What the Many Worlds Theory Means in Physics

What the Many Worlds Theory Means in Physics The many worlds interpretation (MWI) is a theory within quantum physics intended to explain the fact that the universe contains some non-deterministic events, but the theory itself intends to be fully deterministic. In this interpretation, every time a random event takes place, the universe splits between the various options available. Each separate version of the universe contains a different outcome of that event. Instead of one continuous timeline, the universe under the many worlds interpretation looks more like a series of branches splitting off of a tree limb. For example, quantum theory indicates the probability that an individual atom of a radioactive element will decay, but there is no way to tell precisely when (within those ranges of probabilities) that decay will take place. If you had a bunch of atoms of radioactive elements that have a 50% chance of decaying within an hour, then in an hour 50% of those atoms would be decayed. But the theory tells nothing precisely about when a given atom will decay. According to traditional quantum theory (the Copenhagen interpretation), until the measurement is made for a given atom there is no way to tell whether it will have decayed or not. In fact, according to quantum physics, you have to treat the atomas if it is in a superposition of states - both decayed and not decayed. This culminates in the famous Schroedingers cat thought experiment, which shows the logical contradictions in trying to apply the Schroedinger wavefunction literally. The many worlds interpretation takes this result and applies it literally, the form of the Everett Postulate: Everett PostulateAll isolated systems evolve according to the Schroedinger equation If quantum theory indicates that the atom is both decayed and not decayed, then the many worlds interpretation concludes that there must exist two universes: one in which the particle decayed and one in which it did not. The universe therefore branches off each and every time that a quantum event takes place, creating an infinite number of quantum universes. In fact, the Everett postulate implies that the entire universe (being a single isolated system) continuously exists in a superposition of multiple states. There is no point where the wavefunction ever collapses within the universe, because that would imply that some portion of the universe doesnt follow the Schroedinger wavefunction. History of the Many Worlds Interpretation The many worlds interpretation was created by Hugh Everett III in 1956 in his doctoral thesis, The Theory of the Universal Wave Function. It was later popularized by the efforts of physicist Bryce DeWitt. In recent years, some of the most popular work has been by David Deutsch, who has applied the concepts from the many worlds interpretation as part of his theoretical in support of quantum computers. Though not all physicists agree with the many worlds interpretation, there have been informal, unscientific polls which have supported the idea that it is one of the dominant interpretations believed by physicists, likely ranking just behind the Copenhagen interpretation and decoherence. (See the introduction of this Max Tegmark paper for one example. Michael Nielsen wrote a 2004 blog post (at a website which no longer exists) which indicates - guardedly - that the many worlds interpretation is not only accepted by many physicists, but that it was also the most strongly disliked quantum physics interpretation. Opponents dont just disagree with it, they actively object to it on principle.) It is a very controversial approach, and most physicists who work in quantum physics seem to believe that spending time questioning the (essentially untestable) interpretations of quantum physics is a waste of time. Other Names for the Many Worlds Interpretation The many worlds interpretation has several other names, though work in the 1960s 1970s by Bryce DeWitt has made the many worlds name more popular. Some other names for the theory are relative state formulation or the theory of the universal wavefunction. Non-physicists will sometimes use the broader terms of multiverse, megaverse, or parallel universes when speaking of the many worlds interpretation. These theories usually include classes of physical concepts that cover more than just the types of parallel universes predicted by the many worlds interpretation. Many Worlds Interpretation Myths In science fiction, such parallel universes have provided the foundation for a number of great storylines, but the fact is that none of these have a strong basis in scientific fact for one very good reason: The many worlds interpretation does not, in any way, allow for communication between the parallel universes that it proposes. The universes, once split, are entirely distinct from each other. Again, science fiction authors have been very creative in coming up with ways around this, but I know of no solid scientific work that has shown how parallel universes could communicate with each other. Edited by Anne Marie Helmenstine

11 Main Challenges Faced By Admin Assistants

11 Main Challenges Faced By Admin Assistants Administrative assistants work in every industry, and their jobs are  extremely demanding. If youre not one, you might not know how hard they work, but don’t underestimate the grueling nature of their day-to-day or the amount of education they needed to get there! And if you are one, you know all too well the struggles that come from this often underappreciated job.Here are a few challenges admin assistants face on the regular.1. Difficult PersonalitiesEver had a bad boss? Yeah, well, administrative assistants are tasked to those bad bosses 24/7. Their whole job is to deal with those demanding, aggressive, socially awkward, self-important, micromanaging lunatics. So show a little respect.2. Devaluation of their JobIf you’re an admin assistant, everybody just assumes you’re not qualified enough to get a real job. That’s mostly because they have no idea what your job actually entails. No one multitasks or juggles better. But admin assistants are too humble to correct you. They know what they know.3. Clean-up Responsibilities for AllThe task of office clean-up, and also the general putting out of everybody else’s fires and fixing of everybody’s messes, almost always falls to admin assistants. Next time you see a handwritten sign taped over the festering sink, think of how many weeks of suffering in silence went on before that sign even went up.4.  Youre Always on CallEven though admin assistants have little authority, they are expected to know almost everything and they can be blamed for almost everything that happens to go wrong. And they are expected to be available whenever anybody needs them.5. Inconsistent Whims and DemandsAdmin assistants aim to please and are always trying to carry out a boss’s wishes and anticipate his or her needs. But so often bosses keep moving the goalposts and changing the rules. It can be enormously frustrating to keep up.6. Inappropriate RequestsIt’s bad enough having to ba bysit your boss and your colleagues. Sometimes you’re asked to actually babysit children when a coworker or your boss brings theirs to work. Or you’re asked to go get someone’s dry cleaning (someone you dont report to) or run another ridiculous errand.7. Shooting the MessengerEven if you didn’t screw up, you’re the one who usually gets yelled at- by everyone. Admin assistants are constantly in the direct line of fire.8. Lack of Trust and TimeYou could either end up with a boss who rides you on every little detail, or even worse, one who doesn’t have any time for you. It’s very hard to do your job if you don’t get at least a few minutes a day of face time to make sure you know what’s needed of you.9. Theres Rarely a ThanksOf all the things you’ll hear said or shouted at you as an admin assistant, â€Å"thank you† is almost never one of those things. Even and especially when you were the one who saved the day .10. No Time to Do It AllAs an admin assistant, your list of tasks- and the stack of papers on your desk- is gargantuan. You make deadlines just fine, but the to-do list never seems to shrink.11. No MoneyPerhaps the biggest injustice done to admin assistants is the egregious lack of compensation. Nobody gets paid less given their work and worth.So next time you feel like yelling at an assistant- or just dumping some thankless jobs on their desk, don’t! Imagine what their day must be like first and show a little love. And if you are one, thanks for all you do. We appreciate you.

