Juvenile Delinquency Essays - 1333 Words

Over the years, countless efforts have been made to find a comprehensive explanation for delinquency. The results of these efforts have offered possible reasons as being both biological and social. It is still debatable as to what forces have the greatest influence on youth crime, but it is undoubted that several factors clearly make an impact. The direct relationships a child has with concrete social elements, like his family and friends, are likely to give some intimation of his involvement in crime. However, it must be noted that there are more abstract contexts for socialization that also exist as potential explanations for a child’s behavior. The most prominent of these less specific forces are the media, community, and religion.†¦show more content†¦In accomplishing this, religion also deterred people from crime by making them concentrate on their social roles, while ignoring the oppression of stratified economic systems. Durkheim asserted that â€Å"social order could be maintained only if people had common beliefs in something greater than themselves† (Jensen and Rojek 309). He saw religion as very interconnected with social values as it contributed to a loss of strong communal bonds between the tenants of Western society. As people begin to believe more in themselves and less in a higher power, Durkheim argued, they become less committed to an interdependent society and highly prone to selfish acts of lawlessness. Weber, another distinguished sociologist, attributed social deviance to religious factors as well. He believed that â€Å"religious institutions were intertwined with other institutions,â₠¬  contributing to both progressive and regressive social development (Jensen and Rojek 309). These three attempted to explain the social importance of religion, while only scratching the surface of its relationship to crime. Although they fail to adequately expand on the subject, the ideas of these influential thinkers represent some basic thoughts on the religious causes of crime, and they have led to successive investigations of religion and delinquency. Surprisingly, facts about crime and religion over theShow MoreRelatedJuvenile Delinquency1154 Words   |  5 PagesDiscussion In common parlance, there is an understanding of juvenile delinquency as meaning adolescents breaking the law or participating in mischievous behavior. Defining juveniles as being under the age of 18 years is the general rule of thumb because, in the current legal system, upon reaching this age individuals can be tried as adults, serve in the military, and, in some states, consume alcohol. (Reckless, 1972) One may ask why juvenile delinquency is viewed as a separate construct from adult deviantRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency2109 Words   |  9 PagesJuvenile Delinquency 1 Juvenile Delinquency: Features, Causes and Solutions Shen Cheng Class: 110 Teacher: Stephanie February 29, 2012 Juvenile Delinquency 2 Outline I. Introduction Thesis statement: Nowadays, there is no denying that Juvenile Delinquency has become one of the hottest social issues. The features, causes, and solutions of Juvenile Delinquency will be discussed about in this research. II. The features of Juvenile Delinquency A. The average age of juveniles who commitRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency2343 Words   |  10 PagesOpener: B. Thesis statement: This term paper explores how family issues attribute to juvenile delinquency and how to overcome it. II. First and foremost, an unstable family structure is one of the contributing factors to juvenile delinquency. A. Single-parent household vs. two-parent household B. Child maltreatment 1. emotional neglect 2. physical abuse III. Secondly, studies have shown that juvenile delinquency is conclusively related to the family environment. A. Family cohesion B. Increasing numberRead MoreJuvenile Crime And Juvenile Delinquency1322 Words   |  6 PagesVersion). Juvenile crime, in law, term denoting various offense committed by children or youth under the age of 18. U.S. official crime reported that in the mid-1900’s â€Å"about one-fifth of all persons arrested for crimes were under the age of 18† (Funk Wagnalls, 2014). Such acts are sometimes referred to as juvenile delinquency (Funk Wagnalls, 2014. Offering constructive programs reduces juvenile delinquency and reduces recidivism. â€Å"From the beginning, the principal consideration of the juvenile courtsRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency : Adult Delinquency2861 Words   |  12 PagesAlexis Kelly SOC 333 William Franks Spring 2015 Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Programs What is juvenile delinquency? Juvenile delinquency relates to minors who commit law violations. Instead of adults commiting â€Å"crimes’, juveniles are considered to commit â€Å"delinquent acts†. Society sees juvenile delinquents as immature and in need of guidance, which is different to adults, who are seen to be responsible for their crimes. Juvenile delinquency can occur in any community, neighborhood, and schoolsRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency2264 Words   |  10 PagesJuvenile Delinquency is the participation of illegal behavior by a minor who falls under a statutory age limit. A delinquent is a minor who commits a crime or a status offense. A status offense is conduct that is illegal only because the child is under age i.e. smoking cigarettes (Senna 10, 20). The cases of Eric Smith, Lionel Tate, and an unidentified NJ child are similar only because, they are guilty of killing another child, but the Criminal Justice System treated and punished them very different lyRead MoreJuvenile Crime And Juvenile Delinquency1458 Words   |  6 PagesDay in and day out residents and visitors to the Boston area are affected by juvenile crime and delinquency. Though the crime rates in MA and across the nation are on a steady decline, these juvenile crimes are still considered a serious matter that needs attention. It is thought that juvenile offenders do not cope as well with the criminal justice system as well as adults may be able to and therefore there needs to be a focus on how the system can better aid in the rehabilitation of these youthfulRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency Essay1646 Words   |  7 PagesA juvenile delinquent offense is an act committed by a juvenile for which an adult would be tried at a criminal court. New statistics give an alarming picture: juvenile delinquency is higher as never before. According to the census bureau, in 2008 there were 1,653,000 recorded delinquent offenses in the United States. This is a 23.6% increase from 1990 when 1,337,000 delinquent offenses occurred. Today, a lot of people demand lowering the age of criminal responsibility and draconian penalties (JensonRead MoreThe And Prevention Of Juvenile Delinquency970 Words   |  4 PagesJuveniles in the justice system is an issue relevant not only to people in the criminal justice system but to society in general. There have been a number of studies done that link serious behavior problems in children to adult criminal conduct. In more recent years, there has been more research done regarding the causes and prevention of juvenile delinquency. The Department of Juvenile Justice lists 3 broad categories with many subcategories to help us understand what contributes to juvenile delinquencyRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency Is A Problem1508 Words   |  7 PagesJuvenile Delinquency When looking into the history of United States and elsewhere juvenile delinquency is a problem and has been one for over a century. Like other systems in place, the system involving juvenile delinquents has gone through many stages. In the case of the juvenile delinquency, it has gone through four stages, with us presently in the fourth. The causes behind juvenile delinquency are still unknown even today. Some blame it on the current culture, the over-exposure to violence

Essay on Naturalism and Symbolism in the Poem Design by...

Naturalism and Symbolism in the Poem Design by Robert Frost The poem Design by Robert Frost is a sonnet written about mans relationship with nature. Frost deliberately uses the form of a sonnet, using the octave for a discussion and the sextet for questioning the fact that there is a force that controls our existence. There are natural characters and some degrees of irony also that give this poem a naturalistic feel. Frost uses the style of a sonnet in Design to present a philosophical problem - who controls our destiny. The octave is a single, smooth flowing sentence full of description. We are introduced to three things the narrator happened upon one day. There is a scene of contradictory pictures. The color of†¦show more content†¦What design is behind all of this he asks? All can be summed up in the final coupling. This is far from answering his question and only intensifies the problem. Only then, do we realize that he expects no answers. In Design, the normally blue heal--all, the normally black spider, and the moth, which can be any color are all weirdly white. The color white is a symbol of purity, and innocence. Since none of these elements are normally white, this adds a sort of eeriness to the picture. The spider holds the dead white moth like a rigid piece of satin cloth. By the end of the octet, the contrast between the positive images of the color white and the gruesomeness of the scene is made clear. Frost asks what evil forces caused such a coincidence for the flowers genetic mutation that made it white, and brought the white moth to happen upon white spider. This shows the irony of the white innocence because the spider has killed the moth. Murder can never be desribed as something innocent Frost offers two answers to the question of how the possibility of the three creatures came to be. There is a design of darkness of nature or of God. The first is that there is a force of evil at work . Some force that attracted the innocent moth to the predatory jaws of the evil spider that is hidden in the bloom of the white heal--all. The flowerShow MoreRelatedOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 PagesWide Web at: www.pearsoned.co.uk First published 2007  © Pearson Education Limited 2007 The rights of Joanne Duberley, Phil Johnson and John McAuley to be identified as authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior

Dell Computer Free Essays

string(237) " Internet and the advancements of microprocessor technologies, the demand for PCs for personal and business use has climbed continuously in the early 21st century The PC industry is one among the fastest growing industries in the world\." PREFACE We are living in the era of information. The 21st century has come with more than ever powerful working tools: the computer, the Internet, and Information technology. The computer has been playing an increasingly important role in the daily lives of people, families, organizations and businesses. We will write a custom essay sample on Dell Computer or any similar topic only for you Order Now With their huge computing and processing power, computers have boosted up productivity, increased accuracy, saved time, and become essential equipments for almost every business today. Windows 7 Check Your Understanding iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src="https://phdessay.com/windows-7-check-your-understanding/embed/#?secret=zkAlSFvHWL" data-secret="zkAlSFvHWL" width="500" height="282" title="#8220;Windows 7 Check Your Understanding#8221; #8212; Free Essays - PhDessay.com" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"/iframe Together with the widely application of the Internet and Information technology, the computer has become even more powerful tool which improves every aspect of people’ lives. Owning to its power and functionalities, the demand for computer has increased continuously over years, pushing the PC (personal computer) industry become one of the most competitive and dynamic. Within 6 years from 2006 to 2010, the worldwide PC sales almost doubled and stay at more than 300 million units in 2010. Large computer companies today spend billions of dollars annually on innovating new technology, developing new products in order to gain the top position on the market. Besides, due to the fast pace of changing, as a feature of the industry, computer firms have to adjust their overall strategies continuously to stay strong. Dell Inc. is one typical example of successful computer enterprise by using appropriate strategies toward technology innovation and operation. With innovation based on standardization, direct sales model, and the support of modern and fast information technology system, Dell keeps in hand key comparative advantages to win the first position in the market for many years. Until now, Dell still remains as the toughest competitor for any PC maker. Being attracted by the eventful computer industry and efficient operation of Dell Inc. , the writer decides to choose the PC industry as the theme and Dell Computer is in the centre for this working paper. Within the limited volume of this thesis, the writer will go through three parts: The first part introduces briefly about the computer industry, technology development, strategies of enterprises regarding technology innovation and development as well as some short stories of leading companies. The second part talks about Dell Inc. , including its history of development, its strategies of technology innovation and operation, and its global expansion. This part will analyze how the combination of creative technology development policies and business model help this firm becomes one of the leading computer makers in the world. The third part will be about technology development in Vietnam in globalization scenario, Vietnamese technology enterprises and some lessons withdrawn from Dell Computer’s success and failure for them. Due to the limited time and knowledge of the writer, this paper inevitably contains some limitations and shortcomings. Therefore, the writer would like to receive every feedback or comment from teachers and people who interested in this topic to improve the quality of the thesis. Chapter 1: OVERVIEW OF TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF COMPUTER ENTERPRISES IN GLOBALIZATION 1. 1. Overview of technology development in computer industry in the world: The personal computer (PC) industry is one of the strangest and most dynamic in the world. Probably there is no other kind of product that is so technologically sophisticated, changed so rapidly, sells for so much money, and is sold by so many companies for not much profit. The fierce competition in this industry is the reason why so many problems are encountered by those who deal with PC vendors. Since PC could be assembled from standardized components without much expertise required and the barriers to entry are not as tough as in the past, new computer business is established on a frequent basis. As a result, there are thousands of companies making PCs that perform similar functions pushing the market to be extremely price-competitive. Since the market is so competitive, vendors often sell at very low margins. Computers are not the same as many other products, where the company selling the device is making upwards of 50% of the price of the product as gross profit. For PCs it is often around 10%. Additionally, there is probably no other industry that has prices change as dramatically and frequently as the PC industry. Usually, prices are decreasing. This is good for the consumer but very bad for vendors, because it means that their already low margins get squeezed if prices drop between the time that they buy a product and the time they sell it. Drop in the price of PC comes from both severe competition and rapid changes in technology. As a consequence, PC makers often prefer to keep low inventories. Whenever prices fall, the vendors potentially lose money on every component in inventory at the time. Due to the rapid frequency of changes in technology, functionalities and capacity of computers are improved continuously, broadening PC’s definition over time. In the dawn of PC industry, a computer was a bulky device, furnished with some simple functions and small volume, but extremely costly. Today, people could possess small handheld devices which are integrated with processing power and functions tens times better than huge mainframes decades ago. The PC industry has a strong connection with the software industry and the application of the Internet. These two peripheral industries have accelerated the speed of technology innovation even faster. In years recent, a computer device has evolved into a centre for all the digital peripheral such as music players, digital cameras, video recorders, internet TV, etc. With the technology evolution, computers have become the ever powerful tools that are essential for any success business and modern families; and the PC industry become one of the most strategic industries in the world in the 21st century. 1. 1. 1. Velocity of development and innovation: The personal computer industry has grown from a hobbyist industry in the 1970s to a highly profitable industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide. Driven by consumer demand to access the Internet and the advancements of microprocessor technologies, the demand for PCs for personal and business use has climbed continuously in the early 21st century The PC industry is one among the fastest growing industries in the world. You read "Dell Computer" in category "Papers" According to a research carried out by Etforcasts, the annual worldwide PC sales has a trend to double every six years. By 2000, the PC sales was 132 million; and almost doubled in 2006. The velocity of increase in this industry is at a staggering rate of around 9% annually compounded. (Table 1) Table 1: Worldwide PC Sales Unit: 1 million PCs |Year |1990 |1995 |2000 |2005 |2010 | |Worldwide PC Sales |24 |58 |132 |207 |325 | (Source: etforecasts) Another noticeable index is the number of PC in use. In 2000, there were more than 500 million units in-use and the figure in 2010 is over 1400 million units almost three times higher. Table 2) Table 2: Worldwide PC in use Unit: 1 million PCs |Year |1990 |1995 |2000 |2005 |2010 | |Worldwide PC in use |100 |225 |529 |910 |1,425 | (Source: Etforecasts) The figure above shows that the computer industry has a huge growth potential. These growth potentials are fostered by the upgrading of obsolete machines, newly established business around the world, new generation or innovation of computer devices integrated with digital functions. Yearly PC sales for the U. S. and the main regions of the world are summarized in the next figure. North America will remain the largest region through 2007. All figures are in millions of units. Figure 1: Annual PC Sales of the main regions of the world [pic] (Source Etforecasts) In 2003, the number of PCs sold in the US was roughly about 30% of the total worldwide sales. This data indicates that the remaining 70% of the PC sales happened outside the US. This shows that there are many opportunities yet to be discovered by firms around the world. According to etForcast , Asia will be the region with the fastest growth in computing devices. This trend is confirmed by the rapid urbanization and modernization of China in recent years, and expected to continue to grow in the next decade. Therefore, it is logical to move the PC manufacturers in the US into the global arena. PC revenue was growing slower than unit growth due to considerable price declines and saw a pause the last two years due to lower unit sales growth than price declines. The worldwide PC revenues were $251B in 2000, which increased to over $333B in 2007. Worldwide PC revenue declined to $320B in 2010. According to experts of Etforecasts, worldwide PC revenue has a trend to grow again in the next five years to around $400B in 2015, which is due to the unit growth boost from the iPad and competing products. To get a clearer picture of the potential of IT industry, have a look at the following figure about computer and peripherals industry in the period from 1999 to 2004. This computer and peripherals industry include products which are computer-based and inter-connected to computers. These products are indicators of how well the entire industry is doing in terms of new innovations and future development. Figure 2: Computer and Peripherals Industry 1999 – 2004 Unit: billion Dollars [pic] This figure is a good indicator of the huge potentials in the IT industry. Although the industry had a minor setback in 2001, the net profit and sales remains high for 2004. As mentioned above, IT industry has become a center for computer and peripheral devices. There will be a greater demand in networking because computers are more connected to each other. Wireless technology will continue to grow in range and speed for more and more information need to transmit between computers and across networks. . 1. 2. Overall impact to the development of economies in the world The 21st century comes with more than ever powerful tools which based on the widely use of computers and the Internet. The popularity of PCs is phenomenal because it has revolutionized the way people communicate, how information is stored, and people’s ability to access knowledge at their fingertips. Besides, PCs have becom e necessities in the corporate world simply because business processes involve heavy use of computers and Internet. In fact, the percentage of population with computer connected to the worldwide network has become one of the key indicators for the level of modernization and human power of economies in the world. Following is the figure for some typical countries: Table 3: Internet users per 100 people |Country |2007 |2008 |2009 |2010 | |US |75. 2 |74. 1 |78. 2 |79. 3 | |Japan |73. |74. 7 |77. 4 |79. 4 | |Germany |75. 4 |78. 3 |79. 7 |82. 5 | |Australia |69. 6 |71. 7 |74. 1 |75. 8 | |China |16. 0 |22. 7 |29. 0 |34. 4 | |Singapore |67. 9 |68. 0 |68. |70. 1 | |Vietnam |20. 9 |24. 2 |26. 8 |27. 8 | (Source: World Bank estimates – World Development Indicators) There are two things that can be easily seen from the above table. First, the advanced economies often have high percentage of population with computer connected to the Internet. Developed countries such as US or Germany have a very high rate, almost four-fifth of the population; meanwhile, developing countries like China or Vietnam stay a t much more humble levels. This means that internet connection is one of the indicators for the power and modernization of the economies. Second, the percentage in general has the trend to increase continuously over time which denotes the increased demand for computers and Internet using. People’s job will more and more related to the application of computer and Internet’s functions. Information technology has shifted the paradigm of economies. In a macroeconomic sense, information technology affects the patterns of production, investment and employment. Production structure: as the information technology evolves, the world is now in paradigm shift from the industrial age to the information age. As a result, there is a growing demand in the service fields that require expert knowledge and information. Thanks to information technology, existing service industries such as banking and distribution are enhancing efficiency and expanding their business areas. New industries on the basis of information technology such as software industry and information processing service are rapidly growing. The following table is about information and communication technology goods exports include telecommunications, audio and video, computer and related equipment; electronic components; and other information and communication technology goods of some countries. The number is taken as percentage over the total goods exports. Table 4: ICT goods exports (% of total goods exports) |CountryYear |2007 |2008 |2009 | |US |14. 2 |12. |13. 0 | |Japan |15. 7 |14. 3 |14. 7 | |Germany |7. 9 |6. 9 |6. 8 | |Australia |1. 8 |1. 5 |1. 4 | |China |29. 1 |27. 5 |29. | |Singapore |36. 2 |35. 9 |35. 4 | |Malaysia |41. 6 |26. 2 |38. 1 | (Source: United Nations Statistics Division’s Commodity Trade) The table shows clearly that ICT products is an important part in the production structure of countries, especially Asian developing countries since the percentage is very high (times higher than developed economies). This can be explained as the trend of outsourcing in big technology firms of developed countries to take advantage of cheap labor force and market potential in Asia-Pacific area. Investment structure: as information technology changes the aspects of competition, investment is made more in the area of information and communications that promotes productivity and efficiency of knowledge-based products. As the demand for high technology goods has increased continuously, the IT industry becomes a highly profitable but competitive industry. Severe competition in home countries forces computer firms to expand globally, finding new market for their growth. In addition, the pressure of price-competition requires them to find ways to cut cost. As a result, large multi-national technology tend to invest in potential markets such as countries in the Asia-Pacific area or India, changing dramatically the investment structure of both home countries and investment receiving countries. According to OECD Factbook 2010 regarding to investment structure of the world, ICT shares in total non-residential investment doubled, and in some cases, even quadrupled between 1980 and 2000. In 2008, ICT shares were particularly high (at 24% or more of the total) in countries like the United States, Sweden and Denmark, etc. Software has been the fastest growing component of ICT investment. In many countries, its share in non-residential investment multiplied several times between 1980 and 2008. In 2008, software’s share in total investment was highest in Sweden, the United States, Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom. In the recent years, software accounted for 50% or more of total ICT investment in France, Finland, Sweden, Japan, Korea, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Netherlands. Communication equipment was the major component of ICT investment in Portugal and Greece. IT equipment was the major component in Belgium and Ireland. Changes in employment structure: In advanced economies, the number of workers in manufacturing sector is drastically reduced by shrinking share of its production. But employment in information and knowledge-intensive service sector is increasing with automation and investment in information technology. In the occupational categories, there are more demands for experts with creativity and information technology. Meanwhile, for developing countries, a large number of people move from the agriculture sector into manufacturing due to the trend of outsourcing of big technology firms in the world. Investment in infrastructure of high technology firm in developing countries to take advantage of the cheap manufacturing factors has created jobs for millions of employment in the local areas. In a microeconomic sense, information technology changes business activities. It is important today that how much information a company have and how much of them could be converted into useful knowledge. The global modern economy has proved that knowledge itself, not a physical good, is a valuable product. In other words, owning to advanced information technology, knowledge-based workers, who create and utilize information, play a key role in economic activities and knowledge creating organizations like research institutes and universities will find their increased roles as a place for economic activities. Changes take place in every part of the business from the communication system to development of goods and technology, procurement, production, sales, distribution, and after sales services. Enterprises depend heavily on rapid development of diverse goods and technology in order to satisfy customers. Time to market is also getting an important position in today economic environment. Modern communication methods such as email or fax have been widely used in companies since they accelerate the whole business process and save a lot of time. Meanwhile, enterprises have a trend to change production system from mass production under economy of scale into production on demand thanks to the application of E-commerce and advanced communication tools. Keeping a smooth flow of information both internally and externally has become one of the key comparative advantages of companies in technology field. It helps companies save time and keep them updated constantly with information about the real demand of the market. That is the basis for their customization to truly meet the need of theirs customers. In short, the informatics era come with the technology evolution has restructured and speed up people’s lives, business operation, and the whole economic scenario of every countries in the world. The technology power of countries in the 21st century comes with the economic and politic power. Information, communication and computer-related industry have become the strategic focus of development in almost a large number of countries and regions around the world. National policies to promote technology development and innovation: When talking about the countries growing fast and increasing their power with technological means today, people often mention the role of information technology, the widespread use of computers and the Internet. Information technology sector has proven itself to be the most strategic power in the development of national economies due to its productivity, speed, and versatility. As a consequence, countries in the world have set up and changed their own policies and strategies to develop their technology power on a continuous basis. On of the main indicator regarding to the policies for technology development and innovation of countries is how much they spend on research and development activities (RD). The following table shows a brief comparison of this expense in some typical countries in the world. For even a clearer look, the second column takes this expense as percentage over the GDP of those countries. Table 5: Domestic expenditures on RD by country 2009-2010 (most recent year available) Country |RD expense (million current ppp) |RD expense/GDP (%) | |US 2009 |401 576. 