Antonio Vivaldi :: essays research papers fc

Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4th, 1678, in Venice, Italy, and died on July 28, 1741, in Vienna, Austria. His father, a barber and a talented violinist at Saint Mark's Cathedral himself, had helped him in trying a career in music and made him enter the Cappella di San Marco orchestra, where he was an appreciated violinist. In 1703 Vivaldi became a priest and acquired the nickname "The Red Priest", since he had red hair. He had become a priest against his own will because it was the only possible way for his poor family to obtain free schooling. In 1704 he was pardoned from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill health, and later became a violin teacher at an orphanage for girls called Ospedale della Pietà   in Venice. The orphans soon started to gain appreciation and esteem as Vivaldi wrote most of his concertos, cantate and sacred music for them. In 1705 the first collection of his works was published. He was a prolific composer and is most well known for composing over 500 concertos, 46 Operas, sinfonias, 73 sonatas, chamber music, and sacred music. His most famous work is said to be the Four Seasons. Vivaldi's music is particularly innovative as he gave brightness to the formal and the rhythmic structure of concertos. He repeatedly looked for harmonic contrasts, creating innovative melodies and themes. Vivaldi’ main goal was to create a musical piece meant to be appreciated by the wide public, and not only by an intellectual minority. The joyful appearance of his music reveals a transmittable joy of composing. These are among the causes of the vast popularity of his music. This popularity soon made him famous also in countries like France, at the time very closed into its national schemes. He is considered one of the authors that brought Baroque music to evolve into an impressionist style. The Four Seasons composed by Vivaldi was one of the earliest examples of program music and was also the most famous of all his concertos. Vivaldi wanted to depict the various seasons in the four concerti in Italian. When you listen to the Four Season, you feel as though he has created a whole another atmosphere with its own feelings. He seems to have used only the four major instruments that are usually present in an orchestra, which are the violin, viola, cello and bass, to depict this atmosphere effortlessly.