Isabel Allendes novel, La Casa de los Espritus Essay

Isabel Allendes novel, La Casa de los Espritus - Essay Example A major part of the novel relates their stormy marriage and the birth of their three children, punctuated with deaths and disaster, and seasoned with Trueba's worsening temper. A democratic senator in his later life, he witnesses the changing political scene before, during and after the military coup, and the disintegration of his family, health and everything that he holds dear. Esteban is one of the narrative axes of the novel. It is often through his eyes as the first-person narrator, or his emotions via the omniscient narrator, that the reader weighs the effects of the events of the story, bearing a witness to accompany Clara's notebooks until the moment when Alba would write her "testimonio". For example, when Rosa dies by accidental poisoning, it is from Esteban's perspective that we feel the senseless tragedy in the words: "no poda nadie comprender mi frustracin por haber pasado dos aos rascando la tierra para hacerme rico, con el nico propsito de llevar algn da a esa joven al altar y la muerte me la haba birlado." (p. 25). Likewise, the deaths of Jaime and Clara, and the arrest of Alba, are filled with pathos because of his gaze and voice:"cay de rodillas al suelo gimiendo como una criatura," (p. 174). Esteban is also witness to the destruction and ruinous passage of time, as he observes: "Dej sus maletas sobre una mesa y sali a recorrer la casa, luc hando contra la tristeza que comenzaba a invadirlo. Pas de una habitacin a otra, vio el deterioro que el tiempo haba labrado en todas las cosas." (p. 34) Trueba is the cornerstone of the family saga. His violent, delusional and idealistic personality is a catalyst for the many family disasters, and to some extent, the political disaster. His chauvinistic arrogance leads him to rape, impregnate and repudiate Pancha Garcia, whose grandson, Esteban, fed on his mother's dishonour, his uncle's resentment of the patrn, and his own sense of injustice at having to live a life of bastardry, takes revenge on the family by arresting, maiming and raping Alba. His arrogance forces the lovers to hide their love, Blanca to marry Jean de Satigny against her wishes and discover his "malfico reino de los incas" (p. 156). He outcasts his sister, Ferula, out of jealousy for her (unnatural) love for Clara, relegating her to a solitary death in the slums (p. 92). A symbol of just what a destructive force he is in the life of his family is when he and Jaime go to steal Rosa's body to place it beside Clara's in the "el mausoleo color salmn". The effect of hi s egotistical desire to see her and kiss her once more is that: en un instante la novia inmutable se deshizo como un encantamiento, se desintegr en un polvillo tenue y gris. Cuando levant la cabeza y abr los ojos, con el beso fro an en los labios, ya no estaba Rosa, la bella. En su lugar haba una calavera con las cuencas vacas, unas tiras de piel color marfil adheridas a los pmulos y unos mechones de crin mohoso en la nuca. (p. 184) But aside from the havoc of his attempts at control on his family, he bears no little responsibility in stirring up the political assassination of the

Critique E-Mail Documentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critique E-Mail Documentation - Essay Example Grey. personal communication MT1 29, 199X). Consequently, the emails made the situation even worse. Furthermore, the composed mails in majority of the instances failed to adhere to the rules of Basic English grammar, and the choice of the words in case of a formal letter also made the scenario extremely critical. The use of uppercase in a few of the originally mailed messages violated basic norms of formal English writing. Additionally, the mails were unable to depict a clear picture of the concerned matter by focusing more on inappropriate use of words and showing emotional feelings which could have been reserved for a face-to-face interaction. The e-mails failed to convey the actual meaning to either of the participants involved in the conversations. The exchanges were communicated in an extremely informal way without being concise. Thus, it can be stated that the participants were not careful during the exchange. The mails composed rather overshadowed the actual subject. The parti cipants were not able to understand the actual matter; rather they got confused in their efforts towards resolving the issue. It would have been better for them to have a round table discussion and to chalk out the issue personally with relying more on the face-to-face communication. Moreover, the participants took extended period of time to resolve the issue which could have been resolved more quickly. It can be stated that participants failed to resolve the concerning issue effectively. The exchanges of the emails were far below the expected level of professionalism. The poor use of grammar and punctuation, spelling mistakes cannot be considered to be professional. The participants were required to follow at least basic formal English language rules that would have helped them to present their messages in an understandable manner. In addition to this, the e-mail exchange was not considerate. The messages composed were missing the core subject matter; instead of resolving the issue , the composed emails increased its complexity. They could have been more thoughtful towards their mail composition and could have sequenced their messages in a more understandable and precise manner. The composed mails were lengthy and deviated far from the actual subject. In several instances the mails used many unethical words, such as killing and disgrace among others, which should not have been included (Frodo Jackson, personal communication, MT1 26, 199X). These words create a negative impression about the communicator. Thus, the entire e-mail exchanges lacked professionalism and use of ethical as well as formal composition. Part 2 - Improve the Communications "Improving Frodo's Communication" From: "Frodo Jackson" To: theprofessor@someinstitutionsomewhere.edu Sent: DayofWk, MT1 13, 199X 7:53:11 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Assignment 1-5-1 Professor Grey: Attached is my final assignment of 1-5-1. I appreciate your help during the course. I wish you great term brea k time. Thank you, Frodo Jackson ----- Original Message ----- From: Frodo Jackson To: The Professor Sent: DayofWk, MT1 26, 199X 12:59:22 PM Subject: Re: Grades Professor Grey Frodo I have checked my report and find it to be incomplete. I was looking forward for the grade to be updated by MTI/26/0X. At the same time, I