00 |2. 90 | |Japan 2009 |137 314. 21 |3. 36 | |Germany 2010 |86 209. 64 |2. 82 | |France 2010 |49 990. 76 |2. 6 | |South Korea 2010 |53 184. 86 |3. 74 | |United Kingdom 2010 |39 137. 82 |1. 77 | |Canada 2010 |23 970. 09 |1. 80 | |Italy 2010 |24 269. 15 |1. 26 | |China 2009 |154 147. 6 |1 . 70 | |Singapore 2009 |5 733. 23 |2. 27 | |South Africa 2008 |4 708. 22 |0. 93 | (Source: OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators) In general view from the above table, developed countries often have a higher rate of RD expense over their GDP, more or less of 3%. This is relevant with the result of strong technology power and potential in these countries. Meanwhile, developing countries such as China has also spent a substantial amount to develop its technology power to catch up with developed economies in the world. In deed, the location of RD investment has a trend to move toward new emerging economies such as India or China. This is considered as the direct consequence of outsourcing activities of many large technology firms in the world in the process of global expanding and cost cutting. According to an estimation of European Commission, between 13 years from 1995 to 2008 the world’s gross domestic expenditure on RD (GERD) almost doubled in real terms. Over this period real GERD increased by about 50 % in the EU, 60 % in the United States, 75 % in developed Asian economies, 855 % in China, 145 % in BRIS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, South-Africa) and almost 100 % in the rest of the world. As a result, less than 24 % of RD expenditure in the world was located in the EU in 2008, compared to almost 29 % in 1995. The share of the United States and Japan also decreased substantially from almost 38 % to 33 % in the United States and from 16 % to 13 % in Japan. Moreover, this global trend has been accelerating since 2004, which marked the beginning of a steeper increase in RD expenditure in China and developed Asian economies. Figure 3: Changes of World GERD in real terms [pic] (Source: DG Research and Innovation Data: Eurostat, OECD, UNESCO Notes: BRIS: Brazil+Russian+India+Singapore) This evolution is expected since rapid economic growth in China and a number of other countries in the world allows for rapid increases in RD expenditures in these countries. Also, high growth rates are more easily reached when the initial level is relatively low. In that context, the share of the EU and other advanced economies is bound to shrink and the figure below quantifies this shrinkage. This re-balancing in knowledge production has important consequences for the EU in terms of international scientific and technological cooperation and knowledge flows in the world. In the 2002 Lisbon Strategy, the EU set the objective of devoting 3 % of its GDP to RD activities by 2010. In 2005, with the re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy, Member States set their own national RD intensity targets to be met in 2010. In the Europe 2020 Strategy adopted in 2010, the EU maintained the 3 % objective for 2020 and in the following months, Member States adopted their 2020 national RD intensity targets. Despite a 25 % real-terms increase in research expenditure over the period 2000–2008, RD intensity in the EU has stagnated at around 1. 85 % of GDP between 2000 and 2007 with a slight increase in 2008 and 2009 to 2. 01 % of GDP (Figure I. 1. 2). This late increase in RD intensity is, however, due to a more rapid decrease in GDP than in RD expenditure. In the United States, after a continuous decline during the first half of the decade, RD intensity started to increase from 2005 to 2. 77 % of GDP in 2008, slightly above its 2000 value (2. 69 % of GDP). This quasi-stagnation of RD intensity in the EU and the United States contrasts with the strong increases observed in Japan, South Korea and China during this period, up to 3. 44 %, 3. 37 % and 1. 54 % of GDP respectively. Part of the very high RD intensity growth observed in China is due to its low initial position. It is to be noted that this increase slowed down in 2007–2008 in Japan. Of the largest contributors to RD expenditure in the EU, France and the United Kingdom have followed a similar path to the EU average, while Germany is closer to the US level. 1. 2. Development strategy of technology enterprises: Although the market for computer is huge and profitable, the competition is truly fierce between leading providers including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sony, Toshiba, Acer and Apple. As the demands for computer and computer-related products are getting higher day by day, there is also a pressure for PC vendors to drive the price down to compete with others. It is often down to the level where profits are questionable; as mention in the previous sector, around 10% of price margin. Meanwhile, PC vendors also have to cope with rapid product cycle because high technology is changing so quickly. As the result, IT enterprises have to keep their costs down and try to maximize their market share. The use of information systems to gain competitive advantage becomes very attractive to the companies in this industry. Each firm follows their own strategy of technology innovation and doing business. Dell: The innovative Direct-Sales Business Model eliminates the need for a retail chain. The ability to customize PC on an individual customer basis is one of the main comparative advantages of this vendor. Dell’s PCs are built and upgraded based on standardized components of collaborative partners. Hewlett-Packard: It merged with Compaq Computer to compete against Dell. This computer giant still relies on the more traditional retailer channel business model. HP also offers variety of computer products such as printers, scanners, and digital cameras. IBM: Traditionally IBM is in the mainframe and large scale computing market. It holds the most patents in the world as an attempt to stay ahead in the competition. The PCs from IBM are gear towards corporate and business use. Lenovo: Lenovo is the world’s second largest PC maker after its 2005 acquisition of IBM’s personal computer business. . Lenovo markets its products directly to consumers, small to medium size businesses, and large enterprises, as well as through online sales, company-owned stores, chain retailers, and major technology distributors and vendors. Sony: a Japanese consumer electronic giant becomes a computer maker. Their computers gear toward the consumer market and offer tools for video editing. It is aiming towards the overall design and appearance of the computer. The main Laptop line of Sony is Vaio which tend to concentrate on the high end market. Toshiba: a Japanese diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, information communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services. In PC venture, Toshiba focuses on portable computers. Their computers offer a balanced between price and performance. Acer: Taiwan PC maker which has been staying in top 5 PC vendors regarding the market share in recent years after its acquisition of US-based competitor Gateway. In the early 2000s, Acer changed it business strategy a manufacturer to a designer, marketer and distributor of products, while performing production processes via contract manufacturers. Acer’s products are competitive both in the quality and the price. Apple: Last major PC maker that is not using Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Apple has moved from competing directly with the Wintel market to a more leisure computer market. Their computers focus on design and user-friendliness. The customers for Apple are personal users, educational institutions, and graphics design firms. The following table is about global market share of leading vendors in recent years: Table 6: Global PC Market Share 2008 – 2011 |Rank |2008 |2009 |2010 |2011 | |1 |HP |18. 4 |HP | Customers |Individuals |Corporate |Education |Government | Markets US |Europe |Asia |Latin America | Manufacturing strategy |Customized |Fixed features | Sales and distribution |Direct Sales |Retain Chains | Company’s structure |Alliances |Independent | Any enterprise in the computer industry has to choose at least one primary and perhaps some combinations of the supplementary strategies. The two primary strategies are low cost and product differentiation, and the supplementary strategies include innovation, grow, and alliance. In order to implement the low cost strategy as the primary strategy, the firms have to notice a few important points. In the least-cost competition there is only one winner, and this is to say there is only one company that can achieve the least cost in the production. Low cost strategy emphasizes on ways to cut cost as low as possible. For example, the most popular way is based on economies of scale which means the firms have to sell a lot of the same products to sustain the extremely low profit margin on each item. Other ways include the policies to keep low inventory, direct sales to cut the cost of middleman. Generally, the firms need to use information systems to exploit cost reductions and form strong business alliances with suppliers and other logistics providers. Dell Inc. is the best example of companies successful in applying this strategy. The direct sales model and the ability to maintain almost-zero inventories have ontributed greatly in the forming of extremely competitive price of its products. On the other hand, the differentiation strategy focuses on separating the product from the industry standard. This is a strategy that focuses on unique products that exceed the industry average in terms of performance and design. The product must be highly customizable so it caters to individuals rather than ha ving a generic form. Firms using differentiation as a strategy need to constantly make adjustments to the product because of the competitor’s imitation. As an illustration, Apple’s primary strategy is in product differentiation. It tries very hard to differentiate itself from the rest of the PC manufacturers through better design and performance. Through Apple’s own brand image, it tries to convince the customers that its computers are superior to other competitors. The PC industry offers a wide range of products. Desktops and laptops are computers that target at home customers. For business, government, and educational customers, they will find the tablets and servers both very attractive to fit their needs. In the 21st century, the PC industry is truly global. Computers can be shipped to different places around the world with the minimal modifications. The computer itself is the same for all countries; however, the documents and manuals that come with the computer will have to be localized to the specific countries. Besides a clear primary strategy, a good combination of the supporting strategies is also important. Innovative use of information systems in Supply Chain Management will enable the firm to cut costs to support the primary strategy. Total Quality Management allows a company to provide and sustain a good customer service time after time. Strong Alliances are formed to foster a closer relationship with the suppliers and logistics providers. Alliances can also drive the costs down and increase the profit margin on each product. The options for strategy are limitless. The goal for all firms is to make a well-balanced choice – a choice that will ensure the competitive edge of the firm in the industry. Failure in doing so will result in loss of market share and perhaps the end of the business opportunity for the firm. 1. 3. Development strategies of some MNCs in the world and achievements: 1. 3. 1. Globalization of the Personal Computer industry: Table 7: Share of global PC production by region | |1985 |1990 |1995 |2000 | |Americas |53% |32% |32% |34% | |EMEA |24% |27% |20% |19% | |Asia-Pacific |23% |41% |48% |47% | Source: Reed Electronics Research, Yearbook of World Electronics Data Note: EMEA: Europe – Middle East – Africa) The computer industry has long been one of the most global of industries. The Asia-Pacific production network was concentrated in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Taiwan. In Singapore, many U. S. and other MNCs set up production of computer hardware, especially disk drives. In Taiwan, entrepreneurial local companies found opportunities supplying the major PC makers, beginning with simple parts and moving up to more sophisticated components, and assembly of PCs and peripherals. Over time, labor-intensive activities were relocated to low-wage locations such as Thailand, Malaysia and China, with Singapore and Taiwan coordinating production in these sites and handling more sophisticated manufacturing processes at home. Japan and Korea were less successful as global PC producers, but were the major suppliers of high volume components such as memory chips and flat-panel displays. As early as 1988, the Asia-Pacific region had surpassed the Americas as the largest producer of computer hardware, even though the largest market was in the Americas and most leading PC vendors were U. S. companies. Asia-Pacific gained production at the expense of both the Americas and Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) until 1990; since then it has grown relative to EMEA while the Americas’ share of production has remained stable. In absolute terms, production has continued to grow in all regions. In Europe, production was concentrated in Germany, the UK, France and Italy during the 1980s. Each of these countries had a â€Å"national champion† computer vendor that had been nurtured through government procurement and other policy measures. However, none of the national champions made a successful transition from mainframes to personal computers. As a result, production stagnated in the mid 1990s in all of the countries except the UK, which attracted IBM and Compaq to locate PC production in emerging industry clusters in Scotland and Wales. In the Asia-Pacific region, production was dominated in the 1980s by Japan, which nearly tripled production between 1985 and 1990 to surpass the U. S. as the world leader. During this time, Singapore and Taiwan also saw rapid growth, followed by Korea. In the early 1990s, Japan continued to see solid growth in production, while Singapore and Taiwan each tripled their production to become the third and fourth largest producers in the world. In the late 1990s, however, Japan’s production declined precipitously, and Singapore and Taiwan saw much lower growth rates. The fastest growth was now occurring in the less developed ASEAN countries of Malaysia and Thailand, and most dramatically in China, which has leaped to number four in world production. This shift to developing countries was driven by investments by U. S, Japanese and Taiwanese firms looking for lower cost production sites and, in the case of China, looking for market access as well. 1. 3. 2. Strategies of some leading PC makers in the world and achievements: Hewlett-Packard (HP): HP is a PC vendor that operates in more than 170 countries all over the world. HP was founded in 1939. Corporate headquarters are in Palo Alto, California. In recent years, HP has remained as the largest IT company in the world, with revenue totaling $127. 2 billion for fiscal year 2011. In 2011HP stayed at number 11 in Fortune 500 ranking. In 2002, HP and Compaq have merged together to gain the market competing with the main competitor Dell. These steps in the strategy of HP has boosted the market share of this PC enterprise become much larger than Dell and help the company stay at the first place in the world for years. Probably no other company offers as complete a technology product portfolio as HP. The company provides infrastructure and business offerings that span from handheld devices to some of the world’s most powerful supercomputer installations. HP offers to consumers a wide range of products and services from digital entertainment and from computing to home printing. This PC vendor divides its products into three groups to meet the need of each market segmentation, including: The Personal Systems Group: business and consumer PCs, mobile computing devices and workstations. The Imaging and Printing Group: inkjet, laser-jet and commercial printing, printing supplies Enterprise Business: business products including storage and servers, enterprise services, software and networking In order to innovating its technology constantly, at the moment HP scientists are focused on 24 large-scale projects that fall under eight high-impact research areas: printing and content delivery; mobile and immersive experiences; cloud and security; information analytics; intelligent infrastructure; networking; services; and sustainability. However, in recent years, HP has shifted from creating entirely new technology to using standardized components in producing PCs. The clear figure is that this company has reduced it R budget continuously. In 2009, HP spent $2. 82 billion on R, down from $3. 54 billion a year earlier. In 2007, HP’s R spending was $3. 