Perfect competition Essay Example for Free

Perfect competition Essay In our life, electricity is very importance and this is one of necessary things we use in everyday. In Vietnam, there is big corporation supply electricity for whole country which is EVN and the market of electricity in Vietnam is the monopoly. First of all, while perfect competitive market has many buyer and seller, monopoly is the market which has only one firm supplying the whole market. As the results, monopoly creates the unique product which dose not has close substitutes. Of course, in monopoly, there are no firms offering essentially identical same as perfect competitive market so has no close competition and, therefore, has the power to influence the market price of its product. Moreover, there are strong barriers to entry in this market. A monopoly remains the only seller in its market because other firm cannot enter the market and compete with it. Why monopoly can arise? We should consider three sources of barriers. First, the simplest way for a monopoly to arise is for a single firm to own the key resource. EVN, for example, it own the key input to produce electricity such as coal and water. Second, in many cases, monopoly arises because the Government has given one person or firm the exclusive right to sell some good or service. The patent and copyright laws are two importance examples. When you use your computer, it probably uses some version of Windows, the operating system sold by the Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft applied and received a copy right from the Government. Surely, nobody can sell and copy this except Microsoft and if one person wants to buy a copy of Windows, they have to pay higher price for this product. And the last is production process. When the firm has the copyright, it can raise the out put of the product and as the result price will be decrease. By the law of supply and demand, the costumers will be attracted away from the other firms. Of course, other firms will loss profit and be kicked out of the market. The firm has the copyright will be come monopoly. In addition, while perfect competitive firms have to take the given price and become price taker, monopolist firm has the market power to set the price of its product and become price maker. For instance, consider the market for electricity. If in Vietnam there are many of firm supply electricity, the prices of it will be lower but in fact, there is only one EVN supply electricity for whole country so even if it charge the high price people have to accept because it is impossible to get electricity from anywhere else. Not surprising, the monopolist has much greater market power than any single firm in a competitive market. In the case of a necessity like electricity, the monopolist could command quite a high price. Overall, all of characteristics such as there is only one producer, unique product, strong barriers to entry, price maker together they create one kind of market which is perfect competitive market.

The National Development Of The Philippines Commerce Essay

The National Development Of The Philippines Commerce Essay Necessity is the mother of invention. In the Philippines, there are many local inventions created by Filipinos that are locally and even globally used for its functionality and its usefulness. In fact, there are numerous inventions patented in the Philippines. According to the Filipino Inventors Society, there are about 3000 patent holders and intellectual property exponents nationwide. Despite this number, there is not much recognition coming from the Filipinos themselves as some of the inventions that are considered useful are not really used commercially in the Philippines. In lieu of this, the Philippine Government has provided laws on promoting and protecting local inventions. Among these laws are the Investors and Invention Incentives Act (RA 7459), Philippine Inventors Incentives Act (RA 3850) and the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. These laws are created in the belief that there are linkages among the development of science and technology, particularly the technological advancement through inventions, with national economic development. This paper aims to prove if there is a significant implication of local inventions to national development in the context of the Philippines. As well as to analyze the current situation of the local inventions in the Philippines and the concepts to which it revolves such as the laws governing patents and intellectual property. Today local inventors and inventions alike are slowly decreasing due to several problems that they encounter while in the process of inventing. These problems to name a few are; lack of exposure from the media, lack of proper implementation of laws and policies regarding inventors and inventions, the need for more awareness and information regarding patents and the commercialization process. The numerous problems that an inventor encounters are what hinder him from potentially affecting national development and highlighting the innate talents of a Filipino from both the local and foreign market. According to Carmen Peralta, Director of the IPO Information, Documentation and Technology Transfer Bureau, if only given the needed exposure, inventors would be inspired to work harder that would eventually translate to more patents. The short number of patent applications and the much needed lack of support from the media in terms of recognition and endorsement is a reason for immediate action on both the government and the media. The lack of public exposure is what keeps local inventors away from possibly inducing technological change in national development. B. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study will answer the main problem: How can local inventions induce technological change for National Development? In answering the main problem several sub-problems or sub-questions needs to be accounted first. a) What are the current issues regarding local inventions? b) How does the government support local inventions? c) What model is necessary to analyze local inventions, technological change, and national development? C. HYPOTHESIS Local Invention: Ho: Government support does not contribute to the development of local invention H1: Government support contributes to the development of local invention National Development: Ho: Local Inventions has no significant implication to National Development H1: Local Inventions has a significant implication to National Development. D. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In this paper we used one of the first frameworks in comprehending science and technology which is the Linear model of innovation (Godin, 2006) in compliance with Vernon W. Ruttans study entitled; Usher and Shumpeter on Invention, Innovation and Technological change*1959. In line with the study of Ruttan, he assumed that most of the social scientist follows a certain sequence in which invention, innovation and technological change are ordered in a logical sequence (Ruttan, 1959). InventionÆ’Â   InnovationÆ’Â   Technological Change After generalizing the proper sequence assumed by most social scientist in the past, he then solved the terminological problem between invention, innovation and technological change by synthesizing two prominent studies in linear model of innovation by Usher and Shumpeter. V. W Ruttan insinuated a fusion of A. P. Ushers steps in the invention process (Usher 1954) and Schumpeters concept of innovation (Godin, 2006). Shumpeter distinguishes invention from innovation. Innovation is possible without anything we should identify as invention, and invention does not necessarily induce innovation, but produces of itself no economically relevant effect at all.6 According to Ruttan, Schumpeters definition of innovation is in terms of a change in the form of the production function (Ruttan, 1959). We will now define innovation more rigorously by means of the production function. This function describes the way in which quantity of products varies if quantity of factors vary. If, instead of quantities of factors we vary the form of the function, we have an innovation.7 Ruttan eliminated the distinction between invention and innovation as he discusses Ushers steps in invention process but incorporated the idea of defining innovation by means of production function. This is where the synthesis came about (Ruttan, 1959). The definition of invention by Usher is in terms of new things that require an act of insight going beyond the normal exercise of technical or professional skill (Ruttan, 1959). Inventive acts of insight are unlearned activities that result in new organizations of prior knowledge and experience.6 Such acts of insight frequently emerge in the course of performing acts of skill, though characteristically the act of insight is induced by the conscious perception of an unsatisfactory gap in knowledge or mode of action.7 In the Chapter IV of the revised edition of A History of Mechanical Innovations, Usher was said to discourse on the occurrence of ones inventions in contrast with the performance of acts of skill by the use of cumulative synthesis (Ruttan, 1959). With this discussion, Ruttan concluded that it is more applicable to give the definition of invention as a subsection of innovation and shifting Ushers description of invention to innovation-Indeed, it would be more in line with both popular usage and the terminology of other disciplines to use the term innovation to designate any new thing in the area of science, technology, or art (Ruttan, 1959). The definition of technological change used by students of productivity and technological change is said to have a close similarity with the definition of innovation provided by Shumpeter. Compare, for example, a recent definition by Solow with the above quotation from Schumpeter. (Ruttan, 1959). If Q represents output and K and L represent capital and labor in physical units, then the aggregate production function can be written as: Q = F(K, L; t) the variable t . . . appears in F to allow for technical change. I am using the phrase technical change as a shorthand expression for any kind of a shift in the production function.9 According to Ruttan, the only problem with this definition of technological change is that it does not emphasize the specific process of technological change. Thus a need for a proper analytical definition is a must. After providing a clear distinction between invention, innovation and technological change, Ruttan gave three prominent suggestions in this study namely; first one must not attempt to provide an analytical definition of invention and depict it as a subset of technical innovation which is patentable. Second, the extension of the definition of innovation is needed so much as to cover the entire range of processes by which new things emerge in science, technology, and art. Third, The use of technological change in the functional sense- to designate changes in the coefficients of a function relating inputs to outputs resulting from the practical application of innovations in technology and in economic organization (Ruttan, 1959). In compliance to the study of Ruttan, the linear model of innovation will be use as suggested in Ruttans study. The linear model of innovation starts with basic research, then adds applied research and development, and ends with production and diffusion (Ruttan, 1959): Basic research Æ’Â   Applied research Development Æ’Â   (Production and) Diffusion In function: Innovation = Basic research+Applied research development+Diffusion It has been noted that the source of this linear model has remain indefinable because it has never been documented. Despite its widespread use, there are still many criticisms that surround the theory and even proclaiming it as a dead model. The long survival of the model despite regular criticisms is because of statistics (Godin, 2006). Overall, we will be using the definitions and suggestions provided by Ruttan. We will not provide an analysis on invention. We will use the linear model of innovation for the analysis of innovation as suggested by Ruttan-extend the concept of innovation to cover the