Ethic Simulation Essay Example for Free

Ethic Simulation Essay This week I participated in two Ethic Game Simulations; The Mysterious Blogger and The Veiled ID. The Mysterious Blogger was about the leaking of confidential information by an employee and the actions of a second employee. The Veiled ID presented an issue that arises as the company tried to implement more strict security issues. The â€Å"Mysterious Blogger† had me playing the part of the Director of Information Technology for G-Bio Sports Company. During a routine check the department finds there is an employee that is posting blogs about the company and although 90% of the information is not confidential and questions safety this is a clear violation of the company policy. An anonymous email is also received by me this note indicates the name of the person posting the blogs. This information was obtained by hacking this person’s personal computer. My department was able to identify the name of both employees involved. There is an ethical issue on both cases one employee is violating the NDA policy and the other is violating the privacy of another employee. The action of both employees can cause major harm to the company. It is important to identify everyone that needs to be informed of the situation and decided the proper way to handle the situation. Both employees have been with the company for a while and are an asset to the company. Based on this information I do believe that both employees need to be discipline and made aware of the seriousness of their actions at the same time ensure safety concerns are address. My next step is to involve the proper stakeholders, our HR Director and our Legal Counsel they will help me validate my position and outline next steps. â€Å"The Veiled ID†, I play the part of the Associate Director of Operations. The  company has recently suffered a breach in security a former employee broke into a lab causing not only damage to the equipment but harmed another employee in the process. A new security system is being put in place to protect employees and our clients. Every employee will be required to carry a work Identification that will include a photograph without the ID they will not be allow in the building. Although the solution seems to very easy I did not take into consideration that some of our employees cannot be photograph due to religious beliefs. After, determining who will be affected by my decision and discussing the issue with a representative of our Human Resource Department, Training Manager and, other employees. We decided that the photo ID will still be require however, there will be some measures put in place to accommodate people with special needs. In conclusion, by utilizing the Rights and Responsibility Lens and the Baird Ethical model I was able to determine the best decision for each separate situation. The decision was the result of a serious of steps that help me first identify the issue, the people affected and the effect that my decision would have had in the community. Each steps helps you understand what is morally right and fair for the primary stakeholders and the community and how your decision making impacts others. Making sure that you understand everyone that will be affected either directly or indirectly is important prior to making your final decision. Doing the right thing is not just to following company procedure; it is also about protecting the shareholders interest and the interest of the company. In the case where the company’s policies were violated, the company must make a sound decision that that produces an outcome in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders. The ethical perspectives used to make the decisions during the simulation were based on options given in each scenario. In the simulation, you were to determine the best outcome for each scenario based upon the information given. Neither one of the scenarios had a right nor was wrong answer it just the best ethical decision you consider fair for all parties involved. The important part is to make sure that each situation it’s analyzed and all the components are taking into consideration prior of making your final decision. Reference Trevià ±o, L. K. Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right (5th ed.).

Discover The Adventure of a Lifetime in South Dakota Essay -- Tourism

Named for the Dakota branch of the Sioux Indian Nation, the State of South Dakota is a state that tells the story of America's westward expansion in a way that just can't be found elsewhere in the country. From gold strikes to battles with the Indians, South Dakota is one state that fulfills the typical Hollywood image of the Old West. However, visitors to this fascinating state will find that the story of South Dakota is much more interesting than any Hollywood western that they have ever seen. All in all, South Dakota offers visitors the adventure of a lifetime. South Dakota's Natural Attractions One of South Dakota's finest natural attractions is Badlands National Park near Rapid City. This national park comprises 244,000 acres of protected land that features wildlife like bison and antelope. In addition to this, there are numerous fossils that are found within the park that provide an interesting look into this land's geological past. With hundreds of miles of hiking trails and numerous other activities for visitors, Badlands National Park is one natural attraction that nature lovers will definitely enjoy. Another fantastic natural attraction in South Dakota is the Black Hills National Forest near Deadwood. This magnificent forest covers an area of 125 miles long and 65 miles wide and features some of the most majestic rock formations and canyons found anywhere in the United States. In addition to its rock formations, this forest offers some of the finest biking and hiking trails found anywhere in the United States. All in all, visitors to Black Hills National Forest leave with a deeper appreciation for the gorgeous natural beauty found in this region. South Dakota's Cultural Attractions Besides having numerous ... ...uth Dakota an adventure to remember for the rest of your life. Sources â€Å"Top 10 Vacation Attractions in South Dakota,† Choice Hotels http://centralus.choicehotels.com/south-dakota-hotels/top10attractions â€Å"Most Popular Attractions,† South Dakota.com http://www.southdakota.com/most-popular-attractions/328 â€Å"South Dakota,† Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota â€Å"Badlands National Park,† National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm â€Å"Black Hills National Forest,† South Dakota.com http://www.southdakota.com/black-hills-national-forest/103 â€Å"Black Hills National Forest,† US Forest Service http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-ibL4Cz7AvIJ:fs.usda.gov/blackhills+black+hills+national+forest&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a â€Å"Wall Drug,† South Dakota.com http://www.southdakota.com/wall-drug/282

Answer Key for Effective Writing Essay

School purchasers may make copies for use by their staff and students. Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. 1 198 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 USA Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Any websites referred to in this publication are in the public domain and their addresses are provided by Oxford University Press for information only. Oxford University Press disclaims any responsibility for the content. oxford and o xford english are registered trademarks of Oxford University Press Executive Publisher: Janet Aitchison Senior Acquisitions Editor: Pietro Alongi Associate Editor: Scott Allan Wallick Art Director: Maj-Britt Hagsted Production Manager: Shanta Persaud Production Controller: Eve Wong  © Oxford University Press 2007 isbn: 978- 0-19-430884-7 Database right Oxford University Press (maker) Effective Academic Writing 3: Answer Key an engineer . Both my mother and father were born in different countries, so my relatives are scattered all over the world . I really like traveling and have been to Europe and Asia . Although we try to get together for important occasions, this was the first time everyone could attend . Most importantly, my good friends had never met my relatives . Developing good friendships takes a lot of work . Watching them all dancing, laughing, and having a wonderful time will stay in my memory forever . The band we hired played music that the guests loved and we danced for hours .

