Gdel's Work in Set Theory Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gdel's Work in Set Theory - Case Study Example In his Logical Journey, Wings publications indicate that GÃ ¶del’s works began in 1930 when he started studying the consistency problems of classical analysis (Wang, 1996). At the time, there had been no rigorous justifications and explanations on the rigorous mathematics (Feferman, et al., 2003, p. 339). This study got its motivation from Hilbert’s works. Hilbert had been working towards the provision of a directly consistent analysis of the finitary methods. The problems that this work had formed the driving force to his study. Through this, GÃ ¶del’s wanted to prove the constancy of number theory by a finitary numeral theory (Barbara, et al., 1990). He also wanted to prove the dependability of analysis by number theory. He represented real numbers by the predicates in number theory. In so doing, he found out that he had to use the truth concept in order to verify the axioms of the analysis. He came with an enumeration of symbols, sentences, and verifications within the specified order. In so doing, he discovered that the impression of arithmetic truth cannot be given a defined form in arithmetic. He observed that if a way to define the truth within a system existed, it would lead to a liar paradox (Rahman, et al., 2008). This would show that the system is inconsistent with what is being studied. These arguments were later formalized so that they bring meaning to the existence of undecidable propositions without quoting any individual occurrences. It is observable that GÃ ¶del tried to reduce the c onsistency problem to that of arithmetic for ease of solving. At this point, he temporarily changed the direction with the aim of intruding another element. The element would prove an illumination solution to Liar Paradox (Winterburn, 2012, p. 47). This appeared to require the truth definition for the arithmetic. This, in turn, resulted to paradoxes, like the Liar paradox to mean that the sentence is a false one. GÃ ¶del then discerned paradoxes of this form would not necessarily come in existence if the truth were to be replaced with probability.

The American Civil War Essay Example for Free

The American Civil War Essay The American Civil War has also been called the War Between the States or the War of Rebellion or the War for Southern Independence. It was a clash between the United States of America or the Union and the Confederate States of America or the Confederacy. The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865. There were many reasons for the outbreak of this Civil War such as States’ rights and slavery. The principle cause for this War was purely economic. The Southern states had always tried to become independent because of the fact that the people and the state were becoming wealthier due to extensive use of slave labor. These states feared a drastic reduction in their wealth if slavery were to be abolished (Guisepi, 2002). Subsequent to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president of the United States, the South became apprehensive as they felt that slavery would be abolished, accordingly they started the civil war. On the 12th of April, 1861 the Confederate army in Charleston, S. C. , started firing on Fort Sumter, which was held by the Union forces. This marked the commencement of hostilities between the North and the South. The prima facie objective of the South was to gain independence and that of the North was to preserve the integrity of the Union. In the year 1862, Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation and this constituted a major cause for the war. If the North emerged victorious then slavery would be abolished and if the South had won the war then slavery would have been protected in all the Confederate states (Guisepi, 2002). Economic disparities had been on the increase during the early nineteenth century. More than fifty seven per cent of cotton exports from the US had originated in the South and this was mainly due to the employment of slave labor. However, the North had acquired its wealth by establishing industries and as such the inhabitants of the North were opposed to slave labor. In order to cope with the demand for labor, the North encouraged immigration. Therefore, there were a large number of European immigrants who worked as laborers in industries and in the construction of railways in the North. The South was a laggard as far as industrialization was concerned and this forced them to import manufactured goods from the North. The southern states opposed the overwhelming taxes and tariffs on imported goods, which was the main source of revenue for the Federal government. The Federal government was unwilling to reduce the taxes since it had to support various welfare measures and provide infrastructure like roads. This led to a further disagreement between the North and the South (Gallagher, 2005 ). Initially, in the republic there were sectional differences between the regions, which were overlooked, owing to the fact that the vast distances rendered communication difficult if not impossible. The Northerners favored a central government in order to enable them to construct railroads, roads, and infrastructure, protect complex trade interests and thereby control the national currency. The Southerners, on the other hand, were not in favor of forming a central government since their dependence on the Federal government was much lesser. They also believed that a central government would prevent them from practicing slavery. The US Constitution prohibits the federal government from interfering with slavery within the states. Opponents of slavery in the Northern states were limited to restricting the use of slaves and the spreading of slavery to other regions. This is borne out by the fact that in 1820, Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state whereas Maine was admitted as a free state to maintain the balance in the Senate (Gallagher, 2005 ). In 1857, the Supreme Court of the United States added fuel to fire of mounting tensions by its judgment in the case of Dred Scott. In that case Scott a Missouri slave sought freedom on the basis that his master had taken him to live in a free state. The Court opined that Negroes were not citizens of the United States and that accordingly Scott could not approach the Court as he had no rights to do so. Moreover, the Supreme Court ruled that the US laws prohibiting slavery were unconstitutional. Subsequently, on the 16th of October 1859, John Brown a convict of the Pottawatomie massacre raided the Harpers Ferry, VA, in order to free the slaves and to encourage them to start a guerrilla war against the whites in the South. This incident shook the Southerners as they felt that it was the beginning of organized Northern efforts to abolish slavery (Guisepi, 2002). With the election of Abraham Lincoln as the President of the Union, the Southerners seriously contemplated secession from the Union and South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. Other Southern states quickly withdrew from the Union and these secessionists occupied many southern forts. The Artillery of the Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter and this marked the beginning of the war (Guisepi, 2002). The Civil War had the dubious distinction of resolving the issue of secession permanently as has been borne out by the fact that since 1861, there have been no attempts by the states of the Union to secede. Another major change wrought by the Civil War was the abolition of slavery, subsequent to the Emancipation Proclamation announced by Lincoln. However, the Civil War was unable to make the blacks the equals of the whites and it was also unsuccessful in emotionally reuniting the North and the South, as had been hoped by Abraham Lincoln. References Gallagher, G. (2005 ). American Civil War. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006 [DVD] . Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. Guisepi, R. (2002). American Civil War. Retrieved June 23, 2007, from http://history-world. org/american_civil_war. htm

Coronary Artery Disease and Diabetes Mellitus

Coronary Artery Disease and Diabetes Mellitus Introduction The coronary artery supplies the blood to the heart muscles to enrich it with oxygen and other nutrients. It also carries deoxygenated blood away from the heart. The coronary artery consists of 2 main arteries; the right coronary artery which supplies blood to the right ventricles and right atrium and the left coronary artery which supplies blood to the left ventricles and left atrium. The two many arteries further divide into two; the left coronary artery divide into the circumflex artery which supplies blood to the back of the heart, the left anterior descending artery supplies blood to the front of the heart; the right coronary artery is divided into right posterior descending artery and large marginal arteries and supply blood to the sinoatrial nodes that control the heart  rhythmic rate. The coronary arteries have 3 layers of tissues; the tunica adventitia which covers the outside, the tunica media which is the middle layer and the tunica intima endothelium which is the inner layer. The diameters of the coronary arteries range from 0.6mm-4.4mm, any blockage to any of these arteries that stops blood flow to the affected area lead to coronary artery disease (CAD).       The normal blood glucose range is 4-6 mmol/L and 7.8mmol/L 2 hours after meal. This range is controlled by insulin which causes cells to absorb excess glucose in blood and glucagon which causes cells to release glucose from stores. Insulin is produced by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas. When blood glucose level rises above its normal range insulin binds to the extracellular subunits of its receptors (IRS-1 and IRS-2) on the cell surface which sends signals into the cell causing the intracellular proteins to alter their activity which in turn initiates the movement of glucose transporters (GLU1-4, depending on the cell/tissues involved) to the cell membrane which then transports glucose into the cell where it may be further be converted glycogen, the storage form of glucose. Any impairment to the function of insulin, or its receptors lead to hyperglycemia and when excess of this glucose in bloodstream is passed in urine it results to diabetes mellitus. Diabe tes mellitus can be classified into two main types; Diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM 1) and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM 2). High sugar levels in blood (hyperglycemia) maybe due to insulin resistance in cases of type 2 diabetes or destruction of beta cells of the pancreas in cases of type 1 diabetes, which downstream leads to CAD. Atherosclerosis which can occur in any part of the body result from endothelia damage which can be caused by high blood pressure, smoking, genetics, age, gender, high blood glucose, weight gain etc. when atherosclerosis occurs in any of the coronary arteries it leads to coronary artery disease. Events leading to atherosclerosis include; Endothelial damage which leads to inflammatory responses such as accumulation of white blood cells , low density lipoprotein (LDL)and high density lipoprotein (HDL), oxidation of LDL induced by free radicals (reactive oxygen species), platelet aggregation, chemotaxis of macrophages, formation of foam cells, proliferation of smooth muscle cells (atheroma occurs), fibrous tissue and calcium salts cause the atheroma to harden this results in less elasticity of the artery (atherosclerosis). All of these events narrow the coronary artery from the normal physiological range of 0.6-4.4mm (including small coronary arteries branching from the main arteries) to very smaller diameter depending on the level of narrowing and then eventual blockage preventing or limiting blood and nutrient supply to heart tissues leading to death of affected heart tissues, heart attack or even death of the patient. According to statistics, diabetes and coronary artery disease are closely related, this is because 50% of patients with diabetes are at risk of suffering CAD alongside. In the United States 77% cause of death is diabetic CAD. The prevalence of diabetes globally is increasing and its the major risk factor of other health conditions. The National Institute of Health reported that 65% of diabetic patients are more at risk of developing stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, kidney failure, and heart diseases such as cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, and atherosclerosis in the heart (CAD) which when not optimally managed could lead to death. CAD and Diabetes Mellitus The cause of DM1 is unknown but studies say it could be genetic or viral infection which leads to an autoimmune condition where the body defense mechanism destroys its cells, in this case the pancreatic beta cells where insulin is produced. When the beta cells of the pancreas are destroyed, the pancreas will no longer be able to make insulin which downstream causes the bloodstream to be glucose logged due to inability of the body cells to move glucose out of the bloodstream, leading to impaired insulin secretion, decreased signalling in the hypothalamus, increased food intake, weight gain and hyperglycemia, which downstream leads to atherosclerosis. DM 2 is due to the body cells inability to respond to insulin stimulation. Insulin resistance is due to obesity, age and sedentary life style (irregular body activities), Age and sedentary lifestyle both lead up to increase in body weight (accumulation of adipose tissue). With or without hyperglycemia, insulin resistance can cause atherosclerosis, this results from increased lipolysis of adipocytes leading to increased nonesterified fatty acid secretion (NEFA), pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour P1521598x necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). NEFA can be deposited in and cause dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells, liver and skeletal muscles, all of which enhance insulin resistance and reduce production of insulin. Accumulation of NEFA in skeletal muscle leads to competition with glucose for substrate oxidation thereby increasing the intracellular content of fatty acid metabolites such as diacylglycerol (DAG), fatty acyl coenzyme A and ceremide which together activate serine/threonine kinase processes leading to insulin receptor substrate 1and 2 (IRS 1 IRS 2) phosphorylation, reducing their ability to undergo tyrosine phosphorylation and carry out their normal physiological function in insulin signalling. The final target of these receptors is the blockage of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3) which is responsible for decreasing expression of adherent molecules, NF-kb activation, Ros formation and increasing eNOS production. PI3 blockade leads to hyperstimulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP-kinase) by increasing insulin production which contributes to vascular hypertrophy, hypertension, increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) production and arrhythmias, all of these processes lead to endothelial lining damage which causes atherosclerosis. Diabetes and Atherosclerosis Hyperglycemia can also lead this atherosclerosis because increase in blood glucose levels leads to increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) because of mitochondrial dysfunction which is the initial event observed in hyperglycemia. Glycolysis generates nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and pyruvate. Pyruvate in tricarboxylic cycle (TCA) generates molecules  of CO2, 4 NADH and 1 FADH NADH and FADH are electron carriers/donors in the electron transport chain which is made up of 4 complexes, I-IV). In mitochondria, NADH and FADH donate electron for generation of ATP. In hyperglycemia, there is increased glycolysis which leads to increased electron donation to the electron transfer chain (ETC) which increases electron flux raising voltage across the membrane and generates higher membrane potential eventually reaching a threshold where transport at complex III is blocked, increasing electron donation to O2 at complex III generating ROS, mostly superoxide (O-). Superoxide inactiva tes glycolytic enzymes glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase which induces vascular injury via 4 main pathways; protein kinase C pathway, hexosamine pathway, advanced glycation endproducts and polyol pathway. ROS enhances atherosclerosis by blocking eNOS synthase which enhances production of other ROS especially in endothelial cells and vascular muscle cells. Superoxide reacts with nitric oxide to form peroxynitrite which selectively inhibits prostacyclin (PGI2) disrupting its synthases iron-thiolate centre. PGI2 inhibition causes build-up of its precursor prostaglandin endoperoxide (PGH2) which induces vasoconstriction and endothelial dysfunction. In addition, PGH2 promotes the conversion of PGI2 to thromboxane A2 by thromboxane synthase which leads to platelet aggregation. Diabetes and Response to injury Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are responsible for response to injury and hypoxia, both are lacking in diabetes, this makes repair of injury very slow enhancing atherosclerosis. Conclusion   Ã‚   With or without hyperglycemia, DM leads to atherosclerosis which if it happened in the coronary artery lead to narrowing and eventual blockage of the coronary artery leading to CAD. In DM 1 it goes through hyperglycemia/mitochondrial dysfunction pathway whereas in DM 2 it goes through insulin resistance/lipolysis pathway even in slim individuals if there is unequal distribution of fat across the body, it interferes with insulins ability to suppress lipolysis leading to higher NEFA production. Whichever way, DM is likely to lead up to CAD (when atherosclerosis occurs in the coronary artery) and other diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, kidney disease and heart attack. One thing that can be seen in the events leading up to CAD are positive feedback events, for example, ROS blocks eNOS synthase which enhances the production of more ROS.

Analytical Response to Male Pregnancy Essay -- Science Technology Essa

Analytical Response to Male Pregnancy Male Pregnancy by Dick Teresi and Kathleen McAuliffe support that the technology and the demand for male pregnancy will be possible in the future. They specifically state that, "Someday a man will have a baby". They have written this article in an attempt to show why they believe this will one day become accepted and widely practiced. However, I disagree with Teresi and McAuliffe. I feel male pregnancy will never be freely practiced or accepted by any means. Teresi and McAuliffe start out their article by explaining what their general idea is for male pregnancy to occur. They state, "What we're talking about is implanting an embryo into a man's abdominal cavity, where the fetus would take nourishment, grow to term, and be delivered by an operation similar to a cesarean section. Already, this idea seems illogical to me. As a result of a man being pregnant, there must be a cesarean section to remove the baby. Even for women, this is a risk doctors prefer to avoid if possible. It puts the mother at a much greater risk of injury or death as well as the baby. Going to great lengths to make a man attempt to do something that has a high risk seems foolish when the same results can be achieved naturally with a much lower risk. Slightly further into the article Teresi and McAuliffe discuss how a researcher, Dr. Cecil Jacobsen, injected a fertilized egg of a female baboon into the abdominal cavity of a male baboon. He then states that "with very moderate chemical support, the male baboon was able to carry the pregnancy toward term". Again this goes back to the fact that women can go through the process of child birth natural in most cases. However, for a male to car... ...erring to why they would not want to carry a baby in the summer but any other time is okay. It is not just themselves they are affecting if the operation and procedure is a success, it is also the child who will have to grow up in a society where everyone else's mother is a female, but his mother is dad also. Overall, I felt Teresi and McAuliffe's arguments for pursuing the technology of male pregnancies is not strong enough to actually do further research in the area. I feel that females are biologically established for birth where men's bodies naturally can not give birth. It seems illogical to try to change a system that has worked so well for so many years. If there is a technology dealing with birth that should be researched it should be increasing the safety of it, not a step backwards since the abdomen is a much more dangerous and illogical way.

