Markets Organize Economic Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Markets Organize Economic Activity - Essay Example Firstly, a price ceiling happens when prices of commodities and other services are held below the equilibrium, in connection, these prices are not allowed to rise for the benefit of the buyers and consumers. When sellers can possibly add few cents to the current price of bread while maintaining its saleability, the government would prohibit them to do so. Anyway, there are few tactics sellers have used to make money while price has been frozen to a certain level. Some of these tactics are baking low quality breads by not following the exact measurements of several ingredients. But, consumers cannot easily spot these changes. What they have in mind is the â€Å"amount† they will exchange for that commodity. The sellers cost-cutting method can be hidden by the low-priced bread. Nevertheless, even there would cost-cutting measures, the direct result of price ceiling is shortages. When everyone can afford to buy bread, there would occur a shortage of bread supply in the market. Th ere are also instances that richer consumers would buy in excess of their regular consumptions. Secondly, lets talk about the obvious connection of the shortage of bread production to long lines. When prices of commodities are set in a price level below the equilibrium, there are more consumers who are so eager to buy bread. Even its obvious that they have to spend time to wait there turns, they are always willing to fall in line. There are various factors why many people are willing to get starve in the corner standing in the queue, even they have the option to eat in the nearby fast foods where they can be served in less than 10 minutes – they want to save every cents they can because of the inflation. While almost all the prices of products and basic commodities went higher each year, most workers salaries remain the same. There are few announcement of wage increase, however, it cannot cover up the cost of the most upward movements of prices of the major daily needs. Its

Creating and applyign prototypes Essay Example for Free

Creating and applyign prototypes Essay Knowledge prototypes are like the framework of a house, there is enough detail to identify a certain object or event but there is also room to integrate new information or knowledge (Bargh, Chen Burrows, 1996). For example a mental prototype of a priest is someone who is male, wears a habit or vestment and works in the church. When we are confronted with say an image of a priest that is different from our prototype, then we accommodate that information into the prototype to enable us to identify a different kind of priest. Thus, when we see a pastor, we say that he is like a priest but is allowed to marry and serves Protestants or Baptists. Confronted with a female pastor, we again add another component to our prototype to accommodate the knowledge that for Christian groups, females can be pastors or head the church. However, when the mind is not exposed to other forms or kinds of a particular object or event, the prototype’s strength increases and therefore we only think and know that birds have wings and they can fly since all the birds we have encountered have these characteristics. Stereotypes results from a reinforced prototype and sometimes we think of others stereotypically and we tend to generalize a particular trait or characteristic to all other individuals or objects as sharing that characteristic. Stereotypes arise from unchallenged prototypes and we often tend to automatically rely on our stereotype of an individual or object to give judgment or opinions (Blair Banaji, 1996). I had a black American friend in college, she was pretty, smart and wiser than most of us back then. She was dark skinned and she came from New York, we always sat mesmerized by her tales of the city and how alive it was during the night. Since we lived in the same floor, she and I got to be best friends as the semester went by. I have never seen any pictures of her family and she said that she was an only child, and she did not like having pictures of her parents around her because she would only miss them more. When I looked at her, I just saw a black American girl, she had the same skin, the same wavy hair and curly at the roots, she was tall and had a certain bounce to her walk. I she talked about her parents love story and I was enthralled by the romance and adventure that her parents had because she said theirs was a love against all odds. I just thought then that it was because her mother came from a rich family and her father had a small second hand bookshop. As the term was about to end, she told me that her parents were picking her up and would I want to meet them, to which I readily agreed to. So on our end of term Saturday night, I was introduced to her parents and I got the surprise of my