How to Increase Retail Sales Essay

1 Introduction One of the challenges for companies that have invested heavily in customer data collection is how to extract important information from their vast customer databases and product feature databases, in order to gain competitive advantage. Market basket analysis (also known as association rule mining) is one of the data mining methods (Berry and Linoff, 2004) focusing on discovering purchasing patterns by extracting associations or co-occurrences from a store’s transactional data. Several aspects of market basket analysis have been studied in academic literature, such as using customer interest profile and interests on particular features of the product for the product development and one-to-one marketing (Weng and Liu, 2004), purchasing patterns in a multi-store environment (Chen et al., 2004), or point at certain weaknesses of market basket analysis techniques (e.g. Vindevogel, Van den Poel and Wets, 2005). Market basket analysis has been intensively used in many companies as a means to discover product associations and base a retailer’s promotion strategy on them. When different additional brands are sold together with the basic brands, the revenue from the basic brands is not decreasing, but increasing. â€Å"Buy two, get three†sales promotion campaigns are very successful, if market basket analyses are used in order to determine the right products to be promoted. â€Å"Buy a product, get a gift† sales promotion campaigns are successful, if a basic product and a gift are related and the basic product has high margin rate. Based on market basket analyses, sets of products are defined and sold together with discount. Limitedbrands organizes internal competition in up-selling. Our paper – a case study – presents and analyses the application of market basket analysis in a major trade company in Slovenia. 2 The company Merkur, d. d. Merkur, d. d. is a trading company (Merkur, 2005) that has for years ranked among the top companies in Slovenia dealing in items for home improvement, home services as well as lawn and garden. Merkur, d.d. has recently strengthened its position on the foreign markets through the supplies of goods to industrial enterprises, and by the establishment of its own retail network abroad. Merkur, d.d. is the mother company of Merkur Group. The Group consists of two Slovenian subsidiaries and six subsidiaries abroad (Zagreb, Sarajevo, Skopje, Munich, Milan and Warsaw). Besides that, the group also includes two offices (Moscow and Belgrade). Merkur plans to further strengthen its position on the domestic market, spread its sales to the foreign markets, especially to the markets of former Yugoslavia, and develop a high-quality range of products. The company is organised in  several large departments: Wholesale, Retail Sales, Sales to Foreign Markets, Purchasing, Logistics and Supporting Services. Customers include construction companies, trading organisations, installation companies, industrial enterprises, craftsmen and small entrepreneurs, as well as end consumers. The company makes almost 60% of its sales revenues by selling goods wholesale. To make the sales quick and efficient, the Wholesale Department has been divided into four sales sub-divisions. At present, Merkur has 38 retail sales centres in Slovenia. Specialisation increases the effectiveness of sales, so two types of Merkur sales centres were developed: MERKURDOM focusing on ordinary households, and MERKURMOJSTER intended for DIY (do-it-yourself) users. More information about MerkurDom and MerkurMojster is available on Merkur internet site: www.merkur.si. 2.1 Characteristic figures of the company The scope of the company Merkur, d.d. can be shown through the following figures: The sales programme consists of about 200.000 active items (more than 120.000 items on stock), divided into 5 sales programmes, 74 lines of goods, 720 groups of goods and 5.600 basic goods classifications. Around 80% of sales are done with the top 12.000 items and 80% of stock is held on the top 20.000 items. The Purchasing Department issues more than 250.000 purchase orders with 1.200.000 items annually. Merkur purchases goods from more than 2.000 suppliers. About 80% of purchases are done with the top 200 suppliers. Wholesale has business relations with more than 2.500 buyers – organizations. About 80% of wholesale sales are done with the top 800 buyers. Wholesale issues approximately 400.000 invoices with total 2.200.000 items annually. Retail sells goods to 13.000 buyers / organizations and to about 500.000 end consumers. More than 70% of sales to end consumers are personalized with the Merkur loyalty card called the â€Å"Merkur Card of Trust†. Retail issues 6.000.000 invoices with more than 20.000.000 items to end consumers annually. In the period from 1993 to 2004 Merkur achieved 19% average annual growth in revenues, 20% average annual growth in net margin and 27% average annual growth in profit from operations. Today Merkur is the sixth largest Slovenian company in revenues. 3.1 The history of DW&BI in Merkur Merkur started to implement data warehousing and business intelligence (DW&BI) in 1999 with a project called KAS (Commercial Analytical System) (Svetina, 2002). Before 1999, different analyses and reports were performed in Merkur’s transactional information systems, much of the analytical data was held in Excel spreadsheets and Access databases. In the past, Merkur twice attempted to implement DW&BI technology, but failed because proposed technology was still too difficult to use for the majority of the users. In 1999 Merkur started with a major business process reorganization and, therefore, better and new business analyses were needed in order to make better decisions. The need for a DW&BI system emerged, so the KAS project was given high priority. Merkur started to design analytical data models for sales data and succeeded in integrating sales data from wholesale, retail and sales to foreign markets in one unified data model. The IT department proposed Microstrategy DW&BI technology, which was installed and tested in the beginning of the year 2000. The technology was found to be appropriate and the decision was made to implement DW&BI with Microstrategy solutions. The first power users (sales analysts) were educated and the first KAS sales analyses were used in the decision-making process. In the beginning the ETL (extract – transform – load) process was carried out on monthly basis, but by autumn of 2000 the company started to perform ETL process daily. Later in the year 2000 the purchasing analytical system was introduced as well. In 2001, the data warehouse was upgraded with data on Merkur’s business plans. Sales and margins were planned on a very low organizational level. The annual plan fact table has more than 1.000.000 records, so the salespersons’ performance is measured very accurately. Because the technology is easy to use, the number of KAS users increased up to 100. In 2002, the implementation of a very large and complex analytical module followed, containing inventory data. The inventory levels of each item in every warehouse on a monthly basis is stored in KAS and enables detailed inventory analyses and detection of critical items. Also, data on Merkur’s partner’s  debts and liabilities was added to data warehouse, which enables accurate cash flow management. Item price calculation elements and different prices were imported in KAS in 2003, so critical prices can be detected and all inconsistencies eliminated. Many minor additions to the system were also made over the last few years. All the time Merkur tries to use adequate analytical and data mining methodologies in order to improve the whole system of business reporting. From the DW&BI history we can see a controlled step-by-step development of the KAS system. Such way of development gives opportunity for good definition and implementation of analytical contents and enables Merkur to make many better business decisions. The KAS system brings Merkur an important competitive advantage, which enables the growth of the company. Improved decision making can be demonstrated through different measurable key success factors which are improving constantly. Key success factors such as net margin, net margin per item, net margin per customer, number of new customers and others are measured in KAS. These factors are always accessible for KAS users and help them to make better decisions. 