Y2k Bug Essays - Calendars, Software Bugs, COBOL, Hazards

Y2k Bug David Eggleston Review of Literature 2/24/99 Teri Ferguson Y2K Bug The turn of the century is rapidly approaching. This should be a time of high hopes for the future; the United States has advanced in all sorts of technology. The United States has advanced a great deal with computers, which are able to automate many difficult jobs, calculate extravagant equations, and make life easier for most people. The computer is an amazing tool allowing the United States to excel in the world. But, computers can also be the loadstone of the United States in the year 2000. The computer bug commonly known as Y2K can cause this. Y2K will cause a computer's date registry to read ?00? in which the computer will interpret ?1900?. Many people have their own opinions about how this will effect the United States and to what degree it will be effected, if the United States will be effected at all. A writer for Time Magazine states that there are wide ranges of people that are being effected in different ways by the Y2K problem. The author describes how many people are preparing for the worst and that some of those people believe that the Biblical Armageddon will arrive in the year 2000. It was stated that the Y2K problem is just another thing to keep people entertained. This was described by how the movie industry moved from spy movies such as ?James Bond? at the end of the cold war to more sci-fi movies such as ?Godzilla? because there was no real world problem. The purpose of this article is to simply point out that there is an actual problem with the Y2K phenomenon in order to make people aware that there are dangers even if it is just in the form of doomsayers. These points of the author are strong enough and realistic enough to make the problem known to the people but does not display any idea one way or the other. A marketing organization known as Arial Marketing posted a contingency plan on the internet that gives a view that there is going to be a strong enough problem with Y2K that one must prepare for it. This argument is supported by a few quotes from officials and high-ranking people in their respective fields. Arial Marketing made this posting slanting toward the fact that there will definitely be a problem with Y2K. Arial Marketing has even posted bad and a worst case preparation table. The purpose of this site is to tell people that their will be a Y2K problem and that in order to help people prepare for a situation Eggleston 2 two. This opinion is a strong one that is well presented and cautious with the quotes from many people backing it up. In ?The Year 2000 Problem: The Year the Earth Stands Still? Written by a one Gary North, Gary North clearly argues his own opinion about the Y2K problem. He really does not support his case by any facts other than his strong determination to make sure that everyone knows his point of view. The point of view that he tends to support is one of terrible visions of the absolute worst case scenario of the Y2K problem. He does not have any other kind of opinion of anything less and is quite sure of the idea that the world will crash because of the Y2K problem. The purpose of this article is to display Gary North's opinion of the Y2K problem in order to get people to prepare for the worst. The argument that Gary North has presented is a weak one for he has only state opinionated facts and has not supported this argument with any hard evidence. In just under a year the year 2000 will arrive with many hopes but it will also arrive with a Y2K bug. This bug will definitely effect some things, and maybe effect major things. The only thing that the people can do is simply prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Many organizations and even the government of the United States are working and hacking at this problem. Many organizations are making headway and will be ready to great the new millennium; others will most