Demand & Forecasting

DEMAND & FORCASTING Founded as a single store in 1960, Domino’s Pizza today stands as the recognized world leader in pizza delivery. From the beginning, we have been dedicated to the best of service, quality products and delivery excellence. They currently have over 9000 stores worldwide, all dedicated to providing great-tasting pizza delivered directly to your door or available for carryout. They have pioneered the pizza delivery business, and sell more than 400 million pizzas worldwide every year.Domino’s Pizza is recognized as a Megabrand by Advertising Age magazine, and has been named â€Å"Chain of the Year† by Pizza Today, the leading publication of the pizza industry, three times (Dominos). Metuchen is a very small town in Middlesex County, NJ. It is located right in the middle of Edison, NJ. It is only 2. 76 square miles with a population of over 13000. The median income is around $90000. There is approximately 5300 household consisting of 2. 56 people. A nd 30% of the population is under 18 years old (US Census). This can be interpreted as there are mostly families with kids in this community.Currently, there are no fast food pizza stores or any other fast food restaurants in the town. Edison does have many restaurants including two Dominos, one in South Edison and one in North Edison. However, neither of them delivers to Metuchen. The only direct competitor in the area is Pizza Hut. Metuchenites often get to know their local merchants and get personalized service they find missing at large chain stores in the nearby shopping malls Metuchen). Based on the Metuchen demographic information, I chose the following variables: households, income, and price of complimentary goods.I believe households to be more relevant than population based on the fact that the town consists of families with one or more children. A household will consume one or more pies per visit. And people with children are more likely to buy fast food. I chose to use income because income along with the fluctuation of price is a major factor for the demand of pizza. Also we used the variable for the price of the complimentary good Soda. People almost always buy soda or some other drink with their pizza. Although, there are some family owned competitors, I did not include them in this analysis because they are a ifferent type of pizza store. Dominos specializes in fast food delivery. And many of the family owned does not. VARIABLES Year| Qd| price/pie| soda/ liter| population| households| Income| 2010| 125000| 5| 1| 13,574| 5,249| 88,241| 2011| 127000| 5. 49| 1. 25| 13,648| 5,376| 91365| 2012| 129000| 5. 99| 1. 5| 13795| 5491| 94,410| Elasticity refers to the magnitude and the direction quantity demanded changes in response to a percentage change in the variable. Based on the information collected, we determined that all of the variables are inelastic. The price elasticity is 0. 163 and the price elasticity of soda is 0. 64. This means that the c hange in price will result in a lesser percentage change in quantity. Basically this shows that the fluctuation in price will not affect the demand too much. This is also true for the income. The income elasticity is 0. 452. This shows that if income increases, the demand for pizza will increase at a lower rate also. When price goes up, the Qd will go down based on the disposable income of the families. The income is high enough to withstand the price increase. This is also true for the number of households. Household elasticity is 0. 661. ELASTICITY rice/pie| soda/ liter| population| households| Income| 0. 163| 0. 064| 2. 935| 0. 661| 0. 452| 0. 173| 0. 079| 1. 462| 0. 736| 0. 473| Inelastic| Inelastic| Elastic| Inelastic| Inelastic| Smoothing techniques assumes that a repetitive underlying pattern can be found in the historical values of the variable being forecasted. The moving average is calculated by taking an average of past observations. The more observations included, the gr eater the smoothing effect. It gives the same weight to all the observations. The exponential model allows you to determine the weight of the observation between 0 and 1.Below we used four different smoothing techniques to forecasts the demand for pizza for years 2013-2015. The four models show the demand to be between 127500 and 128500. DEMAND FORECAST Year| Actual Demand| 5 year Moving Average| 3 year Moving Average| Exponential Smoothing w=0. 9| Exponential Smoothing w=0. 3| 2007| 126000|   |   | 126000| 126000| 2008| 129000|   |   | 126000| 126000| 2009| 131000|   |   | 128700| 126900| 2010| 125000|   | 128667| 130770| 128130| 2011| 127000|   | 128333| 125577| 127191| 2012| 129000| 127600| 127667| 126858| 127134| 2013| 128300| 128200| 127000| 128786| 127694| 014| 128100| 128060| 128100| 128349| 127876| 2015|   | 127480| 128467| 128125| 127943| The root mean square error is used to evaluate the accuracy of the forecasting model. The lower RMSE means the estimate is more accurate. RMSE RMSE|   | 811| 1933| 2790| 2377| Based on the RMSE for each of the estimates, I would estimate the 3 year moving average to be the best estimate. Although the 5 year moving average has a lower RMSE, I don’t think it is an accurate estimate because there are not enough years to get an accurate estimate. Based on the information collected, we could open a Dominos in the community and expect to do well.The forecast for demand of pizza seems to fluctuate between 127500 and 128500. Although the forecasts seems pretty stable, it doesn’t look like there will be too much growth unless the number of households and income have a larger increase that previously. The inelasticity of variables shows me that as price goes up, there will be a smaller decrease in quantity demanded. However, the income and the number of households are also inelastic. As incomes and households grow, so will the quantity demanded by a smaller increase. The price elasticity is sm aller than the income and household elasticity.So overall the quantity demanded should increase. WORKS CITED United States Census Bureau, US department of commerce, retrieved October 22, 2012 from http://quickfacts. census. gov/qfd/states/34/3445690. html Income Tax List, retrieved October 27, 2012 from http://www. incometaxlist. com/new-jersey-income-tax-by-zip-code-33. htm Domino’s Pizza, retrieved October 27, 2012 from http://phx. corporate-ir. net/phoenix. zhtml? c=135383&p=irol-homeprofile Borough of Metuchen, retrieved October 23, 2012 from http://www. metuchennj. org/brochure1999. pdf