Philosophy †Free Will vs. Determinism Essay

The dialogue between philosophers over the existence of free will versus the inevitability of determinism is a debate that will always exist. The discussion centers around the true freedom of humans to think and act according to their own judgment versus the concept that humans are intrinsically bound by the physical laws of the universe. Before I enter this chicken and the egg debate I need to quantify my terms: Free will is defined by the great philosopher, St. Thomas Aquinas as â€Å"vis electiva† or free choice. It is the ability of man to contemplate and judge the effects of the actions he is about to take. â€Å"†¦But man acts from judgment, because by his apprehensive power he judges that something should be avoided or sought. But because this judgment, in the case of some particular act, is not from a natural instinct but from some act of comparison in the reason, therefore he acts from free judgment and retains the power of being inclined to various things. † (Aquinas. Suma Theologica) Determinism is a complex notion but is best described by David Hume as the notion that something cannot come from nothing and that all actions have causes preceding them. â€Å"I conceive that nothing taketh beginning from itself, but from the action of some other immediate agent without itself. And that therefore, when first a man hath an appetite or will to something, to which immediately before he had no appetite nor will, the cause of his will, is not the will itself, but something else not in his own disposing. So that whereas it is out of controversy, that of voluntary actions the will is the necessary cause, and by this which is said, the will is also caused by other things whereof it disposeth not, it followeth, that voluntary actions have all of them necessary causes, and therefore are necessitated. † (Hume. Liberty and Nessessity. ) Philosophy and world religion alike were born of the same origins. Each of the two ancient disciplines arose from the quest for the answers to life’s ominous questions. These human questions, archetypical to people of all geographic locations; where did we come from; why are we here; where do we go when we die; unite us as a race. It is no coincidence that each religion and theology from all four corners of the earth tackles these black holes of human logic. Each religion carves their own individual explanations of these unanswerable questions into their core belief systems, each one centrally different than others. However, they all share one common thought; each shares a belief in an afterlife determined by the choices made in life. Free will is the common denominator in all world religions, because all share the essential concept of morality. The widespread acceptance of the concept of morality implies that there is a choice to be had at each and every juncture or life. The choice comes from recognition of good and evil. For good and evil to exist, then there has to be the ability to decipher between the two and also decide to accept one over the other. The existence of morality alone proves that free will exists, because without the freedom to choose right or wrong in any given situation there would be no qualitative measure of the â€Å"rightness† or â€Å"wrongness† of ones actions. David Hume comments on the origin of morality and its place in our everyday decision making processes, â€Å"Only when you turn your reflexion into your own breast, and find a sentiment of disapprobation† (Hume.Treatise of Human Nature). In other words, there are no outside stimuli that can decipher good from evil; the line can only be drawn by internal thought. Hume was a naturalist in that his vision of the world and therefore stance of philosophy was based directly through the experiences of the senses. His stance on many issues directly originated from his ability to experience it with the five senses, and on the subject of morality he takes exception. Even he recognizes the existence of morality in everyday life, even though it cannot be explained through the lens of the senses. It would seem that morality’s acceptance must therefore prove that free will exists, but there is one essential school of thought yet to weigh on this topic; science. Science was the latest bloomer of the three major disciplines of existential explanation and in the post modern era is becoming more and more popular. As the world becomes further secularized and the reaches of scientific logic continue to exceed their grasp, many of the world’s intellectuals identify â€Å"truth† on a scientific scale. Science does not support the theory of morality, because it can’t be proven to exist. The notion of â€Å"free-will†, something which world religion and philosophies alike recognize as a fundamental part of our human anatomy, is called into question in a few simple and logical ways. Science supports the theory of determinism as the only logical explanation of the unfolding of the actions of our lives. First off, science has recently developed the discipline known to us as physics, in which the laws of the universe have been defined. In the short time in which humans have been graced by the scientific understanding of the laws of the universe, human kind has yet to fully step back and contemplate the magnitude of this discovery. In generations past, humans believed that we were made special with â€Å"free will†, but now we know that like all things in the universe we are subject to the physical laws. This is a huge step forward in rational thinking because it allows us to understand that our previously God given concept of â€Å"free will† was really a result of a lack of understanding of the deterministic laws of the universe. For instance a law as simple and commonly accepted as â€Å"gravity† challenges the idea of free will. Gravitational pull determines that no matter the size of an object, once separate from the surface of the earth will be dragged back down at the same force every time. This is a simple concept that we take for granted, but it works in the free will v. determinism argument. We are ruled by gravity, and therefore all of our lives activities answer to it. We can’t choose to jump off a building and float in the air because we’ll be pulled back to the ground to our imminent deaths. We can’t choose to stay younger and keep our skin tight to our faces because gravity’s long-term effect causes our skin to droop down towards the ground. The choices I just listed may seem farfetched to some, however, if we examine the notion that we have â€Å"free will† in the empirical sense of the word we see that not all of our decisions are controlled by us, and that we fall victim to the tyrannical rule of the physical laws of the universe. We aren’t truly â€Å"free† to create our own actions in life. Albert Einstein offers a particularly apt synopsis, â€Å"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper. † (Albert Einstein) The rule of physical law aside, which hinders us from truly being â€Å"free† to choose our own actions in life, is a much more simple scientific argument that dispels the notion of free will. For example: Say a 20 year old man murders another man in cold blood. They have no affiliation, no prior knowledge of who each other is, or reason to dislike each other. Man A walks up to random Man B and shoots and kills him. Was this action of Man A a result of â€Å"free will†? To examine the notion fully you need to look at his action coming from two sources. Either Man A was born with the moral flaw to allow himself to find killing another human acceptable, or that Man A was influenced during the course of his life by interactions and actions of others and came to that conclusion based on his own experience. There is no other explanation for Man A to willingly choose to open fire on Man B and kill him. If we look at the first option, Man A’s natural moral compass was skewed, allowing for him to conceive the notion that killing another is okay. This speaks to the determinant nature of our chemical makeup. Its possible his DNA made a mistake coding