Data flow diagram Essay

Current state of Technology, statement of the major and minor problems, general and specific objectives, scope and limitation are introduced and discussed in this documentation’s chapter 1. Theoretical framework is stated in chapter 2. This chapter 2 is where methodologies including references and models used in developing Sales and Inventory System are discussed. Essential discussion and introduction for Prosight Eyecare Provider Sales and Inventory System are stated in chapter 3, as well as the diagram needed in developing effective and normalized database and the system itself. Eyecare Provider Inventory and Sales System is an inventory system and Sales System that small business transaction . This is to handle sales, purchasing and inventory management. It helps to organize customer purchase order, By using this, Prosight Eyecare Provider Inventory and Sales System, business can helps for less effort. It offers faster and quicker inventory management that counts the movement of stocks for all the accounts and transaction made. 1.2 Statement of the Problem. Develop module to return products include replacement for returned items automatically. To develop modules to void item need administrator for reduce to purchase an item. To develop modules to purchase item need type a product code for include a purchase order and it computes as well. To develop modules to received a purchase products for show of all purchase every invoice. Scope and Limitation The system is all about Prosight Eyecare Provider Sales and Inventory System. The scopes of the system are the following: Tracking of purchase order, receiving purchase order and return of products to supplier. All transaction will be recorded. Reports needed for the inventory can also be generated by the system. The system is capable of tracking and monitoring of stocks. Inventory will be automatically calculated for every transaction that may affect the inventory. Reorder point is also generated by the system. Purchase item it will be automatic put the inventory records The systems’ functionality will only be limited for the sales and inventory of Prosight Eyecare Provider. Accounting system of the business is not included in the system.