6 billion. This movement in its strategy has supported greatly to lower cost. HP keeps a balance in its products, good quality PCs integrated with updated technology but at a competitive price level. Apple Apple Inc. , formerly Apple Computer, Inc. is a multinational corporation that creates consumer electronics, computer software, and commercial servers. Apple’s core product lines are the iPad, iPhone, iPod music player, and Macintosh computer line-up. Founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak effectively created Apple Computer on April 1, 1976, with the release of the Apple I, and incorporated the company on January 3, 1977, in Cupertino, California. For more than two decades, Apple Computer was predominantly a manufacturer of personal computers, including the Apple II, Macintosh, and Power Mac lines, but it faced rocky sales and low market share during the 1990s. With the introduction of the successful iPod music player in 2001, Apple established itself as a leader in the consumer electronics industry, dropping â€Å"Computer† from its name. The latest era of phenomenal success for the company has been in the iOS range of products that began with the iPhone, iPod Touch and now iPad. As of 2011, Apple is the largest technology firm in the world, with annual revenues of more than $60 billion. The main lesson from Apple’s success, however, is the central importance of focusing on strong products that are well-designed for the market. For years in this century, Apple has become the best leading innovator with continuously updated generation of its products and brand new ones. Steve Job, the company’s leader, is a genius at minimalist designs that integrate technology breakthroughs to fill a newly emerging need with unusual style. The result can be seen in the way he describes the attraction of the iPad â€Å"It’s like holding the Internet in your hands. It’s so much more intimate than a laptop and more capable than an iPhone. It’s truly magical. † The following figure presents the budget Apple has spent on RD as percentage of revenue. In general, spending on RD of this company is high, keep this vendor among the top 50 RD spenders in the world. However, company’s revenue increases faster than this expense (as illustrated as decrease trend of the figure), especially since 2010 with the introduction of the ever successful tablet – Ipad. Figure 6: Apple’s RD % of sales [pic] (Source: Larry Dignan – ZDNet news) Behind such great products, Apple thrives because it has been described as a well-oiled machine. The company has outsourced its manufacturing operations, while 317 Apple stores are wildly popular and profitable. The Apple music store – iTunes – has expanded into a powerful vehicle for trading videos, movies, and possibly other information products. Lenovo: Lenovo is the world’s second largest PC maker in 2011. This Chinese company is established on November 1, 1984. In 1985, the company launched the first Chinese-made motherboard with Lenovo technology. The brand name, Lenovo, was born from this. Lenovo operates factories in Chengdu and Hefei in China, Japan, and as of December 2011 has plans to start production in Argentina. Lenovo focuses on vertical integration in order to avoid excessive reliance on original equipment manufacturers and keep costs down. This PC maker offers to the market the ThinkPad, IdeaPad line of notebook PCs and ThinkCentre line of desktops. These brands became part of Lenovo’s offerings after its 2005 acquisition of IBM’s personal computer business. As its strategy, Lenovo markets its products directly to consumers, small to medium size businesses, and large enterprises, as well as through online sales, company-owned stores, chain retailers, and major technology distributors and vendors. This direct sales model helps the company to reduce cost of middle man and retailers, and form the basis to get instant feedback from its customers. This all reduces the cost of producing and selling products and keeps this enterprise stay competitive on the market. Besides, Lenovo owns the greatest track record for innovation in the PC industry and remains committed to innovation in its products and technology. As stated in the company’s statement, Lenovo’s innovation strategy is based on a two-tiered approach to solving real-world customer problems: Focus the majority of development on ideas that can be brought to market within 24 months; and, Invest longer term in research targeting â€Å"game changing† big plays† At the moment, Lenovo operates seven research and development centers and more than 46 world-class laboratories, including major research centers in Yokohama, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, New York City. The company employs more than 1,700 engineers, researchers and scientists and has received more than 100 major design awards. Lenovo’s R centers have produced some of the world’s most important advances in PC technology, ranging from the original Bento Box PC notebook design in 1992 to the 2008 launch of the innovative ThinkPad X300, considered as one of the world’s lightest, thinnest and most innovative full-featured notebook PCs ever. Lenovo’s commitment to innovation introduces more industry breakthroughs and technology that sets the technical standards for business users as well as consumers. Chapter 2: DELL COMPUTER’S TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2. . Overview of Dell computer’s development: This section of the paper deals with Dell Computer in the PC industry in terms of how they fit in the global PC industry, their technology innovation, their competitive strategy, the significance and the roles of the information systems, and the strengths and weaknesses of Dell Computer in the industry. In 2011, Dell reported $61,494 billions in sales, 16% increased in comparison with the previous year, and employed 100,300 people worldwide in production, development, and customer support of the operation. Dell is truly a global business with products range from desktops, laptop, workstations, servers, networking devices, and computer peripherals such as printers, cameras, LCD TV, mp3 music players, and recently tablet. Each Dell’s product can be further customized to meet the needs of the customers. Dell’s direct sales business model has been refined and modified to support the changing product line and customer service. However, the main idea behind the direct-sale business model remains unchanged. From a statement on Dell’s website, â€Å"Dell is doing business directly with customers, one at a time, and believe we can do it better than any one else in the industry. † The successful direct-sales business model puts much emphasis on the customers. From the beginning to the end of the transaction, Dell understands completely what the needs of its customers are. This results in a satisfied customer with the potential to do business again and again in the future. After two decades of growth, Dell has become the world leading direct-sale computer vendor in the PC industry. As a relatively young company, Dell finds themselves constantly competiting with old, more established companies like Hewlett-Packard and IBM. In many years in the early of this century, Dell reclaimed the title of the number one PCs supplier in the industry. The success of Dell Computer is not possible without the vision of Michael Dell and his innovative strategies of technology development and operation. The following is a brief history of Dell Computer and its development. 2. 1. 1. Introduction to the company: Dell, Inc. s an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States. The company is founded on November 4th, 1984 by Michael Dell who at that time was still a student in University of Texas. In 1983, Michael Dell started his computer hardware retail business by selling hard drives and RAMs for IBM PCs. Dell bought his products from IBM dealers at cost, and later resold it through newspaper and magazines to ind ividuals and businesses at lower cost than the retailers. By April 1984, his dorm room computer business was already making about $80,000 a month, and the success was strong enough to persuade him to drop out of college. As a result, Dell founded Dell Computer with $1,000. In the next few years, he was making IBM clones computers under the name PC-Limited and sold it to customer directly without retailers. This approach allowed PC-Limited to sell computers to its customers at 40% of the price of the IBM computers. The direct-sales business model propelled Dell Computer to the leading PC supplier in the industry. Table 8: Dell market share and rank from 2001 to 2010 |2001 |2002 |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 |2010 | |Market share |13. 3 |15. 2 |15. 0 |16. 4 |16. 8 |15. 9 |14. 3 |14. 3 |12. 2 |12. 9 | |Rank |1 |2 |1 |1 |1 |1 |2 |2 |3 |2 | |(Data: Gartner Inc. ) For many continuous years, Dell was the number one PC maker in the industry. However the situation has changed dramatically since the merger of HP and the direct competitor Compaq in 2002, together they own the market share bigger than Dell. Besides, bigger size allows HP to foster it low cost strategy due to economy of scale. Some years later come the rise of Lenovo and Acer with the acquisition of IMB and Gateway respectively. As a result, Dell keeps the third position in the market in 2011. The direct-sales business model is just one tool for Dell to do business. If the success of Dell is based solely on this model, Dell would have lost its competitiveness a long time ago. The competitors of Dell can duplicate the model and do business the same way as Dell. There are other factors staying at the core of Dell strength. Following is a summary of Dell comparative advantages based on several analyses about this firm: Leading technologies: Dell always keen to embed latest technology in its products. Following standards-based innovation, Dell PCs are built with standardized components which are well-recognized by the market. Dell has spent much effort and money to push its product to the limit of capacity in order to serve customers with the best computing solution. In addition, due to its direct relationship with customer, Dell is able to introduce the latest relevant technology compared to companies using the indirect distribution channels. Moreover, Dell launches newer technology far more before the other companies that hold inventories. The focus of Dell on technology personnel has helped this firm to catch up with every change in high technology. Customer Direct: one of Dell’s core strength is its firm belief in upholding the direct business strategy. Going direct has benefited this firm in many ways. Since it cut off all the role of wholesalers as well as retailers, it reduces greatly the cost of manufacturing and selling computers, resulting in products with very competitive price level. In addition, direct relationship is the basis for its ability of customization. The information and feedback from customers could be collected easily and quickly. And this information will be of help in choosing the most appropriate computing solution to serve the customers. This process results in higher satisfaction and trust of customers on Dell’s products and services. This form of innovation has been of great importance in pushing it from the bottom all the way to the number one supplier of Desktops, notebooks, and server in the world. Information Systems: no one can deny the importance of Dell’s Information Systems as a competitive advantage. Information Technology has been around for some time now and is available to everyone at fairly low costs, so it only makes sense for a company to have one. But by just having Information Systems they do not inherit a competitive advantage. The advantage comes from strategies built around solid business models. And Dell’s overall implementation of the customer direct business model which uses Information Systems is one of its most powerful competing forces. The efficient Information System at Dell has kept the flow of information run smoothly in the operation of this company. It turns Dell Inc. into an extremely flexible machine which is always up-to-date. Leadership: Michael Dell, the founder of the enterprise is the one who has contributed greatly to Dell’s top position. His innovative vision about the PC industry and market trend has driven Dell to where it is today. Besides Michael Dell, Dell takes on some of the top executives in the world including its own employees such as Kevin Rollins who manages its day to day operations and helped develop strategies around the direct selling of computer systems and services. As Dell Computer is moving towards a multi-products, multi-national, and multi-services business, it becomes impossible for one entrepreneur to have all the right skills in managing the company. The collaboration of leaders combines the talents of people in a company that is growing at a tremendous rate. Dell most certainly has more strengths than weaknesses as a company, but that just means it needs to keep a closer watch on its weaknesses. Rivalries as weakness: Industry rivalries are perhaps the greatest weakness of Dell. As one of the top PC manufacturer, Dell has everybody as a competitor. HP and Compaq have merged to counter the strength of Dell. The new merger can lower their costs significantly so they can continue to use the retail approach to compete with Dell. In addition, when Dell expands globally, it also faces with strong competition from local region. From previous section, Asia is the area with the highest demand of PC at the moment. Therefore, some Asian computer firms have been emerging strongly; become the direct competitors of Dell. For instance, Japanese and Korean consumer electronics makers are switching to manufacture PC in recent years. Their advantage is the abundant of cheap and skilled workers. They focus on product designs as a differentiation strategy. Especially in recent year, Lenovo has become one of the top PC makers after the acquisition of IBM. In 2011, this firm even overcomes Dell and gains the second position of global market share. That is a clear illustration for the competition from Asia. Another potential problem for Dell is from the suppliers. Dell relies on the suppliers to provide them with the necessary components to build a PC. If the suppliers cannot deliver the components to Dell, Dell will face with a delay in production. It will create a ripple effect to the rest of the business processes. Limited Technological Selection: even the strategy regarding technology innovation has brought Dell a lot of successes; it also causes a minor weakness that Dell is faced with is its choice of technology. Dell has the opportunity to employ technology as soon as it comes out, but this enterprise usually waits to verify how a technology will perform in the market before implementing it. Dell’s cautious nature of adoption could possibly lead to a loss of market share to other companies willing to take a risk. And sometimes it is not necessarily a risk that it would be taking. One of the illustration could be pointed here is the success of Apple with the famous tablet Ipad in 2010. This enterprise spent 3. 1% of its revenue in 2009 on RD and come up with the first tablet Ipad in the market. This product become a big success and helps this company gain the main market share for tablets after that. Meanwhile, Dell has waited for a period of technology standardization to release its first tablet Latitude ST. Strategy Mimicking: Dell’s strategies of standards-based innovation and customer direct are well known and its business processes can be duplicated by any company. This is not seen as a direct weakness of Dell but an indirect weakness of Dell’s in relation to the market. In fact, many competitors of Dell have changed some parts of their technology focus when perceived the fact that Dell has born a much lower RD cost while still gained the biggest bite of the cake. For instance, in recent years, HP has shifted its technology innovation strategy into using some standardized components in stead of building their own technology. On another side, the emerging Taiwan firm Lenovo is also keeping a direct relationship with its customers, lowing down the cost and price of products. Strategies which help Dell stay competitive for years at the same time, could help its competitors, especially with newly emerging firms which do not stuck with any old and complex system need to change. In general, Dell’s innovative strategies regarding technology innovation and direct business model enable it to become and stay competitive in the changing global market. With strong global sales and growth, Dell will continue to own a large market share in the PC industry. 2. 1. 2. History of development since establishment: Timeline of development: 1980: Michael Dell purchases his first computer-an Apple II-and promptly takes it apart to understand how it was designed and made. 983: Declaring he ultimately wanted to beat IBM, the young Dell conducts a lucrative business out of his dormitory room at the University of Texas, selling upgraded PCs and add-on components. 1984: With $1,000 in startup capital, Michael registers his business as Dell Computer Corporation, doing business as PC’s limited, and leaves school in May of that year. The company becomes the first in the industry to sell custom-built computers directly to end users, bypassing the dominant system of usin g computer resellers to sell mass-produced computers. 986: Dell unveils the industry’s fastest-performing computer, a 12 MHz, 286-based system, at the Spring Comdex national computer tradeshow. The system quickly attracts a large number of reviews from the technology press. The company also pioneers the industry’s first thirty-day money back guarantee, which becomes the cornerstone of Dell’s commitment to expand its service offerings and offer superior customer satisfaction, and offers the industry’s first onsite service program. 987: In a bold move for the risky operation, Dell establishes its first international subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Eleven more international operations would open over the course of the next four years. 1989: The fast-growing company experiences its first major stumbles: It accumulates excess inventory of memory components, which results in write-downs, and cancels an ambitious product development program code-named â€Å"O lympic. † 1990: Dell becomes the first computer company to jump into the burgeoning market for computers sold through consumer retail stores such as CompUSA and Best Buy. The company later becomes the first company to exit this segment as well, after determining the retail-store model did not meet its financial objectives. 1992: Dell achieves slightly more than $2 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended January 1993, which represents a remarkable 127 percent increase. 1993: Suffering from the pains of extremely rapid growth, Dell cancels a secondary offering and posts its only quarterly loss resulting from a temporary withdrawal from the notebook market, its exit from retail stores, and a restructuring of European operations. 996: Dell challenges the traditional market for premium-priced servers based on proprietary technology with its introduction of its Power Edge server line. In less than two years, PowerEdge vaults Dell from the tenth position in market share to the third largest server vendor in the world. The company’s quiet bid to sell custom-built computers over the Internet quickly becomes a public revolution when the company announ ces that sales over www. dell. com have exceeded $1 million per day. During the same year, Dell introduces its first custom-made web links for customers. Called â€Å"Premier Pages,† the links allow customers to tap directly into the company’s own service and support databases. 1998: Dell solidifies its Internet leadership when it tops $12 million per day over the Internet, expands its Premier Page program to more than nine thousand customers and establishes web-based connections with its suppliers to speed the flow of inventory and quality information. Dell opens an integrated sales, manufacturing, and support center in China. 1999: Dell becomes the number one PC company in the United States, the largest worldwide market for personal computers. To accommodate its growth, Dell opens new manufacturing facilities in Nashville, Tennessee and Eldorado do Sul, Brazil. Sales over www. dell. com top $35 million per day. 2001: It’s a year of firsts as Dell becomes the No. 1 computer systems provider worldwide, and reaches No. 1 in U. S. Intel-based server shipments. The PowerConnect line of network switches launches Dell into the networking equipment market. Dell signs an agreement with storage leader EMC to enable more affordable enterprise-class storage area network solutions for customers of all sizes. 003: The Company expands its product portfolio with Dell-branded printers and officially enters the consumer electronics market to serve as a single source for its customers. 2005: Dell How to cite Dell Computer, Papers