young age, her mother was white! It then all came rushing to me to realize that my friend was actually lighter than most other black Americans, and that her hair was only wavy, not really curly like others and she had brown eyes. This situation demonstrated misidentification, since I thought of my friend as a black American; I presumed that her parents were black and that they shared the same physical attributes. My mental prototype of black American children was that they had black American parents, and my prototype of genetics said that children inherent the characteristics of the parents. Thus I was thinking that since my friend was black, then her parents are also black (Fiske Taylor, 1991). There are some instances when it is easy to build prototypes, this include rich information objects or events, we know that an orange’s color is orange since it is named after the color, or we might think of the color orange and visualize the color of the fruit. There are also difficult situations wherein creating a prototype is a challenge. For example we are confronted with the image of a French bread, we now that it is long, crusty and hard to chew, thus if we are given a French bread that does not have this characteristics, then we say that what is served is not French bread but a croissant or a biscuit depending on its other characteristics. Prototypes are useful when we use it to accommodate new information, it can also be used or when we are asked to act in a situation that is strange and unpredictable and we retrieve from our prototypes to help us figure the new information (Macrae, Milne Bodenhausen, 1994). Like all other thought processes, prototypes is inexact, errors will be brought by the inability to match new information and the prototypes. Errors can be avoided when we adapt an open mind, and when we try to explore and learn more about an object or event and not jump into conclusions. References Blair, I. Banaji, M. (1996). Automatic and controlled processes in stereotype priming. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1142-1163. Bargh, J. , Chen, M. Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 230-244. Fiske, S. Taylor, S. (1991). Social Cognition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Macrae, C. , Milne, A. Bodenhausen, G. (1994). Stereotypes as energy-saving devices: A peek inside the cognitive toolbox. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 37-47.

Values vs. The American Educational System :: bell hooks College Education

Values vs. The American Educational System In "Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education," bell hooks suggests that the American educational system forces individuals to hide, change, or mask the values that they bring with them to college by sharing her perception of the sickening class division at Stanford. Perhaps "influence" makes a better term than "force"; this change in terminology allows a better argument and saves the readers from a misleading idea of the American educational system. hooks explains that "education as the practice of freedom becomes not a force which fragments or separates, but one that brings us closer, expanding our definitions of home and community" (95). The University of Georgia does not force its students to hide, change, or mask the values that they bring with them to college; instead, the university offers them the choice of keeping their values or letting these values slip away by giving them the freedom to express themselves in every aspect. This freedom allows the students to be who the y want to be. If brought to trial, the institution of the University of Georgia remains innocent; it has not exercised pressure on me to change my values, but has drawn me unconsciously into altering my values. I believe inner strength can hold an individual and his or her values together. A person's values are factors that create the person’s identity; without these values, one loses his or her connection to the past. Many students, however, fall in the hands of the influential social interactions and university expectations that often lead to the unpleasant change in their lives. I have been a victim of this change because of my freedom to choose. It will be hypocritical of me to state that I possess the strength to fight the university's influential activities. It hurts to see a person lose connection with his or her past; without his or her past, he or she remains incomplete. It hurts me more to realize that I am one of those people who remains incomplete and weak, and that I was not strongly connected to the values taught by my parents. Born and raised as a Catholic, I expected my religious values to be of great importance; I was wrong. When I lived under my parents' supervision, going to church was my job. I still remember those Friday nights when the whole family would sit together in front of our homemade altar to pray the rosary.