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 9 Microfarm

MYCOGEN-†¦ The microfarms of Mycogen are legendary, though they survive today only in such oft-used similes as â€Å"rich as the microfarms of Mycogen† or â€Å"tasty as Mycogenian yeast.† Such encomiums tend to intensify with time, to be sure, but Hari Seldon visited those microfarms in the course of The Flight and there are references in his memoirs that would tend to support the popular opinion†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica 41. â€Å"That was good.† said Seldon explosively. â€Å"It was considerably better than the food Graycloud brought-â€Å" Dors said reasonably, â€Å"You have to remember that Graycloud's woman had to prepare it on short notice in the middle of the night.† She paused and said, â€Å"I wish they would say ‘wife.' They make ‘woman' sound like such an appanage, like ‘my house' or my robe.' It is absolutely demeaning.† â€Å"I know. It's infuriating. But they might well make ‘wife' sound like an appanage as well. It's the way they live and the Sisters don't seem to mind. You and I aren't going to change it by lecturing. Anyway, did you see how the Sisters did it?† â€Å"Yes, I did and they made everything seem very simple. I doubted I could remember everything they did, but they insisted I wouldn't have to. I could get away with mere heating. I gathered the bread had some sort of microderivative added to it in the baking that both raised the dough and lent it that crunchy consistency and warm flavor. Just a hint of pepper, didn't you think?† â€Å"I couldn't tell, but whatever it was, I didn't get enough. And the soup. Did you recognize any of the vegetables?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"And what was the sliced meat? Could you tell?† â€Å"I don't think it was sliced meat, actually. We did have a lamb dish back on Cinna that it reminded me of.† â€Å"It was certainly not lamb.† â€Å"I said that I doubted it was meat at all.-I don't think anyone outside Mycogen eats like this either. Not even the Emperor, I'm sure. Whatever the Mycogenians sell is, I'm willing to bet, near the bottom of the line. They save the best for themselves. We had better not stay here too long, Hari. If we get used to eating like this, we'll never be able to acclimatize ourselves to the miserable stuff they have outside.† She laughed. Seldon laughed too. He took another sip at the fruit juice, which tasted far more tantalizing than any fruit juice he had ever sipped before, and said, â€Å"listen, when Hummin took me to the University, we stopped at a roadside diner and had some food that was heavily yeasted. It tasted like- No, never mind what it tasted like, but I wouldn't have thought it conceivable, then, that microfood could taste like this. I wish the Sisters were still here. It would have been polite to thank them.† â€Å"I think they were quite aware of how we would feel. I remarked on the wonderful smell while everything was warming and they said, quite complacently, that it would taste even better.† â€Å"The older one said that, I imagine.† â€Å"Yes. The younger one giggled.-And they'll be back. They're going to bring me a kirtle, so that I can go out to see the shops with them. And they made it clear I would have to wash my face if I was to be seen in public. They will show me where to buy some good-quality kirtles of my own and where I can buy ready-made meals of all kinds. All I'll have to do is heat them up. They explained that decent Sisters wouldn't do that, but would start from scratch. In fact, some of the meal they prepared for us was simply heated and they apologized for that. They managed to imply, though, that tribespeople couldn't be expected to appreciate true artistry in cooking, so that simply heating prepared food would do for us.-They seem to take it for granted, by the way, that I will be doing all the shopping and cooking.† â€Å"As we say at home, ‘When in Trantor, do as the Trantorians do.' â€Å" â€Å"Yes, I was sure that would be your attitude in this case.† â€Å"I'm only human,† said Seldon. â€Å"The usual excuse,† said Dors with a small smile. Seldon leaned back with a satisfactory well-filled feeling and said, â€Å"You've been on Trantor for two years, Dors, so you might understand a few things that I don't. Is it your opinion that this odd social system the Mycogenians have is part of a supernaturalistic view they have?† â€Å"Supernaturalistic?† â€Å"Yes. Would you have heard that this was so?† â€Å"What do you mean by ‘supernaturalistic'?† â€Å"The obvious. A belief in entities that are independent of natural law, that are not bound by the conservation of energy, for instance, or by the existence of a constant of action.† â€Å"I see. You're asking if Mycogen is a religious community.† It was Seldon's turn. â€Å"Religious?† â€Å"Yes. It's an archaic term, but we historians use it-our study is riddled with archaic terms. ‘Religious' is not precisely equivalent to ‘supernaturalistic,' though it contains richly supernaturalistic elements. I can't answer your specific question, however, because I've never made any special investigation of Mycogen. Still, from what little I've seen of the place and from my knowledge of religions in history, I wouldn't be surprised if the Mycogenian society was religious in character.† â€Å"In that case, would it surprise you if Mycogenian legends were also religious in character?† â€Å"No, it wouldn't.† â€Å"And therefore not based on historical matter?† â€Å"That wouldn't necessarily follow. The core of the legends might still be authentically historic, allowing for distortion and supernaturalistic intermixture.† â€Å"Ah,† said Seldon and seemed to retire into his thoughts. Finally Dors broke the silence that followed and said, â€Å"It's not so uncommon, you know. There is a considerable religious element on many worlds. It's grown stronger in the last few centuries as the Empire has grown more turbulent. On my world of Cinna, at least a quarter of the population is tritheistic.† Seldon was again painfully and regretfully conscious of his ignorance of history. He said, â€Å"Were there times in past history when religion was more prominent than it is today?† â€Å"Certainly. In addition, there are new varieties springing up constantly. The Mycogenian religion, whatever it might be, could be relatively new and may be restricted to Mycogen itself. I couldn't really tell without considerable study.† â€Å"But now we get to the point of it, Dors. Is it your opinion that women are more apt to be religious than men are?† Dors Venabili raised her eyebrows. â€Å"I'm not sure if we can assume anything as simple as that.† She thought a bit. â€Å"I suspect that those elements of a population that have a smaller stake in the material natural world are more apt to find solace in what you call supernaturalism-the poor, the disinherited, the downtrodden. Insofar as supernaturalism overlaps religion, they may also be more religious. There are obviously many exceptions in both directions. Many of the downtrodden may lack religion; many of the rich, powerful, and satisfied may possess it.† â€Å"But in Mycogen,† said Seldon, â€Å"where the women seem to be treated as subhuman-would I be right in assuming they would be more religious than the men, more involved in the legends that the society has been preserving?† â€Å"I wouldn't risk my life on it, Hari, but I'd be willing to risk a week's income on it.† â€Å"Good,† said Seldon thoughtfully. Dors smiled at him. â€Å"There's a bit of your psychohistory, Hari. Rule number 47,854: The downtrodden are more religious than the satisfied.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"Don't joke about psychohistory, Dors. You know I'm not looking for tiny rules but for vast generalizations and for means of manipulation. I don't want comparative religiosity as the result of a hundred specific rules. I want something from which I can, after manipulation through some system of mathematicized logic, say, ‘Aha, this group of people will tend to be more religious than that group, provided that the following criteria are met, and that, therefore, when humanity meets with these stimuli, it will react with these responses.' â€Å" â€Å"How horrible,† said Dors. â€Å"You are picturing human beings as simple mechanical devices. Press this button and you will get that twitch.† â€Å"No, because there will be many buttons pushing simultaneously to varying degrees and eliciting so many responses of different sorts that overall the predictions of the future will be statistical in nature, so that the individual human being will remain a free agent.† â€Å"How can you know this?† â€Å"I can't,† said Seldon. â€Å"At least, I don't know it. I feel it to be so. It is what I consider to be the way things ought to be. If I can find the axioms, the fundamental Laws of Humanics, so to speak, and the necessary mathematical treatment, then I will have my psychohistory. I have proved that, in theory, this is possible-â€Å" â€Å"But impractical, right?† â€Å"I keep saying so.† A small smile curved Dors's lips, â€Å"Is that what you are doing, Hari, looking for some sort of solution to this problem?† â€Å"I don't know. I swear to you I don't know. But Chetter Hummin is so anxious to find a solution and, for some reason, I am anxious to please him. He is so persuasive a man.† â€Å"Yes, I know.† Seldon let that comment pass, although a small frown flitted across his face. Seldon continued. â€Å"Hummin insists the Empire is decaying, that it will collapse, that psychohistory is the only hope for saving it-or cushioning it or ameliorating it-and that without it humanity will be destroyed or, at the very least, go through prolonged misery. He seems to place the responsibility for preventing that on me. Now, the Empire will certainly last my time, but if I'm to live at ease, I must lift that responsibility from my shoulders. I must convince myself-and even convince Hummin-that psychohistory is not a practical way out that, despite theory, it cannot be developed. So I must follow up as many leads as I can and show that each one must fail.† â€Å"Leads? Like going back in history to a time when human society was smaller than it is now?† â€Å"Much smaller. And far less complex.† â€Å"And showing that a solution is still impractical?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"But who is going to describe the early world for you? If the Mycogenians have some coherent picture of the primordial Galaxy, Sunmaster certainly won't reveal it to a tribesman. No Mycogenian will. This is an ingrown society-how many times have we already said it?-and its members are suspicious of tribesmen to the point of paranoia. They'll tell us nothing.† â€Å"I will have to think of a way to persuade some Mycogenians to talk. Those Sisters, for instance.† â€Å"They won't even hear you, male that you are, any more than Sunmaster hears me. And even if they do talk to you, what would they know but a few catch phrases?† â€Å"I must start somewhere.† Dors said, â€Å"Well, let me think. Hummin says I must protect you and I interpret that as meaning I must help you when I can. What do I know about religion? That's nowhere near my specialty, you know. I have always dealt with economic forces, rather than philosophic forces, but you can't split history into neat little nonoverlapping divisions. For instance, religions tend to accumulate wealth when successful and that eventually tends to distort the economic development of a society. There, incidentally, is one of the numerous rules of human history that you'll have to derive from your basic Laws of Humanics or whatever you called them. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And here, Dors's voice faded away as she lapsed into thought. Seldon watched her cautiously and Dors's eyes glazed as though she was looking deep within herself. Finally she said, â€Å"This is not an invariable rule, but it seems to me that on many occasions, a religion has a book-or books-of significance; books that give their ritual, their view of history, their sacred poetry, and who knows what else. Usually, those books are open to all and are a means of proselytization. Sometimes they are secret.† â€Å"Do you think Mycogen has books of that sort?† â€Å"To be truthful,† said Dors thoughtfully, â€Å"I have never heard of any. I might have if they existed openly-which means they either don't exist or are kept secret. In either case, it seems to me you are not going to see them.† â€Å"At least it's a starting point,† said Seldon grimly. 42. The Sisters returned about two hours after Hari and Dors had finished lunch. They were smiling, both of them, and Raindrop Forty-Three, the graver one, held up a gray kirtle for Dors's inspection. â€Å"It is very attractive,† said Dors, smiling widely and nodding her head with a certain sincerity. â€Å"I like the clever embroidery here.