates by quite a large margin and that actual results will come in well above the consensus. Just last quarter, Apple not only beat revenue estimates by over $1 billion, but it annihilated EPS estimates by reporting $0. 88 above the $2. 45 consensus – a 36% beat.In fact, Apple has regularly beaten consensus estimates by well over 35% each quarter over the past year. (Andy M. Zaky) Financial Alchemist's Turley Muller, who is currently the most accurate analyst on Apple, offers a more realistic view of the company. Muller believes that Apple will report about $3. 1 billion in net income on ($3. 35 in EPS) on $15. 15 billion in revenue. And while I think Muller has left some room for upside surprise, it's clearly best to use his numbers rather than the consensus as a measure of comparison. Microsoft, on the other hand, is expected to earn $4. billion in net income ($0. 46 in EPS) on $15. 26 billion in revenue when it releases its results – just a hair above Muller's revenue estimates for Apple. And while Microsoft regularly reports upside surprises itself, the gap between consensus estimates and Microsoft's actual results is nowhere near as wide as it is with Apple's results. Thus, if Apple reports at the higher end of Muller's estimates, and if Microsoft reports closer to the consensus, it's quite possi ble that Apple might have a shot to beat Microsoft in revenue for the first time in its history this quarter.The chart (Appendix 2(A) details a quarterly revenue comparison of Apple and Microsoft over the past few years. As one can see from the chart, Apple is within striking distance of surpassing Microsoft's quarterly revenue. Since Microsoft and Apple are on a different fiscal year, the chart realigns their results based on the calendar year. (Andy M. Zaky) So the big story in tech earnings is whether history will be made in the decades-long battle between Apple and Microsoft, or whether Microsoft will postpone the inevitable and maintain its dominance over Apple for at least one more quarter.Even if Apple doesn't beat Microsoft in sales this quarter, it will almost certainly do so next quarter and by quite a large margin. For the September quarter, analysts expect Apple to generate approximately $16. 81 billion in revenue compared to a projected $15. 16 billion in revenue for Mi crosoft. So even conservative estimates, which have yet to be adjusted to account for iPad sales, already put Apple ahead of Microsoft by nearly $1. 2 billion next quarter. My estimates put Apple ahead by $3. 2 billion as I expect Apple to record nearly $18. 9 billion in revenue.What's even more surprising is that Apple will likely far surpass Microsoft in revenue for the entire 2012 fiscal year (Appendix 2(B). I'm looking for Apple to record $81. 6 billion in revenue, well above the $70 billion I'm expecting out of Microsoft for the year. You can view my track record on Apple at Philip Elmer-DeWitt's column Apple 2. 0. Even the analyst consensus puts Apple well ahead of Microsoft next year, with revenue estimates of $72. 6 billion (AAPL) versus $67 billion (MSFT). The chart below compares Apple and Microsoft's annual fiscal revenue for the past several years.While quarterly data must be compared on the calendar year to show a side by side comparison over a particular 3-month period , yearly data can be analyzed on the fiscal year. And, what about other metrics? Net income growth, total net income, total net cash, cash flow, book value, total assets and the economic sensitivity of each company's primary operations are just a few of the other key factors to consider when comparing the two companies. While Apple will surpass Microsoft in revenue in the near future, that doesn't necessarily mean that Apple automatically deserves a larger market capitalization.But it does appear that Apple will not only record more revenue than Microsoft, it will also eventually (within the next few years) earn more in net income, generate a larger amount of cash, and outpace Microsoft in terms of growth in net income and revenue. The earnings beat won't come easy for Apple. Due to Microsoft's extraordinarily high operating margin, the only way Apple will beat Microsoft in earnings is by simply outpacing it in sales. Since Microsoft pushes more of its revenue to the bottom line, Ap ple will have to significantly outpace Microsoft in revenue to win on the net income front.The chart below compares Apple and Microsoft's net income for the last several fiscal years (Appendix 2(C). Though these two companies no longer really operate in the same space as they once did with Apple turning its focus on the consumer and Microsoft on enterprise spending, both companies are dominating their respective industries. Update 7/20: As expected, Apple has once again crushed the consensus estimates on the top line, beating analyst revenue expectations by over well $1 billion when it reported $15. 