Learning Diary Essay

All students from IBS, IT and tourism sat together in the conference room. We were introduced to many friendly tutors and teachers. I was very interested in the speech of Mr Juola- Head of the Rantaviitikka campus. We were also introduced a very useful book called study guide. After finished the class, I decided to created my own library card with my friend’s help. * 4th September 2012: The first look about IBS programme. At 10. 00 am, IBS coordinator-Mrs Anzelika Krastina introduced to IBS12 group of 40 international students. I was satisfied with this introduction because I knew about: study methods, course contents and project work and practical training issues. After lunch, we were introduced to IT & ICT course by Mrs Tuijja Kuisma. We also met IBS11 and IBS10 groups. I had many useful advices from Mrs Tuijja Kuisma. * 5th September 2012: Planning International evening project. From 8. 30-10. 00, we got together with friends from IT and Tourism. They makes me feel like there are no distance between different degree programmes. After that, we continued to discuss about the International evening project. Because we have 40 international students from about 8 different countries so our coordinator decided to divide the class into 4 groups. As a result, we will 4 performances from IBS12 group. After lunch, we came to room c117 to learn about education principles and policies. We were also presented a new study method called: problems based learning. this was a completely new experience for me and I was really excited to start with this study method. * 6th September 2012: A memorable day. We started later than the other days. At 11. 30 am, we gathered at Borealis auditorium to listen to Ms Ritva Ala-Louko, Head of language center talk about the topic called â€Å" Adapting to a new culture †. all the information given was very worthwhile for me because I knew how to adapt to new life, new culture without the help of family. At 13. 00 pm, the new students walked together to the University of Lapland for the information session â€Å"Getting to know Rovaniemi†. The session began with a video about Rovaniemi. It was so funny because I had seen this video when I searched information about Rovaniemi. After that, the presentation was about Finnish Law and Regulations; Permits and Licenses for Foreigners; Rovaniemi Congregation; sport services at RAMK and ULapland. The information provided me a general look about Rovaniemi. * 7th September 2012: Opening ceremony. That day, I got up early to prepare for the opening ceremony. Exactly, all first-year student officially entered the school gates and we were welcome by Mr Martti Lampela-the principal of Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences. We listened his speech and also received some cute gifts from Ramk’s tutors. When the speech finished, the new academic year officially began. After lunch, the student tutors leaded students to the river bank by Pohjanhovi, the venue of traditional Rovaniemi UAS vs University of Lapland rowing test. Although, the RAMK’s team won easily but we had happy moments together. The day culminated in a party at night club Doris. Unfortunately, I was under 18 years old at that time so I could not participate in the party. * 10th september 2012: the first day of academic year 2012-2013. The first class was introduction to IT. Mrs Tuija Kuisma taught us to use the basic computer system in school and some useful tools like: optima, win-hawille as well. I had to keep them in mind because they would related to my future study. After lunch, i continued with †Cross-cultural Man† class. I was confused because Krastina’s voice was quite small. Unfortunately, i sat at the back of class. but i could understand the main point of the lesson. Mrs Krastina also so gave us the information about the Problem Based Learning method. At the end of the day, we did not have to have an English test because it was cancelled. * 11th september 2012: The orientation course and Cross-cultural Man class. The orientation course was about information literacy. We learned to use the e-library to search books, information, ect. We were given a form to fill in to create a library card but i already had this card. The important of the class was to provide students with the knowledge of e-library. After lunch, we studied about teamwork and PBL method in Cross-cultural Man class. in my group, we had to solve a real problem in teamwork. After discusing, we came up with the best solution and we had to write an essay about the importance of teamwork in school for the learning task. In my country, i did not have enough opportunities to work in a team so when i worked in a group i was not confident. I will improve myself in the near future. * 12th september 2012: Knowledge about reference and academic writing. Mrs Johanna made me feel very comfortable because of her enthusiam. She was always ready to help students to finish the reference. In the future, i will write many essays so i have to remind myself to study hard all the time. Pham Xuan Tung.