somewhere and he developed overtime and understood that killing another is â€Å"wrong† or maybe that his entire sense of â€Å"right from wrong† was skewed inside his mind. This would lead Man A to lead a life normally on the outside, and yet without regard for consequence, open fire on another man and kill him as easily as he could have held a door for him. This is the idea that he naturally had the capacity to kill, and that he could not control it. Eventually one of his animalistic impulses would finally stick and he’d be in the right place at the right time, and that it was only a matter of time until he killed someone. If you don’t subscribe to that theory and believe that he chose to kill Man B that day, try and consider that the results will still be pre-determined. If Man A killed Man B due to his choice, then his own â€Å"free will† and judgment that he finds reprehensible to kill another man can’t be attributed to truly â€Å"free† will of choice. Not every human kills others as part of their natural lifestyle, as they might kiss or mate with another. In fact a very small percentage of people in the world murder other humans, and this begs the question of why? What makes this small percentage of people â€Å"choose† to kill another person? The answer is that if they choose to do it, and they weren’t previously miswired so as said in the prior paragraph, then they must have been influenced by their surroundings. When Man A was six years old he didn’t choose to murder Man B, the events of his life led him to make this decision about whether or not murder was okay. This is yet another reason that he wasn’t truly free to choose; outside influence hinders the ability to choose freely. Whether he was abused, molested, lost a loved one, or just plain fed up with the monotony of everyday life in society, something pushed him over the edge. Something allowed for him to justify his actions; that something is outside influence. This deterministic train of thought explains why people do what they do, but not when. What makes us actually hit the point of no return, or when will the right opportunity hit the right mood leading the right action? (In our example the murder of Man B) The paradox between â€Å"free will† and â€Å"determinism† exists because of the influence of the different schools of thought. If one aligns his personal truth based on religious fervor, then an understanding of â€Å"free will† can exist logically and on the other hand if one bases his logic around science then â€Å"determinism† seems to be the only answer. So where does that leave philosophy, the great bridge between the two polarized schools of thought? It leaves philosophy somewhere in the middle, examining the validity of both sides of the argument, and helping to shed light on the debate over whether or not we truly are free to make a choice or if we are merely floating along the currents of the universe. Personally, I’m lost somewhere in the middle, hoping that the answer to this time-old question will be revealed. Works Cited: * Aquinas, St. Thomas. Sancti Thomae Aquinatis †¦ : Suma Theologica †¦ Parisiis: Apud Sebastianum Et Gabrielem Cramoisy, 1640. Print. * Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature: in Two Volumes. London: Dent, 1934. Print. * Hume, David. Liberty and Necessity: an Argument against Free-will and in Favor of Moral Causation. London: Progressive Pub. 1890. Print.

Game Industry Forecast Shows Solid Growth

The global game industry will generate $60 billion in revenue for 2011, and is growing at 10% annually according to a new research report by industry analyst Colin Sebastian for RW Baird. That growth rate should see overall industry revenue hit $80 billion by 2014, but the some areas of the business will remain flat or even decline, while other areas will be growing at an annual rate of 15% to 20%. The growth areas that Sebastian sees are in online and mobile games, â€Å"driven primarily by downloadable content (DLC) and mobile games† and social games to a lesser extent.These areas will be growing annually at a rate of 15% or more for the next several years, Sebastian believes. Unfortunately, other areas of the game business won't be faring as well. He sees packaged software sales staying flat this year, with the growth in Xbox 360 and PS3 sales being offset by the decline in Wii and handheld game sales. This quarter will see strong sales with many big titles coming out, but that positive sales picture will only be enough to pull the sales out of the loss category for the year.The good news for the game business is that it's the only media business with a strong positive growth forecast for the next several years. Newspapers, magazines, music, TV and other media businesses are struggling with the transition to a digital distribution model, but the high level of innovation in the game industry has kept the overall picture positive. That's not to say there are no problems; Sebastian sees â€Å"many video game companies will continue to struggle through this transition. † Sebastian sees the mobile market as bringing in $2 billion in revenue this year, with growth continuing due to rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets.He cites studies showing that games are the leading applications on smartphones, and consumers consumers have been very willing to pay for games or for in-app purchases with â€Å"freemium† hgames, which now represent the ma jority of revenues for mobile games. Sebastian believes tablets can be the next great market for games, given that the form factor is better than a smartphone for playing games. Studies also show that gaming is the number one usage of tablets, with over 70% of tablet owners playing games on the devices.The difficult business climate for traditional game companies means there are fewer clear winners to invest in right now. Sebastian sees GameStop as a good holiday play given the large number of AAA titles coming out this quarter, and beyond that he picks Activision and Electronic Arts as the best performers for long-term investors, followed by Take Two. The nature of the game market is changing in the USA, according to studies cited by Sebastian. He points to the Entertainment Software Association study showing 72% of US households play games, with the average age of gamers being 37.Additionally, more than half of gamers play on their phones and other handheld game devices, and women now represent 42% of the gamer population. † It's a far cry from the traditional â€Å"our market is teenage boys of all ages† that used to be the only demographic for game companies to care about. Sebastian sees hope for the core games segment, in that the broad appeal of casual games may get more people interested in gaming, and eventually looking for the deeper experiences that console games and PC games can offer. He sees the PC game market doing better in 2012, mostly on the strength of hit releases like Diablo III.Handheld devices, lead by the Nintendo 3DS and the Sony PSP (and soon the PS Vita) will be flat in 2012, with the launch of the PS Vita helping to offset the shift to smartphones, at least for a while. Sebastian believes the PS Vita may be able to take the leading position from the 3DS. Finally, Sebastian sees social games continuing to grow and develop in depth and richness, eventually being able to appeal more to core gamers. Console games will add mo re social elements, too, and eventually social games outside of Facebook will become more popular.He sees growth rates surpassing 10% annually for the next 3-5 years. The current leaders are Zynga, with 262 million monthly average users (MAU), followed by Electronic Arts with 203 million MAU. Overall, it's a complex portrait of a rapidly growing and changing industry. Clearly there are dangers ahead for many companies as business models are changing, and once-profitable businesses are seeing their audiences depart for other types of gaming. Successful companies will be the ones who stay flexible as conditions continue to change rapidly. What's your opinion on the future of the game industry?