7 billion in revenue Tuesday afternoon. In fact, Apple even surpassed my lofty expectations of $15. billion by $100 million in sales. Unless Microsoft far surpasses analyst expectations of $15. 24 billion in revenue, it appears that Apple has already won the race. Microsoft primarily makes its profits from business to business, which mainly consists of selling licenses to its operating s ystem to computer manufacturers and office suites for enterprises. That’s not to say that they don’t sell to consumers — they do, and they have consumer only product lines as well, such as the Xbox gaming console, and of course home users also buy Windows and Office.This means that their business targets pretty much everyone, from home computer owners to developers and enterprises; which in turn stretches the purpose of their website to try and serve everyone. On the other hand, Apple is primarily a consumer company, and makes most of its profit selling hardware, like its iPod music players and Mac computers. This makes the target of Apple’s site much clearer — marketing, selling and providing support for its products to consumers.They don’t have to worry about selling licenses to manufacturers because they’re the only manufacturer, so the key purpose of the website would be to advertise and promote their multiple product lines, as we ll as selling them through their online store. (Andy M. Zaky) Cost Analysis Other factor that affects buying decision is cost. People have been arguing online about how much more expensive Macs are than PCs — or not — for more than a decade (and in print for years before that). These discussions usually involve some hard facts but also some persistent myths. As a longtime Windows guy who has recently migrated to the Mac, I think I'm in a retty good position to try and sort out reality from fiction. Let's take a look at what you can really get for your money these days. Hardware For those of you who are left, what I have found in my research is that neither side has a lock on good value. If you start with Apple's relatively short list of SKUs (three or four model variations for each of its lines, such as MacBook Pro, MacBook, and iMac) and then look for comparable Windows machines, you'll find that Apple bests the competition in some ways and not in others, but the pric ing, overall, is surprisingly on par.Only a few years ago, it seemed like a no-brainer that Windows hardware was much cheaper. But if you're talking name-brand hardware, that's just no longer the case. On the other hand, if you search the Windows side first, you'll quickly discover machines that — in features and price — fit in between the Mac SKUs. And in those niches, they represent very good values. So there's one answer to the question of whether Macs or Windows represent a better value: If one of those â€Å"in between† PCs suits your needs best, you'd be paying an unnecessary premium to get a Mac instead.Let's look at some hard numbers. I started my research with top-of-the-line notebooks — I spent an hour on Dell's site trying to find the cheapest notebook that offered everything Apple's $2,799 MacBook Pro 17 provides. That includes: * Glossy 17-in. screen with 1,680-by-1,050-pixel resolution (optional 1,920-by-1,200 resolution for $100 more) * 2. 4-GHz Core 2 Duo processor * 2GB of RAM (upgradeable to 4GB) * 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT video * 160GB 5,400-rpm SATA hard drive * 8x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD ±RW/CD-RW) Gigabit Ethernet port * 54Mbps a/b/g/Draft n Wi-Fi * Bluetooth 2. 0+EDR, Express Card/34 card slot * Three USB ports * One FireWire 800 port * One FireWire 400 port * DVI port * Built-in insight video camera * One-year warranty (upgradeable to three years) I continued my comparisons with a visit to Circuit City last weekend to take a look at high-end 17-in. notebook PCs. Like Dell, Sony has one with every conceivable bell and whistle selling for more than $3,000 — the Vaio VGN-AR390E, which goes for $3,150.Like all the other Windows models available at Circuit City, the processor is a 2GHz Core 2 Duo, slower than the one in the MacBook Pro. On the other hand, the Vaio comes through with 1,920-by-1,200-pixel screen resolution, a 5,400 rpm 240GB hard drive, and a whopping 527MB of video memory. Like the D ell, though, at 8. 