Prose Text Assignment Of Mice and Men Essay

‘Of Mice and Men’ is about two basic needs – the need for companionship and the need to have something to look forward to. I agree the above statement, all of the characters in the story all experience some form of loneliness. Every one of the characters has a different dream in each one is trying to fulfil it in a different way. The story of Of Mice and Men was set in the period of American history called the ‘Depression’. This period of history lasted from roughly from 1930 to the start of World War 2 (1939). In this period nearly all the companies and banks went bust the stock market crashed and peoples savings disappeared when the banks closed. People very suddenly where very poor. Most people where unemployed, and with unemployment came poverty, hunger and homelessness. It was very difficult to buy food or pay the rent. In America during the ‘Depression’ men travelled in order to find work. Few travelling men could form lasting friendships because they had to keep moving on. A man travelling alone was more vulnerable to being attacked imprisoned or just very lonely. Of Mice and Men is a story based on two men who travel America together looking for work. George travels with his mentally handicapped friend called Lennie. The pair of them has nothing of their own, only the clothes they stand in and each other. Together they share a dream, that one day they will own some land of their own. They find work in a ranch in Satinas Valley, California. They meet of few people on the ranch but find it hard to make new friends. Their dream is soon ruined as Lennie misunderstands the difference between love and cruelty and becomes a victim of his own strength and power. He becomes friends with the only women on the ranch and forms a good friendship with Curley’s Wife. Their friendship soon turns to love and they start to develop a physical relationship, Lennie doesn’t know his own strength and grabs hold of her to hard and strangles her. Everyone finds out and Lennie is threatened with the prospect of being locked up in a mental institution or being executed by the government, so George saves him from this by shooting him. Crookes works as the sable buck hand on the ranch. He first appears in the story on pages 66-82. He is a crippled old man who gets his name from the way his spines bends (crooked). He has deep eyes and looks intense with his face, which is lean and wrinkled. On the ranch he is of a minority as he is the only black person on the ranch, which means he suffers a lot of prejudice remarks from other people. He is a very lonely man, and can often be bitter towards people he doesn’t trust. Particularly white people, as he’s not sure he can trust them. Crookes has is own room on the ranch, as none of the other men want him to stop in the bunkhouse. The only person Crookes can talk to is Lennie, although Lennie doesn’t understand what he is saying as he is mentally handicapped. Crookes seems to like tormenting Lennie and sometimes says some very nasty things to him. Crookes however has more possessions than the other men has he has been on the ranch nearly all his life. He has little money but still has managed to gather some things of his own e.g. books and a dictionary. He is a very proud man and doesn’t like to ask anyone for anything, even though he is crippled he still manages to keep his room neatly swept and is quite ‘aloof’. Crookes suffers from a lot of loneliness, as he is the only black person on the ranch. However he often has the chance to avoid loneliness but rejects it, Lennie tries to speak to him and befriend him but instead of trying to make friends he wallows in self-pity. He is very critical of other people an their dreams and hopes. He tells Candy he will help him fulfil his dreams, but afterwards when he has built his hopes up he tells him he was messing around and won’t help him at all. He has probably spent all of his life on the ranch and thinks there is no way for him to leave, so he has given up hope and lost ambition. George along with Lennie is the main character in the story. He is a short man but is very quick. He is ‘dark of the face’ and has eyes, which appear very restless. He is described as sharp and strong with body parts that are small and strong. His arms are slender and strong and he has a thin boney nose. George wears the same clothes as his companion Lennie; black hats, denim trousers and coat, and carries a blanket over his shoulder. George is rather a unsung hero of the story, he certainly lacks no courage. He has looked after Lennie for a long time, and spares his friend from loneliness. He stops Lennie from being locked up in a mental institution or being executed by the state government. He shoots Lennie but for his own good. Some people may think he did it for selfish reasons as h has looked after Lennie for a long time and is fed up of him. He did it because he cares about Lennie and didn’t want him to suffer loneliness and depression. He cares about Lennie and saved him from what he knows would be worse than death. George would have probably been able to make a good life for himself if it wasn’t for Lennie. George is an intelligent good thinking man, who is very sensible and used to taking charge. He cares a lot about Lennie and is always looking out for him, he is very cautious and warns Lennie about drinking the dirty pond water and tells him to be careful of the bedding at the bunkhouse in case he catches lice. George accepted the burden of looking after Lennie when Lennie Aunt Clara asked him. Without Lennie George would be very lonely, he and Lennie share a big brother-little brother kind of relationship. George has loyally stuck by Lennie throughout everything and having someone to look after and that depends on him makes George feel a better person. Georges longs for independence and would love to be his own boss. George is a kind hearted and compassionate person he