Standardization versus Adaptation in International Marketing

There has been much debate over implementing a standardization strategy versus an adaptation approach across international markets. There are numerous factors to consider, along with pros and cons of both marketing plans. While standardization is equated with brand consistency, lower advertising costs, and overall synergy, adaptation is often required to address cultural differences for more effective communication and proves that cutting costs does not always facilitate higher profits1.For some time many researchers, such as R. D.  Buzzell in 1968, have concluded that the real question is what marketing elements can be standardized and to what degree2. However, academics support the notion that adaptation is essential to prosper in global markets. 3 And in the instance of advertising to China, the necessity for adaption is ever present. China is a very appealing marketplace to many companies due to its large population and growing economy. Despite the country’s fiscal growt h, there still remains a large disparity between big cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, versus the more inland provinces4.And since the relationship of cultural, political, and economical similarities support the standardization of competitive strategy, treating China as one nation to market to would be a mistake in itself, let along trying to standardize a campaign targeting American and Chinese consumers. Some corporations, such as Coca-Cola and Proctor and Gamble, have achieved extreme success by targeting the affluent, but there is almost a 90% segment left to infiltrate. 5 This may mean lowering product price point, but many firms still deter from positioning their products to the middle or lower class due to the high advertising costs.It is an overcrowded arena to effectively breakthrough, but this is where adaptation would hold the competitive advantage. Along with the vast disproportionate economies of scale, the psychological and cultural drivers of Chinese consumers are tr ansforming as well. The desire to express their individuality is ever present, especially in the younger generations. Nokia has seen their cell phone sales surpass other brands because of its fashion focus that the other phones lacked6.The want  for basic consumer goods is also overlooked for ones that offer a lifestyle benefit of enjoyment. â€Å"The percentage of households reporting they have DVD players jumped from 7% in 1997 to 52% in 2004. The number of households with computers grew from 2% in 1994 to 13% in 2004, and the number of those with mobile phones jumped from 10% in 1999 to 48% in 2004† (Burkholder). Thus, consumers are more likely to spend their money on technology or fashion as opposed to a household item they may need.Globalization is one of the reasons a new Chinese consumer has emerged. Individuality, brand attitudes, and lifestyle preferences in China are more aligned with Western markets, yet multinational corporations have been disappointed from stan dardized marketing strategies7. The drive to purchase Western products has greatly increased between each Chinese generation as well. In fact, generation Y (18-24) has purchased more tech-savvy devices, used the Internet, and purchased more Western brands than any Chinese age demographic before8.This appears to be more of a reason to standardize advertising campaigns, but despite desire and acceptance of Western ideals and products, the younger Chinese demographic is still very in touch and proud of their heritage9. This dynamic consumer requires research and attention, which denotes an adaptation technique to effectively communicate a marketing plan. There seems to be a general consensus from marketing researchers and intellectuals that standardization strategies are more effective, economical, and should be applied initially.However, consumer behavior and perceptions play an integral role in framing an advertising campaign and this is where a degree of adaptation is essential. Sta ndardizing many parts of a marketing mix is beneficial, but there are certain areas where modification will yield the best results. In order to achieve a working model of international marketing, standardization and adaptation strategies should be applied as see fit. And since China has a particularly diverse set of consumers that makes marketing to the country alone dynamic, an adaptation approach would be advantageous in regards to an international campaign.

The Constitution fails to meet the needs of a rapidly changing society

When the Constitution was written by the ‘Founding Fathers back in 1787, they intentionally made it so that it could survive over time. They made it flexable so because they envisaged that there were problems that they could not forsee in the future, these are things such as the Depression of the late twenties and early thirties. ‘The Framers' intended for the amendment process to be the main way of updating the constitution and through time this has been evident. An important part of a democratic government is the accountability of those in power, in recent times we have seen the system in America fail, in part this may be due to the fact that the constitution may be outdated. During Bill Clintons' second term of office there were a number of scandals that rocked the White House, the first being the Paula Jones affair. During a hearing about the Paula Jones affair Clinton stated that he had not had â€Å"sexual relations† with Monica Lewinsky, this turned out to be a lie and Congress attempted to impeach him. The impeachment failed due to the wording of the constitution as it was based on the fact that they believed he had committed ‘a high crime or misdemeanour' but Clintons' lawyers asked for a definition of this and Congress could not give one. This shows that the wording of the constitution was outdated or the constitution was badly worded. There was also a lack of accountability during the Watergate scandal as President Nixon was able to escape with no punishment even though he was part of a conspiracy to commit a felony, all charges against Nixon were dropped by his successor Gerald Ford due to the fact that Presidents have the power to withdraw charges against anybody in America. This shows that there is an essential part of the democratic process missing due to flaws in the constitution. When the constitution was first written in 1787 there was a strong possibility of war, so when the founding fathers drew up the constitution they added in an article which said that all people have the right to bear arms. This article has been problematic ever since. Within the last decade there have been many high profile shootings in schools such as Columbine, this has led to a stronger fight against the gun laws. There are those such as the National Rifle Association who say that that right can not be taken away from them as it is one of their constitution rights but there is a problem with that as within the preamble there is the mention of insuring domestic tranquillity, can this be done when there are children who can gain easy access to guns, there are also the problems with the number of deaths due to gun crimes, the right to life is also mentioned in the constitution. The flexibility of the constitution is crucial to its longevity as if it was too rigid it would not have lasted, there may be the problem though that it is too flexible. Over the years there hav been many changes in the federal system, most notably the introduction of Roosevelts ‘New Deal' which saw the power shift more towards the central government, then there was the move back through presidents such as Nixon and Reagan. During this time the efficacy of the government could be questioned as we saw with the ‘Appropreations Crisis' in 1995, during this time government was shut down for two weeks this was ineffect shutting down the country as federal run services such as the postal service were also closed. A solution was found to stop that happening again, that arrived in the form of the ‘Line Item Veto', this gave the President the power to remove unsuitable sentences or paragraphs from a bill. Eighteen months after its introduction it was scrapped as the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional as it gave too much power to one person. Many considered this as a mistake as it made the legislative process faster as it saved the bill being sent back to Congress. This shows that there is room for improvement within the constitution. Through time the main way to update the constitution has been through the Amendment process. As society and its ideals has changed so has the Constitution, when society started to object to slavery and racism the constitution began to follow, the same with womens rights. There are other problems as I have already mentioned the constitution still protects the pro-gun lobby as it is stated in the constitution that all citizens shall bear arms, after a number of atrocities and the significant rise in gun crime, society is begininng to object but still there is no movement on any new amendments in regards to gun laws. The lack of movement may be due to the constitution being outdated but it may also be due to the power that the NRA and other pro gun groups have but we have seen great trides taken through time such as the moves against racism. The constitution was based on what was happening in the eighteenth century and what the ‘Framers' envisaged would happen in the future, but there would seem to be the ability within it, due to its flexibility, to change with modern society. Through time we have seen how society has changed and not far behind is the constitution due to the amendment process.