† â€Å"It is nothing,† twittered Raindrop Forty-Five. â€Å"It is one of my old things and it won't fit very well, for you are taller than I am. But it will do for a while and we will take you out to the very best kirtlery to get a few that will fit you and your tastes perfectly. You will see.† Raindrop Forty-Three, smiling a little nervously but saying nothing and keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, handed a white kirtle to Dors. It was folded neatly. Dors did not attempt to unfold it, but passed it on to Seldon. â€Å"From the color I should say it's yours, Hari.† â€Å"Presumably,† said Seldon, â€Å"but give it back. She did not give it to me.† â€Å"Oh, Hari,† mouthed Dors, shaking her head slightly. â€Å"No,† said Seldon firmly. â€Å"She did not give it to me. Give it back to her and I'll wait for her to give it to me.† Dors hesitated, then made a half-hearted attempt to pass the kirtle back to Raindrop Forty-Three. The Sister put her hands behind her back and moved away, all life seeming to drain from her face. Raindrop Forty-Five stole a glance at Seldon, a very quick one, then took a quick step toward Raindrop Forty-Three and put her arms about her. Dors said, â€Å"Come, Hari, I'm sure that Sisters are not permitted to talk to men who are not related to them. What's the use of making her miserable? She can't help it.† â€Å"I don't believe it,† said Seldon harshly. â€Å"If there is such a rule, it applies only to Brothers. I doubt very much that she's ever met a tribesman before.† Dors said to Raindrop Forty-Three in a soft voice, â€Å"Have you ever met a tribesman before, Sister, or a tribeswoman?† A long hesitation and then a slow negative shake of the head. Seldon threw out his arms. â€Å"Well, there you are. If there is a rule of silence, it applies only to the Brothers. Would they have sent these young women-these Sisters-to deal with us if there was any rule against speaking to tribesmen?† â€Å"It might be, Hari, that they were meant to speak only to me and I to you.† â€Å"Nonsense. I don't believe it and I won't believe it. I am not merely a tribesman, I am an honored guest in Mycogen, asked to be treated as such by Chetter Hummin and escorted here by Sunmaster Fourteen himself. I will not be treated as though I do not exist. I will be in communication with Sunmaster Fourteen and I will complain bitterly.† Raindrop Forty-Five began to sob and Raindrop Forty-Three, retaining her comparative impassivity, nevertheless flushed faintly. Dors made as though to appeal to Seldon once again, but he stopped her with a brief and angry outward thrust of his right arm and then stared gloweringly at Raindrop Forty-Three. And finally she spoke and did not twitter. Rather, her voice trembled hoarsely, as though she had to force it to sound in the direction of a male being and was doing so against all her instincts and desires. â€Å"You must not complain of us, tribesman. That would be unjust. You force me to break the custom of our people. What do you want of me?† Seldon smiled disarmingly at once and held out his hand. â€Å"The garment you brought me. The kirtle.† Silently, she stretched out her arm and deposited the kirtle in his hand. He bowed slightly and said in a soft warm voice, â€Å"Thank you, Sister.† He then cast a very brief look in Dors's direction, as though to say: You see? But Dors looked away angrily. The kirtle was featureless, Seldon saw as he unfolded it (embroidery and decorativeness were for women, apparently), but it came with a tasseled belt that probably had some particular way of being worn. No doubt he could work it out. He said, â€Å"I'll step into the bathroom and put this thing on. It won't take but a minute, I suppose.† He stepped into the small chamber and found the door would not close behind him because Dors was forcing her way in as well. Only when the two of them were in the bathroom together did the door close. â€Å"What were you doing?† Dors hissed angrily. â€Å"You were an absolute brute, Hari. Why did you treat the poor woman that way?† Seldon said impatiently, â€Å"I had to make her talk to me. I'm counting on her for information. You know that. I'm sorry I had to be cruel, but how else could I have broken down her inhibitions?† And he motioned her out. When he emerged, he found Dors in her kirtle too. Dors, despite the bald head the skincap gave her and the inherent dowdiness of the kirtle, managed to look quite attractive. The stitching on the robe somehow suggested a figure without revealing it in the least. Her belt was wider than his own and was a slightly different shade of gray from her kirtle. What's more, it was held in front by two glittering blue stone snaps. (Women did manage to beautify themselves even under the greatest difficulty, Seldon thought.) Looking over at Hari, Dors said, â€Å"You look quite the Mycogenian now. The two of us are fit to be taken to the stores by the Sisters.† â€Å"Yes,† said Seldon, â€Å"but afterward I want Raindrop Forty-Three to take me on a tour of the microfarms.† Raindrop Forty-Three's eyes widened and she took a rapid step backward. â€Å"I'd like to see them,† said Seldon calmly. Raindrop Forty-Three looked quickly at Dors. â€Å"Tribeswoman-â€Å" Seldon said, â€Å"Perhaps you know nothing of the farms, Sister.† That seemed to touch a nerve. She lifted her chin haughtily as she still carefully addressed Dors. â€Å"I have worked on the microfarms. All Brothers and Sisters do at some point in their lives.† â€Å"Well then, take me on the tour,† said Seldon, â€Å"and lets not go through the argument again. I am not a Brother to whom you are forbidden to speak and with whom you may have no dealings. I am a tribesman and an honored guest. I wear this skincap and this kirtle so as not to attract undue attention, but I am a scholar and while I am here I must learn. I cannot sit in this room and stare at the wall. I want to see the one thing you have that the rest of the Galaxy does not have†¦ your microfarms. I should think you'd be proud to show them.† â€Å"We are proud,† said Raindrop Forty-Three, finally facing Seldon as she spoke, â€Å"and I will show you and don't think you will learn any of our secrets if that is what you are after. I will show you the microfarms tomorrow morning. It will take time to arrange a tour.† Seldon said, â€Å"I will wait till tomorrow morning. But do you promise? Do I have your word of honor?† Raindrop Forty-Three said with clear contempt, â€Å"I am a Sister and I will do as I say. I will keep my word, even to a tribesman.† Her voice grew icy at the last words, while her eyes widened and seemed to glitter. Seldon wondered what was passing through her mind and felt uneasy. 43. Seldon passed a restless night. To begin with, Dors had announced that she must accompany him on the tour of the microfarm and he had objected strenuously. â€Å"The whole purpose,† he said, â€Å"is to make her talk freely, to present her with an unusual environment-alone with a male, even if a tribesman. Having broken custom so far, it will be easier to break it further. If you're along, she will talk to you and I will only get the leavings.† â€Å"And if something happens to you in my absence, as it did Upperside?† â€Å"Nothing will happen. Please! If you want to help me, stay away. If not, I will have nothing further to do with you. I mean it, Dors. This is important to me. Much as I've grown fond of you, you cannot come ahead of this.† She agreed with enormous reluctance and said only, â€Å"Promise me you'll at least be nice to her, then.† And Seldon said, â€Å"Is it me you must protect or her? I assure you that I didn't treat her harshly for pleasure and I won't do so in the future.† The memory of this argument with Dors-their first-helped keep him awake a large part of the night; that, together with the nagging thought that the two Sisters might not arrive in the morning, despite Raindrop Forty-Three's promise. They did arrive, however, not long after Seldon had completed a spare breakfast (he was determined not to grow fat through overindulgence) and had put on a kirtle that fitted him precisely. He had carefully organized the belt so that it hung perfectly. Raindrop Forty-Three, still with a touch of ice in her eye, said, â€Å"if you are ready, Tribesman Seldon, my sister will remain with Tribeswoman Venabili.† Her voice was neither twittery nor hoarse. It was as though she had steadied herself through the night, practicing, in her mind, how to speak to one who was a male but not a Brother. Seldon wondered if she had lost sleep and said, â€Å"I am quite ready.† Together, half an hour later, Raindrop Forty-Three and Hari Seldon were descending level upon level. Though it was daytime by the clock, the light was dusky and dimmer than it had been elsewhere on Trantor. There was no obvious reason for this. Surely, the artificial daylight that slowly progressed around the Trantorian sphere could include the Mycogen Sector. The Mycogenians must want it that way, Seldon thought, clinging to some primitive habit. Slowly Seldon's eyes adjusted to the dim surroundings. Seldon tried to meet the eyes of passersby, whether Brothers or Sisters, calmly. He assumed he and Raindrop Forty-Three would be taken as a Brother and his woman and that they would be given no notice as long as he did nothing to attract attention. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Raindrop Forty-Three wanted to be noticed. She talked to him in few words and in low tones out of a clenched mouth. It was clear that the company of an unauthorized male, even though only she knew this fact, raved her self-confidence. Seldon was quite sure that if he asked her to relax, he would merely make her that much more uneasy. (Seldon wondered what she would do if she met someone who knew her. He felt more relaxed once they reached the lower levels, where human beings were fewer.) The descent was not by elevators either, but by moving staired ramps that existed in pairs, one going up and one going down. Raindrop Forty-Three referred to them as â€Å"escalators.† Seldon wasn't sure he had caught the word correctly, never having heard it before. As they sank to lower and lower levels, Seldon's apprehension grew. Most worlds possessed microfarms and most worlds produced their own varieties of microproducts. Seldon, back on Helicon, had occasionally shopped for seasonings in the microfarms and was always aware of an unpleasant stomach-turning stench. The people who worked at the microfarms didn't seem to mind. Even when casual visitors wrinkled their noses, they seemed to acclimate themselves to it. Seldon, however, was always peculiarly susceptible to the smell. He suffered and he expected to suffer now. He tried soothing himself with the thought that he was nobly sacrificing his comfort to his need for information, but that didn't keep his stomach from turning itself into knots in apprehension. After he had lost track of the number of levels they had descended, with the air still seeming reasonably fresh, he asked, â€Å"When do we get to the microfarm levels?† â€Å"We're there now.† Seldon breathed deeply. â€Å"It doesn't smell as though we are.† â€Å"Smell? What do you mean?† Raindrop Forty-Three was offended enough to speak quite loudly. â€Å"There was always a putrid odor associated with microfarms, in my experience. You know, from the fertilizer that bacteria, yeast, fungi, and saprophytes generally need.† â€Å"In your experience?† Her voice lowered again. â€Å"Where was that?† â€Å"On my home world.† The Sister twisted her face into wild repugnance. â€Å"And your people wallow in gabelle?† Seldon had never heard the word before, but from the look and the intonation, he knew what it meant. He said, â€Å"It doesn't smell like that, you understand, once it is ready for consumption.† â€Å"Ours doesn't smell like that at any time. Our biotechnicians have worked out perfect strains. The algae grow in the purest light and the most carefully balanced electrolyte solutions. The saprophytes are fed on beautifully combined organics. The formulas and recipes are something no tribespeople will ever know. Come on, here we are. Sniff all you want. You'll find nothing offensive. That is one reason why our food is in demand throughout the Galaxy and why the Emperor, we are told, eats nothing else, though it is far too good for a tribesman if you ask me, even if he calls himself Emperor.† She said it with an anger that seemed directly aimed at Seldon. Then, as though afraid he might miss that, she added, â€Å"Or even if he calls himself an honored guest.† They stepped out into a narrow corridor, on each side of which were large thick glass tanks in which roiled cloudy green water full of swirling, growing algae, moving about through the force of the gas bubbles that streamed up through it. They would be rich in carbon dioxide, he decided. Rich, rosy light shone down into the tanks, light that was much brighter than that in the corridors. He commented thoughtfully on that. â€Å"Of course,† she said. â€Å"These algae work best at the red end of the spectrum.