3.2 DW&BI technology Since 2000 Merkur has used the Microstrategy DW&BI technology. Microstrategy provides ROLAP solutions, which enable a step-by-step approach in data warehouse development and processing large amounts of data. The data warehouse is implemented in an Oracle relational database. This means that the same database technology is used in both transactional and analytical information systems. Therefore, Merkur’s IT department can focus in one database platform instead of two or even more. Oracle technology was used in Merkur before the implementation data warehouse was started, so the implementation of this technology was fast and smooth. In Merkur the  following Microstrategy tools (Microstrategy, 2005) are used: MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is the heart of the BI system and provides reporting and analysis for the whole enterprise. This BI server provides the full range of BI applications through unified metadata and a single integrated server. MicroStrategy Administrator consi sts of a suite of tools that provide the systems management environment for business intelligence. It maximizes uptime of BI applications. Its tools give an environment for developing, deploying, monitoring and maintaining of systems. MicroStrategy Architect is a rapid development tool that maps the physical structure of the database into a logical business model. These mappings are stored in a centralized metadata repository. MicroStrategy Desktop is the business intelligence software component that provides integrated query and reporting, powerful analytics and decision support workflow with a desktop PC. MicroStrategy Desktop provides an arsenal of features for on-line analysis of corporate data. Reports can be viewed in various presentation formats, polished into production reports, distributed to other users and extended through a host of ad hoc features including drilling, pivoting and data slicing. The interface itself is customizable to different users’ skill levels and security profiles. In Merkur, the Desktop solution is used by 13 power users (analysts). MicroStrategy Web provides users a highly interactive environment and low maintenance interface for reporting and analysis. Using this intuitive HTML-only Web solution, users access, analyze and share corporate data through any web browser on any operating system. MicroStrategy Web provides ad hoc querying, quick deployment and rapid customizability, making it even easier for users to make informed business decisions. In Merkur, Microstrategy Web is used by 90 end users of KAS. MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server is a proactive information delivery server that distributes personalized business information to users via email, pagers and cell phones. It includes an intuitive self-subscription interface that enables users to specify what information they want to receive, as well as when and how they want to receive that information. Narrowcast Server is becoming more and more important in Merkur because of its efficiency. 3.3 Merkur’s DW&BI system today Presently, KAS; Merkur’s DW&BI system, is five years old. The development of the system continues constantly and there is still much content throughout the organization which must be implemented in the BI system. The most important content to be implemented in the future are the following: Integral data from Merkur’s finance and accounting system (the finance and accounting analytical system) Relevant business data from Merkur’s subsidiaries Data from Merkur’s human resources analytical system Data from Merkur’s e-business analytical system Data from Merkur’s logistic analytical system Presently in KAS (Merkur Commercial Analytical System – KAS, 2005): †¢ 13 power users (analysts) and 90 end users; of both groups, 50 users have the ability and knowledge to set-up their own reports. †¢ Up to 30.000 reports are run on KAS on monthly basis. †¢ KAS consists of the following objects: o 137 tables o 433 attributes o 1.195 metrics o 5.611 reports †¢ Over 35 automated services are run on the Narrowcast Server The KAS system enables many sophisticated business analyses such as market basket analyses, described later in this paper. 4 Market basket analysis and the used methodology Market basket analyses are an important component of analytical system in retail organizations. There are several definitions of market basket analysis. In a broader meaning, market basket analysis targets customer baskets in order to monitor buying patterns and improve customer satisfaction (Microstrategy, 2003). The following analytics can be used: attachment rates, demographic baskets, brand switching, customer loyalty, core items, items per basket, in-basket price, revenue contribution, shopper penetration and others. In a narrower meaning, market basket analysis gives  us the answer to the following question: which goods are sold together within the same transaction or to the same customer? By analysing this information, we try to find out recurring patterns in order to offer related goods together and therefore increase the sales. We can track related sales on different levels of goods classifications or on different customer segments. In this paper, the narrower meaning of market basket analysis will be taken into consideration, focusing on the use of these analyses in Merkur. It has to be noted that several other terms are also used to describe market basket analysis: related sales, cross-sell, up-sell. The distinction between these terms is very unclear and the same terms are often used in different meanings. What can we gain from market basket analysis (Limitedbrands, 2004)We get the ability to learn more about customer behaviour. We can make more informed decisions about product placement, pricing, promotion and profitability. We can find out which products perform similarly to each other. We can determine which products should be placed near each other. We can find out which products should be cross-sold. We can find out if there are any successful products that have no significant related elements. 1. Discover the selling documents (transactions) with the item, for which we want to perform market basket analysis. This logic is valid, if we want to carry out item-related market basket analysis. We can also perform good classification or even loyalty card holder-related market basket analyses, which will be shown later in this paper. 2. Discover all the items in relevant selling documents and their selling quantities, prices, number of transactions and other relevant data. As an example, an item related market basket analysis will be presented. We want to analyse sales related to item ‘209525 Decorative lamp Saturn II’. In the first step we determine the selling documents with this item. The partial result is shown in the table 1. Further, the result of the first step is used as a filter in the second step, which results in a table with items, sold together with item 209525. 5 Areas of market basket analyses In Merkur different kind of market basket analyses are done. Analyses are adapted to various business needs, and some of them are discussed in the following sections. In every section, the relevant examples of analyses are presented and opportunities for business action discussed. 5.1 Marketing and sales promotion campaigns When sales campaigns are prepared, promoted items must be chosen very carefully. The main goal of a campaign is to entice customers to visit Merkur’s retail centre and buy more than they usually do. Therefore, we must choose the right items and offer the right prices or other conditions. Margins on promoted items are usually cut, therefore, additional non-promoted items with higher margins should be sold together with promoted items. As we could see from the example in Section 3, item ‘209525 Decorative lamp Saturn II’ is quite adequate to be included in a promotion. Together with it many other items are sold, so we can allow a lower margin of promoted item. Of course, there are some other criteria for an item to be included in a campaign, such as: †¢ Where on the item life cycle curve is the item situated? †¢ What is our brand promotion policy? †¢ Can we reach an agreement with the supplier (producer) to assure larger quantities and better prices? Table 4. Sales promotion market basket analysis In table 4, data from a New Year’s promotion campaign is shown. The: campaign was done through public advertising. Paper catalogues of promoted items were sent to households, there were also commercial spots on TV and radio, and advertisements in newspapers. Because of advertising a certain number of customers came in Merkur retail centres in order to buy the promoted items. Additionally, they also bought many non-promoted items (70% opposed to 30% of revenues and 75%  opposed to 25% of margins) with much higher % of margin (29,08% opposed to 21,81%). This means that promoted items generated sales of non-promoted items. There are also many possible ways for organizing campaigns using direct marketing tools for the interaction with Merkur loyalty card holder. This issue will be discussed in Section 5.5. 