Marketing Plan 3D printing Essay

Objective of this marketing plan for 3D printing is to create awareness to new customers in education industry, increase market share, and provide customized value-added solution to current users. 3D printing is considered a new technology in Singapore, so to achieve the objectives, we proposes Stratasys to make use the lateral diversification strategy. The reason of adopting this strategy is to improve its profitability and sustainability of the organization. The objective may be achieved through 3 phases. In the short-term (1 year), the objective is to create awareness through newspapers, online advertising and live demonstration will be conducted at institutes’ open house events, and where the new students will be introduced to this new technology together. Stratasys can also select some institutes to trial on this printer for 6 months which will helps to augment its marketability and school’s perception of the product. In the mid to long term (2 to 4 year) the objective is to provide customization and value-added solution to institutes that have been consistently using our products and services. Customization will be offered to meet institutes’ requirement and we can offered includes product training and customer consultation on the printers that are offered to them. Stratasys can also provide maintenance, repair service and improving product safety as an additional value-added solution. This will aid in promoting more institutes to use 3D printing in product development through word-of-mouth recommendation. In the long term (4 years onwards) the technology will be well recognized in the minds of the most institution, and this will enable Stratasys to gain loyal customers. With an increase in market share, Stratasys will be able to fine-tune on the price offered to make it affordable to allow more users to explore the technology, and also created more applications for it. For example, smaller printers will be produced to cater to small companies, and sector specific types for dental, aerospace, and medical. Ultimate goal will be gaining competitive advantage in the marketplace. Marketing Mix Marketing mix was designed as a simple way to focus attention on the main elements of marketing for a business and to create a marketing strategy to  the business, products or services. The traditional of marketing mix consists of four main elements which is product, price, place and promotion. They are the combination of marketing efforts that to meet and satisfy the needs and wants of consumers. But in a modern world, marketers have developed to seven P’s of marketing mix, which comprises the former 4P’s and added people, physical evidence and process. (Valuebasedmanagement.net, 2013) Products Stratasys has three main series of printers which is cater for different purposes. Idea Series printers bring 3D printers to smaller teams and individual, which allows them to utilize 3D printer within their financial budget. For this series of printers, it will be suitable for institutes that offered jewellery designs course. As for design series printers, it helps to improve on communication, collaboration and problem solving. With the use of photopolymer materials, it helps to create flexibility and confidence in product presentation. It is definitely more suitable for institutes that have offered product design offered. This will helps the students in completing and exhibiting their final products. Lastly is production series, it provides speed, accuracy and efficiency at an affordable cost. As for this series, it will be catering for engineering students. Each series of 3D printers will benefit institutes in reducing time, cost and increase of accuracy and efficiency. Apart from individual printer purchase, we do offer customized bundle packages for customers who wish to purchase more than a printer. Price Pricing plays an important role as it determines the revenue generated, therefore, price has to be attractive and affordable. Price of 3D printers that Stratasys offered depends on the size and purpose of the printers. The price strategy used is differential pricing strategy. Stratasys can adjust pricing based on various situations and circumstances. Price for new consumers will always start high and gradually lower if bundle packages are purchased or bulk buying. Price that customers are paying is not only for printer, but also the after-service. Offering discounts or additional value-added service will make the business more attractive to the business. Stratasys can offer more affordable 3D printers and bundle package offering  to institutes that purchase more printers and materials. Processes This is the process element how the service is delivered to the customers. Stratasys can implement a customer service to help monitor on new customers’ progress on the products and offer provides servicing to all new customers before their warranty for the printers are expiring. This will make customers feel importance and this will help to build up their confidence in our products and services offered. Promotion A Online Marketing – Facebook and You tube The main objective of promotion is to create awareness of a product or service. Promotion is the communicating information about your product or  service to generate a positive response from your customer. Online marketing is critical to business in this current society. With reference to Chart B, currently approximately 90% of Singapore resident are users in Facebook. It is important that Stratasys will use this medium to create communication on 3D printing technology. Most students in Singapore have a Facebook account, thus they are able to view Facebook Chart B – Facebook Users in Singapore B Event Road Show This is a different marketing strategy, compared to digital marketing. This marketing strategy requires physical demonstration and explanation of 3D printers at an event. This will attract the curiosity of potential customer that is new and curious to this technology. For such events, well-trained staffs will be present to demonstrate the advantage of 3D printing technology and help to resolve on consumers’ questions. C Youtube Youtube is an online media streaming website which users are able to access internationally. It is considered an inexpensive advertisement media to market products and services as the resources require are only computers, video camera and internet connection. Stratasys can upload videos on 3D printing into Youtube which will create more awareness internationally. Users will then use mouth-of-words to share this video with their families and friends, thus it will broaden the publicity of 3D printers to new customers.