Free Essays on The Meaning Of Greatness

Greatness can de defined in many ways, however to be truly great you simply need acceptance. Bernard Malamud’s main character in The Assistant Morris Bober exemplifies this humble greatness while refuting mislead ideals of pompous greatness. Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus mirrors Morris’ ideal of greatness through the silent acceptance of one’s destiny. Morris lives a very simple, bleak like. He gets up at the same time every morning, sells the same products to the same customers, takes the same breaks, does the same chores, worries about the same bills from the same store and his family every single day. Nothing has changed much. However despondent a life Morris lives however, he never fails to help out those who are worse off than him. â€Å"He found a penciled spot on the worn counter, near the cash register, and wrote the sum under ’Drunk Womnen’. The new total now came to $2.03†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Malamud, 2). Even when Frank confesses to holding Morris up, he reveals that, â€Å"This I already know, you don’t tell me nothing new.† (Malamud, 188). Morris found his greatness through his acceptance of his humble life much like Sisyphus from Camus’ The Myth of Sisy phus. â€Å"At each of those moments when he leaves the heights and gradually sinks toward the lairs of the gods, he is superior to his fate. He is stronger than his rock.†(Camus, 230). Only through accepting one’s fate humbly with understanding like Morris and Sisyphus can one become â€Å"stronger than his rock†. It is evident in Morris’ demeanor that not only does he hold Camus’ ideals among greatness, but that he openly refutes Carlye’s ideals as well. Carlye’s On Heroes and Hero-Worship blatantly contrasts Morris Bober’s views on greatness with its ideals that greatness is rooted in recognition and distinguishment. Carlye believes that â€Å"One comfort is that Great Men, taken up in any way are profitable company.† (Carlyle, 237). This however is not tr... Free Essays on The Meaning Of Greatness Free Essays on The Meaning Of Greatness Greatness can de defined in many ways, however to be truly great you simply need acceptance. Bernard Malamud’s main character in The Assistant Morris Bober exemplifies this humble greatness while refuting mislead ideals of pompous greatness. Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus mirrors Morris’ ideal of greatness through the silent acceptance of one’s destiny. Morris lives a very simple, bleak like. He gets up at the same time every morning, sells the same products to the same customers, takes the same breaks, does the same chores, worries about the same bills from the same store and his family every single day. Nothing has changed much. However despondent a life Morris lives however, he never fails to help out those who are worse off than him. â€Å"He found a penciled spot on the worn counter, near the cash register, and wrote the sum under ’Drunk Womnen’. The new total now came to $2.03†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Malamud, 2). Even when Frank confesses to holding Morris up, he reveals that, â€Å"This I already know, you don’t tell me nothing new.† (Malamud, 188). Morris found his greatness through his acceptance of his humble life much like Sisyphus from Camus’ The Myth of Sisy phus. â€Å"At each of those moments when he leaves the heights and gradually sinks toward the lairs of the gods, he is superior to his fate. He is stronger than his rock.†(Camus, 230). Only through accepting one’s fate humbly with understanding like Morris and Sisyphus can one become â€Å"stronger than his rock†. It is evident in Morris’ demeanor that not only does he hold Camus’ ideals among greatness, but that he openly refutes Carlye’s ideals as well. Carlye’s On Heroes and Hero-Worship blatantly contrasts Morris Bober’s views on greatness with its ideals that greatness is rooted in recognition and distinguishment. Carlye believes that â€Å"One comfort is that Great Men, taken up in any way are profitable company.† (Carlyle, 237). This however is not tr...

2012 London Olympic Games Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

2012 London Olympic Games - Essay Example However, after it became clear that Great Britain would, indeed, win a medal, the scope of promotion and even service quality appeared to be redesigned and positioned under national pride and support for women’s sporting. The Great Britain v. New Zealand hockey event, upon discovery of Britain’s team involvement, changed intentions from being a generic sporting event requiring traditional management oversight to a marketing opportunity to expand the brand presence of the United Kingdom women’s sporting associations, improve national reputational standing internationally, and also provide visitors with a total quality experience. Merchandising, promotion, public relations, sponsorship, and entertainment took a radically different approach (hence, the concentration was on marketing support and revenue-building through marketing). Under the EMBOK model of events management, these particular knowledge domains are fundamental aspects of the events planning model (Getz 2007). These elements and processes required significant flexibility and rapid alteration to achieve profit and service quality provision goals with a new events positioning strategy based on national honour and conceit for the achievement of women’s sports participation. Great Britain’s involvement in this particular events match extended the life cycle of the event, transforming it from being just a mere constituent part of the broader 2012 Olympics to a full-fledged short-term project objective. The life cycle of this event project was transformed from a three to four-hour event to an elongated strategic project objective that would have a considerable period of growth before meeting ultimate decline. This event became a tangible special project requiring significant marketing flexibility and reallocation of labour and finance.