† â€Å"I presume,† said Seldon, â€Å"that everything is automated.† She shrugged, but did not respond. â€Å"I don't see quantities of Brothers and Sisters in evidence,† Seldon said, persisting. â€Å"Nevertheless, there is work to be done and they do it, even if you don't see them at work. The details are not for you. Don't waste your time by asking about it.† â€Å"Wait. Don't be angry with me. I don't expect to be told state secrets. Come on, dear.† (The word slipped out.) He took her arm as she seemed on the point of hurrying away. She remained in place, but he felt her shudder slightly and he released her in embarrassment. He said, â€Å"It's just that it seems automated.† â€Å"Make what you wish of the seeming. Nevertheless, there is room here for human brains and human judgment. Every Brother and Sister has occasion to work here at some time. Some make a profession of it.† She was speaking more freely now but, to his continuing embarrassment, he noticed her left hand move stealthily toward her right arm and gently rub the spot where he had touched her, as though he had stung her. â€Å"It goes on for kilometers and kilometers,† she said, â€Å"but if we turn here there'll he a portion of the fungal section you can see.† They moved along. Seldon noted how clean everything was. The glass sparkled. The tiled floor seemed moist, though when he seized a moment to bend and touch it, it wasn't. Nor was it slippery-unless his sandals (with his big toe protruding in approved Mycogenian fashion) had nonslip soles. Raindrop Forty-Three was right in one respect. Here and there a Brother or a Sister worked silently, studying gauges, adjusting controls, sometimes engaged in something as unskilled as polishing equipment-always absorbed in whatever they were doing. Seldon was careful not to ask what they were doing, since he did not want to cause the Sister humiliation in having to answer that she did not know or anger in her having to remind him there were things he must not know. They passed through a lightly swinging door and Seldon suddenly noticed the faintest touch of the odor he remembered. He looked at Raindrop Forty-Three, but she seemed unconscious of it and soon he too became used to it. The character of the light changed suddenly. The rosiness was gone and the brightness too. All seemed to be in a twilight except where equipment was spotlighted and wherever there was a spotlight there seemed to be a Brother or a Sister. Some wore lighted headbands that gleamed with a pearly glow and, in the middle distance, Seldon could see, here and there, small sparks of light moving erratically. As they walked, he cast a quick eye on her profile. It was all he could really judge by. At all other times, he could not cease being conscious of her bulging bald head, her bare eyes, her colorless face. They drowned her individuality and seemed to make her invisible. Here in profile, however, he could see something. Nose, chin, full lips, regularity, beauty. The dim light somehow smoothed out and softened the great upper desert. He thought with surprise: She could be very beautiful if she grew her hair and arranged it nicely. And then he thought that she couldn't grow her hair. She would be bald her whole life. Why? Why did they have to do that to her? Sunmaster said it was so that a Mycogenian would know himself (or herself) for a Mycogenian all his (or her) life. Why was that so important that the curse of hairlessness had to be accepted as a badge or mark of identity? And then, because he was used to arguing both sides in his mind, he thought: Custom is second nature. Be accustomed to a bald head, sufficiently accustomed, and hair on it would seem monstrous, would evoke nausea. He himself had shaved his face every morning, removing all the facial hair, uncomfortable at the merest stubble, and yet he did not think of his face as bald or as being in any way unnatural. Of course, he could grow his facial hair at any time he wished-but he didn't wish to do so. He knew that there were worlds on which the men did not shave; in some, they did not even clip or shape the facial hair but let it grow wild. What would they say if they could see his own bald face, his own hairless chin, cheek, and lips? And meanwhile, he walked with Raindrop Forty-Three-endlessly, it seemed-and every once in a while she guided him by the elbow and it seemed to him that she had grown accustomed to that, for she did not withdraw her hand hastily. Sometimes it remained for nearly a minute. She said, â€Å"Here! Come here!† â€Å"What is that?† asked Seldon. They were standing before a small tray filled with little spheres, each about two centimeters in diameter. A Brother who was tending the area and who had just placed the tray where it was looked up in mild inquiry. Raindrop Forty-Three said to Seldon in a low voice, â€Å"Ask for a few.† Seldon realized she could not speak to a Brother until spoken to and said uncertainly, â€Å"May we have a few, B-brother?† â€Å"Have a handful, Brother,† said the other heartily. Seldon plucked out one of the spheres and was on the point of handing it to Raindrop Forty-Three when he noticed that she had accepted the invitation as applying to herself and reached in for two handfuls. The sphere felt glossy, smooth. Seldon said to Raindrop Forty-Three as they moved away from the vat and from the Brother who was in attendance, â€Å"Are these supposed to be eaten?† He lifted the sphere cautiously to his nose. â€Å"They don't smell,† she said sharply. â€Å"What are they?† â€Å"Dainties. Raw dainties. For the outside market they're flavored in different ways, but here in Mycogen we eat them unflavored-the only way.† She put one in her mouth and said, â€Å"I never have enough.† Seldon put his sphere into his mouth and felt it dissolve and disappear rapidly. His mouth, for a moment, ran liquid and then it slid, almost of its own accord, down his throat. He stood for a moment, amazed. It was slightly sweet and, for that matter, had an even fainter bitter aftertaste, but the main sensation eluded him. â€Å"May I have another?† he said. â€Å"Have half a dozen,† said Raindrop Forty-Three, holding out her hand. â€Å"They never have quite the same taste twice and have practically no calories. Just taste.† She was right. He tried to have the dainty linger in his mouth; he tried licking it carefully; tried biting off a piece. However, the most careful lick destroyed it. When a bit was crunched off apiece, the rest of it disappeared at once. And each taste was undefinable and not quite like the one before. â€Å"The only trouble is,† said the Sister happily, â€Å"that every once in a while you have a very unusual one and you never forget it, but you never have it again either. I had one when I was nine-† Her expression suddenly lost its excitement and she said, â€Å"It's a good thing. It teaches you the evanescence of things of the world.† It was a signal, Seldon thought. They had wandered about aimlessly long enough. She had grown used to him and was talking to him. And now the conversation had to come to its point. Now! 44. Seldon said, â€Å"I come from a world which lies out in the open, Sister, as all worlds do but Trantor. Rain comes or doesn't come, the rivers trickle or are in flood, temperature is high or low. That means harvests are good or bad. Here, however, the environment is truly controlled. Harvests have no choice but to be good. How fortunate Mycogen is.† He waited. There were different possible answers and his course of action would depend on which answer came. She was speaking quite freely now and seemed to have no inhibitions concerning his masculinity, so this long tour had served its purpose. Raindrop Forty-Three said, â€Å"The environment is not that easy to control. There are, occasionally, viral infections and there are sometimes unexpected and undesirable mutations. There are times when whole vast batches wither or are worthless.† â€Å"You astonish me. And what happens then?† â€Å"There is usually no recourse but to destroy the spoiled batches, even those that are merely suspected of spoilage. Trays and tanks must be totally sterilized, sometimes disposed of altogether.† â€Å"It amounts to surgery, then,† said Seldon. â€Å"You cut out the diseased tissue.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And what do you do to prevent such things from happening?† â€Å"What can we do? We test constantly for any mutations that may spring up, any new viruses that may appear, any accidental contamination or alteration of the environment. It rarely happens that we detect anything wrong, but if we do, we take drastic action. The result is that bad years are very few and even bad years affect only fractional bits here and there. The worst year we've ever had fell short of the average by only 12 percent-though that was enough to produce hardship. The trouble is that even the most careful forethought and the most cleverly designed computer programs can't always predict what is essentially unpredictable.† (Seldon felt an involuntary shudder go through him. It was as though she was speaking of psychohistory-but she was only speaking of the microfarm produce of a tiny fraction of humanity, while he himself was considering all the mighty Galactic Empire in every one of all its activities.) Unavoidably disheartened, he said, â€Å"Surely, it's not all unpredictable. There are forces that guide and that care for us all.† The Sister stiffened. She turned around toward him, seeming to study him with her penetrating eyes. But all she said was â€Å"What?† Seldon felt uneasy. â€Å"It seems to me that in speaking of viruses and mutations, we're talking about the natural, about phenomena that are subject to natural law. That leaves out of account the supernatural, doesn't it? It leaves out that which is not subject to natural law and can, therefore, control natural law.† She continued to stare at him, as though he had suddenly begun speaking some distant, unknown dialect of Galactic Standard. Again she said, in half a whisper this time, â€Å"Wharf.† He continued, stumbling over unfamiliar words that half-embarrassed him. â€Å"You must appeal to some great essence, some great spirit, some†¦ I don't know what to call it.† Raindrop Forty-Three said in a voice that rose into higher registers but remained low, â€Å"I thought so. I thought that was what you meant, but I couldn't believe it. You're accusing us of having religion. Why didn't you say so? Why didn't you use the word?† She waited for an answer and Seldon, a little confused at the onslaught, said, â€Å"Because that's not a word I use. I call it ‘supernaturalism.' â€Å" â€Å"Call it what you will. It's religion and we don't have it. Religion is for the tribesmen, for the swarming ho-â€Å" The Sister paused to swallow as though she had come near to choking and Seldon was certain the word she had choked over was-â€Å" She was in control again. Speaking slowly and somewhat below her normal soprano, she said, â€Å"We are not a religious people. Our kingdom is of this Galaxy and always has been. If you have a religion-â€Å" Seldon felt trapped. Somehow he had not counted on this. He raised a hand defensively. â€Å"Not really. I'm a mathematician and my kingdom is also of this Galaxy. It's just that I thought, from the rigidity of your customs, that your kingdom-â€Å" â€Å"Don't think it, tribesman. If our customs are rigid, it is because we are mere millions surrounded by billions. Somehow we must mark ourselves off so that we precious few are not lost among your swarms and hordes. We must be marked off by our hairlessness, our clothing, our behavior, our way of life. We must know who we are and we must be sure that you tribesmen know who we are. We labor in our farms so that we can make ourselves valuable in your eyes and thus make certain that you leave us alone. That's all we ask of you†¦ to leave us alone.† â€Å"I have no intention of harming you or any of your people. I seek only knowledge, here as everywhere.† â€Å"So you insult us by asking about our religion, as though we have ever called on a mysterious, insubstantial spirit to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.† â€Å"There are many people, many worlds who believe in supernaturalism in one form or another†¦ religion, if you like the word better. We may disagree with them in one way or another, but we are as likely to be wrong in our disbelief as they in their belief. In any case, there is no disgrace in such belief and my questions were not intended as insults.† But she was not reconciled. â€Å"Religion!† she said angrily. â€Å"We have no need of it.† Seldon's spirits, having sunk steadily in the course of this exchange, reached bottom. This whole thing, this expedition with Raindrop Forty-Three, had come to nothing. But she went on to say, â€Å"We have something far better. We have history.† And Seldon's feelings rebounded at once and he smiled.

