Business Environment coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Environment - Coursework Example Pertaining to this growth, various sectors of the economy are sprouting up (Uppal et al, 2009) Apart from the robust middle class, India also ranks as the fourth largest billionaire population in the world. This also makes it a lucrative market for premium products and high end luxury products. Moreover, the country has a pulsating democracy which gives an easier access to Foreign Direct Investment and an encouraging environment for business. Entrepreneurs can exploit these benefits in form of ease in technical issues such as the paper work, licensing hurdles, company registration process, and other tax incentives to operate in India (Uppal et al, 2009). The process for incorporation of a company in India has about 11 steps which are spread over a time period of 35 days. As quoted above, the country’s middle class along with the high income earners constitutes a high overall spending power and as quoted above, this fact makes it one of the most lucrative markets in South Asia and the whole world. Moreover, the political condition in the economy has led to a gap for entrepreneurs in different sectors of the economy like retail, insurance, banking etc. This gap has largely been created because previously, these sectors were owned and controlled by the government and as the Indian economy opens up to the global markets, these government monopolies have started to evaporate leaving space for entrepreneurs (Uppal et al, 2009). No matter how huge and lucrative the market seems, India is not the country of one’s dreams and like all the rest of the world, has some setbacks too. Unfortunately, one of the problems in the business environment which India faces is unimposing law enforcement by the Indian judiciary. This is mainly because of resource constraints and long procedures owing to corruption. However, the problem has been identified and is deemed serious enough to take some actions to avert this drawback in the country’s

The Fall of The House of Usher- by Edgar Allan Poe Essay

The Fall of The House of Usher- by Edgar Allan Poe - Essay Example It is shown in the characterization of Roderick, symbolism of the house, and first person point of view. b. The ventral striatum is a section of the brain that is mostly associated with rewards. Furthermore, this section of the brain is vital to learning processes. This part of the brain is largely stimulated by love and affection for close friends and relatives. Human brains subjected to lonely environment display less activity in this region when shown or told interesting things or stories respectively. They lack interest and do not enjoy these moments instead get distracted by other things. c. According to Poe, the narrator tries to cheer up Roderick Usher by reading him a medieval romance story. The narrator says, â€Å"I will read and you listen.† He loudly reads Mad Trist by Sir Lancelot Canning. As he reads, he gets distracted by unnecessary noise from Usher. Roderick is not interested in the story and is fantasizing and muttering to himself. d. Through this scene, readers learn of the detrimental effects of loneliness to Usher’s mind. Usher, who once loved and enjoyed romantic stories and books, does not show any interest in the narrator’s story. He does not find the story interesting because of his brain condition. His brain condition is as a result of social isolation and loneliness. Additionally, his habit of staying indoors with her sister Medline has led to the activation of Ventrium Striatum. Due to activation of this hormone, Usher’s interest and love for various things disappeared. As a result, he prefers to do other things that are not interesting to ordinary human beings. Consequently, people should look for friends to enjoy life and the existing impressive things. Having enough friends and company that engages the brain on a daily basis leads to avoidance of such peculiar medical conditions. The brain remains healthy and functional. c. Poe validates