4 lb. , the Vaio makes the 6. 8 lb. MacBook Pro look like a lightweight. Moving downscale a little, both Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba have models in the $2,000 range that approximate the MacBook Pro's equipment.The HP Pavilion DV9260US comes with the Intel Core 2 Duo 2-GHz processor, a 240GB 5,400 rpm drive, Windows Vista Ultimate, and a 17-in. screen whose maximum resolution is only 1,440 by 900 pixels (a major drawback). Circuit City's price is $2,000. Bottom line: Assuming that you want a high-end notebook PC designed to work, play, and be your everyday machine with style, the MacBook Pro is a surprisingly good value. The models that I compared it with, the Sony and the Dell, had some extras here and there, but they were also more expensive.The key to the perception that Macs are more expensive is that Apple offers very few in-between models. A graph showing the market capitalization between ‘Apple’ and ‘Microsoft’ conducted by (T3 2009 ) shows that in the year 2000, Microsoft had a huge upper hand over Apple, and did so for a long period. It wasn’t until March 2005 that Apple started to rise and actually started to have a competing chance. Research Methodology Research Design The research paper design conducted is a descriptive one because it involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way.This method is used to obtain a general overview of the subject, and answers who, what, and why of the study. It is also useful where it is not possible to test and measure the large number of samples needed for more quantitative types of experimentation. They are often used by market researchers to judge the habits of customers, or by companies wishing to judge the morale of staff. The results from a descriptive research can in no way be used as a definite answer or to disapprove a hypothesis but, if the limitations are understood, they can still be a useful tool in many area s of scientific research. JA Maxwell – 2005) Research Approach As the research design is descriptive, the research approach would be a ‘qualitative’ one. Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. (Creswell 2003) A qualitative study indicates that no statistical tools will be applied within the research. Methods such as surveys, questionnaires and interviews can be done when dealing with a qualitative research approach. Research InstrumentResearchers have decided to carry out ‘interviews’ to obtain the responses they need for study. (See Appendix 1 for interview questions) A set of questions will be asked to the interviewee, and their answers will be dealt accordingly. The interview questions will be structured; as there are specific questions the researchers will ask the respondents. Qualitative nature of stud y contains independent variables along with various assumptions. Sampling Design A ‘non-probability’ sampling technique will be used in this study. This method of sampling is non-random and subjective.Each respondent does not have a known nonzero chance of being included. A ‘convenience’ sampling method will be applied. The researchers will choose freely those respondents who are the most convenient. The researchers will interview people from I. T departments in areas of Telecommunication Centers (mainly concentrating on consumers). Data Analysis Being a qualitative study, descriptive statistics would be used to produce data and evaluate results. The data that is generated, from the interview (See Appendix 1 for interview questions) technique will be analyzed qualitatively.This would be followed by physically reading the miscellaneous number of responses and then concluding to which company people prefer. A little less than a year ago, Wall Street reached a Microsoft vs. Apple milestone: for the first time, Apple’s corporate value surpassed Microsoft’s. And Apple’s market cap (the total value of all of its shares) topped Microsoft’s even though the latter company had more revenue and double the profit margins. Clearly, Wall Street was looking at growth potential, not current income statements and balance sheets, in anointing Apple the more compelling buy.What has happened since? With Apple due to report its latest quarterly earnings  