Boolean Search Operators free essay sample

The Internet is a vast computer database. As such, its contents must be searched according to the rules of computer database searching. Much database searching is based on the principles of Boolean logic. Boolean logic refers to the logical relationship among search terms, and is named for the British-born Irish mathematician George Boole. On Internet search engines, the options for constructing logical relationships among search terms often modify the traditional practice of Boolean searching. This will be covered in the section below, Boolean Searching on the Internet. Boolean logic consists of three logical operators: †¢ OR †¢ AND †¢ NOT Each operator can be visually described by using Venn diagrams, as shown below. OR logic [pic] college OR university Question: I would like information about college. †¢ In this search, we will retrieve records in which NOT logic excludes records from your search results. Be careful when you use NOT: the term you do want may be present in an important way in documents that also contain the word you wish to avoid. We will write a custom essay sample on Boolean Search Operators or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, consider a Web page that includes the statement that cats are smarter than dogs. The search illustrated above would exclude this document from your results. Combined AND and OR logic Question: I want information about the behavior of cats. Search: behavior AND (cats OR felines) You can combine both AND and OR logic in a single search, as shown above. The use of parentheses in this search is known as forcing the order of processing. In this case, we surround the OR words with parentheses so that the search engine will process the two related terms as a unit. The search engine will use AND logic to combine this result with the second concept. Using this method, we are assured that the semantically-related OR terms are kept together as a logical unit. Boolean Searching on the Internet When you use an Internet search engine, the use of Boolean logic may be manifested in three distinct ways: 1.

Comparison Oedipus The King And King Lear Essays - King Lear, Films

Comparison: Oedipus The King And King Lear Comparative Essay Oedipus the King and King Lear The Theme of Blindness March 22, 2000 BJ Wheatley In Sophocles and Shakespearean terms, blindness means a completely different thing. Blindness can normally be defined as the inability of the eye to see, but according to both plays; blindness is not always a physical quality, but a mental flaw some people possess. Out of both plays, Shakespeare's King Lear has the most dominant theme of blindness. King Lear, Gloucester, and Albany are three prime examples Shakespeare incorporates this theme into. Oedipus is the only one that shows blindness is Sophocles play. Each of these characters blindness was the primary cause of the bad decisions they made; decisions which all of them would eventually come to regret. The blindest one of all would be King Lear. It is because of Lear's high position in society as king, he was supposed to be able to distinguish between the good and evil; unfortunate for Lear his lack of insight prevented him to do so. The first act of blindness from Lear came at the begging of the play. First, his two eldest daughters deceived him, then he was unable to see the true love Cordelia's felt for him, and as a result, he banished her from the kingdom with the following words: For we Have no such daughter. Nor shall ever see That face of her again. Therefore be gone Without our grace, our love, our benison.? (Act I, Sc I, Ln 265-267) Kent, one of Lear's loyal followers was also banished because of Lear's blindness. Kent was able to see Cordelia's true love for her father, and tried to protect her from her blind father's irrational behavior. After Kent was banished, he created disguise for himself and was hired as Lear's servant. Lear's inability to determine his servants true identity proved once again how blind Lear was. As the play progressed, Lear' eyesight reached close to perfect vision. He soon realized how wicked his two eldest daughters really were after they locked him out of a castle during a tremendous storm. More importantly, Lear saw through Cordelia's lack of flattering and realized that her love for him was so great that she could not express it with words. Lear's blindness unfortunately ended up costing the life of Cordelia and his own. Another example of a character that suffered from an awful cause of blindness is Gloucester. Gloucester's blindness denied him of the ability to see the goodness of Edgar and the evil in Edmund. Although Edgar was the good and loving son, Gloucester all but disowned him. He wanted to kill the son the later would save his life. Gloucester's blindness began when Edmund convinced him by the means of a forged letter that Edgar was plotting to kill him. Gloucester's lack of sight caused him to believe Edmund was good son and prevented him from pondering the idea of Edmund after his earldom. Near the end of the play, Gloucester finally regained his sight and realized that Edgar saved his life disguised as poor Tom and loved him all along. He realized Edmund planned to take over the earldom and was the evil son of the two. It is Ironic when Gloucester says: ?I stumbled when I saw? (Act IV, Sc I, Ln 20-21) His inability to see the realities of his sons occurred when he had his physical sight but was mentally blind; but his ability to see the true nature of his sons occurred after having his eyes plucked out by the Duke of Cornwall. Albany was another character suffering from the classic case of blindness, but luckily, for him her survived the battle. Albany's case of blindness was purely a result of love he had for Goneril. Although he disapproved of her actions, he would only mildly argue his case. When Goneril forced Lear to reduce his army so that he could stay in the castle Albany protested: ?I cannot be so partial, Goneril, To the great love I bear you-? (Act I, Sc IV, Ln 309-310) Albany's deep devotion to Goneril blinded him from the evil she possessed. His inability to realize how greedy and mean Goneril was after she flattered Lear with lies and then kicked him out of their home shows

Lit. in the Renaissance essays

Lit. in the Renaissance essays When we look at Renaissance writers in this period, we find their sensitivity to the risk of anachronism far more developed. Petrarch who was the first to formulate the risk with authority and supplied it with the metaphor that his successors would echo. Later in Petrarchs life emperor Charles IV asked him a query concerning the authenticity of two letters purportedly written by Julius Caesar and Nero. Petrarch responded with a furious jeremiad exposing the fraudulence of the two fakes by means of stylistic and historical analysis. The Book of the Courtier at a glace is kind of anachronism that is universal in complex societies. All of us wear and make and build and write, our rituals and styles and folkways, are condemned to anachronism insofar as they and we endure into an estranging future. The things that survive are dated and in the negative implications of that term lays the potentiality for pathos. The drifting of the written word has been a theme of western thought form Plato to Derrida. If culture continues this drifting within certain limits, it will serve as a institutionalize period of writing. If literary texts like buildings and objects are dated, then we can ask whether and how a text deals with its own period. Saul Morson writes a text or genre will be vulnerable to parody ... to the extent that it ignores or claims to transcend its own originating context; parody is most readily invited by an utterance that claims Tran historical authority. This text somehow acknowledges its historicity self-consciously would seem better fitted to survive its potential estrangement that a text that represses history. Writers tend to displace the threat of becoming vestigial to their characters, thus attempting to affirm their control and manifest their awareness. To recognize writers drama of the survivor is to invest ones work with a little more plasticity. To ...

Technology and Nursing Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Technology and Nursing Practice - Essay Example ern definitions of nursing define it as a science and an art that focuses on promoting quality of life as defined by persons and families, throughout their life experiences from birth to care at the end of life (Wikipedia, 2006). As technology is playing a major role in all emerging fields, nursing is also growing in terms of technology. It is quite evident that the use of computer and information technologies in the health care increase at a faster rate and this is in turn going to improve the nursing practice and patient education. These technologies have also entered the teaching practices of Nursing. Modern teaching approaches with new technology-based teaching and learning assignments will increase student attainment, including retention, motivation, and class participation; improve learning and significant thinking, provide instructional reliability, and augment clinical education. Moreover, it will create nursing curricula which links people and information resources into a web of learners’ community, communication, and group association as the nursing student engages in their journey from a student to a trainee practitioner. One of the primary role of the nurse as a health care provider has be en one of patient educator. Hence nurse professionals and nurse educators require to look at how the nursing profession can use the potential of the Internet to revamp patient education and transform nursing practice. One of the technologies used is the Knowledge Management System (KMS). Knowledge management is the unambiguous and systematic organization of fundamental knowledge and its related processes. It necessitates turning personal knowledge into knowledge for learners-at-large through the organization of information across guidelines. Generally, managing knowledge focuses on two basic intentions: enabling knowledge distribution and using knowledge to generate society. Specific knowledge management activities that have been employed within the business model

Security in Educational Institutions Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Security in Educational Institutions - Case Study Example 2. The problems: This disaster can be attributed to the runaway gun culture prevailing in the nation owing to easy access to highly powered weapons as well as a deep culture of violence through music, film and video games, according to Q&A: US campus killings, BBC News published on April, 17, 2007. (Unknown, BBC News, 2007) This case can primarily be qualified as an excuse for political survival and some of the most lethal loopholes in gun control created by Republican-controlled Congress. These loopholes are inaccessibility of the state and local police forces from getting information about illegal gun sales due to gun lobby as well as the disdain of the security forces for abiding to the sale of firearms to people on federal watch lists of terrorism suspects. 3. The solution: The immediate question in this case arises is whether putting the campus on a full lockdown earlier could have saved the 30 people killed in the second shootout. However, considering the bigger picture, various solutions could be considered like the state legislatures passing gun control bills, dropping the liberalization bills or rising the legal age of possession of guns to 21 along with having a complete background check of the buyer prior to sales.