5.2. System solutions offering Market basket analyses are also used to combine more items in a set or a system, because the majority of customers are interested in buying and using them at a time or in a short period of time after the purchase of a particular item. By designing sets and systems of related items a company can increase sales and also cut down costs of sales transactions, so that various discounts can be offered to customers. This results in a typical win-win situation. A retailer must know the needs of customers and adapt to them. Market basket analysis is one possible way to find out which items can be put together in sets and systems. Table 5. Classification Group ‘Kitchen extractor hood’ market basket analysis In Table 5 we can see groups of goods which were sold together with the group ‘Kitchen extractor hood’. In the related groups are also different kitchen appliances like refrigerators, dish washers, kitchen-ranges, taps, dishes etc. This means that Merkur should design and offer the customers different kitchen systems. These systems should include kitchen furniture,  major and small kitchen appliances and kitchen utensils. Such a system should be displayed in one place in a retail centre where customers could choose from whole system solutions to just several parts (items) of these solutions. 5.3. Placement of goods in retail stores Market basket analyses give retailer good information about related sales on group of goods basis. As we can see in Table 5, the majority of kitchen appliances groups are related. Customers who buy a kitchen appliance often also buy several other kitchen appliances. It makes sense that these groups are placed side by side in a retail centre so that customers can access them quickly. Such related groups of goods also must be located side-by-side in order to remind customers of related items and to lead them through the centre in a logical manner. In Merkur, two basic concepts of retail centres are used: MerkurDom specialises in high-quality items for home improvement and garden, MerkurMojster specialises in high-quality products aimed at DIY users, craftsmen, and entrepreneurs. Centres are also classified by size as small and large centres. For each of these concepts, standardized placement plans were developed. Market basket analyses represent one segment of tools for decision making considering placement of goods. It can show us where we should change the placement of goods. After the change we can measure the business effects of the change. 5.4. Education of salespeople The interesting results of market basket analyses must be presented to the salespeople in retail centres, because the employees must be aware of them and they should use them in the process of selling. Every salesperson has some knowledge about related items from his or her experience. With market  basket analyses we can structure this knowledge and use it to teach less experienced personnel. Merkur invests a lot in education of salespeople through both internal and external sources. Knowledge from market basket analyses is widely used in internal education. 5.5. Segmentation of customers As mentioned in Section 1.1., more than 70% of sales to end consumers are personalized with the Merkur loyalty card called â€Å"Merkur Card of Trust†. This data enables us to answer the following question: What did consumers who bought item (group) X in period 1, buy in period 2? If we identify customers who bought item X today, we can anticipate what they will buy, for instance, in next three months, and we can advertise them the right products. A typical example is shown in Table 6. We analysed loyalty card holders who bought ceramic tiles in the period from April to June 2004. In Table 6 we can see product groups which were bought by the same card holders in the period from July to November 2004. They bought different bathroom and kitchen accessories and central heating elements. It would be very useful, if Merkur organized a targeted marketing campaign for this specific group of customers in July 2004 and promoted these products. There are many other possibilities and opportunities in Merkur to use loyalty card-based market basket analyses as a support tool for direct marketing campaigns. Merkur usually organizes non-targeted common campaigns, in which the majority of Slovenian households are included. But lately Merkur also started to implement direct marketing methods and therefore an effective data warehouse and business intelligence system is essential. This helps many interesting marketing ideas to be implemented. 6 Conclusion The practice in Merkur proves that market basket analysis is a very useful for marketing campaigns, good placement definition and education of sales personnel. Merkur uses market basket analysis throughout the promotion campaign process. When a sales promotion is prepared, market basket analysis is used to define the right products and the right prices for the campaign. Related non-promoted items are also defined in order to place them in the vicinity of promoted items and therefore increase sales. When sales promotion finishes, its results are carefully analysed in order to discover opportunities for next promotions. Merkur widely uses market basket analyses to manage the placement of goods in retail centres. Related products and product groups are placed together in such a manner that customer can logically find items he/she might buy. The findings of market basket analyses are an important part of the process of teaching the salespeople of Merkur. Sales personnel must be aware of related products in order to increase satisfaction of customers and intensify sales. Market basket analyses are just a part in the holistic approach to the execution of marketing development strategy in Retail in Merkur. The analytical process is integrated in other marketing activities and analysts are an important part of Merkur marketing development team. Team work is crucial for successful use of such analyses. Beside of the organization of the Merkur marketing process, a capable DW&BI system is needed. The BI system must have good performances when processing large amount of data. It also has to be scalable and flexible, but, above all, the BI system must be user-friendly so that different marketing specialists can use it without any problems.  Fortunately, Merkur’s KAS is such a system. But there is still much work to be done. We demonstrated that market basket analysis in Merkur can be done and that it brings useful results. In the future a working direct marketing strategy must be developed based on data already available in KAS. Then an organization and information systems for efficient execution of this strategy have to be established. 7 References Berry, M.J.A., Linoff, G.S.: Data Mining Techniques: for Marketing, Sales and Customer Relationship Management (second edition), Hungry Minds Inc., 2004  Chen, Y.-L., Tang, K., Shen, R.-J., Hu, Y.-H.: â€Å"Market basket analysis in a multiple store environment†, Decision Support Systems (article in press), 2004, accessed through www.ScienceDirect.com Limitedbrands: Achieving Greater Efficiencies with Market Basket Analysis, Microstrategy World 2004 Conference, Miami, 2004 Microstrategy: Business Intelligence in the Retail Industry, Microstrategy World 2003 Conference, Las Vegas, 2003 Microstrategy Web Site: http://www.microstrategy.com/Software/, Microstrategy, 2005 Merkur Commercial Analytical System – KAS, internal document, Merkur, 2005 Merkur Web Site: http://www.merkur.si/ang/podj.html, Merkur, 2005 Svetina, Marko: Izdelava in uporaba market basket analiz, http://www.muson.net/Konferenca_login.asp?mni=12, Konferenca MUS 2004, Ljubljana, 2004 Svetina, Marko: Kome rcialni analitski sistem v podjetju Merkur d.d., Konferenca Poslovna inteligenca in upravljanje odnosov s strankami, Ljubljana, 2002 Vindevogel, B., Van den Poel, D., Wets, G.: â€Å"Why promotion strategies based on market basket analysis do not work† (article in press), Expert Systems with Applications, 2005, accessed through www.ScienceDirect.com Weng, S.-S., Liu, J.-L.: â€Å"Feature-based recommendations for one-to-one marketing†, Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 26, 2004, pp. 493-508.