Teaching of Advanced Mathematics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Teaching of Advanced Mathematics - Essay Example But before that, we must delve further into the importance of the questioning mechanism, thus I shall bring out opinions presented by established mathematicians in relation to this study, as applied to classroom teaching of Mathematics. Ainley, J. as mentioned above, interprets her findings about questioning techniques, on the premise that, when, applied to classroom study, everytime the teacher asks a question, it merely implies her underlying desire in testing the student's learning outcome. Therefore, a teacher's questioning style is described as "guess what is in my mind" tactics. Some of the frequent techniques of mathematical questioning range from using open questions, not commenting on answers but waiting for more, bringing in other people, collecting a range of responses on the board, seeking agreement, alternatives and dissent, using or not using "hands-up", using names to generate particular response, remaining silent until something else is said, and eventually all effort s culminating towards a successful learning outcome. Jim Smith, in his article "Questioning Questioning" (1986) in the same study as Ainley, advises to maintain a balance between saying too much so that things become repetitive, to saying nothing at all. Suggesting that students be encouraged to talk enthusiastically about how they have helped other students, be allowed to interrupt teachers with relevant questions, and thereby, enable them to take part in the scheme by Skemp called "relational" learning (1976 & 1993), which is a flexible methodology that imparts in the student, a genuine interest in the deeper aspects of learning Mathematics, not only through methods and formulae but also by developing in them the much-needed grasping power to form powerful connections, interpretations, eliminate unnecessary fear of complex figures and symbols (such as surds, integrands, graphs, tables, etc.) and a chain of unbroken knowledge to further advance their learning capabilities. Both mathematicians have affirmed the potent power of "testing" methodologies over simple "seeking" questions. As discussed in relevant examples above, upon our own close introspection, we can find that several of these questioning techniques are already followed by us in enhancing day-to-day learning activities whatever be the subject of study. In the course lesson example mentioned in this paper, I have designed my scheme to accommodate this very school of thought. In an effort to understand the constructive ideas behind methods of questioning, we have at our disposal, a