Financial Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Plan - Assignment Example Depreciation of truck is at 10% straight line method 2.50 vending machines were purchased 3. The selling price and the purchase prices do not change over the five years 4. On the third year we replaced 10 vending machines that were vandalized 5. The purchase price for meals, snacks and drinks are 4$, 0.75$ and 0.75$ respectively 6. The selling price for meals, snacks and drinks are 5$, 1$ and 1$ respectively 7. After every 6 months we increased purchases by half of the previous period up to the third year. For the fourth year and fifth year, the purchases were 400 units, 2000 units and 2000 units per month for meals, snacks and drinks respectively. 8. On the beginning of the fourth year were acquired a new truck for delivery. It is to be depreciated at 10% straight line method. A detailed description on how to plan the startup requirements I conducted an analysis of the places to start the business. This are places where people require fast foods and drinks. I located ten sites and f or each site five vendor machines are to be placed. The starting capital of the business is 300k, 100 from the team and 200 from outsiders. This amount is to be distributed equally among assets, labor, and maintenances among other expenses. Vending machine being the most important asset is the first to be purchased. A vendor machine cost 200 and purchases for fifty machines were made and distributed at each location. Products provide are; meals, drinks and snacks at each vendor. As I begin, drinks are bought at four dollars and sold at five dollars realizing a profit of a dollar per drink. Meals are bought at .75 and sold at a dollar similarly to snacks realizing a profit of a .25 dollar per meal and snack. The units per the product served rise at a half percent in semiannual basis during the five year period. After every 6 months we increased purchases by half of the previous period up to the third year. For the fourth year and fifth year, the purchases were 400 units, 2000 units a nd 2000 units per month for meals, snacks and drinks respectively. This help account for business growth and development of the business. At the starting periods many variable assets are inclusive thus the reason of lower starting stock, as progress is made profits are realized within the period thus on the third year we replaced 10 vending machines that were vandalized. CASHFLOW STATEMENT YR 1 Sources of fund Equity 100 Investors 200 Capital available 300 Sales 2205 Reserves 180 Expenditures Vending machines 100 Truck 10 CCTV cameras 10 Purchases 1725 Balance sheet after year 5 NON-CURRENT ASSETS Vending machine (50 units) 100 Truck (2 units) 20 Less depreciation 7 13 CCTV for security (50 units) 10 CURRENT ASSETS Bank Cash Stock 45 FINANCED BY Equity 100 Investors 200 Net profit 2901.063 Break analysis chart At the breakeven point revenue=expenditure References Williams Jade (2008). Finance and accounting. Stanford publishers, Canada Hilliard, V. E. (2007). Financial accounting 8t h edition. Oxford

Methods Of Waste Management And Recycling Environmental Sciences Essay

Methods Of Waste Management And Recycling Environmental Sciences Essay Waste management means collecting, transporting, processing, recycling and monitoring of the waste materials. The term waste management generally relates to those materials which are produced by human activity and is usually undertaken to reduce the effect of these activities on their health and environment. Waste management is also useful to recover useful resources from the waste. Waste management involves all solid, liquid and gaseous or radioactive substances which are managed with different methods and expertise is required for each of them. Waste management practices are different for different countries of the world be it developed or developing nations. The management is different for urban and rural areas, for residential and industrial waste producers. Management of residential and institutional waste in cities and metros is done by the local government authorities or what we call as Municipal Corporation, while management of non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is done by the generator of such waste. Solid waste Management Plasma gasification Plasma is a highly ionized or electrically charged gas. An example in nature is lightning, capable of producing temperatures exceeding 12,600  Ã‚ °F (6,980  Ã‚ °C). A gasifier vessel utilizes proprietary plasma torches operating at +10,000  Ã‚ °F (5,540  Ã‚ °C) (the surface temperature of the Sun) in order to create a gasification zone of up to 3,000  Ã‚ °F (1,650  Ã‚ °C) to convert solid or liquid wastes into a sun gas. When municipal solid waste is subjected to this intense heat within the vessel, the wastes molecular bonds break down into elemental components. The process results in elemental destruction of waste and hazardous materials According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. generated 250 million tons of waste in 2008 alone, and this number continues to rise. About 54% of this trash (135,000,000  short tons (122,000,000 t)) ends up in landfills and is consuming land at a rate of nearly 3,500  acres (1,400 ha) per year. In fact, landfilling is currently the number one method of waste disposal in the US. Some states no longer have capacity at permitted landfills and export their waste to other states. Plasma gasification offers states new opportunities for waste disposal, and more importantly for renewable power generation in an environmentally sustainable manner. Landfill Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying the waste, and this remains a common practice in most countries. Landfills were often established in abandoned or unused quarries, mining voids or borrow pits. A properly designed and well-managed landfill can be a hygienic and relatively inexpensive method of disposing of waste materials. Older, poorly designed or poorly managed landfills can create a number of adverse environmental impacts such as wind-blown litter, attraction of vermin, and generation of liquid leach ate. Another common byproduct of landfills is gas (mostly composed of methane and carbon dioxide), which is produced as organic waste breaks down anaerobic ally. This gas can create odour problems, kill surface vegetation, and is a greenhouse gas. Design characteristics of a modern landfill include methods to contain leachate such as clay or plastic lining material. Deposited waste is normally compacted to increase its density and stability, and covered to prevent attr acting vermin (such as mice or rats). Many landfills also have landfill gas extraction systems installed to extract the landfill gas. Gas is pumped out of the landfill using perforated pipes and flared off or burnt in a gas engine to generate electricity. Water Treatment Water treatment means all those processes which are used to make water acceptable for a desired end-use. These include use of water for drinking, medical, industrial processes and many other uses. The goal of all such water treatment is to remove the contaminants present in the water or reduce the concentration of contaminants so that the water becomes fit for consumption. One meaning to it is returning water to its natural environment without adversely impacting the ecology. The processes for treating water for drinking purpose can be solids separation by using physical processes such as settling and filtration, and chemical processes such as disinfection and coagulation and Biological processes if required. In general the process includes: Pre-chlorination for algae control and arresting any biological growth Aeration along with pre-chlorination for removal of dissolved iron and manganese Coagulation for flocculation Coagulant aids, also known as polyelectrolyte to improve coagulation and for thicker floc formation Sedimentation for solids separation, that is, removal of suspended solids trapped in the floc Filtration removing particles from water Desalination Process of removing salt from the water Disinfection for killing bacteria. There is no unique solution for any type of water. Also, it is difficult to standardize the solution in the form of processes for water from different sources. Treatability studies for each source of water in different seasons need to be carried out to arrive at most appropriate processes. Sewage treatment is the process which removes the majority of the contamination from wastewater or sewage and produces both a liquid effluent suitable for disposal to the natural environment. To be effective, sewage must be conveyed to a treatment plant by appropriate pipes and infrastructure and the process itself must be subject to regulation and controls. E-waste management Electronic waste is defined as all the secondary computers, entertainment devices, mobile phones, all other items like television, refrigerators, whether they are sold or donated or discarded by their original owners or users. In simple terms all those items mentioned above which are either dumped or disposed or discarded by their buyers rather than recycling and reusing them is called E-Waste. A major portion of this waste is generated through products like personal computers, laptops etc. According to recent estimates about 50 million tons of E-waste is produced each year around the globe. The USA alone discards 30 million computers each year and nearly 100 million phones are discarded in Europe each year. The reasons for these huge figures are that there are the rapid changes in technology, low cost of the product initially which encourages people to buy new instead of repairing and reusing and also the cost of modifying the features is much more than the original cost. Moreover t he electronic goods today are made in such a way that they follow something called as planned obsolescence which means they get obsolete with the passage of time. Electronic waste processing first involves dismantling the equipment or the electronic item into various parts i.e. metal frames, circuit boards, power supplies, plastics etc. and this is often done manually. The advantage of this process is that humans have the ability to recognize and save those parts which are working and are repairable which includes chips, RAM, transistors etc. The disadvantage of this process is that the labour might often be expensive in those countries which have high health and safety standards. An alternative to this is called bulk system; wherein a hopper conveys material meant for shredding into a very sophisticated mechanical separator which has screening and grinding machines to separate the constituents of metal and plastic fractions. These plastic fractions are then sold to plastics recycle rs or smelters. Emissions are caught by the scrubbers and screens. To separate glass, plastic, harmful and unharmful metals; magnets and eddy currents are used. Copper, gold silver, tin etc. valuable metals are sold to smelters for recycling purpose. Hazardous smoke and gases are captured, and then treated to remove the environmental threat. An ideal electronic waste recycling plant is one which combines dismantling for recovery of its components with increased cost-effectiveness of processing of bulk electronic waste. Reuse is an alternative option to recycling because it extends the life of the device. Recycling Reduce, Reuse, Recycle are known as the 3R of the waste hierarchy. Recycling involves processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for conventional waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste such as food or garden waste is not typically considered recycling. Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing. Recycling Saves money, energy, trees the planet Earth. In a strict sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material-for example; used office paper would be converted into new office paper, or used foamed polystyrene into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so recycling of many products or materials involve their reuse in producing different materials (e.g., paperboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their intrinsic value (e.g., lead from car batteries, or gold from computer components), or due to their hazardous nature. Critics dispute the net economic and environmental benefits of recycling over its costs, and suggest that proponents of recycling often make matters worse and suffer from confirmation bias. Specifically, critics argue that the costs and energy used in collection and transportation detract from (and outweig h) the costs and energy saved in the production process; also that the jobs produced by the recycling industry can be a poor trade for the jobs lost in logging, mining, and other industries associated with virgin production; and that materials such as paper pulp can only be recycled a few times before material degradation prevents further recycling. Proponents of recycling dispute each of these claims, and the validity of arguments from both sides has led to enduring controversy Recent developments: Jamshedpur Utilities Services Company (Jusco), which is a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, recently bagged the Municipal Solid Waste management contract for Mysore city from the Mysore City Corporation and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management contract under the Kolkata metropolitan area for six municipalities. Under the project Jusco will construct 5transfer stations and 6 compost plants in the municipalities of Champdani, Baidyabati, Serampore, Rishra, Konnagar and Uttarapara-Kotrung which fall under Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). The Rs 39 crore projects will be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Jusco offers integrated solutions to municipal waste management which comprises of waste transfer, transfer station management, composting, engineered structured landfills, integrated waste recycling and reclamation, recycling of municipal and specialized wastes, etc. The utilities major also bagged the TPM Excellence A ward -2008 instituted by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) and has several other national and international awards like National Urban Water Awards (NUWA) in the citizen services governance category for 2009.

The News Essay -- Personal Narrative News Television Media Papers

The News Watching the news on television has always been a wearisome chore for me. There is constant competition for my attention between the presentation of the news and the actual facts reported. At times, I question the accuracy of the news presented. I don't believe the reporters purposely broadcast stories which are untrue - but I believe some stories are either reported before getting all the information, which could result in a false story, or are slanted towards a certain major corporation or political candidate, and I mistrust the motive of the network. In addition, I feel television news has become concerned with being entertaining. In my opinion, the news is not the forum for entertainment. A news show is intended for providing information that at most may affect the viewer, or in the least provide informative facts. We do not need to coincide this with entertainment. On January 14, 1997, I watched Channel 7's 5:00 pm ABC Eyewitness News Local Broadcasting with Diane Burtone and Al an Krashesky. For 30 minutes I was charmed by these two suave, sophisticated acting, professional looking, young news reporters. This politically correct, racially balanced Caucasian male and African-American female duo teamed up to present the local news. The news started out immediately with the first story about a woman who was found dead in her burned down house. What appeared to have been an "open and shut case" turned into a mystery. Evidenced surfaced that indicated this woman may have been killed before the house was set on fire. While this story was being reported, shots of the fireman rifling through the debris was shown as a background to a near full screen picture of the deceased woman with the words "home torched" across t... ...t the news it is because I do not like being emotionally forced, and I feel this news cast tried to force me into feeling a certain way - remorse for the deceased woman, warm for the "person I should know", cozy at the end of the broadcast with three happy stories shoved down my throat. That is why I prefer to read my news. I just want the facts, not the decoration. And I don't need a laugh track to tell me when to laugh, or a deceased woman's picture flashed across the screen when I should be sad. Reading the news seems to be more professional, less social, and more informative. When I watch the news I find myself watching the reporters, paying less attention to the actual news. The forced camaraderie between the reporters overpowers the news. Besides, if I want to be entertained during the news, I can always watch reruns of Ted Baxter doing the Minneapolis news.