sometimes gets frustrated but doesn’t have a bad temper. He is very careful on who he trusts and is very careful when he meets people. He has to be a good judge of character and know who to trust and who not to, because of his and Lennie’s past. George is kind to everyone but he hates Curley he knows that he is nothing more than a bully. He tells Lennie to keep away from him as they cant afford to loose their jobs. However he encourages Lennie to stand up for himself against him. The only thing in life holding him back is Lennie. Lennie is a big man; he has a shapeless face and big pale eyes. He walks slowly but heavily, emphasising how slow his mind is. He has very strong instincts and has bad feeling about staying at the ranch and pleads with George for them to leave. He shows a cunning side and often uses it in getting his own way with George. In the first part of the story Lennie shows us this by using emotional blackmail. George looses his temper so Lennie tells him he is going to live in the woods alone, so George feels sorry for him so he tells him to come back. Lennie has a lot of animal-like qualities, which shows us his strength. He looks up to George like a father or big brother and often copies his ways. As Lennie is mentally handicapped he is unaware of the he is a victim of prejudice remarks and is unable to elate to many people, this often makes his behaviour childlike. Lennie would rather have the company of animals. However is his made to be a likeable character, Candy likes him and even Crookes warms to him. Lennie doesn’t understand he needs to be careful with fragile things and is very heavy handed and doesn’t learn from his mistakes. He reacts very much like a child and often panics. Lennie’s major problem is that he doesn’t know the consequences of his own strength. Lennie doesn’t understand loneliness but if he knew what it meant then he would probably be very lonely but because he is mentally handicapped he has no understanding of this feeling. He understands the need to have something important to look forward to. Lennie’s dream is very important to him; he nearly knows it all his self. He his always-getting George to tell it him over and over again like a child who loves to be told a bedtime story. At the end of the story Lennie has two hallucinations, one with his Aunt Clara in and the other with a giant rabbit in. This could be the author’s way of outlining the abuse Lennie has suffered through his life. Or it could be Lennie conscience telling him that he has done wrong, even though he doesn’t understand how it was wrong. Curley’s wife is an important character in the story, but the author is showing ho little the men think of her by giving her no name. She is seen to be nothing more than one of Curley’s possessions. When we are first introduced she is dressed up as if she is going out somewhere important when in fact all she is doing is staying on the ranch. She has large lips which are emphasised by the red lipstick she wears, she wears lots of make-up, red nail varnish, red shoes, red ostrich feathers and has her hair fastened back in curls. She wears a lot of the colour red, which shows a lot about her. Red is a colour, which is associated with lots of different things, mainly blood that is a clue, her death is near. It is also associated with danger, which is telling you do not get involved with this person she is bad news. Red is commonly regarded as a sexy colour, she is probably trying to show her self to the men as in the story she is displayed as a Scarlet Women. Often she pretends to be looking for her husband but the men know that she is just looking for an excuse, as she is looking for company, as she is lonely, although the men see it as she is just flirting with them. She is the only woman on the ranch, which is a disadvantage, and often gets little attention from anyone including her husband. Many people may think she has it all a husband and a house, but she is just as lonely if not more than any worker on the ranch. She doesn’t think a lot of her husband, which probably means she just married him for the sake of it, the only things they have in common is that their both very selfish. Slim is one of the only people to be kind to her, George feels sorry for her but is worried on the effect she has on Lennie. However her and Lennie get on well and start to develop a physical relationship. Lennie who doesn’t know how to be careful with fragile things takes things to far and ends up strangling her. Candy is the first person George and Lennie meet when they arrive at the ranch. He is the swamper, which is like a cleaner, the lowliest job on the ranch. His name is even belittles him, it’s a girls name. He is a tall man who only has one hand. He is a victim also of prejudice remarks because of his age and disability. He is careful of everyone because he doesn’t want people to tease him. He never sticks up for himself, the only time he did was with Curley’s wife. He has a lot of dignity, which shows the kind of person he once was. Candy has lots of gossip on everyone, which could be seen as getting is own back on people who has upset him by making comments about people behind their back. He always tells the newcomers the gossip on everyone. He is a lonely person and the only companion he has is an old dog. The animal is old and probably needs to be out down but means a lot to candy as he is so lonely. Candy would love to leave the ranch and when he finds out about George and Lennie’s plan he wants to help, and offer to give them his savings, which would easily cover the cost of over half the farm. George, Lennie and Candy thought that in only a couple of weeks their dream to leave the ranch and own a farm would come true. All of the characters in this story are lonely the person I think is the most lonely is George. He has no real friends the only person he has to talk to is Lennie but he doesn’t fully understand what he is saying.