Brand Audit Essay

The sole objective of this brand report is to know about the brand potency of Mobilink in the Pakistani market in comparison to other competing service providers. The other objective is to put a spotlight on the different cellular companies operating in Pakistan and the perception of the users about them. TARGET AUDIENCE: As far as the Mobilink is concerned, it has no specific target audience because it is catering the requirement of all the users through its different packages. Cell phone is a requirement of every one so it also  of several segments whether it is youth, ladies or corporate sector. Brand Positioning  makes sense to launch multiple products to cater to the requirements RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the research methodology is to carry out different methods of research to accomplish the set research objectives pertinent to the brand tracking. For that purpose, a set of questions have been made to inquire and analyze the responses of the  respondents. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The research methodology used in this brand tracking is qualitative as well as quantitative in which we have not only used a questionnaire to know the responses of the respondents of the sample group but also open ended questions asked from a set of respondents at mobilink franchises to get a more flexible response from the respondents. Secondary research methods are also used to get the information regarding the competitors and Mobilink to get to know the market structure and the standing of the cellular companies in it. Triangulation  and secondary research to find the parity in results. SAMPLING DESIGN: The target population belongs to every segment and class of life because cell phone users belong to every class of population and we method is used to cross check the results from qualitative, quantitative  cannot discriminate the target market based on SECs. Subsequently, the sample selection is random and random sampling method is used for sample selection to get the feedback of the users from all the classes. The sample size used for the questioning consists of 250 respondents. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS: The instrument used for the research in this brand tracking activity is primarily a multipurpose questionnaire which comprises of open and close ended questions not only to help in the quantitative research but also in the qualitative research as well. It consist questions pertaining to the brand associations, brand recall, brand image, projective responses and brand values. The reliability of the instrument is measured through the triangulation method by comparing the results of all three research methods. PROCEDURES: The data collection is through the questionnaire from a sample group of 250 respondents. The screening of the information acquired from  entry. All the information from the responses is entered as per the frequency of respondents against the questions. These respondents is done manually using MS Excel as a tool for data. The objective of this brand audit report is to measure the brand potency of Mobilink in line with the competing brands. The specific issues faced by the brand in terms of market conditions, saturation in the cellular market and the overall recession in the economy will also be taken into account while studying the brand. Also, what subproducts fall in the generalized master brand i.e. Mobilink and to which segments these sub-brands are catering to.  When speaking of the target audience for Mobilink, we should keep in mind that in the world of today, cell phone is no longer a luxury as was the case in 90s but now, it has become a necessity for everyone. So when we speak of cell phone target market, we speak of all the socioeconomic classes from A to E. The brand audit is limited to Karachi only because of limited time and resources. But, in order to get a  are covered with a dynamic sample population to get diverse views about the brands so as to get a better and augmented underst anding of the market perceptions about the brands. The approach used for brand audit is mainly the survey through set questionnaire and secondary research methods regarding their inputs on brand imagery & usage, brand recall, brand perception, brand loyalty and brand awareness. BRAND BRAND (SELF ANALYSIS): Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited, better known as Mobilink GSM, is a telecommunication service provider in Pakistan. The company is Pakistan’s leading cellular operator with a subscriber base of 31.5m and market share of 31% in October 2010. Mobilink’s Head office is located at Mobilink House, 1-A Kohistan Road, F-8 Markaz Islamabad. Mobilink’s corporate postpaid package is sold under the brand name â€Å"Indigo† and prepaid by the name of â€Å"Jazz†. Mobilink started operations in 1994 as the first GSM cellular Mobile service in Pakistan by MOTOROLA Inc., later it was sold to Orascom, an Egypt-based group is diversifying its service portfolio by setting up new businesses and also expanding through acquisitions. Recently, they started offering DSL broadband through a wholly owned subsidiary, Link.Net. Additionally, the company has also launched its wireless broadband  service through WiMax based technology under the label of ‘Mobilink Infinity’. Technology is backed by Alcatel, and company is using a ZYXEL Customer Premises equipment. BCG GROWTH-SHARE MATRIX Companies that are large enough to be organized into strategic business units face the challenge of allocating resources among those units. In the early 1970’s the Boston Consulting Group developed a model for managing a portfolio of different business units. The BCG growth-share matrix displays the various business units on a graph of the market growth rate vs. market share relative to competitors. OF  SBUSCLASSIFICATION These packages are low growth, high share products. These established and successful SBUs need less investment to hold their market share. They produce a lot of cash to support the other SBUs that need investment. These packages are low share in high growth markets. They require a lot of cash to hold  their share. Management needs to think hard about question marks it should  try to build into stars or should be phased out.  