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Microsoft reports its numbers next week – we look at some recent numbers, as well as data over time. Market cap While total values for Microsoft and Apple were close last spring, that’s no longer the case. Since May 26, 2011, when Apple first inched ahead of Microsoft, Apple’s market capitalization has risen from US$223 billion to more than US$306 billion (as of April 14). Microsoft’s, meanwhile, has slipped from US$219 billion to US$212 b illion. Sharon Machlis) Bottom line: Wall Street currently thinks more highly of Apple’s growth potential and overall prospects than it does of Microsoft’s. Investors were right last year, but only time can tell whether that outlook is still justified, given the company’s high stock price. Market share Beyond Wall Street, how do the companies stack up in the battle for tech users? Microsoft maintained an overwhelming lead in the desktop operating system business, keeping a roughly 92 percent share of the market from 2005 to 2009 (the last figures available from IDC).Mac OS X’s share has varied between just 3. 5 percent and 4. 0 percent. Apple took a significant lead in the Smartphone race, capturing 15. 7 percent of the worldwide market last year, compared with just 4. 2 percent for Microsoft. However, both Gartner and IDC predict Microsoft’s Windows Phone will beat out Apple’s iOS for mobile market share by 2015, with Gartner expecting a 19 . 5 percent share for Microsoft and 17. 2 percent for Apple. In addition, Apple had a commanding 87. 4 percent share of the worldwide tablet market last year, according to IDC.Gartner predicts Apple will keep a 69 percent share this year and will still have 47 percent by 2015. Windows doesn’t show up in that forecast. Bottom line: In one high-growth area, smartphones, several influential analysts believe Microsoft will eventually come out on top. In another, tablets, it’s getting crushed. However, Microsoft has maintained its enormous lead on the desktop. Investment value over time If you invested US$1,000 in each company’s stock on Jan. 3, 2000, what would you have ended up with in April 2011?Accounting for stock splits and, in Microsoft’s case, dividends, but excluding taxes and broker’s fees, you would have US$2,072 from Microsoft stock and US$13,294 from Apple stock. And if you had invested US$1,000 in each company on May 26 last year, your App le stock would have been worth US$1,427 in mid-April, compared with US$1,033 for your Microsoft stock. Bottom line: Apple has been by far the superior investment over the past decade. Revenue Microsoft’s fiscal year 2006 revenue was more than double Apple’s FY ’06 revenue: US$44. 3 billion to US$19. 3 billion. What has happened since?Apple’s revenues have more than tripled, while Microsoft’s have grown by less than 50 percent. Bottom line: Apple’s fiscal year 2010 revenue edged Microsoft’s, US$65. 2 billion to US$62. 5 billion. (Note: Microsoft’s fiscal year is July through June, and Apple’s is October through September. ) Profits Microsoft’s profits were six times larger than Apple’s in their respective 2006 fiscal years. Apple’s net income has subsequently grown sevenfold, while Microsoft’s has increased roughly 50 percent. (Sharon Machlis) Bottom line: While Microsoft still generates more p rofits than Apple, the gap has narrowed significantly.If current trends continued – a big if – Apple would likely top Microsoft’s profits in a couple of years. Number of employees Microsoft still employs substantially more people than Apple does, although the size of Microsoft’s workforce has dropped a bit, from 93,000 in 2009 to 89,000 in 2010. Apple’s reported headcount has been rising, with a significant jump from 34,300 in 2009 to 46,600 in 2010. Bottom line: Apple’s revenue per employee at the end of its 2010 fiscal year was substantially higher than Microsoft’s: US$1. 