entire range of process by which new things emerge. We will use the provided definition of the technological change, by Solow, in Ruttans study in order to analyze invention to national economy. The linear model of innovation in compliance to V.W. Ruttan study of 1958 is a proper framework for this paper. This paper analytically analyzed innovation and technical change of the Philippine local invention as suggested by Ruttan. Also, the simpleness of the linear model can be a proper starting point in analyzing insufficient data availability such as the condition of the Philippine local invention. E. EMPIRICAL FRAMEWORK In this paper we attempt to analyze innovation, as defined in Ruttans 1959 study, and technological change of Philippine local invention in the year 1900-2010. In analyzing innovation we will use the linear model of innovation particularly the one that was defined by Ruttan in his 1959 study. Linear model of innovation X = f(B,A,D) X: Innovation B: Basic research A: Applied research D: Diffusion Empirical framework X= f(D,E,F,G) X: #of local invention D: # of scientist and engineer E: Annual RD expenditures/ government allocated funds F: # of clients/beneficiaries G: # of commercialized local invention In analyzing technological change we will use Solows function for technological change. Solows Technological change function Q = F(K, L; t) Q: Aggregate output K: Capital L: Labor t: Technical change Empirical Framework Q=F(K,L,I; t) Q: GDP K: Invesments L: Labor force I: Local invention t: Technical Change F. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Invention and innovation have proven to be crucial components for the development of modern societies (Marton-Lefà ¨vre, 2003). This study is important therefore in order to analyze the current status of the local inventions in the Philippines and its linkage to national development. Since it has always been based on the presence of necessity that inventions are created, there is always a need and a demand for inventions especially for the less developed countries that are in the process of industrialization. However, this demand for local invention is not quite evident in the Philippine market. This study therefore aims to analyze the current problems that local inventions face and analyze the effectiveness of the innovation system that we have in the Philippines. According to Johnson et al, the history and development of the innovation system concept indicates that it can be useful for analyzing less developed economies (Johnson, Edquist, Lundvall, 2003). This paper therefore, is significant in order for us to become aware of the current situation of the local inventions, its history and development in the Philippines in order to create solutions to its problems. This study is important also for us to know the impact of local inventions to our economy and be able to provide basis on the applicability of the concept that inventions, being the source of technological change, can lead to national development. F. SCOPE AND LIMITATION The study is limited to the local inventions that were given residential patent grants. This is to make sure that the local invention passed the criteria of IPPHIL and WIPO. This means that the local invention complies with the standard definition of invention by these two patent offices. The scope of the study in terms of commercialization process only includes local inventions that were licensed, venture and assigned. These three are the basic ways to commercialize an invention. The analysis of current issues in local inventions will be limited to the data provided by the annual report of TAPI-Technology application and promoting institute, the official government institute that helps local invention to be commercialized. The timeframe of the study is from 2000-2010. This is due to the lack of availability of some datas regarding local inventions. The area of the study is in the Philippine setting. Local inventions created by a Filipino with patent grant. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE I. CURRENT SITUATION OF LOCAL INVENTION Local inventions comprised only 1.2% of over 8,000 patents granted by the IPO (Intellectual Property Office) of the Philippines over the last six years, indicating the lack of awareness on the value of IP rights (Flores, 2007) Currently there is a lack of patent applications as stated by the IPO by Filipino inventors who wish to patent their inventions, because of lack of awareness on the value of such patent rights, inventors tend to not apply at all. The lack of knowledge of Filipino inventors on such patent rights and exclusive incentives are one of the reasons of the small percentage of patent applications. The number one reason is the level of awareness on the availability of support services being provided by the IPO (Gefty, 2011) In order to solve the current problems of the Philippine local inventors, there have been laws existing to support and encourage the local inventions. One of which is the Republic Act 7459, or the Investors and Invention Incentives Act of the Philippines whose aim is to give priority to invention and its utilization on the countrys productive systems and national life; and to this end provide incentives to investors and protect their exclusive right to their invention, particularly when the invention is beneficial to the people and contributes to national development and progress. Some of its provisions are to give cash rewards amounting up to Php100,000.00 to the chosen outstanding inventors They also give tax incentives and exemptions as well as invention development assistance funds through the Technology Application and Promotion Institute in the amount of at least twelve percent (12%) of the annual operations fund of the Institute from donations, bequests, and other sources, public, private or domestic or foreign, for assisting potential or actual inventors in the initial experiments and prototype development and other invento r-development related activities of invention or innovation. Included in Article 5 of RA 7459 is the Invention Guarantee Fund created by RA no. 