Marketing Analysis for Samsung Essay

INTRODUCTION Samsung was founded by Byung-Chull Lee on March 1, 1938, in Taegu, Korea, with 30,000 won. Initially his business focused primarily on trade export, selling dried Korean fish, vegetables, and fruit to Manchuria and Beijing. In little more than a decade, Samsung-which means â€Å"three stars† in Korean-would have its own flour mills and confectionery machines, its own manufacturing and sales operations, and ultimately evolve to become the modern global corporation that still bears the same name today. For over 70 years, Samsung has been dedicated to making a better world  through diverse businesses that today span advance technology, semiconductors, skyscraper, plant construction, petrochemical, fashion, medicine, finance, hotels and more. The flagship company, Samsung Electronics, leads the global market in hightech electronics manufacturing and digital media. Samsung move to partner with Google for their Android OS and the recent series of Smartphone has tremendously brought their revenue to greater heights. In 2011, the stellar Samsung GALAXY S II sold more than 10 million units worldwide, achieving the No. 1 global market share for smartphones (2011 Samsung Electronics Annual Report). Approx 94.5% of Singapore household has a hand phone in 2008.   Likely the percentage should be higher now. The functions of a hand phone have evolved greatly in this decade. From means of communication via SMS and calls, hand phone or rather Smartphone serves consumers a far range of functions today. A Smartphone offers more advance computing ability and connectivity then conventional mobile phone. Generally the established Smartphone brands in Singapore are Apple, Samsung, Nokia, HTC & Motorola. The rapid growth and success of Samsung are the reasons why our group chose this brand. We hope through in-depth research and analysis can we better understand the success factors behind this rapidly sprang brand, particularly in the Smartphone industry. 2.  SURVEY RESEARCH Survey research approach is done via questionnaire targeting general public. It can be used to gather information about people’s knowledge, attitudes, preferences, or buying behaviour for Smartphones. Basha and Harter (1980) state that â€Å"a population is any set of persons or objects that possesses at least one common characteristic. Through our survey, we sample a population which we hope can be representative of the Singapore consumers. This approach is selected by the group because it is the most widely used method to collected primary data to meet our research objectives. Through the primary data collected, we hope to draw certain information through analysis on consumer behaviour on the purchase of smartphones. Research Objectives The purpose of this survey is to understand our responders behaviour and attitude towards smartphone. We segmented the questionnaire into 4Ps namely product, price, place and promotion. We hope that with this survey finding we can better understand the needs of smartphone users, why they will or will not be using and also the reason why others are not using Samsung smartphone and the likelihood of them using Samsung in future. With the findings, we hope to draw conclusive data and make recommendations. 2.2  Contact Method We personally gave out the survey forms as shown in Appendix 1 to the general public at Ang Mo Kio Hub and Nanyang Polytechnic. We have given out to 41 respondents and used 30 of them for analysis (11 were deemed as void due to insufficient information or non completion) 2.3 Sampling Plan & Survey Questions A segment of the population selected for marketing research to represent the population as a whole. The survey is to be conducted with a sampling size of 30.The questions were limited to 10 to avoid being too lengthy resulting in fatigue respondents. First part of the survey included information pertaining respondents’ background such as gender & age which then we proceed to gathering information like consumer preference. Five point Likert scale was used to measure few variables. 3.  CUSTOMER We will further describe the customer segment for Samsung smartphones using demographic, psychographic and behavioural factors. 3.1  Demographic factors The targeted segment is for both male and female, probably age between 14 and 55, skewed more towards the Gen Y. The country or area should have good network (Eg: 3G, 4G, wireless connection) to ensure optimal usage of Smartphone features. 3.2  Psychographic factors There are basically three segments of users broadly in which Samsung wishes to target; entertainment focused, communication-focused and information-centric users. The entertainment-focused users are generally younger group which see a mobile device as a lifestyle choice, and they’re willing to pay extra for a device that’ll help keep them entertained. Entertainment can also include things like social messaging with friends, facebook and networking. The communication-focused users are extroverts who live to communicate with others. They’re often in people-facing jobs like sales. They’re willing to pay extra for a mobile device that lets them keep up with others in multiple ways. E-mail, SMS, voice, conferencing, video calling — basically, anything communication-related is compelling to them, and they will pay extra for a device that does it well. The information-centric users are more introverted. Rather than focusing on their dialog with others, they tend to do a lot of thinking on their own, and want their mobile device to be a  memory supplement and a means to capture new information. They’re will ing to pay extra for features that help them capture and remember ideas and information. 3.3  Behavioural factors Past users of Samsung (Be it handphone or other appliances) will likely purchase Samsung again due to familiarity and if they have had pleasant experience with the phone, the likelihood of repurchase is high. 4.  MARKETING MIX 4.1  Product a.  3 Levels of Product A product is normally defined as the physical items that consumers purchase. But actually the nature of a product can be further explored in 3 levels. They are The Core Product, The Actual Product and The Augmented Product which are further explained in Appendix 3. Smartphone industry is growing rapidly with many new brands coming in for a slice of market share each fighting towards fulfilling consumer growing wants. Understanding the 3 levels of product can better enable Samsung to position itself. Based on Kotler’s Three Level of Product Framework, the Samsung smartphone core product is giving consumers tool of communication. Through product  differentiation of smartphones, consumers are given a variety of choice for the actual product as illustrated in Appendix 3. Samsung’s strategy will ensure it is already at the finishing line when consumer tastes change hence it produces a wide product range for every taste and demand. b.  Consumer Product Samsung smartphone is categorised as a Shopping Product. Consumers will compare on the price, style, function, quality and suitability of the smartphone due to the multiple brands and model available in the market. Having achieved unmatched global competitiveness in hardware, Samsung has been focusing on enhancing its software capabilities in user interface, user experience, and design and brand awareness. To remain competitive, Samsung must continuously develop quality and innovative smartphones to stay in the lead. c.  Brand Development Strategy The most difficult step in developing a marketing plan is normally the process of developing a brand strategy. It’s often the biggest challenge face by most businesses but it is an important step in creating the company identity. In the smartphone market, Samsung branding still falls behind Apple. However Samsung in recent years has been very aggressive and rapidly gaining market share. We will move on to discuss Samsung brand development strategy. ‘While many companies that sponsor events are focused on boosting their brand awareness, Samsung Electronics looks at things a little differently. The Korean giant – a major sponsor of the recent Youth Olympic Games (YOG) – says that â€Å"brand preference† is a better indicator of whether its investment has paid dividends.’ (The Straits Time, 13 Sept 2010) Samsung sponsorships in Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and the upcoming London 2012 Olympics will certainly provide strong profile and brand power. Through sponsorship in the Olympics, Samsung seeks to, through user experience boost up their brand. d.  Survey Result on Target Segment Perception (Product) From our survey findings, 94% of the respondents are smartphone users with with 2 respondents one non-smartphone user and one unsure. We have checked with the unsure respondent and respondent was using a smartphone bought to her by her daughter. The strong percentage of smartphone users 94% as per survey results showed a strong And 60% of the respondents responded they are likely to purchase Samsung for their next phone. 4.2  Price a.  General Pricing Approach Price will always be the key concern of consumers’ before making any purchasing decision (Smith and Carsky, 1996). The level of price is found to positively affect behavioral intentions mainly because price establishes image of the brand in the eyes of the consumers (Aaker, 1991). The price set for any product including smartphone is crucial as it directly impacts on consumer purchase. The company’s range of low- to high-end smartphones caters to almost every budget. Based on client perceived value and market offerings, Samsung adopts  a value based pricing strategy. ‘If there is a consumer for it, we will offer the product, says Younghee Lee, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Samsung’s mobile business.’ (The Business Time, 17 March 2011) b.  Price Compared to Competitors Samsung stays on a competitive price and with its vast product line; every price range is met with a product. We have used the recent launch of Samsung S3 Smartphone with its competitors as illustrated in Appendix 4. Samsung S3 smartphone is considered the high end product series in the smartphone market and we have chosen close competitors mainly Apple iPhone 4S and HTC One. From the comparison, though Samsung S3 is the latest product launch amongst the three phones, it still stays at a less than $100 price difference with competitors. The price Samsung offers is very close to its competitors giving it an edge over them. c.  Product Mix Pricing Strategies The product mix is the collection of products and services that a company chooses to offer its market and pricing strategies based on what objectives the company had set for them. Samsung’s product strategy is to create Android devices across varying price points and flood the market through as many carriers across the world as possible. The original Galaxy S was sold through about 240 different global vendors. Product-line pricing involve setting price for different products within a product range at different price point is the strategy Samsung applied for smartphone. For example, Samsung had a lot of smartphones products with different design and feature at different prices as shown in Appendix 5. The greater the feature and benefit obtain, the higher the consumer have to pay. d.  Price Adjustment Strategies A set of strategies used by companies to adjusted their basic prices to account for various customer differences and changing situations. The  commonly use strategies are Discount and Allowance Pricing, Segmented Pricing, Psychological Pricing and Promotional Pricing. In the smartphone industry, discount and allowance pricing adjustment strategy is commonly used. This strategy allows companies to adjust their basic price to reward customers for certain responses, such as early payment of bills, volume purchases, and off-season buying. This strategy can come in many forms. Seasonal discount is a price reduction to buyers who buy merchandise or services out of season. For example, when Samsung Galaxy S3 is launch, the price of Samsung Galaxy S2 was reduced. In this scenario, older model of smartphone is the same as off season products. Seller will offer discount to encourage the buyer to purchase off older models. Allowances are another type of reduction from the list price. For example, trade-in allowances are price reductions given for turning in an old item when buying a new one. Trade-in allowances are most common in vendors selling smartphone. e.  Survey Result on Target Segment Perception (Price) Through our survey findings, most respondents rated price as ‘most important’ factor to consider when buying a smartphone. An interesting thing to note is 40% of the respondents mentioned they will pay up to $300 for a smartphone and 30% mentioned they are willing to pay more than $1500 for a smartphone. It is therefore important to draw specific data to understand the needs and wants for those segmented clients. 4.3  Place a.  Number of channel levels Place is also known as channel, distribution or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods are moved from the manufacturer to the consumer. We have analysed Samsung smartphone distribution as shown in Appendix 6. Samsung practises indirect channels using selective distribution. The channel contains one to two intermediary levels. Through the major telcos and authorised dealers, Samsung distribution in Singapore is very intense, and this is exactly what Samsung wants. One can purchase a Samsung Smartphone at every neighbourhood in Singapore. All authorised distributors were given product training & support whenever needed. All telco (SingTel, M1, Starhub) also have dedicated staff to provide training & desk support to consumers should they require assistance on how to use the smartphones. b.  Channel intensity From the Appendix 6, the distribution channels are intense diverting to over 300 outlets making it easily accessible for consumers. The wide and broad channels are one factor for Samsung success. c.  Number of outlets, location The outlets for Singapore are estimated to be over 300, with at least one outlet in every neighbourhood and the availability to buy online with free delivery. d.  Survey Result on Target Segment Perception (Place) From our survey results, 99% of the respondents bought their phone through the various channels with 49% through telco and dealers. Consumers prefer buying phones with contracted lines and this might suggest Samsung can consider giving a better incentive to telcos and dealers to further boost up their sales. 4.4  Promotion a.  Marketing Communications Objectives Marketing communications objectives is paramount to marketing success. If there is no objective, than there will be no way to measure the marketing success. After all, an objective is the goal intended to attained, which should be attainable and can be measured. Understanding the Product Life Cycle (as illustrated in Appendix 7) of each product can enable the company to respond with the marcom objectives. Though Samsung started its Smartphone in 2008, in our opinion the stage for Samsung smartphone is at its maturity stage in the Singapore context. During launch of a new smartphone, the objectives will be more informative like: Telling market about the new product Explaining how a product works Suggest new uses for a product Marketing effort by Samsung is normally conducted for launch of new products. As for their existing products, it is conducted together with their vendors like IT fairs and Electronic fairs. The marketing communication objectives for these efforts will be different from a new launch. The objectives these efforts are: Encourage brand switching Persuading customers to purchase now Build brand preference Keep product in consumers’ mind Maintain top of mind awareness Promotion Mix Attractive prices of good products are not enough for a business to generate maximum sales and profits. The benefits of products have to be communicated to customers. In marketing, this is commonly known as â€Å"promotion†. The total marketing communications programme is called â€Å"promotion mix†. Elements of promotion mix include Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public Relations, Personal Selling and Direct Marketing. The elements of promotion mix used by Samsung smartphone are: 1) Advertising Deliver marketer’s message using any paid form of mass media outlets, it involve non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor. The 3 purpose of advertising are Informative, Persuasive and Reminder. Samsung has been using all three purposes for their advertising campaign in different occasion. Let’s look into Samsung individual advertising purpose and objectives. Sales Promotion Sales promotions normally refer to encouraging customers to respond or undertake some activity using some form of incentives through special short-term techniques. Some of the sales promotions technique used by Samsung smart phone is: a)  Joint promotion with Major Telco Samsung smartphone often had joint promotion with major telco to boost up the sales of the smartphone. For example the  promotion that was in the Starhub official site that offers  Samsung Galaxy S3 at different price depending on the plan  sign up or the Samsung Galaxy S2 at a low price with 2 years plan. (As shown in Appendix 8) b)  Joint Promotion with Major Electronic Mega Store Samsung always conduct joint promotion with major electronic mega store during ad-hoc promotion fair. Premiums like additional SD card, screen protector, casing or 0% interest instalment plan is often used during such fair. This promotion is used to enhance the sales by offering some perks and also to clear stock for the older model smartphone. (As shown in  Appendix 9) Survey Result on Target Segment Perception (Promotion) Through our survey findings, respondents rated ‘current mobile plan expired’ as the most important factor which influence their purchase of smartphone. This might be an important indicator for Samsung to have intense tie up promotions with the telcos to offer consumers attractive rates for those plans that have expired. A significant percentage of respondents also mentioned the launch of new  smartphone is influential in making the purchase. These are likely the consumers who are willing to pay a premium price for the latest launch of smartphone. Samsung can utilise this and through advertising for example; television commercial, newspaper advertisements, internet announce the new launch in a tasteful manner to attract this segment of consumers. 5.  CONCLUSION Constantinides (2006) emphasizes that marketing mix is a framework of the dominant marketing management paradigm to identify market development, environmental changes and trends. Several studies confirm that the 4Ps is indeed the trusted conceptual platform of practitioners dealing with operational marketing issues (Romano and Ratnatunga, 1995; Coviello et al., 2000). The wide acceptance of the 4Ps among field marketers is the result of their profound exposure to this concept during college years, since identifying the 4Ps as the controllable parameters is likely to influence the consumer buying process and decisions (Brassington and Pettitt, 2003; Soekartawi, 2005a). We conducted the survey to evaluate different segments of customers’ attitude toward 4Ps. It is expected that with this survey findings with the primary data we have collected can we better understand and provide recommendation for Samsung  to develop greater understanding of how to serve existing and potential customer based on 4Ps concept for a basis to meet profitability of their business. Through our survey, we realised a very important trend; almost 94% of the respondents carry a smart phone. Assuming the latest data from Singstat stating 95% of Singapore household having a handphone, and with that equate to 94% of them having a Smartphone, the total volume of smartphone market is estimated to be minimum 3-4Million in Singapore alone. Current users of Samsung are generally satisfied with the features and functions of the phone. However as Samsung faces close competition with its competitors, Samsung needs to continuously come out with new innovation and technology to stay in the lead. As Samsung is in its maturity stage of the product life cycle, Samsung needs to differentiate itself from competitors. However the tricky part is to position products across different, yet overlapping, market segments. It is important to note, however, that since some consumers may belong to both segments, positioning claims for a product should never conflict. To avoid confusing consumers, it may be necessary to make a broad appeal to both segments and then change the positioning slightly within each segment. As Samsung smartphone do has many variations, approximate 24, the positioning within each range should be unique and clear to consumers. Overall we feel that Samsung has done well to come this far and stay in the lead. The advantages Samsung has over competitors are the wide distribution channels and the vast product variations. Samsung must continue to ensure its distributors and telcos are given attractive incentives which in turn can bring in non Samsung users. Samsung should also focus on building brand loyalty, which will ensure retain of past and current Samsung consumers. Their primary goal should be to maintain their current market share and extend the product life cycle. REFERENCES Samsung Electronics 2011 Annual Report accessed on 25 June 2012 http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/download/2011_annual _rpt.pdf Singapore in figures 2011 http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/reference/sif2012.pdf accessed on 25 June 2012 Constantinides E (2006). The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards the 21st Century Marketing. J. Mark Manag, 22: 407-438. Porter, M., â€Å"Competitive Strategy – Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors,† (New York: The Free Press,1980). Smith, M.F., and Carsky, M.L. (1996). Grocery Shopping Behaviour:A Comparison of Involved and Uninvolved Consumers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 39 (2), 73-80. Aaker, D.A. (1991), Managing Brand Equity. Capitalizing on the Value of Brand Name, Free Press, New York, NY. Busha, Charles H., and Stephen P. Harter. Research Methods in Librarianship: Techniques and Interpretation. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, Inc., 1980. Romano C, Ratnatunga J (1996). The Role of Marketing, Eur J. Mark, 29: 9-30. Brassington F, Pettitt S (2003). Principles of Marketing, Third Edition, Prentice Hall/Financial Times. New Jersey. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-27/samsung-overtakes-nokia-as-world-sbiggest-phone-vendor.html http://www.samsung.com/sg/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/valuesphilosophy.html