4 million versus US$702,000.Likewise, Apple’s profits per employee were US$300,429, compared with US$211,236 for Microsoft. So how do they stack up overall? Opinions aside, Apple has impressed investors much more than Microsoft has, despite the latter’s considerably larger size and continued dominance on the desktop. Apple’s recent ability to c reate category-changing (or category-creating) devices such as the iPhone and the iPad –as it did with the iPod several years earlier – appears to carry much more weight than Microsoft’s assured, steady income stream from a maturing market.However, experts do expect Microsoft to overtake Apple in the Smartphone market. Bottom line: Those of us who thought a year ago that Apple might be overvalued have been proven wrong †¦ so far. Conclusion Which Company do people prefer? After all the analysis it can be understood from this study that a lot of reason and authentic facts impact on specific company and buyer’s decision. There is always a continuous rivalry between the two companies, but the most important thing to consider before buying a computer is the purpose it will serve.Microsoft primarily makes its profits from business to business, which mainly consists of selling licenses to its operating system to computer manufacturers and office suites for enterprises. On the other hand, Apple is primarily a consumer company, and makes most of its profit selling hardware, like its iPod music players and Mac computers. This makes the target of Apple’s site much clearer — marketing, selling and providing support for its products to consumers. (Andy M. Zaky) If you’re looking at usability alone, Apple comes out ahead.They have a better designed homepage that offers less choice, which means the user needs to think less. They have consistent navigation across all of their pages. They use a lot of white space and sub-headings to make everything more readable, yet they keep things simple by not overusing too many different text treatments. The Apple site is generally more user friendly and offers a much better experience to consumers who use it to check out Apple’s latest products. Having said this, the Apple website is much smaller in scale than Microsoft’s site.Unlike Apple, Microsoft hosts many differen t sites and sections under the Microsoft. com brand, creating a whole ecosystem of sub-sites. Each site is packed with information and the live powered search that Microsoft offers tends to yield good results. The biggest problem for Microsoft is consistency. (Dmitry Fadeyev). In a nutshell, both companies need some area to improve to fit for customer wants, to give customers master product and to provide consistency in telecommunication originations. BIBLIOGRAPHY WEBSITES Suhail M (2009)-Apple vs Pc: What is better?Available: http://ezinearticles. com/? Apple-Vs-PC—What-is-Better? &id=4337642 visited: 25th September 2011 Admin (2010)-Why Do People Like Apple Computers So Much? Available: http://www. asiaosc. org/why-do-people-like-apple-computers-so-much. html visited: 3rd october 2012 Dmitry Fadeyev (2009)-Apple vs. Microsoft: A website usability study. Available: http://www. webdesignerdepot. com/2009/05/apple-vs-microsoft-a-website-usability-study/ visited: 28th October 2 012 Andy M. Zaky (2010)- Apple closes in on Microsoft revenue race. Available: http://tech. fortune. cnn. om/2010/07/19/apple-closes-in-on-microsoft-in-revenue-race/ visited: 28th October 2012 Sharon Machils (2011)- Analysis: Apple versus Microsoft – by the numbers. Available: http://www. macworld. com. au/blogs/analysis-apple-versus-microsoft-by-the-numbers-28800/ visited: 29th November 2012 Journals Thurrott P. (2005) – Microsoft: The inside Story (Penton Media) Furgason N. (2009) (Feb) – T3: Tomorows Technology Today (issue 48) ISSN-1364-2640 MSJ – Microsoft System Journal Publisher: Microsoft (1986) Books Allan Roy A. (2001) A History of The Personnel Computer Allan Publishing ISBN 0968910807 Iceboat, Daniel, and Susan L.Knepper, (1991) The Making of Microsoft: How Bill Gates and His Team Created the World's Most Successful Software Company, Rocklin, Calif. : Prima Publishing, p. 304 Price R. (1987). So Far: The First Ten Years of a Vision. Apple Comp uter. ISBN-  978-1-55693-974-7. Creswell J. W. (2003) Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. APPENDIX-1 Interview Questions The following questions will be asked by the interviewer to the respondent, which will aid study in finding out which of two companies’ most people prefer. Which company do you prefer, Microsoft or Apple? * Why do you prefer the company you have chosen? * What are the advantages and disadvantages of the company you have selected? * In your opinion, which company has a greater market share? * Which product do you widely use in your environment? * Have you ever faced major barriers in your company? Explain. * Who are your major competitors? * What advice would you give to weaker companies? How can they improve in order to attract customers, regain lost customers and retain present customers? APPENDIX 2(A) APPENDIX 2(B) APPENDIX 2(C)