Community and Population Health Essay

Introduction I currently reside in Denver County, Colorado. I have chosen to assess and analyze this community for this assignment. Denver, Colorado is located east of the Eastern Foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Denver County is centrally located within the city of Denver, Colorado and includes the Denver International Airport located north-east of the city. The elevation of this county is 5,277 feet and therefore is nicknamed the â€Å"Mile-High City†. Denver County contains 154.9 square miles of land with a large amount of parks and rivers, of which 1.4 miles is water. (City and County of Denver, 2011). Population Economic Status According to the 2010 census, Denver County has a population of 600,158 people with a median age of 33.7 years old (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a). Denver County’s population is approximately 50% male and 50% female (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a). The ethnicity of Denver County is predominately White (52.2%), with Hispanic (31.8%) and Black (9.8%) ethnic groups comprising the next largest population groups (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a). The median household income in Denver County from 2008-2012 was is $49,091; compared to $58,244 for the entire state of Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010b). From2008-2012, 18.9% of households were at or below poverty; compared to an average of 12.9% for the entire state of Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010b). The average reported unemployment rate for persons ages 16 + in Denver County was 8.6% (with a +/- 0.4% margin of error) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a). Denver County has a high percentage of educated workforce. In 2008-2012, 36.7% of the population age 25 + had obtained their Bachelor’s Degree, or a higher level of education; compared 28.5% for the entire US (U.S. Census  Bureau, 2010b). Although Denver County has a large percentage of educated residents, it also has a high number of homeless residents. In a survey taken in January 2013, an estimated 11,167 people were homeless in Denver (including employed homeless) (Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, 2013). Of those individuals, 43% were women and 62% were adults with children (Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, 2013). The birth rate in Denver County in 2012 was 9,236 (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2012). This was average compared to the previous two years – in 2011 there were 9,431 births compared to 2010 where there were 9,584 births (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2012). Denver County’s death rate in 2012 was 4,220 (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2012). This number was average compared to the previous two years as well – in 2011 there were 4,156 deaths and in 2010 there were 4,210 deaths. The number one cause of death in Denver County from 2010 – 2012 was cardiovascular disease (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2012). The majority of deaths related to population was individuals age 85+ (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2012). Denver County offers two primary basic food assistance programs. These programs are called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children). For the fiscal year of 2013, Colorado had an average of 47,636,090 persons from a total of 23,052,396 households were signed up for SNAP benefits (USDA, 2014a). This number had increased by approximately 1,027,016 persons from 2012 fiscal year (USDA, 2014a). For the fiscal year of 2013, Colorado had an average of 8,662,591 persons (including women, infants, and children) were receiving supplemental nutrition from the WIC program (USDA, 2014b). This number decreased by 245,249 persons from 2012 fiscal year (USDA, 2014b). Cultural Assessment The population size and sex of the cultural group I interviewed was of twenty white women. Out of the twenty women I interviewed, ten women were between the ages of 20-29 years old and ten women were between the ages of  30-49 years old. All twenty women are currently registered nurses on the internal medicine/oncology floor at the hospital I am currently employed at. The amount of nursing experience these individuals have ranges from two years to 29 years of experience. All twenty individuals interviewed have health insurance. The attitudes toward age and aging of the twenty individuals surveyed varied with a similar goal of staying healthy to prevent the onset of diseases. The younger group interviewed felt it was important to eat healthy and exercise to promote internal health and longevity of life in general. The older group interviewed were more specific with their answers and felt it was important to maintain low stress lifestyles to promote good mental and physical health, to exercise to promote strong bones/balance, to perform mental exercises to help prevent the onset of dementia, and to regularly attend appointments. Both groups agreed that positive vs. negative attitudes directly affect physical health and one’s quality of life. When I asked both groups of their opinions regarding what age adolescents are considered adults, I received drastically different answers. The younger group felt as if ages 18-19 years old are considered adults related to society’s description of an adult, the independency promoted with high school graduation, and the onset of college. The older group felt as if ages 22-23 years old are considered adults primarily related to maturity, life experiences, and the beginning of an entry level career after completion of a college degree. Both groups felt as if college education was an expectation. All of the individuals interviewed currently have their degree in nursing with an active nursing license. Approximately one-third of those interviewed have their Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and several of those interviewed possess recognizable specialty healthcare certifications. As an entirety, the group interviewed is healthy. Over half of those interviewed have no prior diagnoses regarding their state physical of health. The most obvious physical characteristic that both groups share is being overweight with eleven out of the twenty women interviewed currently being overweight according to their projected BMI. The entire population interviewed shared the mental challenge of overcoming the stress presented at work regarding difficult/challenging patients and all women interviewed believed they have compromised their safety while caring for a patient at one time or another in their career. When I asked this group what the usual sources of stress are, work was number one for all twenty women interviewed. The younger population interviewed stated that children/family and educational goals are some of their secondary sources of stress. The older population interviewed stated that aging/retirement and the health of other family members are their secondary sources of stress. Both groups primarily use the mountains/nature and outdoor activities, such as skiing and hiking, to cope with stress. Five of the individuals drive nearly sixty miles to work (one-way) daily, related to owning a home in the mountains to escape the â€Å"rush and chaos† of the city and helping to find a â€Å"balance in life†. Out of all twenty individuals interviewed, over 3/4 of the woman are married and/or have a significant other. When asked what their number one priority in life was, family was consistently number one. Most all other interests and goals were related to benefiting or bettering the family. Some of the answers named were continuing educational goals, buying a new home, having a baby, planning retirement, and helping their parents with activities of daily life. Of the cultural group identified, all of them share a team attitude while still exhibiting individualist perspectives unique to personal preferences and opinions. Neighborhood/Community Safety Denver is divided into about 80 different official neighborhoods within Denver County (City and County of Denver, 2011). Those 80 different neighborhoods have been divided into seven police and fire districts; including Denver International Airport with has its own district (Denver Police Department, 2014; Denver Fire Department, 2014). The average response time for the Denver Police Department varied in 2013 from 14.9 minutes to respond to urgent, emergency calls (from the time a 911 call was received to the time an officer arrived on the scene) to 16.9 minutes for an officer to respond to a non-emergency call (Maass, 2013). According to Lt. Matt Murray from the Denver Police Department, these slow response times  have been directly correlated with a lack of officers (Maass, 2013). According to Murray, the Denver Police Department can have as many as 1,426 officers and as of October 3, 2013, the Denver Police Department had only 1,350 officers (Maass, 2013). A new class of 70 recr uits are currently in training in hopes to decrease the department’s response times in 2014 (Maass, 2013). The Denver Fire Department maintains 34 different fire stations that are strategically split into seven districts (Denver Fire Department, 2014). Firefighter’s each work an average of three 24-hour shift with an average of 180 firefighter’s on-duty per shift (Denver Fire Department, 2014). The Denver Fire Department responds to a variety of calls including Fire Suppression, Rescue Operations, Hazardous Materials Response, Technical Rescue, Urban Search and Rescue, Water and Ice Rescue, High Angle Rope Rescue, Confined Space and Trench Rescue, Wildland Firefighting, and Emergency Medical Services. They also perform thousands of building inspections annually, daily training and certifications, public and community education, school fire drills, and organize other special events (Denver Fire Department, 2014). According to the Denver Fire Department 2012 Annual Report, there were a total of 101,531 alarms/calls made in 2012 that required the response of the fire department team (Maass, 2013). Out of those 101,531 calls made to the fire department, 54,350 were for medical calls, 8,103 were for auto accidents, 2,248 were for fires, and approximately 37,000 calls required other services or rescues (Maass, 2013). Denver County has a significant amount of violence, crime, and gang activity within the community. In January/February 2014 there were a total of 7,268 crimes captured by the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) (Denver Police Department, 2014). According to this reporting system, the crimes are broken down into four categories; (1) crimes against persons, (2) crimes against property, (3) crimes against society, and (4) all other offenses (Denver Police Department, 2014). The top two offenses in Denver County per category included (1) simple assault and aggravated assault, (2) larceny and criminal mischief/damaged property, (3) drug/narcotic violations and prostitution, and (4) disorderly conduct/disturbing the peace and  criminal trespassing (Denver Police Department, 2014). These figures are slightly elevated from a total of 6,822 crimes in January/February 2013 (Denver Police Department, 2014). There is a variety of different gang activity in Denver County. In 2003, Denver police estimated that there were 14,000 gang members in Denver who were affiliated with 220 different gangs (Gang activity in Denver, 2013). The Denver Police Department has since created gang prevention programs including education, a gang hotline, outreach programs for former gang members, crime stoppers anonymous tips hotline, and the Denver Police Department Gang Bureau (Denver Police Department, 2014). Even with gang prevention involvement in the community and with these prevention programs in place, from January-September 2013 there was a total of 143 total crimes that could be directly related to gang activity (Gurman, 2013). These crimes included homicides, sexual assault, robberies, and aggravated assault (Gurman, 2013). Denver County is also populated with a high level of alcohol and drug abuse. The availability of marijuana with the recent legalization of recreational marijuana makes marijuana the most widely abused drug in Denver County (Mendelson, 2014). Alcohol, methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine, and prescription drugs are all found within the city limits of Denver as well (Mendelson, 2014). Denver County is centrally located between two interstates; I-25 and I-70. These interstates have many different entry and exit points to and from the city that provide easier access for drug trafficking and other illegal activities. Denver County has many different programs protecting its air and water quality. The Environmental Quality Division (EQD) is responsible for a variety of measures including conducting compliance inspections of air emissions, monitoring pollutant levels, issuing permits, and constructing models of air pollutant levels in the Denver area (Department of Environmental Health, 2014a). In February 2014 Colorado became the first state to regulate methane emissions from hydraulic fracking (Kroh, 2014). This new regulation will directly increase water quality and decrease smog in the Denver area. The Department of Environmental Health (DEH) is responsible for monitoring the quality of water in Denver’s lakes and  streams. The DEH collects an average of 13,000+ water samples and conducts more than 50,000 tests annually to ensure that Denver’s drinking water is clean and safe (Department of Environmental Health, 2014c). The goal is for the city of Denver to have fishable and swim mable waters in all the lakes and streams by 2020 (Department of Environmental Health, 2014c). Denver’s Departments of Environmental Health, Public Works, and Parks and Recreation are all work together to ensure that the City meets this goal (Department of Environmental Health, 2014c). Denver’s current number one pollutant is trash and litter. Urban Drainage and Flood control district alone collects approximately 100 tons of trash from the streams and rivers in Denver annually (Department of Environmental Health, 2014b). There are several health risks living within Denver County. These risks include earthquakes, hazardous materials, winter storms, and severe thunderstorms with hail, lightening, tornados, and/or flooding (Office of Emergency Management, 2014b). Hit and run injuries have become an epidemic in Denver County with an increase in fatal crashes in Denver County. Denver police reported 18,662 hit-and-run accidents, both sustaining injuries and sustaining no injuries, during 2011-2013 (Hubbard, 2014). At least one person in Denver metro area is injured every day by a hit-and-run driver and nearly three times a month a pedestrian is fatally injured by a motorist who flees the scene (Hubbard, 2014). Colorado legislators have recently increased the potential prison sentence for hit-and-run cases resulting in bodily injury and/or death. They have also formalized an alert program to inform the public on suspects, vehicles, and/or license plate numbers in an attempt to help in track down perpetrators (Hubbard, 2014). Disaster Assessment and Planning The state of Colorado and city of Denver has worked hard to organize a variety of disaster and emergency preparedness plans within the community. One source of information, READYColorado, offers a variety of data sources for the community. Their website, READYColorado.com, offers awareness and disaster preparedness for a variety of natural disasters, technological disasters, and human caused disasters. The website also contains statistics, facts, and a calendar list of current events and training exercises. It offers links for volunteer opportunities regarding community involvement