Letter to an Editor of the Campus Newspaper Essay

Letter to an Editor of the Campus Newspaper - Essay Example This project stresses that online education is a great equalizer. For the first time in the history of human civilization, technology has made it possible to do away with the biases and prejudices shadowing the education system. Online education is an approach towards education that defies all barriers of social status, gender, ethnicity, physical ability, cognitive ability, etc. The biggest advantage with the online education is that it gives the sidelined and the underprivileged sections of the society the virtual space where they can pursue their academic goals, while safeguarding their distinct though sometimes vulnerable personal identity. It is a student centric approach towards education that is pliable and adaptive and gives every student a chance to pursue education as per one’s abilities and resources. It does not require a student to be present at a particular place at a particular time. It also does not require a student to academically perform as per some straight jacketed standards and limitations of time and space. This paper makes a conclusion that online education has once and for all shattered the hegemony of the traditional education system. One cannot say that online education will totally replace the conventional education system. Online education is a mode of instruction that is distinctly democratic in its scope and ramifications.

Has Wikipedia influenced the way we gather information Research Paper

Has Wikipedia influenced the way we gather information - Research Paper Example These changes have helped us to get better and better. Mobile phone can be claimed to be the icon of Information Technology as today globally there are over 6 billion mobile connections and around 4 billion of these belong to unique consumers, it can be implied that two out of three people on earth have cell phone. The cell phone subscribers are increasing rapidly. SMS is a very popular service that cell phone users avail, in 2012, 2.19 trillion SMS were sent and received by the American population (Wireless Federation, 2013). In the course of communicating through short messages a surprising phenomenon has surfaced. It is that SMS - supposedly the cheapest mode of communication as a result of which this modality of communication is most popular amongst young subscribers, especially students. An extract from a school girl’s SMS is: "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc." [3] †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.(BBC, 2003) It may be c hallenging for a sexagenarian to comprehend this message, few may take it as an output from a web based transliteration tool. A closer look at the text being exchanged by students comprise of shortcuts, homophones, omissions, emoticons, typos, native language, initials, acronyms, simpler tenses as well as verbs and the punctuation has been used in a different form. In this information age, this new choice of communication has come up and it has many names, like txt talk, txtese, txto, chatspeak, txt lingo, SMSish, txtslang etc. The young children and students use a different type of language while texting, the fact is visible from the above cited text. Accordingly, numerous academicians, experts and others have echoed their concerns about the possibility of language deterioration. Extant peer-reviewed literature published on research carried out by researchers in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia posits that textese is popular not only in developed countries but it is equally popular i n developing countries (Ahmad, Nurullah & Sarkar, 2010) (Aziz, Shamim , Aziz & Priya , 2013) (Jungesj, 2011). Textese is gradually showing up as a disruptive medium, it has not only entered the social networking domain but is starting to topple email writing. With the kind of acceptance and extent of adoption, linguists are intrigued at the way the communication through texts is impacting the language of the users. As per linguists, textese has a convention but it is not structured and it is less sophisticated. The reason that language in textese has evolved is that because the convention is very user friendly, to the extent that typing a textese appears to be as east as talking. Another good reason for the popularity of textese could be that a user can key in the message at very high speed. In other words, because of the stipulated length of text that is 160 characters – a user can pack lot more information when compared with grammatically correct English. Furthermore, a dee per analysis of textese indicates that it has numerous short-forms like LOL – Laugh Out Loud, ROTFL – Rolling On The Floor Laughing. A specific website lists over 1100 smileys and acronyms those form a part of textese. Expressions like LOL can be seen as a marker of accommodation, some call these as pragmatic particles as they are

Gender problem Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gender problem - Coursework Example All these emanate from the fact that the boys believe that they exist in a boy world that expects them to be tough, aggressive, stern and even defiant. In terms of historical background, masculinity crisis in the boys in the educational setting has had a long record. Since time immemorial, lots of men have continually continued to suffer the wrath of living up to their societal constructed masculinity. The same masculinity has been expressed in the educational setting where the boys are expected to be tough and not show any form of passiveness. The boys, therefore, become aggressive and chose not to adhere to the school’s regulations. In the end, the boys do not perform as expected of them. Jones and Myhill (2004a) indicate that for a long time, the boys have been associated with misbehavior that leads to their underachievement in education. This stereotype has continued to discriminate the boys in the classroom setting; thus, placing them at a lower bar than the girls as far as education matters are concerned. The crisis of masculinity instilled in these boys continues to derail their abilities to act normally. They act as per the requirements of the society and their peers. Boys will then continue to be troubled and the girls hopeful (Jones & Myhill, 2004b).The gender gap; as a result, keeps widening. In the present day society the crisis of masculinity in the education setting is also evident. As seen in the research conducted by Whitmire &Â  Bailey (2010), the performance of the boys has greatly been hampered by the construction of masculinity that has led to the school environment being too harsh for them. The boys then find it difficult to live up to the expectations of the school authorities. So as to reverse the situation, Gibson & Martinez’s (2003) work relates to recommendation that the boys may be taught that they can use their masculinity to compete with the girls

Should i buy or should i rent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Should i buy or should i rent - Essay Example Therefore, the main objective of monetary theory analysis is to understand how to analyze and communicate findings of various investment projects. Consequently, this essay discusses the process project evaluation, techniques of evaluation, theory of interest rate, real situation of mortgage business in United Kingdom specifically the interest rates and other important figures. In the end I attempt to answer a question on whether to buy a home or rent a house. I use the conventional methods of evaluating new ventures to arrive at a decision of buying a house. Capital investments involve spending money on assets that are used to make the business operational. These monies go into meeting the demands of the project. Such demands include wages, utilities costs, land, rent and equipment. This often require colossal amount of startup capital which may be borrowed, raised through equity or saved from earnings. Since money is an important limited resource, the decision to invest on a project must be backed by evidence of profitability and cost benefit analysis. It is important to note that most capital investment are long term and good choice of project is critical. Besides, other factors like amount of capital which eventually determines the type of project must also be considered. Attention should also be given to risk associated with the business and the payback time, whether long term or short term. It is important to note that the question about best investment choices has no straight forward answer. In other words there is no guarantee that the best investment analyst will advise precisely on the future prospect of the project. It all depends on both macro and micro economic factors prevailing at the moment. Therefore, it the duty of the investor to evaluate the cost and benefits associated with the project. Although it is not easy to pinpoint a specific way to deal with this challenge, various methods of determining project viability are available. The two most commonly used techniques are net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR). These techniques involves finding out the projected cash flows and costs. Nevertheless, the net present value is considered superior to internal rate of return because in some instances a high yield rate does not mean the business is profitable. Internal return rate is based on already determined discount rate which may be not be accurate (Gaylon and Philip 2003). The net present value indicates the value of the business today. It takes into consideration all cash flows and the duration values. These include the initial startup capital and future incomes. The inflows are assigned positive values while outflows are given negative values. For instance if the initial outlay is ? 100,000, this will be considered negative when computing net cash inflow. This because this money has been used to finance the project operation and is not part of income earned from the project. When all these values are co mbined, the result gives the net value of the project. In cases where the investor can establish the amount of money flowing in or out at specific fixed time, the money is treated as rate of cash flow. For instance, a landlord who collect ? 3,000 from rents, has a rate of cash inflow rather than cash inflow. The net cash flow ct at specific time = cash inflows at time t – cash outflows at time t The net rate of cash flows in unit time = net

5 Questions About 3 Ethical Case Studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

5 Questions About 3 Ethical Studies - Case Study Example Moreover, in addition to ethics, the officers are expected to uphold values, principles and morals while according their duty to the public. Therefore, this case study will greatly help when examining the outlined issues. How much material is available for your research in each topic? This case study is going to rely on information available on http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/nov2011/davi-n19.shtml . In addition, documented evidence in the university and the California State Police will also be used. To supplement this, the police force ethical conducts will be used as the base line to judge the ethical issues. Case Study 2: 20 children among 26 victims of Connecticut school shooting This case is aimed at evaluating the moral standards as well as, the phycology behind good values, principles and ethics. This study will help the research based mainly on the social-cognitive theory (Aldama, 2011). Therefore, the case study is aimed at discovering what may trigger people to act the way they do. In addition, the study is aimed at seeking how people perceive or react to their actions. How much material is available for your research in each topic? This research will be sourced from the article, 20 children among 26 victims of Connecticut school shooting.http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/us/connecticut-school-shooting/index.html . Moreover, additional material will be gathered from related article and eventualities. In addition, books and earlier studies on social-cognitive theory will be used so that a good case can be built for this study. This study will be very helpful because it will help when one wants to judge why a person may act in a given manner be it ethical or unethical. It will further help to evaluate the consequence and the acceptance of the victim in the case that they act unethical. For example, Should they take responsibility or what actions are supposed

History (Lindeberg, David C. 2007. The Beginnings of Western Science Essay

History (Lindeberg, David C. 2007. The Beginnings of Western Science. 2nd Ed. University of Chicago Press - Essay Example (Ancient Greek Medicine, 2002) Romans had a strong relationship with Greece and the Greek medicines, especially the Hippocratic, were popular among Romans as well Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician is considered as the father of medicine and still all the medical students in the world take the Hippocratic Oath as a matter of respect to this greatest contributor to the medical field. Hippocrates is believed to be the first one who rejected the idea of the involvement of supernatural as the cause of diseases. He was the one who was able to separate the medicine from religion. As per the ancient beliefs, diseases were considered as the curses of God. Hippocrates has proved that diseases were happened due to reasons other than the one taught by the religion and he considered medicine as a science rather than religion. The Hippocratic writings introduced patient confidentiality, a practice which is still in use today. â€Å"Hippocrates recommended that physicians record their findings and their medicinal methods, so that these records may be passed down and employed by other physicians. Other Hippocratic writings associated personality traits with the relative abundance of the four humours in the body: phlegm, yellow bile, black bile, and blood, and was a major influence on Galen and later on medieval medicine†(Hippocrates) ANATOMY is the study, classification, and description of structures and organs of the body. PHYSIOLOGY is the study and process of the function of the human. It is the study of the physical and chemical processes involved in the functioning of the living organisms and their component parts. (Karin & David) In the Hellenistic era the foundation of the city of Alexandria implied from the very beginning an intensive and very productive interaction between the Egyptian cultural heritage and the Greek