Hemispheric Interference In Manual Verbal Tasks Psychology Essay

Hemispheric Interference In Manual Verbal Tasks Psychology Essay Research has shown that different hemispheres are responsible for different functions. It is argued that if two or more tasks are loaded on the same hemisphere, the overall performance of these tasks will deteriorate. This occurrence has been explained by the hemispheric interference theory which states that multiple tasks demanding cognitive attention from the same hemisphere will encounter interference due to the additional demands. In this study, this phenomenon was examined among 378 subjects using the manual-verbal task paradigm. Participants were asked to balance a dowel rod on their left and right hands alternatively across two conditions silent and verbal. Their preferred handedness were also taken into account and assessed by the Edinburg Handedness Inventory. Results obtained from an independent t-test analysis revealed that interference in right hand balancing is significantly more than left hand balancing in the verbal condition. This suggested that magnitude of interfer ence is larger when both tasks utilize the same hemisphere. Furthermore, it was also evident that interference occurs during dual tasks in both left and right hand condition. This suggested that contrary to several prior studies, speech is bi-lateralized. Hemispheric Interference in Manual-Verbal Tasks Extensive research has been done on brain hemispheres and the different functions each of them is responsible for. Clinical research reveals that the left hemisphere is responsible for speech and fine motor abilities while the right hemisphere is accountable for spatial functions (McGowan Duka, 2000). However, when it comes to motor skills, roles of left and right hemisphere have been shown to be asymmetrical, that is, the left hemisphere is responsible for manual tasks on the right hand and right hemisphere controls tasks on the left (Hiscock Kinsbourne, 1979). Asymmetrical cerebral lateralization and unilateral hand preference are usually correlated since birth. It was also noted that hemispheric lateralization occurs at a very young age but does not necessarily increase with it (Hiscock Kinsbourne). With these on board, it is argued that when dual-tasks are lateralized, that is, they load on the same hemisphere, performance will decline because of the increased cognitive demands on a limited brain capacity. This phenomenon has been explained by cerebral lateralization interference which explains that mutual interference occurs in the event of hemispheric sharing between several tasks, resulting in an overall decrement in performance of tasks (Kinsbourne Cook, 1971). However, it should be noted that due to each tasks distinct characteristics and demands, lateralization do not occur in a consistent manner. This in turn affects the amount of interference incurred. For example, in an experiment done by Hiscock, Kinsbournce, Samuels and Krause (1987), it was observed that speaking was more disruptive as opposed to memory encoding in a dual task paradigm where subjects were finger tapping. This suggests that different cognitive processes involved result in different lateralization and interference of varying magnitude. Other factors such as difficulty have also been observed to affect this phenomenon. An experiment done by Hicks (1975), which consisted of a manual task (finger tapping) across verbal tasks of various difficulty levels revealed that the more complex the verbal task was, the worse the manual task was performed. This finding can be interpreted to show that the more cognitively demanding a task is, the greater the interference. Other independent variables observed to affect concurrent task performance and hemisphere interference include gender and practice effects (Medlan, Geffen Mcfarland, 2002). As mentioned, vocalization utilizes the left hemisphere. However, it is noteworthy that there are various underlying cognitive processes that lead to vocalization. Factors that influence these cognitive processes include tasks stimulus and intention. In an experiment done by Steiner, Green and White (1992), it was observed that when subjects are required to process the meaning of a verbal task before recitation, there was a larger interference in the manual task, as opposed to the mere act of reading. This suggests that increased complexity of verbal task, such as the need for comprehension, results in a greater magnitude of interference. With that being said, verbalization is often coupled with a manual task as a means of assessing hemispheric laterality and interference. An early indication of asymmetric lateralization where a left lateralized effect was observed was evident in a dual-task experiment done by Kinsbourne Cook (1971). Subjects in this experiment were noted to struggle with manual tasks on their right hand when they were asked to speak simultaneously. This finding has since then been replicated in various experiments, such as those done by Hicks (1975) and Hiscock, Kinsbournce, Samuels Krause (1987), who attributed the asymmetry of interference to the fact that both right-hand tasks and speaking are controlled by the left cerebral hemisphere of right-handers. It was suggested that with competition for attention and abilities from concurrent tasks, the performance will inevitably decline due to the limited capacity of the hemisphere (Hiscock et al., 1987). It was further noted in the paper done by Hick s (1975) that this occurrence does not extend to left hand movements as they are controlled by the right cerebral hemisphere, which was noted to be rather disassociated from its left counterpart. However, if such an explanation is accurate, no interference should be noted when the tasks are managed by the left hand as the two tasks are loading on separate hemispheres. In contrary, prior research has shown that there is a sizeable interference effect even when manual tasks were performed on the left hand. This result suggests bilateral lateralization (Dimond Beaumont, 1972). In other words, verbal tasks might utilize both hemispheres instead of only the left, as previously hypothesized. This finding was affirmed by Beaton (1979), who stated that this interaction is a result of function sharing between hemispheres and is dependent on the cognitive demands of the task. In order to examine this phenomenon further, we build on the work of Kinsbourne Cook (1971) to examine if there is any difference in hemispheric interference between left and right motor skills using a manual-verbal task combination. Correspondingly, the manual task in this experiment consisted of balancing a dowel stick across two conditions, silent and speaking (single and dual task respectively). The influence of verbal task on manual task was examined by performance of dowel balancing, measured in time (seconds). It was hypothesized that in the speaking condition, dowel-balancing time on the right hand will be shorter than the left hand. It was predicted that this would occur because the act of speaking significantly interferes with the right hand balancing in the left hemisphere. This paper aims to covers the methodological