Top Characteristics of Ancient Civilizations

Top Characteristics of Ancient Civilizations The phrase top characteristics of civilization refers both to the features of societies that rose to greatness in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, Chinas Yellow River, Mesoamerica, the Andes Mountains in South America and others, as well as to the reasons or explanations for the rise of those cultures. Why those cultures became so complex while others faded away is one of the great puzzles that archaeologists and historians have attempted to address many times. The fact that complexity happened is undeniable. In a short 12,000 years, humans, who organized and fed themselves as loosely associated bands of hunters and gatherers eventually developed into societies with full-time jobs, political borders, and detente, currency markets and entrenched poverty and wristwatch computers, world banks, and international space stations. How did we do that? So, What is a Civilization? The concept of a civilization has a fairly grubby past. The idea of what we consider a civilization grew out of the 18th-century movement known as the Enlightenment  and the term is often related to or used interchangeably with culture. These two terms are tied up with linear developmentalism, the now-discredited notion that human societies evolved in a linear fashion. According to that, there was a straight line that societies were supposed to develop along, and ones that deviated were, well, deviant. That idea allowed movements such as kulturkreis in the 1920s to brand societies and ethnic groups as decadent or normal, depending on what stage of the societal evolution line scholars and politicians perceived them to have achieved. The idea was used as an excuse for European imperialism, and it must be said still lingers in some places. American archaeologist Elizabeth Brumfiel (2001) pointed out that the word civilization has two meanings. First, the definition arising from the grubby past is civilization as a generalized state of being, that is to say, a civilization has productive economies, class stratification, and striking intellectual and artistic achievements. That is contrasted by primitive or tribal societies with modest subsistence economies, egalitarian social relations, and less extravagant arts and sciences. Under this definition, civilization equals progress and cultural superiority, which in turn was used by European elites to legitimize their domination of the working class at home and colonial people abroad. However, civilization also refers to the enduring cultural traditions of specific regions of the world. For literally thousands of years, successive generations of people resided on the Yellow, Indus, Tigris/Euphrates, and Nile rivers outliving the expansion and collapse of individual polities or states. That sort of a civilization is sustained by something other than complexity: there probably is something inherently human about creating an identity based on whatever it is that defines us, and clinging onto that. Factors Leading to Complexity It is clear that our ancient human ancestors lived a far simpler life than we do. Somehow, in some cases, in some places, at some times, simple societies for one reason or another morphed into more and more complex societies, and some become civilizations. The reasons which have been proposed for this growth in complexity range from a simple model of population pressure- too many mouths to feed, what do we do now?- to the greed for power and wealth from a few individuals to the impacts of climate change- a prolonged drought, a flood, or tsunami, or a depletion of a particular food resource. But single-source explanations are not convincing, and most archaeologists today would agree that any complexity process was gradual, over hundreds or thousands of years, variable over that time and particular for each geographic region. Each decision made in a society to embrace complexity- whether that involved the establishment of kinship rules or food technology- occurred in its own peculiar, and likely largely unplanned, way. The evolution of societies is like human evolution, not linear but branched, messy, full of dead ends and successes not necessarily marked by the best behavior. Nevertheless, the characteristics of burgeoning complexity in a prehistoric society are pretty much agreed upon, falling roughly into three groups: Food, Technology, and Politics. Food and Economics increasing sedentism- a reduction in the amount of mobility within a society, allowing or requiring people to settle down in one place for longer periodsthe need to produce a stable and reliable source of food for your group, whether by growing crops, called agriculture; or raising animals for milking, plowing or meat, called pastoralismthe ability to quarry and process tin, copper, bronze, gold, silver, iron and other metals into usable objects, known  as metallurgythe creation of tasks that require people who can dedicate part or all of their time to complete, such as textile or pottery production, jewelry production and referred to as craft specializationenough people to act as a workforce, be craft specialists and require the stable food source, referred to as high population densitythe rise of urbanism, religious and political centers, and socially heterogeneous, permanent settlementsthe development of markets, either to meet the demands of urban elites for food and status goo ds or for common people to enhance the efficiency and/or economic security of their households Architecture and Technology the presence of large, non-domestic buildings constructed to be shared by the community, such as churches and shrines and plazas and collectively known as monumental architecturea way to communicate information long distances within and outside of the group, known as a writing systemthe presence of a group level religion, controlled by religious specialists such as shamans or priestsa way to know when the seasons will change, by means of a calendar or astronomical observationroads and transportation networks that allowed communities to be connected Politics and People Control the rise of trade or exchange networks, in which communities share goods with one another, leading tothe presence of luxury and exotic goods, such as baltic amber), jewelry made from precious metals, obsidian, spondylus shell, and a wide variety of other objectsthe creation of classes or hierarchical posts and titles with different levels of power within the society  called social stratification and rankingan armed military force, to protect the community and/or the leaders from the communitysome way to collect tribute and taxes (labor, goods or currency), as well as private estatesa centralized​ rule, to organize all those various things Not all of these characteristics necessarily have to be present for a particular cultural group to be considered a civilization, but all of them are considered evidence of relatively complex societies. Sources Al-Azmeh, A. Concept . International Encyclopedia of the Social Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition). Ed. Wright, James D. Oxford: Elsevier, 2015. 719–24. Print.and History of CivilizationBrumfiel, E. M. Archaeology of States and Civilizations. International Encyclopedia of the Social Behavioral Sciences. Ed. Baltes, Paul B. Oxford: Pergamon, 2001. 14983–88. Print.Covey, R. Alan. Rise of Political Complexity. Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Ed. Pearsall, Deborah M. New York: Academic Press, 2008. 1842–53. Print.Eisenstadt, Samuel N. Civilizations. International Encyclopedia of the Social Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition). Ed. Wright, James D. Oxford: Elsevier, 2001. 725–29. Print.Kuran, Timur. Explaining the Economic Trajectories of Civilizations: The Systemic Approach. Journal of Economic Behavior Organization 71.3 (2009): 593–605. Print.Macklin, Mark G., and John Lewin. The Rivers of Civilization. Quaternary Science Reviews 114 (2015): 228â₠¬â€œ44. Print.Nichols, Deborah L. , R. Alan  Covey, and Kamyar Abdia. Rise of Civilization and Urbanism. Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Ed. Pearsall, Deborah M. London: Elsevier Inc., 2008. 1003–15. Print.