Kindle Fire Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Kindle Fire - Research Paper Example The decisions made by consumers are affected by this behavior and this is the reason why Kindle Fire will be marketed successfully under the behavioral segment. This approach has increased the Kindle fire sales made over the years. The rocketing sales are also controlled by the demand and supply forces such that when demand on Kindle Fire declines, the Amazon’s sales are drastically affected. Evaluation Under the behavioral approach of segmentation, the customers will be divided under various segments. Consumers will be evaluated based on their usage rate, the benefits gained, loyalty and occasion in which they use Kindle Fire. There are various ways of growing a business. The first method is as aforementioned; to attract new customers and the second way is to retain the already existing customers. For Kindle Fire to continue existing in the market, Amazon has to maintain a strong customer base (Cheshire, 2012). This is only through customer dependability. Customer loyalty is targeted as one of the behavioral approaches of consumers. The strategies applied to maintain the Kindle Fire’s loyal customers are different from those that are used in attracting new customers. Customer loyalty is hence one of the techniques of determining customers under the behavioral segmentation. ... It will be easier to identify the customer who needs change the product more often than one who does not use one so often. The other way in which Kindle buyers can be segmented according to their behavior is by identifying those who buy on occasions. Freytag and Clarke’s (2001) argument is that buying on occasion is under behavioral segmentation because the customer is likely to target the holidays and festivities when companies come up with offers at discounted prices. Such a customer base may be large since most people tend to save a lot of money for their holidays and festivities. Segmenting the Kindle Fire customer according to the benefits he or she gains is also another way of evaluating the customer’s behavior towards the product. While Kindle’s competitors, such as Google Nexus and the laptops, have their own benefits, some customers may still look for the benefits they gain from Kindle Fire tablets that they cannot get from its competitors. One of the be nefits attained from the Kindle Fire tablet and not laptops is that it is easier to transport the Kindle from one point to the other as compared to laptops. A laptop is heavier as compared to the tablet. The Kindle tablet is also beneficial to clients who are always online for business purposes or projects. The other advantage of Kindle Fire over other digital gadgets is that it easily usable in the education industry (Cheshire, 2012). This can be fused with good pricing, 24hr customer support and customization of devices for customers in order to be able to stay competitive in the market. This means using a break-up strategy where the prices are favorable as compared to other devices and being able to pack devices as per the specification of customers.

Essay about the the movie ( A Perfect Passion - Gail Currie (2008) )

About the the movie ( A Perfect Passion - Gail Currie (2008) ) - Essay Example It is clear from the documentary that the Hopak dance is a great medium that the Ukrainians use to pass their messages across to other Ukrainians non-verbally. Thus, dance has a great value in giving people information without speaking any word. The Hopak dance was seen as an energetic and flamboyant folk dance of the Ukrainian people as it reflected their rural lifestyle. The message of this documentary is clear as it could be deduced from this dance style that the lifestyle of the Ukrainians is in line with the Cossack lifestyle (Dancers). Thus, the dance was used by the director to trace the origin of the Ukrainians and teach lessons of history. Thus, dance is also a way of teaching people their history non-verbally without having to read history books into their ears. The dance described in A Perfect Passion has no fixed pattern of steps and the dance is done according to the mood of the dancers and it helps brings matters that happen in the community to the fore. Thus, dance is seen as a way of spreading information about the society that the dance was performed and this is a non-verbal means of spreading information to the people (Dancers). Thus, dance is also a great means of spreading information to people about current events non-verbally without having to listen to the news. Dance in A Perfect Passion is also a means of spreading messages of love and folktales as lovers perform this dance in order to spread message of love to the people. The dance of couples is a beautiful dance that is used in the documentary to preach love and the sustenance of relationships. The improvised steps by the male dancers are just ways that have been devised to spread some specific messages without uttering any words (Dancers). Men and women dance differently in the Hopak dance style. The squatting kicks, high leaps and turns that are performed competitively by men and the simple dance steps, sways and claps that are performed by women are just ways

Future Competitive Threats of China and India for Industries Essay Example for Free

Future Competitive Threats of China and India for Industries Essay Discuss the future competitive threats of China and India for industries in developed countries. The emergence of China as the mass manufacturing pioneer in the world has lead to the concern that China will soon be competing with the industries in the developed nations. India, at the same time, is emerging as the centre of IT enabled services including software development, and poses significant threat to the developed countries in high-skill goods and services. Today, the main competitive threat that China and India pose to the developed nations is their cheap labour. They are able to produce basically anything at a much lower price compare to those in the western developed nations. Therefore, they signify threats to these countries. However, on the future prospects, China and India would acquire competitive threat that is different from what they were before. For instance, the education rate in China and India are both increasing, and they produce about half a million of scientists and engineers a year comparing to mere 60,000 in the US. Therefore, these skilled labours will take over the current low skilled labours in these two countries and further exploit the opportunities that they have, and compete better in the high skill sectors. In addition, many companies from the developed nations have shifted their RD centre to the China and India, therefore, China and India are able to learn and gain experience through these foreign RD centre and excel in innovations in the future. This makes the developed nations to lose their competitive advantage, and signifies competitive threat from China and India.