and educational classes and it also lists ways to stay informed of emergencies  from such sources such as radio, television, text, live twitter feeds, and blogs. Three critical facilities in Denver County include three specific venues; Coors Field with 50K capacity, The Pepsi Center with 19K capacity, and Sports Authority at Mile High Stadium with 76K capacity (City and County of Denver, 2011). The most vulnerable populations to these disasters are the 22.3% of households with children less than 18 years of age, the approximately 23,000 individuals 65+ that live independently, and the residents in 51 long term care facilities within Denver County (City and County of Denver, 2011). The primary disaster of concern for the Denver County is winter weather. Winter weather is an expectation living in Colorado. READYColorado contains information for home and vehicle preparation, emergency communications planning, proper dress for indoors and outdoors to protect the body from hypothermia, and hypothermia/frostbite warning signs. One can also find more information at Ready.gov, Colorado Department of Transportation, NOAA watch, and the American Red Cross regarding winter weather and the risks involved. Avalanches are of great threat to the mountainous regions of Colorado but do not pose a threat within Denver County. The risk of earthquakes is low in Denver County. However if an earthquake was to occur, the city would be very susceptible to extensive damage. Residencies and some of the older buildings in Denver are not made to withstand earthquakes and would most likely suffer damage to their structures (Office of Emergency Management, 2014b). Severe thunderstorms bringing hail, lightening, and tornados pose threats to the Denver County annually. Residents of the Colorado’s Front Range area are located in the heart of â€Å"Hail Alley† which begins mid-April and lasts through mid-August. The Front Range and Denver County receives a high frequency of large hail annually, averaging three to four hailstorms a year, and costing at least 25 million dollars in insured damage for each event (READYColorado and the State of Colorado, 2014b). Lightening poses the greatest threat to areas where the mountains and plains intersect (READYColorado and the State of Colorado, 2014b). Three deaths related to  lightning strikes have known to occur in Denver since 2001 (National Weather Service, 2011). Tornados pose a threat to all areas of Colorado; however tornados to not typically get high intensity ratings within Denver County (City and County of Denver, 2011). Flying debris from high winds cause most injuries. NOAA weathe r radio, telephone alerts, and television sources provide alerts severe thunderstorms and the destructive events that they bring. Denver County also has an outdoor warning siren system consisting of 76 electro-mechanical sirens that sound when there are tornado alerts and warnings (Office of Emergency Management, 2014a). Wildfire ignition by lightning is a bigger concern rural Colorado areas compared to the city. Respiratory problems can still result from the inhalation of smoke spread by wind. Wildfires burn thousands of acres and destroy hundreds of structures annually in Colorado. These fires are generally ignited by lightening or human causes and can easily be fueled by drought conditions, insect infestations, and heat. READYColorado offers information on risk assessment, home preparation, evacuation plans, and shelter information. More information regarding wildfires can be found at Ready.gov, Ready, Set, Go!, Surviving Wildfire, The Red Cross, US Fire Administration – FEMA, and Colorado State Forest Service websites. Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal is also a useful tool in determining fire risks. Currently, Denver’s fire risk is between lowest intensity and moderate intensity risk (Colorado State Forest Service, 2014). Flooding has a big impact on Colorado and in 2013 challenged many residents in the Denver area. NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio, television, and internet sources provide information on flood watches and warnings, including flash floods in Denver County. Flash flooding along streams such as Cherry Creek, Clear Creek, and Harvard Gulch pose the greatest threats within the Denver area. The Corps of Engineers, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District websites provide 2013 flood information, current projects, and resources for flooding preparation and damage control in Colorado. Health risks involved from flooding include contamination from bacteria (ie. E.coli), parasites (ie. giaria), and viruses (ie. Hepatitis A), respiratory infections from mold and other irritants, and bodily injury from swiftly moving currents, electricity hazards, and hypothermia. It is very important for all Denver County residents to be up to date with Tetanus  vaccinations. Terrorism poses a rather unpredictable threat to Denver County. Denver County has a large metropolis population and houses both government buildings and military installations, contains large sports stadiums and an international airport. It is known that failure of the Cherry Creek Dam would cause catastrophic damage to both life and property within Denver County (City and County of Denver, 2011). There have been known international and domestic terrorist groups identified in Colorado during previous years (City and County of Denver, 2011). Education regarding the â€Å"eight signs of terrorism† can be found at multiple terrorism related websites including READYColorado.com. Denver also has specialized units including Denver Police Department Mounted Patrol, S.W.A.T.(Special Weapons And Tactics) who’s primary objective deals with hostage negotiation, drug busts and counterterrorism (City and County of Denver, 2011). Hazardous material spill have an increase potential in Denver County related to the many different companies storing hazardous materials within city limits. There are approximately 400 facilities storing reportable quantities of hazardous materials on properties located throughout the county (Office of Emergency Management, 2014). Each company is regulated by law to hold emergency plans that would go into effect if an accidental release of substance was to occur. The interstates bring added risk to Denver County related to the traffic along I-25 and I-70. These two interstates pass through densely populated areas of Denver County Denver fire and police have Hazardous Materials Response teams in place that are trained to respond to such an event(s). Denver County has nearly a dozen different hospitals with a vast amount of public transportation options such as bicycle, RTD bus and light rail services, taxi cabs, car2go, and Lyft services. Denver County has excellent communications and response teams in the event of a disaster with a vast amount of online education; however this information is published mostly in the English language. With such a large population of homeless in Denver County and 18.9% of all households at or below poverty level (U.S. Census  Bureau, 2010), the internet is not a good primary option for learning. Also, approximately 28% of all households speak a language other than English (City and County of Denver, 2011). Community Diagnosis Denver County is a very strong community regarding the number of educated workforce, median household income, number of hospitals, amount of public ground transportation, the protection of air and water quality, and the number of fire and police with specialty training teams and programs operating within the community. There is a very small percentage of residents 65+ who live independently and slightly over 1/5 of all households have children less than 18 years of age. The primary language is English and the community culture has a good overall team mentality. Denver County’s birth rate double the death rate with the leading cause of death cardiovascular disease in a primary death rate existing in the population 85+ (Colorado Department of Public Health, 2012). Denver County has many open avenues regarding opportunities and readiness attitudes within community. The population of Denver County is approximately 50% male and 50% female with a median age of 33.7 years old (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a). This provides the community with the opportunity to explore young ideas and diversity among sexes. Denver County has a large number of homeless population with approximately 1/5 of the total population at or below poverty. These numbers exceed the national average. Denver County has two specific food programs being utilized greatly; SNAP and WIC benefits. There is a high number of crime, violence, and gangs within Denver County. There is a high level of alcohol and drug abuse within the community as well. Specialized police teams and community resources/programs assist with deterring these types of activities and assist in recovery efforts for those individuals. Colorado has recently legalized recreational marijuana which could be positive in terms of tax revenue for the state and future funding of programs and resources for the community. There could also be negative consequences regarding adolescent drug use and the increase of impaired drivers on the streets; however these statistics have not yet been measured and studied. Denver County is  contains a 100% urban population. This is both a strength and weakness to the city in terms of emergency evacuation. There are three critical facilities that exist in Denver County at specific venues with a capacity between 19K and 76K (City and County of Denver, 2011). Denver County is centrally located between I-25 and I-70 which can be an opportunity for evacuation or a barrier regarding avenues for drug trafficking and other illegal activities. There is a high ratio of hit-and-run injuries and fatalities within Denver County. Colorado legislators have recently increased potential prison sentences for hit-and-run cases resulting bodily injury and/or death. They have also formalized an alert program to inform and involve the public as an attempt to help track down perpetrators. The formulation of a city-wide educational program focusing on the prevention of hit-and-run occurrences may be beneficial in reducing these numbers as well. It is important for the Denver Police Department to have quicker response times to both emergent and non-emergent calls. Hopefully with the addition of new recruits for the force who are currently in training, Denver County will see quicker response time to all calls made. This will also hopefully decrease the amount of gang-related crimes and deter community activity in general. It is evident that Denver County has a large trash and litter problem. The initiation of more trash cans and recycle containers parallel with city-wide education would be beneficial in decreasing this problem. It would also be of benefit to the community and the court systems to enact a community service program that revolved around helping clean up the neighborhoods and streets. Denver County has good disaster and emergency preparedness plans within the community; however educational resources to the public need to be explored with a variety of different materials and other languages for maximum effectiveness. The primary educational method is by internet with most of the materials written in the English language only. Nearly 1/3 of all households in Denver County speak a language other than English. References City and County of Denver. (2011, Oct). Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment. Retrieved March 8, 2014, fromhttp://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source =web&cd=1&ved=0CCUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denvergov.org%2FPortals%2F428%2Fdocuments%2FDenver%2520Hazard%2520Identification%2520and%2520Risk%2520Assessment.pdf&ei=AvEtU6etF8OJogSh5oDwDw&usg=AFQjCNEEQhg_2-JDt_OVeX3pIyYSKGcx9g&bvm=bv.62922401,d.cGU Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. (n.d.). Health Statistics: 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s& source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chd.dphe.state.co .us%2FResources%2Fvs%2F2012%2FDenver.pdf&ei+I14tU9zPA-SNygGZ-IDYBw&us G=AFQjCNH_VbyYxdRvmxNekgRu-y0LhIgrzw&bvm=bv.62922401,d.aWc Colorado State Forest Service. (2014). Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal. 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Water Quality Program: Trash and Litter. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://wwwdenvergov.org/environmentalhealth/ EnvironmentalHealth/EnvironmentalQuality/WaterQuality/tabid/444650/Default.aspx Department of Environmental Health. (2014c). Water Quality Program: Water Quality In Lakes and Streams. Retreived March 9, 2014, from https://wwwdenver.gov.org/environmental health/EnvironmentalHealth/EnvironmentalQuality/WaterQuality/tabid/444650/Default. Aspx Gang activity in Denver. (2013, August 17). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_activity_in_Denver Gurman, Sadie. (2013, October 15). The Denver Post. Denver Police: Gang violence rises this year, involves more victims. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.denverpost.com /breakingnews/ci_24309448/denver-police-gang-violence-rises-this-year?source=rss Hubbard, Brent. (2014, Feburary 17). Rocky Mountain PBS. Hit-and-run fatal crashes rising in Colorado. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from http://www.coloradoan.com/article/201 40217/WINDSORBEACON01/302170069/Hit-run-fatal-crashes-rising-Colorado Kroh, Kiley. (2014, February 24). Climate Progress: Colorado Become The First State To Regulate Methane Emissions from Fracking. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http:// thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/02/24/3322651/Colorado-methane-fracking/ Maass, Brian. (2013, October 3). CBS Denver. Denver Police Response Times Worsen, Complaints Rising. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/ 10/03/denver-police-response-times-worsen-complaints-rising/ Mendelson, Bruce. (2014, Feburary). National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drug Abuse Patterns and Trends in Colorado and the Denver/Boulder Metropolitan Area – Update: Jan 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/organization/work groups-interest-groups-consortia/community-epidemiology-work-group-cewg/meeting- reports/highlights-summaries-january-2014-4 Metro Denver Homeless Initiative and National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. (2013, January). The Gathering Place – Homelessness and Poverty Statistics. Retrieved On March 8, 2014, from http://www.tgpdenver.org/homelessnessfaq?printable National Weather Service. (2011, June 21). Colorado and National Lightning Casualty Statistics. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/?n=/Itg/Itg_stats_index. php Office of Emergency Management. (2014a). Alert and Warning Systems. Retrieved March 10, 2014, https://www.denvergov.org/AlertandWarning/tabid/391430/default.aspx Office of Emergency Management. (2014b). Potential Threats. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.denvergov.org/Redirect_404/tabid/391429/Default.aspx? READYColorado and the State of Colorado. (2014a). Retrieved March 10, 2014, from https:// www.readycolorado.com/ READYColorado and the State of Colorado. (2014b). Severe Weather/Thunderstorm. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from https://www.readycolorado.com/hazard/severe-weatherthunder storm READYColorado and the State of Colorado. (2014c). Tornado. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from https://www.readycolorado.com/hazard/tornado READYColorado and the State of Colorado. (2014d). Wildfire. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from https://www.readycolorado.com/hazard/wildfire