and empirical foundations underlying the theories of cerebral lateralization interference. Method Subjects All 378 subjects were undergraduates enrolled in enrolled in PSY3350 Biological Psychology, Sensation and Perception in Edith Cowan University. All students did a checklist of questions regarding their preferred handedness and assessed by the Edinburg Handedness Inventory. Results obtained defined the handedness of the subject and revealed a mean handedness quotient of 0.83 (SD = 0.20). Only right-handers balancing time were taken into account in this experiment. Material and Design Subjects were assigned to groups of four. A wooden dowel rod (1.25 cm x 92 cm long) was used for the dual task balancing experiment. Students were asked to balance the dowel rod on alternate hands across two conditions silent and speaking. Time taken to balance was measured by a fellow group mate with a phone. For the speaking condition, another group mate held a conversation with the subject based on any topic (not limited). On top of that, Edinburg Handedness Inventory with a total of 10 questions based on daily activities was used to measure degree of preferred handedness. This test has been deemed sufficiently reliable by Oldfield (1970) to assess handedness in large populations. An experiment done by Williams (1991) further concluded that this test is reliable with a cronbachs alpha of .93, indicating internal consistency. Procedure Students were asked to gather in a classroom for the evening class. A brief introduction and purpose of the dual-task experiment was given by the lecturer before the start of the experiment. The experiment was held either in the classroom or the corridor, both of which were air-conditioned. In a standing position, subjects were asked to balance a dowel rod vertically on their index finger for as long as they can. Each trial commenced when the timer said start and ended when the subject lost control of the dowel rod i.e. dowel rod fell to the ground or hit against something. The experiment consisted of eight trials in total right and left trials alternated across two conditions, silent and speaking. The balancing time of each trial was recorder by a timer. Each condition was timed twice before the average was calculated. In the speaking condition, a conversation on a random topic was held with a fellow group mate. After the experiment, subjects were then instructed to complete the Ed inburg Inventory Checklist that measured ones preferred handedness based on a checklist of 10 questions about daily activities. Upon completion, both time sheet and Edinburg Handedness Inventory were handed in together to the lecturer for further analysis. Results Data with a total sample size of 378 was collected. This included time measured across four different conditions: left hand-silent, left hand-verbal, right hand-silent and right hand-verbal. It was hypothesized that in the speaking condition, dowel-balancing time on the right hand will be shorter than the left. Table 1 Average time of dowel balancing across conditions and interference incurred Condition / Dependent Variable Mean Std. Deviation (seconds) Left Silent 11.05 18.15 Left Verbal 10.34 18.76 Right Silent 17.27 29.04 Right Verbal 12.80 20.67 Amount of Left Balancing Interference (Verbal-Silent) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢0.72 10.19 Amount of Right Balancing Interference (Verbal-Silent) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢4.48 19.18 Table 1 shows the average time of dowel balancing across conditions and interference incurred in left and right hand in the verbal condition. It is evident in Table 1 that overall, balancing on silent condition for both left (M = 11.05 sec, SD = 18.15) and right hand (M = 17.27 sec, SD = 29.04) is better than balancing in the verbal condition for both left (M = 10.34 sec, SD = 18.76) and right hand (M = 12.80 sec, SD = 20.67). Furthermore, right balancing interference (M = -4.48 sec, SD = 19.18) is larger than left balancing interference (M = -.72 sec, SD = 10.19). A dependent two-tailed t-test conducted was able to further confirm that there this difference is significant, t(377) = 3.8, p Discussion It was hypothesized that verbalization shortens dowel balancing time on the right hand more than the left. Results obtained from this experiment support this hypothesis. It was noted earlier in this paper that manual tasks are managed by asymmetrical hemispheres and speech by the left hemisphere. Hence, a larger interference was observed in right hand balancing and speaking as they are both left lateralized. This is in favour of prior dual tasks researches, such as those done by Kinsbourne Cook (1971) and Hicks (1975), who attributed the interference to additional cognitive demands on a limited hemisphere capacity that arise from simultaneous tasks. Furthermore, it was theoretically suggested that speech is controlled by the left hemisphere alone. In contrary, results from this experiment did not reflect this as interference was evident in both left and right hand balancing during dual tasks, differing only in degree of influence. One explanation for this present result is that under different stimulus conditions, verbalization might utilize both hemispheres due to the different cognitive processes involved. Bi-lateralizing of speech is thus inferred. These findings lend further support to the studies done by Beaton (1979) and Dimond and Beautmont (1972), who indicated that when the demands of the tasks exceed a certain level, unilateral hemispheric processing gives way to bilateral processing. Lastly, it is also noteworthy that lateralized interference in this and prior experiments seem to only occur in one direction i.e. the verbal task affects the manual task. An explanation for this occurrence can be derived from the selective attention theory formed by Stroop (1935), who states that when the brain is confronted with different type of information to register, it has a tendency to do the activity that requires the least usage of cognitive abilities first. Dowel balancing is a manual task that requires minimal cognitive effort but demand ongoing attention while speaking, in this case, is a routinized verbal skill. In conclusion, hemispheric interference occurs during dual tasks due to the additive demands on the brain of a limited capacity. However, contrary to popular research, interference may occur in both hemispheres instead of just the designated section responsible for the task. This suggests bi-lateralization which indicates that both hemispheres may be utilized, depending on the cognitive demands. That being said, there are still many unanswered questions about cerebral lateralization. In particular, it remains unclear in this experiment which aspect of language and nonverbal ability is being lateralized. This is because an unlimited topic produces an unlimited variety of question, which might result in different cognitive processes and hence, different lateralization. Future research should include cross-validating dual tasks results across various conditions to identify the confounding factors that affect single versus dual task influence on performance.