Strombidae Protected Fisheries

Strombidae Protected Fisheries

Reflective Essay on Music Education

Reflective Essay on Music Education Andrew Nguyen My name is Andrew Nguyen, and Im a sophomore at Golden West College. Im 19 years old, and my major is business administration. For my online class experience, this is my second time taking an online course. My first time was on this years intersession, and I took an American Government course, but it was not that easy. There was too much reading to do, and theres not enough time for studying since intersession classes last for 4 weeks. In the end, I earned a good grade for my effort, and Im hoping that Ill do the same for this class. It taught me about how I should manage my time effectively when Im not inside the classroom, and that I shouldnt procrastinate from doing any readings and assignments. To be honest, Im not exactly a music player. Im more of a listener than a player. I played an instrument before, but I wasnt playing a song. When I was little, I remember myself tapping the keyboards on an electronic piano, listening to random notes, but I didnt have a chance to properly l earn how to play an instrument. However, I taught myself how to play the guitar when I was in high school; unfortunately, I was unsuccessful. There was a lot of complicated information to know about playing music, such as chords and melody, and its overwhelming to memorize it all. Also, I couldnt properly play the instrument because I need to know about the parts of the guitar, so I can control playing better. The problem about playing an instrument is that I kept relying on being perfect, and I just give up easy. For now, I just listen to any songs for relaxation, and I noticed how the song works from beginning to end and the hidden rhythms of the song. Because of my lack of knowledge on music, I thought that taking this class would give me a head start to know about music theory. Ive been listening to popular songs for a long time, and I thought that I could apply my basic knowledge on songs to this class, so I can critically listen to how music works. There are two things I would know by the end of the course. The first one is to know how to read sheet music. It was hard to read because there were so many complex patterns on the sheet music, and its not easy for an average musician. If I took this class, maybe theres a section about understanding the melody or other parts of the sheet music, so I can use that knowledge to learn better on playing an instrument. The second one is to know about the music history. I want to know more about how they developed different methods on crafting the song, so I can use examples from my songs to know how it matches their methods. The song that sounds like a binary form would be Somnus, composed by Yoko Shimomura and sung by Aundrea L. Hopkins. It is the theme song from a best-selling video game, Final Fantasy XV. The title is Latin for sleep, and like the title, the lyrics are also Latin. A binary form has two sections, in the form AB or AABB, that each section repeats the melody, and this song happens to fit into this category. At first, the song opens with a piano melody in a minor pitch. Then, the vocalist sang the Latin lyrics, presenting a theme that could be recognized later. In the second stanza, the song repeats the same melody, but the lyrics changed and the violin and cello can be heard as a harmony. The statement for this song tells the story that the world plunged into darkness while the hero is in hibernation. After the second stanza, the variation occurs, changing the tempo to accelerando, which means to speed up. Within the variation, the piano plays solo, accompanied by the violin and cello. T he tempo starts to ritardando, which means slow down, and then it goes back to the fast tempo, introducing the third stanza, which is the departure of the form. The melody sounds different and the range of the songs tone is medium because of its fast tempo. Within the departure, there are some parts being used from the first section of the song. Two lines from the third stanza introduce a new melody, and then the last two lines repeat that melody, changing the lyrics and range. The departure lets us consider ourselves that if theres darkness, theres always a light to shine the way. In the end, the song goes back to its original theme, ending the song in a minor chord, but lasts for about a few seconds. There are many varieties of musical sounds possible from the human voice. One of the varieties is falsetto. Falsetto is the highest register of the human voice. Its been used as a vocal technique to make the voice unnaturally high-pitched. To use falsetto, the singers must control their vocal cords to get a high note. They do that by imitating someone with a higher voice to shorten their vocal cords and then the cords stretch it out, so it would produce a head voice, which is the high register of the voice in speaking or singing. When using this technique, it has limited octave range, which could lead to passaggio, a transition between the vocal registers. Its a difficult technique to control, but famous singers, such as Prince and Michael Jackson, have practiced this technique to sing their songs better. The origin of the term is unknown because of its vagueness to know what that term is. But during the Renaissance period, the term was common in Italy because thats where they named the term. The term Falsetto is Italian for false. This vocal technique is commonly used by male singers, and they have used it during the 16th century when women were restricted from performing, so the men could fill in their roles at church and on stage. Falsetto has been used in different regions, for they have their own style of this technique. For instance, Hawaii has their own falsetto style. Although its part of the U.S, Hawaii still maintained their traditional culture before they annexed to the U.S. Their falsetto music dates back a long time ago when a group of immigrants from different countries brought their music with them, combined with their Hawaiian music that created their falsetto. Their falsetto is called ka leo kiekie. Like the other cultures in the 16th century, women were forbidden to perform while the men sang in high pitch. Whats different from the western use of falsetto is that they would emphasize the tone between the vocal registers. They would also amplif y the tone through repetition. Theyve used this technique to sing stories about their state culture. There may be some female singers used falsetto, but theres barely any proof of that since most male singers have used this technique for a long time. Another variety of music sound from the human voice is yodeling. Yodeling occurs when the singer switch between their voice from normal to a high pitch. When yodel, the singers have control of their voice in the range by switching to different vocal registers, and they timed their yodeling for a few seconds in a high volume. They sang non-lexical syllables to help project their yodeling. The origin of this technique is unknown since theres no evidence indicating when and how it was created; however, historians believed that yodeling occurred in the Alpine mountains in Switzerland. In the Renaissance era, the early yodeling was used by the herders to help communicate their flock of cows, or they used the technique to communicate the villagers from a different village. For the communication on the villages, perhaps yodeling acted as an early development of making long-distance communication before the telephone was invented in the 19th century. Since that discovery in the Alps, it beca me an everlasting tradition in Europe, and then it became popular in the 1830s for entertainment. Other than the Swiss Alps, yodeling is common around different cultures from around the world. For example, Central Africa has used yodeling. An ethnic group called the pygmy people yodeled for their complex polyphonic singing. Another example is the United States. A group of German immigrants first introduced yodeling in the 1800s to the U.S. Yodeling was used for their minstrel shows, consists of skits, acts, dancing, and music, throughout the 19th century. But after the 1900s, yodeling became common when singers use it for their country music. Yodeling has been useful for a long time, for it provides a purpose for letting the people communicate with each other and give different formats to express music also. String: An example of a string instrument is a violin. It is the smallest and high-pitched instrument in the string family. A violin is a carved hollow wooden box, which consists of many parts. The top plate of the violin is the top plate, or the belly, that joins the back plate by the carved sides called the ribs. The neck of the violin is attached to the front side, and that flat wooden strip on top is called the fingerboard. It runs across the neck to the bridge, which is in the middle of the top plate. The four strings are attached to the tailpiece, located on the bottom of the top plate, and then it runs across the bridge and neck to be fastened to four pegs in the pegbox, located at the top of the neck. A scroll is attached on top of the pegbox to make it decorative. Between the bridge are two f-holes. The sound holes were carved to reduce the thickness of the top plate and act as a resonator to strengthen the sounds created by the strings. Finally, located at the bottom of the top plate is the chinrest. It helps the violinist to position their jaw or chin when playing the violin. To play the violin, the player must hold the violin with his left hand and the bow in his right hand. On the violinist left side, the fingers must be on the fingerboard, chin on the chinrest, and the body of the violin resting on the shoulder. Also, the strings must be tuned in the order, G, D, A, and E, from the left to right. When the violin is played, the violinist presses the strings to change the pitch, and he can also shift his left hand up and down to create a high or low set of tones. As for the bow, it is drawn onto the strings, causing the strings to vibrate to produce a high pitch. There are many techniques to play the violin and other bowed instruments, such as double-stopping, playing two strings at the same time to produce a chord, and open strings, without touching the string to produce the lowest note. Ever since the Baroque era, the violin is divided into two se ctions of the orchestra, the first and second. The first violinists play the melody while the second violinists play the harmony (or sometimes melody). Other than the orchestra, they also have the same role of being first and second in the string quartet, which consists two violins, one viola, and one cello. The violin plays a minor role in popular music, but in western culture, they called violin playing, fiddling. A fiddle is a second name for the violin, but its only known to bluegrass and country music. The fiddle and violin have the same shape, but their playing style is different. Fiddling would produce dancing rhythms, along with quick note changes, while the classical violin plays sustained notes. Overall, the most common uses for the violin is in classical music. Woodwind: A flute is an example of a woodwind instrument. Throughout history, the flute was the oldest instrument. They were made of wood, and it came in different forms depending on the culture. But now, most of the flutes constructed is now metal. In the metal version, there are three joints on the flute: the head, middle, and foot. In the head joint, it has a small piece at the end of the joint called the crown, and it keeps the head joint positioned at its usual depth. Near the crown is the embouchure hole, the center of the lip plate, resting place for the lower lip. The next joint is the middle joint, and its an important part of the instrument. The middle joint consists of flute keys. The original flute has open holes that would be covered with fingers; however, the modern flute replaced the original with a complex system of knitted keys and steel. Most modern flutes have closed-hole keys while some have open-hole keys. The closed-hole is common for beginners because it helps learn how to properly hold the flute, but the open-hole is an advanced flute because of its use for making special effects for contemporary music. The last joint of the flute is the foot joint. The foot joint is where the sound produces from the flute; however, the foot joint also has keys. There are two types of foot joint: C and B foot. The B foot joint has three keys while the C foot joint has two. Depending on what foot joint the flute has, it would produce a different tone and register. To play the flute, it must be held horizontally to the right, so the player is in a good stance. Then, the left hand must be in the first half of the middle joint while the right hand is on the second half. Once the flutist is in position, the flutist can blow through the lip plate to produce a soprano voice in a low register. There are no specific chords for the flute, but wherever they press the keys, it can produce a specific octave scale in a flat or sharp note. In the symphony orchestra, it has the minor role in playing the melody frequently because of its timbre being noticed in the orchestra. But the most common uses for the flutes occurs in concert and marching bands. In the concert band, the woodwind instruments are seated in front, like the string instruments in the orchestra. Theres no specific seating chart for the concert band, but the flute or another woodwind instrument can play either the melody or harmony in this ensemble. As for the marching band, the flute produces high-pitched tones for the band, but sometimes they play the melody of their musical piece. Brass: A trumpet is an example of the brass instrument. It produces the highest pitch from the brass family, declaring itself with a brilliant tone color. Like all brass instruments, it has a mouthpiece on the back. The mouthpiece leads a flow of air from the player to the trumpet to produce the sound. Connected to the mouthpiece is the lead pipe. This pipe leads the soundwave around and through the instrument. The next part is the tuning slide. Its in a c-shape, and it slides in and out to adjust tuning the trumpet, so the further its slide out, the lower the tone it would produce. On the tuning slide is the small lever called the water key. Whenever the player blows through the mouthpiece, theres a small amount of moisture coming inside the trumpet. To clear the moisture, they should press the key and then blow the mouthpiece to get the water out. Next is the valve slides. There are three different valve slides, each connected to the valve pistons. Its like the tuning slide, but th e valve slides tune the pitch of each valve pistons. The important feature of the trumpet is the valve pistons. The three pistons move up and down in the valve casings to produce different tones by different combinations of air pressure and finger movements from the player. However, each valve pistons are different, for they lower the tone of the chromatic scale. The fist piston lowers the tone by a half step while the second lowers the tone by a full step. Also, the third piston lowers the tone by a minor third, which is three half steps. At the end of the trumpet is the bell. This part is recognizable because its part of every brass instruments. It amplifies and creates the sound of the trumpet. To play the trumpet, the player must hold on to the valve slides on the left side while the right side is positioning the fingers to the pistons. And then, the player blows through the mouthpiece and uses the valves to start playing. When playing the trumpet, it plays an octave scale depen ding on what valves theyre pressing. The most common uses for trumpet is in classical and jazz ensemble. In an orchestra, the brass instruments are seated behind the string section because of its loud dynamics. For the trumpet, its mostly been used as a harmony to produce a brighter sound for the orchestra and sometimes plays the melody. In jazz music, the trumpet plays the lead role in an ensemble. The trumpet player carries the melody of most jazz songs because of its loud pitch. Along with the trumpet is the trombone that is part of a bass line and a counter melody to the trumpet. Percussion: The cymbals are an example of the percussion instrument. The cymbals are two circular plates, made of different types of alloy. Each cymbal has a leather strap in the middle, so the player can hold the cymbals. Theres no specific example on how to play this instrument. What the player needs to do is struck against another cymbal, creating an indefinite pitch. The cymbals have been used in many ensembles, ranging from orchestra to marching band. In the orchestra, the cymbals play a minor role there, for their role is to surprise the audience for drama and excitement, or its used to emphasize the rhythm. Also, the cymbals have a major role in the marching band. Along with the percussion instruments, theyre responsible for keeping the tempo going. Even when the brass and woodwind instruments are not playing, the percussion instruments keep on playing. The cymbals in the marching band follow the accented rhythms the drums are making, so they would keep the audience surprised. Last Friday, I watched How I Met Your Mother on TV, and I noticed their use of music. The show started with an opening scene, and then move on to the intro, which lasts around 10 seconds. Most of the scenes that I watched doesnt play a lot of music, but I heard some background music playing because of the locations the characters were at, such as bars, restaurants, and house parties. However, I heard some instruments playing when they switch to new scenes. Most of the instruments played at a soft dynamic, and the most common instrument I heard was an acoustic guitar. There are some instruments included, such as piano, violin, and harp. The show ends with credits, and it plays an extended intro song. With those instruments combined, I recognized a pattern for using music. Most of the instruments I heard on the show have been used as tools for storytelling. The show played the guitar and piano to show what the characters are doing right now. Also, they used the two instruments for movi ng ahead in the next days or weeks. It could be fast or short depending on how much tempo is used. But the most important use of the instruments is setting the mood. The characters can conflict with each other, and the instruments played a major or minor chord depending on what emotions theyre feeling right now. It helps attract the viewers to get their attention to see what happens next, and it lets the viewers feel sympathy towards the characters emotion because of the tonality of the scene. There were some minor uses for the instruments. For example, the harp was played to show the characters flashback or imagination of the future because the harps tone is mystical for any strange occurrence to happen in the future. As for the violin, it helps build suspense for the scene. It plays a low pitch, and as the low pitch ends, it plays a high pitch, bringing a surprise to the viewers. In this show, the suspense can affect the characters, but its funny to watch when something minor look s serious to them doesnt look serious to the viewers. As for the commercial breaks, theres so many random music playing. Theres no specific pattern about music playing in the commercials. But I noticed about how they choose their music. Depending on the advertisement, they used music that matches the companies theme to persuade their audience to buy or support the product. For example, I remember seeing a commercial about the charity group. Theyre persuading the audience to support the abused animals. They persuaded me with pictures of pets with sad eyes, and they used a piano music in a minor chord to get us emotionally attached to the pets. Overall, commercials used music to make us believed that the benefits they showed would work on us.