Choosing and Describing Applications and Hardware Essay

Hardware is any piece of computer equipment which can be physically touched. All hardware can then be split into four major categories: o Input o Output o Processor o Storage Some examples of hardware are: o Mouse – Input device o Keyboard – Input device o Monitor – Output device o Tower – Processing/Storage device o Printer – Output device o Scanner – Input Device Software is a coded program which can only be used while the computer is running. It is a non-physical thing which cannot be physically touched. Without the software, a computer would be useless. Some examples of software are: o Microsoft Word o Microsoft Excel o Pain Shop Pro o Microsoft Access o PhotoFiltre HARDWARE: 2. Input Devices The types of input devices available to me were: Input devices Advantages Disadvantages Keyboard – Allows the entry of number, letters and punctuation by the user pressing keys corresponding to each symbol. o A wide range of different symbols can be produced o It is quick and easy to do it you can touch-type o It is simple to learn how to use one o Speciallist keyboards can allow more detailed and comfortable typing o Most computers have one attached as default o Inputting data can be a very tedious process, especially if the user is not a touch-typer o Errors can easily be made by accident by the user’s hand/fingers slipping o It cannot be used to easily access menus and change settings of the software Mouse – A standard pointing device which allows the cursor to move by moving the physical object. A ball is placed in the base of the mouse, and it’s movements are proportionate to the movement of the cursor. It also has two buttons on it to press on-screen buttons. o It comes as standard with most desktop computers (not laptops) so no additional cost is incurred o It is very simple for the user to learn how to use one, which means the majority of users can use them o They are normally attached by a wire to the computer, so the mouse needs to be near the computer o A flat space is needed to use it properly o It is not compatible to use with all types of hardware e.g. notebook or palmtop computers Digital Camera – This is a device which allows the user to take photographs of scenes. It works by a array of light sensors, and when a picture is taken the colours are converted to digital signals by these sensors. These picture can then be transferred to a computer when necessary, and they can also be printed. They come is a variety of resolutions. o Pictures can be taken, and then deleted immediately if they are not liked/needed o No film is needed, and it contains RAM which is good because it allows pictures to be taken off the camera, and more pictures can be put on again in the RAM o Editing the images is very easy and quick o Images are easily transported from one piece of software to another o They are becoming more and more easy to buy in shops (commercial) o The cameras are more expensive than normal ones, and the price is normally proportionate to the resolution, which means good quality cameras are extremely expensive o Memory is expensive, so images often have to be compressed to allow a suitable number of pictures to be stored, the pictures are normally very large (e.g. 3KB) Or only a few pictures can be taken if they are not compressed Scanner – A scanner copies text or pictures which are placed inside the lid. It works by shining a beam of light onto the paper you are copying and the light is then changed into a digital image. This device comes in lots of different resolutions and the pictures can the be stored onto the computer and special software can modify the picture to make different effects. There are two types of scanner: flatbed scanner and handheld scanner. o They can be very accurate because they normally have a very high resolution, far higher than digital cameras o Any of the images produced can be put onto the computer and enhanced to make different formats of picture and to produce different effects of the picture o It is one of the only ways to get a detailed picture of a piece of paper onto a computer o Images are normally very large and tend to take up a lot of space, which either means they have to be compressed to allow more pictures to be stored or only a few images can be stored o The quality of the final image is normally dependent on the quality of the original piece of paper, which has some limitations o Some scanners can be large and take up a lot of space o A flat area is needed for a flatbed scanner which may not always be available It is important that data is entered correctly because accuracy is extremely important. If telephone numbers are entered incorrectly, this would mean that customers would be unable to contact the organisation if needed. This could be detrimental to the number of enquiries it would receive. This could be harmful to the amount of profit gained by the organisation, which could have been easily prevented if this human error was picked up earlier. It also makes the organisation become sloppy and