It is low growth, low share product. It may generate enough cash to maintain itself but do not promise to be large source of cash. PRICING STRATEGY OF MOBILINK: Mobilink was offering Jazz connection for about 3000 rupees 5 years passage of time now Mobilink is offering Jazz connections for about 100 rupees. In 2002 Ufone which is one of the leading competitor of Jazz introduced its prepay connection for about 2500 rupees. In 2005 Telenor came into existence in Pakistani market and offered its connections for about 500 rupees. Then in 2005 Warid also entered the market offering its connections for 250 rupees. In this way price war   ago. Its market oriented statement is â€Å"Aur Sunao† But through the started between these telecom brands in the market. Previously it was Jazz’s oligopoly as they offered their prices. In 2005 Jazz offered a Cellphone plus connection and prepaid card implementing a productbundle pricing strategy for creating more attention and attraction. The major shift in the pricing strategy came in when they started 30.second operations using the promotional pricing strategy. In the early days Jazz was offering its sim-cards for a high-price using captiveproduct pricing strategy as its SIM-card is a main product that must be used along with the cell phone. Initially Jazz’s call rates and SMS charges were also reduced using discount and allowance strategy and initially directing towards promotional strategy as the competition between cellular brands in the market grew faster. Recently Jazz introduced its offerings of 0.99 per minute call rates in their â€Å"happy hour package† which represents their operations with the  promotional as well as psychological pricing of their services. Through its happy hour package they are also operating with promotional strategy as they are engaged in continuous promotion through their offerings. INDUSTRY REVIEWS In the era of globalization and information society, the fundamental role of telecommunication technologies cannot be underestimated. Although tremendous growth has taken place in the Pakistan telecom sector but most of it can be attributed to the cellular growth. Fixed line is still awaiting a takeoff. Similarly Value Added Services have grown introduced in the telecom sector some very positive impact have been observed on the growth of the sector in a short span of time which is expected to continue to grow for at least next five years if the daring investors influx continue as in the last 3 years. Our Industry already has LL (Local Loop), WLL (Wireless Local Loop), LDI (Long distance and but are still a drop in the bucket. Now that the competition has been  International), and ISP (Internet Service Provider) players and WiMax; 3G cellular systems are expected be a part of this Industry soon. The Pakistan market has reached 100 million subscribers landmark with cellular mobile tele density of over 60% (PTA press release Sep 2010).The growth slowed down in 2009 but has picked up again gradually. At 2006 year end the total subscribers were 48.2 million. In June 2007 the total mobile users reached over 63 million. Based on numbers published at PTA website for 2007, the total number of million, a teledensity of nearly 49%. In 2007 the average growth rate was about 2.5 million new subscribers each month! After second half of 2007 it seemed as if the growth had slowed down but overall it was fine. One remarkable achievement was by Zong (formerly Paketl) which  launched  very  successful. Telecommunication Co. Ltd (PTCL), is now under the control of Etisalat group of UAE. It has 20% of subscriber share and added the most lines (2.4 million) from 2006-07. Warid, owned by the Abu Dhabi group of the United Arab Emirates and sister of Wateen group is number 4 with 17.0% market of subscribers. Recently it sold 30% share to SingTel. Norway’s Telenor, a recent entrant with about a billion US dollar investment in Pakistan has been doing well, based on its recent earning report. It has about 24% of the market share. Telenor stock is listed in the Oslo stock market (TEL) and in US (TELNY.PK). CMPak (Zong brand), formerly Paktel, was the latest target of foreign acquisition. After it got acquired by China Mobile it was rebranded as Zong and launched one of the most successful and aggressive  campaigns. Within a matter of few months, Zong has achieved a 8 %  market share. CONSUMER ANALYSIS The Pakistani mobile users are more price-conscious but in cellular sector they also don’t compromise on the quality of voice. So, By taking the advantage of this consciousness of the users mobile operators re enhancing product offering in the form of low rate packages  and  network  expansion  by  installing  boaster. Mobile sector comes under verity seeking buying behavior by the buyer because it occurs under the conditions of low consumer involvement and significant brand difference. In this market, consumer has low involvement they perceive the brand benefits on the basis ultimate objective is to communicate to other at for off place. Buying is initiated by â€Å"communication purpose†. Everybody can enter in to buying process by need of communication. In the regard of this communication media vehicles play an important role in getting their service preferred by the users. These days there is a rush of packages   price, voice quality and coverage. The reason for this is that their  out in the market from the mobile service providers, targeting different market segments and offering all kinds of discounts depending on who you call or when you call. Off-peak timings have always been used by service providers to create interest and to lure customers. So, customer seeks indifference among services provided by these cellular operators and switch according to their desire. Factors that influencing on customer switch age to other operator of mobile network are, Price: Users use services of the operator to communication so on of the factor influencing the customer switch age is price. A person in this segment seeks the prices most important factor and operator of service are also offering verity of packages to make the customer attract. Where the price of any product is low people change their taste and divert towards that low price product. Quality: After the price people prefer quality of voice second because they are paying for the voice if the voice is not clear to them which they are paying for they defiantly they switch to other operators. Coverage: After the quality of voice second available factor for  customer switch age is coverage. Users perceive that the operator’s services are available to them where they visit. If they find signal problem they may switch to more coverage operator in the sectors Promotion: With promoting services that has factor too for consumer switch age. Fierce promotion leads an image in the mind of the consumers that company offers many servers and â€Å"a customer focus company†. MARKET Pakistan currently has one of the largest allies of young people in its history, with approximately 25 million people between the ages of 15 and 24. Target market group of cellular sector ranges from 15 to 64 percent which according to demographic profile of Pakistan consist of 56.9% (male 48,214,298; female 46,062,933) of total population. As in the Buying behavior we have studied that Female and male both contribute into making decision for the purchasing of the brand. So the both genders would be in target market. In spite of this professionals are also Mobilink target audience. The Employment Status categorizes majority (45%) as employees followed by own account workers (42%).  