A Summary of Bram Stokers Dracula Essay -- English Literature

A Summary of Bram Stoker's Dracula Dracula is an epistolary novel, meaning that is composed from letters, journal and diary entries, telegrams, and newspaper clippings. Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray (later Mina Harker), and Dr. Seward write the largest contributions to the novel although the writings of Lucy Westenra and Abraham Van Helsing constitute some key parts of the book. The novel has a slightly journalistic feel, as it is a harrowing account supposedly written by the people who witnessed the book's events. A young Englishman named Jonathan Harker travels through Transylvania on a business trip. He is there to aid Count Dracula, a Transylvanian nobleman, in buying an English estate. His journey into the remote Eastern European landscape is fearsome, although initially he is charmed by the Count's generosity and intelligence. Gradually, he comes to realize that he is a prisoner in Dracula's castle, and that the Count is a demonic being who plans to prey on the teeming masses of London. Possessing the supernatural ability to scale vertical walls and live without a reflection. Dracula leaves him to die at the hands of three female vampires, but Jonathan attempts a desperate escape. Meanwhile, in England, Jonathan's fiancà ©e Mina visits her best friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy has recently been proposed to by three men Arthur Holmwood, Dr. Seward, and Quincey Morris. She chooses Arthur to be her happy fiancà ©. Mina and Lucy vacation together at Whitby, a quaint seaside town renowned for its ghostly history. While they are there, a Russian vessel is shipwrecked. A large dog leaps from the wreck and runs away. All of its crew are missing apart from one dead captain. The ship was carrying fifty boxes of e... ...la's chest. Now, after enough time has passed she will become one of the undead unless they can destroy Dracula first. They set to work, sterilizing (with holy wafer) all but one of the boxes in one day. Dracula, in the last box, flees back to Transylvania to rest and regroup for another attack. The band of friends tracks him down, splitting up so that Van Helsing and Mina will go to purge the castle while the four young men track the last box. Van Helsing and Mina succeed, killing the three female vampires and using holy wafer to render the castle uninhabitable for the undead. They then regroup with the others, and all together they surround the gypsies who are transporting Dracula in his coffin. During the struggle against the gypsies, Quincey receives a mortal wound. Jonathan and Quincey deliver the killing blows to Dracula just as the sun is setting.

Arvo Part “Spiegel Im Spiegel”