unprofessional if problems like this are not spotted, and if work is not proof read before it goes to print. I could check that the data has been correctly entered by proof reading everything several times, and getting an unconnected person to read it through to spot any errors. This would prevent any misunderstandings and confusion. I could also use the ‘Spelling and Grammar Checker’ which is on most of the Microsoft programmes, which could pick up lots of mistakes. But this does not pick up missed letters or missed words which would cause even more confusion. This can again be resolved by proof reading. The choice of data entry method can affect speed and accuracy because typing is normally a very slow and tedious process which takes up a lot of time. This method of entry means that it is also easy to make a typing error, which not always be picked up upon, which is inaccurate. If a microphone was used, alongside a voice recognition programme, it would be a much quicker and efficient method of entering data. But this software is expensive to purchase but once up and running, it is easy to use for most people. 3. Output Devices The types of output devices available to me were: Output devices Advantages Disadvantages Monitor – This is the most common piece of equipment for displaying information, and the picture is made of pixels, and the resolution is dependent on how dense the pixels are. Typically they are of 17inch size, but some are larger, and more expensive! o They normally come default with a standard computer o They are very reliable o It allows to user to know what they are doing o It can display text and graphics all at the same time, in complicated layers o Flat screens do not take up excessive amounts of space o New screens are normally light and they do not reflect a lot of sunlight because of the specially designed screens o It is not a permanent copy, if items are not saved they will be lost when the computer is switched off o The screens are normally made of glass so they can be fragile and reflect a lot of light which can make the screen hard to read o They are not suitable for users with visual problems o The screen is only a certain size, which limits the amount of information that is able to be shown at one time Laser Printer – Their function is to put ink onto paper, so that a hardcopy of the document can be produced. It works by fusing powdered ink onto paper. o They can produce a very large quantity of prints in a very short amount of time e.g. 10 – 20 ppm sot hey are very efficient o The quality of the printouts are very good, with a high resolution e.g. 600 – 1200 dpi o The device is almost silent when running and when printing, which is good because it means it doesn’t disrupt work o Even though the toner cartridges are expensive, they last a very long time which means the running costs are relatively low o The printers nearly always have a high start-up cost, especially the colour ones o The hardware used is very complex and they are hard to repair if they break, which can be costly o They are very bulky and take up a lot of space which means not everyone would be able to have them o Only certain sizes of paper can be used in them, which can cause problems Inkjet Printer – Its function is to put ink onto paper, so that a hardcopy of the document can be produced. It works by letting ink flow out of a nozzle onto the paper. o They are cheap to buy and run, which means they are suitable for most householders and small offices o They have a relatively good resolution, which means their prints are of a good quality e.g. 300 dpi o They are quiet so they don’t cause a nuisance to workers o They are not as bulky or heavy as Laser Printers which makes them easier to store and use o They are slower compared to Laser Printers, which means they are not necessarily suitable for bigger offices, colour prints can take up to 30 seconds per page o The general cost of the cartridges is more than those of the Laser Printers o Cartridges also need to be replaced much more frequently than Laser Printers o The ink takes a few minutes to dry and it can easily be smudged if the wet ink is touched o Cartridges can easily dry out if left for a long period of time The similarities and differences between these are 4. Hardware used (for input and output) The hardware I used to make my system included In the computers that I used, they all had a 40GB Hard Drive which means that the computer can store 40GB worth of programs and games for it to function properly. The Hard Drive stores all the computer’s information and protects it all when the computer has been turned off. The computers also had Pentium 4 Processors in them, which are microprocessors, which allows a much higher bandwidth than on computers with the old Pentium 3 Processors. It also has 256MB RAM, which allows the computer to do all the necessary tasks needed, when the computer is turned on. All these components are more than are actually needed, but they just allow the user have an easier time while carrying out tasks on the computer. 