About one in ten workers (11%) are reported as unpaid family workers and one & a half percent as employers. As far changes in the comparative periods, unpaid family workers fall by some fractions, employees indicate some increase while own account workers and employers remain on the same level. In the buying and sales of  rise of urban consumerism, global corporate such as Unilever, P & G, GlaxoSmithline and many small & medium enterprise and local  national companies emerges both manufacture and sell their products Mobilink brand also depends on these customers too. Along with the  in Pakistan. In manufacturing and natural resources, Shell and BP are present in addition to the Pakistani state oil company. Honda, Nissan and  Suzuki are among international automotive manufacturers with plants in Pakistan. Mobilink fulfill needs of these local MNC’s local national and SME’s firms by providing them special service package Brand Inventory COMPETITOR’S ANALYSIS COMPETITIVE COMPARISON MATRIX Bring innovation and VAS and data services to increase revenue Market Growth and industry expansion Threats †¢ Recession in economy. †¢ Rapid change in consumer demand. †¢ Inconsistent and adhoc decisions from regulatory authorities. †¢ Political Instability, Security issues. †¢ Adverse shifts in trade policies of government. †¢ High taxation rate of activation tax is causing a slowdown in consumer growth especially all in rural areas. †¢ Price competition †¢ Larger competitors network coverage †¢ Strong advertisement and media presence of competitors †¢ Entrance of new competitors like Zong. †¢ Presence and the acceptability of competitor brand like Telenor and Ufone Strengths: †¢ Leveraging brand equity from international corporate â€Å"Abu Dhabi Group† †¢ Having modern network capabilities in respect of infrastructure. †¢ Financial strength of share holder and their telecom expertise ‘Warid international† †¢ Large Post paid based generating high ARPU †¢ State of the art IP based contact center and leading data center †¢ It has technical partnering involving â€Å"SingTel†, â€Å"Nokia† and â€Å"Wateen†. Weaknesses: †¢ Need to expand network coverage. †¢ Need to increase brand awareness and improved market positioning †¢ Lack of proactive churn management and stimulate programs to address inactive subscriber Page 20 of 28 Brand Positioning COMPETITORS SWOT MATRIX Low promotional packages activities The product line is too narrow. Strengths: †¢ Subsidiary of PTCL. †¢ Stream line benefit. †¢ Knowledge about country culture. †¢ Experience Variety of †¢ Value Added Service †¢ Broad market coverage. Weaknesses: †¢ Stagnant Profitability †¢ Low market share as compare to competitor (Mobilink). †¢ Overly Dependent on PTCL Strengths: Superior infrastructure & technology in PAKISTAN Have a very strong financial. They have the ability and resources to hire skilled engineers. Large number of Subscriber Weaknesses: Low market share as compare to competitor (mobilink) Limited coverage due to newly introduce in the market Signal problem due to limited network Strengths: World biggest network A product of China Mobile Company. Page 21 of 28 Brand Positioning Leverage financial resource from CMC Experienced administration Weaknesses: †¢ Low market share as compare to competitor †¢ They are unable to improve the network means that they are not using their resources. †¢ There is the diversion of customers towards other brands due to connectivity issue BRAND INVENTORY BRAND ELEMENTS: Brand elements consist of brand name, color, Urls, symbols slogans, sound and jingles through which one brand is differentiated from other brands. Brand Name: Mobilink Urls : http://www.mobilinkgsm.com Logos and Symbols: Slogans: Apna Hai Purple and Whitish Purple CORE BRAND VALUE Page 22 of 28 Brand Positioning Colors: Quality: Mobilink Telecom has an uncompromising commitment to quality in this regard. that is why they spare no efforts in pursuing the best in network‚ services‚ product offerings. Innovation: For years‚ people complained of the same things on mobiles. At coverage‚ they are constantly look to make the communication experience different by doing things in a better way. They already introduced 3G supportable system for being see the need of this in the near future. For seeing the growing trend of SMS usage Mobilink has introduces SMSC-less messaging infrastructure that controls the traffic of SMS and makes sure the delivery of messages without involving pending issues. Customer-Friendliness: They enjoy working and succeeding together by building close relationships. While they have a sense of purpose in their operations‚ they also have a strong culture that demonstrates to customers that â€Å"Reshaping communciation†. Mobilink considers the needs of customers first. Coverage: Mobilink has widest network coverage all over Pakistan. One can find the network if they go to northern areas or remote city of Pakistan Mobilink message are communicated through using all channels of media including building an identity for the corporation and brand, advertising campaigns, sponsorships, media relations (newspaper coverage, press releases, press conference before launching etc), point of sale material preparation (brochures, tariffs, flyers etc), website. Message delivered on electronic media through jingle and using celebrity endorsement. First ever add that comes in the electronic media is symbolize with rain season that bring hope and refreshment and new joy. Now a day it bran message come man through ball to boys who are playing Cricket symbolize that Mobilink is customer oriented and helping the customer in even small mattes. MARKETING PROGRAM Media: Mobilink has always tried to deliver truthful and interesting advertising to its viewers. Through these ads they are trying to convey the message that Mobilink is solely meant for the people’s benefit and convenience. They advertise through Channels like Geo Super Geo, hum TV and through News channels, PTV, ARY and, News 1 TV, Dunya News etc. Print media: Mobilink has designed attractive brochures for their customers. These brochures contain all the necessary information about their package deals and tariffs. Hence, making it easier for the people to know about the general prices and services offered. Sponsorship: Mobilink advertise through sponsorship in Golf matches, Mobilink agreement with PCB and Mobilink and Citi card launch. Also it got sponsorship with Pizza Hut. BRAND ASSOCIATIONS: These are the desired associations which Mobilink wants to create in the mind of customers. Brand Positioning Mobilink Voice Quality Premium Brand Network Coverage