Addam Farmer Materials of Modern Music 12/7/2011 Research Paper Final Arvo Part Spiegel im Spiegel Spiegel im Spiegel, originally written for violin and piano, is one of Arvo Part’s most influential compositions. At first listen, the composition sounds like a standard minimalist piece: it is in F Major, written in 6/4 time, and over 8 minutes long. The most important aspect of the piece lies not in the musical content itself, but in the way that Part uses that content. Arvo Part was an extremely spiritual human being, devoting even his music-making to his spirituality.His â€Å"tintinnabuli† style was created with the intent to mirror the Biblical portrayal of Jesus Christ. â€Å"On the surface it is calm, as was Christ’s external acceptance of his inevitable role in the salvation of all humanity. Yet it bears an undercurrent of turmoil and desperation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Langager, pg. 61) Described in a practical manner, Part’s method of composing in the tint innabuli style involves hovering around the tonic triad in order to create a â€Å"bell-like† quality. In fact, the term tintinnabuli is the literal reference to the ringing of bells in Latin.Futhermore, the tintinnabular style of Part creates an effect â€Å"in which a chord lingers in time until all of the elements of the triad have sounded. † (Langager, pg. 29) Part goes on to explain another important aspect of his tintinnabuli style in an interview with the BBC: Tintinnabuli is the mathematically exact connection from one line to another†¦tintinnabuli is the rule where the melody and the accompaniment [or accompanying voice]†¦is one. One plus one, it is one – it is not two. This is the secret of this technique. It is clear that Part’s ultimate goal was to do as much as he can with as little as he had. His â€Å"one plus one† equals one philosophy can be blatantly heard in Spiegel im Spiegel. The literal German translation for Spiegel im Spiegel is â€Å"mirror in the mirror. † When listening to the piece with this knowledge, we can hear why Part gave the composition its title. The piece feels like an infinite amount of reflections like that created by a mirror in a mirror: the seemingly endless repetition of the tonic triad in the piano is responsible for this aural illusion.This falls exactly in line with Part’s description of tintinnabuli: that is, the emphasis of the triad over an extended period of time. The piano arpeggiates around this tonic triad for what seems like forever, which puts the listener into what Part would describe as a â€Å"spiritual† trance. At about 15 seconds into the piece, a violin carefully makes its entrance. The violin’s simple part helps it to merge with the piano sequence, making true Part’s equation of â€Å"one plus one equals one. † The violin line consists of nothing but whole notes, and is completely devoid of syncopation.It is true that one can examine the piano and violin as being two mirrors: they are two different instruments, but when faced towards each other, they reflect the other and it becomes difficult to tell one from the other. Throughout Spiegel im Spiegel, the two different mirrors (the violin and the piano) reflect each other, portraying a sense of unity. While the violin line is extremely simple in its melodic content, the way Part expands upon the melody is unique and somewhat sneaky. The violin line begins by ascending from G to middle A. Then, it descends from B flat to middle A.Following that, it ascends from F to G to middle A. Basically, each time it ascends, at the last part of the sequence, the note ascends one step higher than it had the previous ascension. The same goes for the descending lines. Once the violin reaches the outermost note, it returns right back to A (the third of the key signature), without even touching another note before it. Part very obviously planned for this to ha ppen as it is pitch relationship in the violin is extremely ordered and mathematical. This trait can evade the listener easily – I didn’t even notice it was happening until I took the violin line apart.Upon further analysis we hear that the piano begins by playing a second inversion F Major chord arpeggiation, repeated in an endless manner. This arpeggiation is modified throughout the piece, switching between root position and the inherent second inversion that happens when the left hand note fades out. Simply by inverting the chord, Part changes the feel of the key. Had he written the extended arpeggiation of the F major in root position the entire time, the composition would feel much more â€Å"campy† – it could have felt like a children’s song.Instead, inverting the arpeggiated chord in second inversion gives the music a deeper, more passionate quality. In addition, the chords in the piano necessarily mirror what the violin does in terms of its mathematical pitch sequences. The musical content and context of Spiegel im Spiegel is true to its title. The violin line gives off the illusory effect that it is static when it is actually extending its range, while the piano’s endlessly-repeated second inversion F Major chord creates a wave of emotion.The violin and piano’s juxtaposing-yet-unifying musical content give it the sense that we are hearing what a mirror’s reflection of another mirror would sound like. Spiegel im Spiegel encompasses all things tintinnabular; that is, all things Arvo. Bibliography: Langager, Graeme. â€Å"The Tintinnabuli Compositional Style of Arvo Part. † British Colombia, Canada; Long Beach, California. 1997. Arvo Part & Anthony Pitt. BBC 3 Radio Interview. Royal Academy of Music, London. 2000.

What is innovation, what influences whether new ideas emerge, and whether they are eventually successful?

Innovation is the introduction of something new. It could be a new idea, a new product, a new design, a new curriculum or a new method. The factors that influence new ideas to emerge are due to consumer wants and needs. People are always looking for ways and means to make life easier. The success of an innovation is usually based on consumer feedback and how user friendly the innovation is. Take for example the innovation of the telephone. The old design was quite bulky and they used the rotary dialing system. When the phone line was busy, you have to redial all the numbers. For an elderly person with finger arthritis, that is quite painful and difficult to do. For a very busy person, it takes a lot of time to dial again and again. Then, the push button telephone with the redial system innovation came. Calling a busy number became easier but if you are busy doing something with your hands. It’s quite difficult to keep dialing or talking on the phone and continues to work by using your shoulders or hands to prop or hold on to the earpiece. So, speakerphones were invented. First it came as an attachment to the phone unit but then it occupied a lot of space on the office table. So, another innovation came in the form of a telephone with built–in speaker. Then the intercom innovation came. Manufacturing plant personnel would find it quite difficult to talk to other personnel through phone. It would be expensive to have so many phone lines for each department within a compound. The intercom system was used so inter department communication would be easier. To having an intercom unit and a phone unit on the office table takes up a lot of space. So another innovation was made. Telephone units with built-in speakers and intercoms were made. Ideas keep coming as the need for new features to help ease communication problems arise. That is why from a rotary dial system, phone innovation has become cell phones with wi-fi and camera features with phonebook, organizer, radio, mp4 music player, alarm clock with world time converter and word document programs.