5. Reasons for choosing this hardware. I decided to choose this hardware because it was the only option available to me in school. But the 6. Alternative hardware. I could have chosen different hardware to use: Hardware Advantages Disadvantages Suitability for my problem Track Ball – This is similar to a normal mouse but instead of moving the object to make the pointer on the screen move, your fingertips move the ball which is on top of the object. It also has two buttons on it so buttons on screen can be clicked. It is normally used with CAD. It is an input device. * It uses up very little space when being used, because the actual object just stays in one place and does not move around like a mouse does * They are useful for computers that have limited spaces as the ball can be built into the keyboard * The user has to learn how to use it which can be difficult if they are used to a normal mouse * They do not come standard with a computer and have to be bought separately at an extra cost It would be very suitable to use when doing my project because once the user is used to using it, the process would be much quicker. It would also be useful because it is small and can carried around to be plugged into various computers at different locations. Graphic Tablet – This is a flat pad which is placed on the worktop and a special pen is used to write on it. This allows much more accurate/detailed pictures to be produced on the computer compared to a mouse. Designers normally use this hardware and it is a input device. * It is an easy way to input hand-drawn pictures into the computer without using a scanner * It is easy to use, just like writing on paper * Letter/word recognition software can be installed to make a easier method of inputting text * They can be expensive to buy * It is harder to click on menu buttons than with a regular mouse * The pictures they produce will normally be a â€Å".jpg† file which can be hard to edit once on the computer This wouldn’t be very suitable because there is no need for detailed pictures top be put on the computer that can’t be created via another method. It would also be too expensive for me to buy personally so it would have to be provided by a second party. Speakers – These are a type of hardware which is used to listen to sounds and music. They either come within the computer (internal) or they can be placed next to the computer and attached with wires (external). * Everyone can hear the sounds, so it is especially good for making and presenting presentations. * If special software is used, text can be converted into sound which is especially helpful for sight-impaired users. * Headphones can normally be attached * External customers can end up being very expensive * Space is needed next to the computer for external speakers to sit * The speakers could disturb other people working This piece of hardware would be helpful to use because it would have allowed me to add sounds to my presentation which I could hear in the making of it. SOFTWARE: 7. Software used The software I used to create my system was: Software Advantages Disadvantages Microsoft PowerPoint – This is normally used to make basic presentations, and animations and sounds can be added to make the presentation more effective. This was used to make my main presentation. * The program comes with the standard package of Microsoft Office, so no extra charge is incurred to purchase it * Most people are familiar with the program * The controls on the program are relatively easy to use, so many people can use them * The program does not have very good graphic settings, so normally another program had to be used to manipulate pictures etc * Illiterate users may find it hard to use * It is easy to make mistakes when producing presentations PhotoFiltre – This is a complex graphics package, which is used to make and manipulate pictures, and is often used to create logos etc. I used this program to produce my logo for the Health Centre. * The controls on the program are very easy to use * Pictures can be manipulated easily, as to improve the effect of the graphic * This is not a default program of the Microsoft package, so an extra charge is incurred for the user to purchase it * Many users are not familiar with the program, so they may have to learn to use it or they may turn to an easier program 8. Alternative solutions. Software Advantages Disadvantages Suitability for my problem PaintShopPro – This is another graphics program and could be used instead of PhotoFiltre. It could be used to create my logo. * This program is more well known than PhotoFiltre, so more people would be able to use it * There is more advanced versions available which allow more complex manipulation to take place * This is more expensive than PhotoFiltre, and can often cost hundreds of pounds * It is hard to use unless you have been trained in using it This would be very suitable for my problem as it does the same job, just in a more efficient and quick way- because the controls are a lot more complex. But this program was not available in school.