3850. A continuing annual appropriation in the amount of not less than Ten Million Pesos (P10, 000,000.00) shall also be provided for this purpose in the annual budget of the Department of Science and Technology. The Fund shall also be used for special financing programs for Filipino inventions pursuant under this Act. This also includes Financial and Loan Assistance from Government Banks of not more than Two-hundred Thousand Pesos (P200, 000.00). These are Loan assistance for the commercial production of an invention, either locally or for export and duly certified by the Filipino Inventors Society and the Screening Committee created under Section 4, shall be extended by government banks: Provided, That said invention meets the criteria that would enhance the economy of the country such as profitability and viability, dollar-earning capacity, and generation of employment opportunities for Filipinos: P rovided, further, That said loan shall be guaranteed by the IGF. II. THE PROCESS OF INVENTION It has been noted that we know in our hearts what an invention is and the idea of invention is said to have assumed a status like that of consciousness or mind, something we can express of but not quite articulate (Arthur, 2005). WIPO provided a definition of invention such as; a new product or process that solves a technical problem. Invention is an example of an intellectual property. Under the intellectual property, there are two categories namely; industrial property and copyright. Invention is categorized under industrial property. An invention must be patented in order to protect ones intellectual property rights. An invention must, in general, fulfil the following conditions to be protected by a patent. Before it can be patented, one invention must abide by the requirements of WIPO such as; It must be of practical use; it must show an element of novelty, meaning some new characteristic that is not part of the body of existing knowledge in its particular technical field and mus t show an inventive step that could not be deduced by a person with average knowledge of the technical field (WIPO, 2000). It has been emphasize that the single most important element of long term growth is the innovative activity (Rosenberg, 2004). This Innovative activity can be in terms of organization or production. Focusing on production, most of us will think about technological progress created by inventions. A handful of readings will indicate how important inventions are to our economy; in most of the developed country have economic indicators relating to technological progress. So much have been said about how important inventions are but only some will tell about how it came about. In the study conducted by Ruttan, he cited a study of Usher; recognizing and agreeing with the statements. In Ushers Chapter IV of the revised edition of A History of Mechanical Innovations, he identifies three general approaches on how invention came about; the transcendentalist, mechanistic process and the cumulative synthesis (Ruttan, 1959). According to Usher the transcendentalists ascribe the occurrence of invention to the occasional inspiration of a genius who from time to time realizes a direct knowledge of indispensable truth through the exercise of intuition. While the Mechanistic process represents a new combination of individual elements that accumulated over time. This process came about due to necessity and that the inventor is just an instrument of the processes. Among the three approaches on how invention came about, Usher believed and agreed with the cumulative synthesis-major inventions materialize through cumulative synthesis of simple inventions, each of which enta ils an individual act of insight. In case of individual invention, four steps were outlined: perception of the problem, setting the stage (the gathering of elements and data needed for the construction of the possible solution), the act of insight (the establishment of the solution to the problem) and critical revision (can be comprehended and working) (Ruttan, 1959). According to Usher, these three approaches are the possible logic behind how inventions are made, but at the same time criticizing the first two approaches and agreeing with the cumulative synthesis. The other way of looking on how invention came about is through a sociological and economical perspective. One author noted that novel technologies are influenced by social needs; they arise from experiences outside the standard domain; they often originated in cultures that reinforce risk; they retort to economic incentives (such as demand or factor price changes); they merge with the accumulation of scientific knowledge; they start better with the interchange of information which is often mediated by networks of colleagues (Arthur, 2005). Overall, the process of invention is compound, lengthy, determined, knowledge generating, boundary-transgressing, and notable for a number of other features (THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM, 2004). Besides looking in the invention process per se, invention will not be around if not because of its creator, the inventor. There are a number of abilities and disposition that can be attributed to the production of invention such as; resourcefulness, resilience, a commitment to practical action, nonconformity, passion for the work, unquenchable optimism and many more. Skills and ability examples: mental flexibility, alertness to practical problems and opportunities, ability to match ones talents with the problem, using a tool kit of effective ways to conceptualize and break down the problems, and self-knowledge helpful in managing ones endeavours and etc (THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM, 2004). After knowing the process of invention and sample skills of inventors, we must recognize the importance of RD in the invention process. As of today most of invention does not come from an individual but by groups such as research institute financed by the government or private firms. These institutes are normally called research and development (RD) institutes. According to