Latin American City Structure Model

Latin American City Structure Model In 1980, geographers Ernest Griffin and Larry Ford developed a generalized model to describe the structure of cities in Latin America after concluding that the organization of many cities in that region grew following certain patterns. Their general model (diagrammed here) claims that Latin American cities are built up around a core central business district (CBD). Out of that district comes a commercial spine that is surrounded by elite housing. These areas are then surrounded by three concentric zones of housing that decrease in quality as one moves away from the CBD. Background and Development of Latin American City Structure As many Latin American Cities began to grow and develop during colonial times, their organization was mandated by a set of laws called the Laws of the Indies. These were a set of laws issued by Spain to regulate the social, political, and economic structure of its colonies outside of Europe. These laws mandated everything from treatment of the Indians to the width of the streets. In terms of city structure, the Laws of the Indies required that colonial cities have a grid pattern built around a central plaza. Blocks near the plaza were for residential development for the citys elite. The streets and development farther from the central plaza were then developed for those with less social and economic status. As these cities later began to grow and the Laws of the Indies no longer applied, this grid pattern worked only in areas with slow development and minimal industrialization. In faster growing cities this central area became built up as a central business district (CBD). These areas were the economic and administrative cores of the cities but they did not expand much prior to the 1930s. In the mid- to late 20th century the CBD began to further expand and the organization of the colonial cities of Latin America was mostly demolished and the stable central plaza became the node for the evolution of an Anglo-American styled CBD. As the cities continued to grow, various industrial activities built up around the CBD because of a lack of infrastructure father away. This resulted in a mix of business, industry, and homes for the wealthy near the CBD. Around this same time, Latin American cities also experienced in-migration from the countryside and high birth rates as the poor tried to move closer to cities for work. This resulted in the development of squatter settlements on the edge of many cities. Because these were are on the periphery of the cities they were also the least developed. Over time, however, these neighborhoods became more stable and gradually obtained more infrastructure. Model of Latin American City Structure In looking at these developmental patterns of Latin American cities, Griffin and Ford developed a model to describe their structure that can be applied to almost all major cities in Latin America. This model shows that most cities have a central business district, one dominant elite residential sector, and a commercial spine. These areas are then surrounded by a series of concentric zones that decrease in residential quality farther from the CBD. Central Business District The center of all Latin American cities is the central business district. These areas are home to the best employment opportunities and they are the commercial and entertainment hubs for the city. They are also very well developed in terms of infrastructure and most have many modes of public transportation so that people can easily get into and out of them. Spine and Elite Residential Sector After the CBD the next most dominant part of Latin American cities is the commercial spine that is surrounded by residential developments for the most elite and wealthy people in the city. The spine itself is considered an extension of the CBD and it is home to many commercial and industrial applications. The elite residential sector is where nearly all of the citys professionally built houses are and the upper class and upper middle class live in these regions. In many cases, these areas also have large tree-lined boulevards, golf courses, museums, restaurants, parks, theaters, and zoos. Land use planning and zoning are also very strict in these areas. Zone of Maturity The zone of maturity is located around the CBD and is considered an inner city location. These areas have better-constructed homes and in many cities, these areas have middle-income residents who filtered in after the upper class residents moved out of the inner city and into the elite residential sector. These areas have a fully developed infrastructure. Zone of in Situ Accretion The zone of in situ accretion is a transitional area for Latin American cities that is between the zone of maturity and the zone of peripheral squatter settlements. The homes are of modest qualities that vary widely in size, type, and quality of materials. These areas look like they are in a constant state of on-going construction and homes are unfinished. Infrastructure such as roads and electricity is only completed in some areas. Zone of Peripheral Squatter Settlements The zone of peripheral squatter settlements is located on the edge of Latin American cities and it is where the poorest people in the cities live. These areas have virtually no infrastructure and many homes are built by their residents using whatever materials they can find. Older peripheral squatter settlements are better developed as residents often continually work to improve the areas, while newer settlements are just starting. Age Differences in Latin American City Structure Like the age differences present in the zone of peripheral squatter settlements age differences are important in the overall structure of Latin American cities as well. In older cities with slow population growth, the zone of maturity is often larger and the cities appear more organized than younger cities with very fast population growth. As a result, the size of each zone is a function of the age of the city and of the rate of population growth in relation to the economic capacity of the city to absorb effectively additional residents and to extend public services. Revised Model of Latin American City Structure In 1996 Larry Ford presented a revised model of Latin American city structure after further development in the cities made them more complicated than the 1980 general model showed. His revised model (diagrammed here) incorporated six changes to the original zones. The changes are as follows: 1) The new central city should be divided into a CBD and a Market. This change shows that many cities now have offices, hotels, and retail structures in their downtowns as well as their original CBDs. 2) The spine and elite residential sector now have a mall or edge city at the end to provide goods and services to those in the elite residential sector. 3) Many Latin American cities now have separate industrial sectors and industrial parks that are outside of the CBD. 4) Malls, edge cities, and industrial parks are connected in many Latin American cities by a periferico or ring highway so that residents and workers can travel between them easier. 5) Many Latin American cities now have middle class housing tracts that are located close to the elite housing sector and the periferico. 6) Some Latin American cities are also undergoing gentrification to protect historical landscapes. These areas are often located in the zone of maturity near the CBD and the elite sector. This revised model of Latin American city structure still takes into account the original model but it allows for new the development and changes that constantly occur in the rapidly growing Latin American region. Resources and Further Reading Ford, Larry R. A New and Improved Model of Latin American City Structure. Geographical Review, vol. 86, no.3, 1996.Griffin, Ernest and Ford, Larry. A Model of Latin American City Structure. Geographical Review, vol. 70, no. 4, 1980.

Cause and effect - Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cause and effect - Smoking - Essay Example Currently, most of the smoked substances contain nicotine, which has medically been proved to have a poisonous alkaloid with inclusion of other harmful substances such as ammonia and carbon dioxide, thus giving prove to a serious health hazard association. In this regard, smoking causes a higher chance of contracting lung cancer depending on the number of cigarettes that the smoker uses on a daily basis. Similarly, the type of substance used and the period of time the smokers have practiced this behavior has an impact (Eysenck 20). According to Eysenck (33), smoking of various automatically affects different body parts and their roles. Firstly, smoking has an adverse effect on the fertility of both men and women especially when it comes to sexual performance. Consequently, most smokers are perceived to be generally unhealthy since the smoking substances such as cigar, cigarettes and pipes result to bad skin, and bad breath, which further leads to halitosis and chronic health issues. In addition, such people are known to have smelly hair and clothes as a result of consuming too much cigarettes, cigar and pipes. Additionally, smoking is that it is primarily leads to chest diseases such as pulmonary disease, stroke and heart diseases that have serious complications. As such, inhalation and exhaling of these substances directly affects chest operations. Furthermore, smoking among men has continually posed a threat to male potency as a result of the components that are found in the smoking substances (Eysenck 21). Similarly, smokers are said to be at a higher risk of experiencing low immunity levels, which is evident through frequent attacks of pneumonia, bronchitis, colds among other diseases. In general sense, the effect of smoking revolves around the brain, heart, lungs and mouth. Although most body parts are affected by smoking; the most vital part is the heart which is affected to the extent that the inhalation of the carbon