The Issues Associated with Road Congestion Research Proposal

The Issues Associated with Road Congestion - Research Proposal Example Road traffic congestion is a situation that is characterized by a high number of vehicles on a road that leads to low speed and longer time taken for a trip, road congestion has its negative effects on both the owners of vehicles and also to the environment, some of these negative effects include pollution, increased economic costs, stress, and time wastage and increased health hazards to the individuals. Traffic congestion increases the time used for a certain trip, this means that the vehicles will be more likely to emit more pollutant gases into the atmosphere as compared to travel where there is less traffic. Pollution includes both air and sound pollution, air pollution will degrade the environment and some of these minerals are emitted which degrades the environment include sulfur, lead and carbon dioxide. Once the environment is degraded by these gases it poses some health hazards such as acid rain which may cause damage to property and also skin cancer. Global warming is the major environmental effect that is associated with pollution, it is the current issue of concern and traffic congestion can be linked as a source of global warming. In times of traffic snarl-ups too much is wasted that could have been used to conduct other economic activities, many business opportunities are lost due to this inefficiency caused by traffic congestion, it can also be associated with causing lateness to a person who may be urgently needed somewhere, it may also hamper emergency cases such as ambulances may be unable to reach hospitals on time causing even loss of lives.

Socrates The Symposium and Its Serious Purpose Essay Example for Free

Socrates The Symposium and Its Serious Purpose Essay Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.)was a Greek philosopher.   Plato (ca. 429-347 B.C.E.)was the student of Socrates.   According to David H. Richter, because Plato mistrusted writing, he did not set down his philosophy in the usual form of a set of treatises but rather in dialogues (18).   The Symposium comes from a dialogue of Socrates ideas transcribed by Plato, because Socrates never wrote anything himself. Whether or not Plato kept his own ideas out of Socrates is the subject of debate:   . . . at times we may wonder whether Socrates is being serious or ironic, at other times whether he always speaks directly for Plato (Richter 18).   Be that as it may, The Symposium discusses the nature of love, and although it is written in a comic tone, nonetheless it also strives to explore love in a serious manner as bound in morality in the structured forms of drama, rhetoric and dialect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Symposium takes the form of several speeches by guests at a symposium, or drinking party, at the house of Agathon.   Each of the seven party guests, and their respective speeches, represent a different aspect of love.   Phaedrus takes a literary approach to the topic of love, while Pausanias a legal perspective.   Eryximachus brings a doctors view to the topic, and Aristophanes, as a comic poet, sticks with a humorous take on the subject.   Agathon uses a self-conscious poetic outlook, whereas Socrates puts a religious spin on love.   Finally, Alcibiades talks about his relationship, whether erotic or not, to Socrates.   If love is a part of or even the basis of morality, then it is not surprising that Socrates and Plato were interested in coming up with a clear idea of what love was, because according to D. Brendan Nagle, Socrates and Plato, came to the defense of the beleaguered city-state and tried to find a new and irrefutable moral basis for it (162).   Socrates was looking for a basis for morality, and certainly he thought at least a part of it was bound up in the idea of love.   C. M. Bowra, in Classical Greece, says that Socrates was the first exponent in Greece of a morality based on the demands of individual conscience rather than the demands of the state (137). This work explores this idea of love bound in morality.   Socrates, at a time before the drinking party, speaks to Diotima, who tells him a story about love.   She brings together the ideas of love and eternality, or what we might today call a true and undying love.   She relates how some men were willing to die for the sake of their name being bound to a good reputation even after their death.   She gives the example that Achilles would not have avenged Patroclus was it not for the memory of their virtues, which still survives among us, would be immortal? (The Symposium).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Plato uses the dramatic form as one type of structure for The Symposium (Platos Symposium).   There is an introduction, the body of the play, and an afterward.   The drama is built around the verbal antics of three pairs of speakers with differing points of view.   Phaedrus is a social climber and wants to get in good with the poets.   He is a rival to Pausanias for Agathons attention.   Pausanias, however, is Agathons current lover, so the plot thickens comedically in this first episode. The next scene takes place between Eryximachus, the physician who is bombastic and Aristophanes, the comic dramatist who was known for bringing down people with big egos.   The final portion is a debate between Agathon and Socrates.   Plato draws a verbal picture of Agathon as a flamboyant self-centered character, whereas Socrates comes across as simple and unfashionable.   These pairings help produce the comedy and satire of the piece.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rhetoric of this piece can also be used as a form for the discussion of love in which these characters partake.   Some of the characters deliver their speeches in an exaggerated manner, such as Eryximachus and Agathon.   Others, like Socrates and Aristophanes, use a plain style.   By the end of the piece Alcibiades, the last speaker, explains in summary that inner beauty is more attractive than outer charm.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another way to understand The Symposium is as an example of the Socratic method itself.   It starts with basic ideas about love, and gradually it grows to deeper understanding based on a question and answer format made famous by Socrates.   Phaedrus begins with the idea that love elevates the lover, but Pausanias counters that love can have a religious context or a secular one. The doctor gives a medical explanation for love, claiming that love will bring peace to the mind, whereas Aristophanes thinks that love is more self-centered, because the lover is looking for self-actualization through the means of love. Socrates has the final summary through expressing the ideas of Diotima to the other party guests that love in its purest form wants eternally to be immortal and also wants the good and the beautiful to be the focus of its immortality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socrates used humor as well as structure provided by drama, rhetoric, and the Socratic method of question and answer to get his message concerning love across not only to the guests at the party, but eventually to the world.   This piece has been the foundation upon which Western cultures idea of love was based.   Although Socrates students loved him, the state, not surprisingly, did not for several reasons.   The city-state leaders did not like the idea that Socrates questioned the popular religions of the day. He believed his search for self-individualism was greater than the needs of the state.   The state of Athens thought Socrates, in his role as an educator, to be a corrupting force on the youth of the city, and they condemned him to death.   He died surrounded by his friends and talking to them, after he had drunk hemlock, the poison that would take his life.   Plato called Socrates,the wisest and most just and best man who ever lived, a saint and a martyr (Bowra 138).   Even after Socrates death, Plato wrote down the words that Socrates said, and this is why we can begin to understand his thoughts in The Symposium. Works Cited Bowra, C. M. et al.   Classical Greece.   Alexandria, VA:   Time-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Life Books, 1977. Nagle, D. Brendan.   The Ancient World:   A Social and Cultural   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   History.   2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:   Prentice Hall,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1989. Plato.   Symposium.   http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/p/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plato/p71sy/symposium.html Platos Symposium.   http://condor.depaul.edu/~dsimpson/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   tlove/symposium.html Richter, David H.   The Critical Tradition:   Classic Texts and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Contemporary Trends.   2nd ed.   Boston:   Bedford Books, 1998.

Explication of Theme in Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard to Find

In Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† a family of six set out on a vacation to Florida while an extremely dangerous criminal is on the loose. The family takes the grandmother, who is outraged that the family is traveling while The Misfit is scanning the countryside. Throughout the short story, O’Connor drops many hints to the reader, ultimately leading to the terrifying climax. Foreshadowing is more commonly noticed the second time a story is read as opposed to the first. Readers will pick up on the hints that foreshadow the events to come. Foreshadowing is used when grandmother mentions The Misfit in the opening paragraph, when grandmother dresses formally in case of an accident, and when the graves are noticed in the cottonfield.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Foreshadowing is first used when grandmother tells the family about The Misfit when discussing the vacation destination. â€Å"‘Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose.’† (393). O’Connor throws the idea of The Misfit up in the air for the reader to grasp. â€Å"aloose from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida,† suggests that the family may in fact have a run-in with The Misfit while in Florida. O’Connor leaves the audience with the feeling that the criminal is dangerous and commits unspeakable c...

Case 15: Teletech Corporation, 2005 Essay

Case Study 3: Estimating the Cost of Capital 1. Currently Teletech Corporation (TC) uses a single hurdle rate for both their Telecommunications Services (TS) and Products and Services (P&S) divisions. This hurdle rate obtained by an estimate of TC Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), which is calculated at 9.3%. When analyzing critically at this point, TS is underperforming with a return on capital (ROC) of 9.1%, whereas, P&S segment is well over the required rate of return as it is gaining a ROC of 11.0%. As a result, the firm’ share price is inactive. Their price-to-earning is far below investor’s expectation in comparison to the firm’s risk. The use of a single constant hurdle rate brings about an uncorrelation between risk and return. With an approx. $2 billion being invested in the upcoming years, the discount rate is significantly important in order to make investment decision on profitable projects, that will increase shareholder’s value. 2. Estimate the segment WACCs for Teletech: Corporate TS P&S Explanation MV asset weights 100% 75% 25.00% Bond rating A-/BBB+ A BB Pretax cost of debt (Kd) 5.88% 5.74% 7.47% Tax rate (t) 40% 40% 40% After-tax cost of debt 3.53% 3.44% 4.48% Kd(1-t) Equity beta (ÃŽ ²) 1.15 1.04 1.36 Industry Average Rf 4.62% 4.62% 4.62% 30-year U.S Treasury Securities RM 10.12% 10.12% 10.12% Source: Bloomberg RM-Rf 5.50% 5.50% 5.50% Cost of equity (Ke) 10.95% 10.34% 12.11% Ke=Rf + ÃŽ ²(RM-Rf) Weight of debt 22.19% 22.19% 22.19% Assume that it stays the same as Weight of equity 77.81% 77.81% 77.81% Teletech WACC 9.30% 8.81% 10.41% WACC=Wd *Kd(1-t) + We*Ke 3. It seems that TS is actually profitable on a risk-adjusted basic, even though it is underperforming compared with the firm hurdle rate. The reason behind is the current use of constant hurdle rate does not mirror the higher cost of debt required for P&S, and shows that the cost of equity required for TS will not have sufficient capital in the future but P&S will be given more than enough because TS’ return is less than P&S. It also indicates that TS certainly is less risky than the company and therefore it should be provided adequate funds in the long run. 4. In term of â€Å"economic value†, all money is green. Teletech having a book value of $16 million, they would fit the profile no matter it is under two segments its return on capital is viewed as one whole part. Investors are only concerned with the company as the whole, rather than its individual segments. The implication of that view is to let investors deeply understand that Teletech will still have return at the hurdle rate despite the fact that P&S is less profitable than TS. The return is being produced for shareholders are clearly dependent on where Teletech invests its fund. The argument in favor is that the returns on  capital of the two segments complied into Teletech hence, it is practical to keep all capital contributions at the firm should be treated individually. The argument against this statement is that the decision might be wrong if the use of strategic consideration is not included. The use of single hurdle rate will make the NPV results consistent but the NPV as well as the economic profit estimations would lose their meaning and comparability across TS and P&S. The separation of using different hurdle rates will make Teletech’s return higher. 5. If all the firm’s assets were invested only in the telecommunication segment the firm would increase the total risk as the lack of diversification on multiple investments. From another point of view, currently Teletech is using a constant rate to determine the projects and this rate is used as the discount rate. If the hurdle rate is set constantly at 9.3%, return on capital of TS (8.5%) is far lower than the hurdle, it seems like TS will reduce the firm’s value. While the return on capital of P&S (11.4%) exceeds the hurdle, it means P&S will enhance the firm’s value. TS P&S Explanation Return on Capital (%) 9.10% 11.00% NOPAT (million) $1,180.00 $480.00 Capital (million) $12,967.03 $4,363.64 Capital=ROC*NOPAT Economic Profit (million) -$25.98 $74.17 Use of a constant hurdle rate EP=(ROC-Hurdle Rate)*Capital $37.66 $25.54 Use of individual hurdle rates Where: The constant hurdle rate = WACCfirm = 9.3% The individual hurdle rates: Used for TS = WACCTS = 8.81% Used for P&S = WACCP&S = 10.41% From the table above, obviously observed that the use of the constant hurdle rate will mislead investment decisions, as it probably will result in negative economic profit from TS (-$25.98 million) as it does not take into account any additional risk associated with each segment. In fact if the use of individual hurdle rates applied, it will generate a large positive economic profit from TS ($37.66 million), PS still remains profitable but it is far below the original economic profit that calculated by using the constant hurdle rate. 6. From the calculations above in part 5, P&S will contribute extra value ($25.54 million) to Teletech as the term â€Å"all money is green† because P&S’ actual return is up to 11%, which is, lightly exceeded the hurdle rate of 10.41%. 7. There is no conflict with holding two seats on Teletech’s board of directors as he demanded, but the initial purpose of business is to provide firm’s customers the best goods and services, that will make Teletech to become the best telecommunication service. The firm will have to generate the best possible return, maximize the shareholder’s wealth, maintain the heavy development in both expansions of range as well as increase in customer’ satisfaction. So far, each segment has shown clear evidences and signs that they have been being brought value to Teletech, therefore Teletech have to decide to treat both TS and P&S like individual firms in the uses of equity and debt for a long run benefit.