OECD definition, Research and development is a term used in covering three activities: basic research, applied research, and experimental development. It has been said that the common role of RD is to encourage innovation and technology by improving the ability of firms to learn about advances in the leading edge (absorptive capacity) (Griffith, 2001). III. THE PROCESS OF COMMERCIALIZATION It is a given fact that the main goal of invention is to solve a problem by technical process with this the beneficiaries of the invention will be satisfied. But how about the inventor, aside from the sense of achievement and acknowledgement what can he benefit from his invention? Here lies the emphasis on the commercialization process of invention. There are different ways to commercialize ones invention; either through licensing, self-venture or assignment. It has been noted that In order to reach the market, you have to find someone who can sell your invention or sell it yourself (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1999). According to WIPO, Licensing occurs when a licensor grants exploitation rights over a patent to a licensee. A license is also a legal contract, and so it sets the terms and condition of the exchange of rights including other important details in using or producing ones invention (Mendes, 2000). Many inventors undertake licensing because of the huge amount of money that they can acquire and the level of responsibility is lower than using or selling your own invention (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1999). There are considerable pros and cons regarding the licensing process. Heres the summary: the pros; licensing multiplies the resources to develop your invention, you may make some money and you may make it soon, and licensing frees you to do something else. The cons; you lose control of the technology; your own involvement is reduced, finding the right licensee is tough and protecting your interests is crucial (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1999). It has been noted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in United States that venturing or commercializing your technology by yourself is probably the hardest path to take especially if one does not have a background about business and marketing. It requires a lot of business skills and connections in order to successfully commercialized ones invention. There are also pros and cons with the use of this process. The pros; running a company can be exciting, in the long run, you may make a lot more money and it is your company and you control it. The cons; its risky, resources remain limited, youll be working and working and you probably wont make much money for quite a while (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1999). In an assignment involves there is a trade and transmission of ownership of the patent by the assignor to the assignee (Mendes, 2000). It is probably the easiest way to commercialize an invention but in return the ownership of the patent does not belong to you and it is irrevocable. If you want a lump sum of money in an instant from your invention, this is probably the appropriate commercial process for you to use. Before an invention undergoes the process of commercialization, there are general prerequisites that are needed to be accomplished. First, it must be working, specifically an engineering prototype. Second, you should have a market analysis-you ask the basic questions in economics such as who, how, when, where and how much to produce. In addition, you need to know different market channels where your invention could reach. Last, a written plan-same as writing a business plan (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1999). There are two things that should be prioritized in order to lessen ones problem in the process of commercialization. An inventor must acknowledge the cost and sources of capital. Cost can be in the forms of money, time and personal life, while sources of capital can in forms of debt capital, government funds and equity capital (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1999). Overall, it seems that the commercialization of ones invention is one of the goals of an inventor. It is one of the preferred end points of such activity. A report emphasized the importance of commercialization of an invention and proclaimed it as a reward to the inventor. It also included the importance of relationship with different professions in order to make ones invention into the market-What good is an invention if it never makes it to market, or for that matter, I it never rewards its creator? Invention does not end with coming up with a new device or new process. It takes an equally adroit tenacity to form the relationships that will make the invention payoff (McPherson, 1995). Certain relationship must be established by the inventor with different business development professional in order to try making its invention into the market; maybe a patent attorney, market researcher, business development pro or perhaps an invention-marketing group (McPherson, 1995). IV. Government Support in Local Invention There are many government agencies as well as non-government organizations that support local inventions. Under the supervision of the Department of Science and Technology, is the establishment of the Technology Application Promotion Institute or TAPI. Its primary responsibility is to promote the commercialization of technologies and market the services of other operating units of the department (TAPI, 2008). Among others, TAPI also administers the Invention Development Assistance Fund for the initial experiments and prototype development and other invention-development related activities. Through this fund, TAPI has managed to conduct various programs that raise the level of awareness of various clients in the areas of technology application and utilization. Among these programs is the Academe/Industry Prototype Development Assistance Program which provides financial support for the fabrication and testing of commercial prototypes, the DOST Exposition and Fairs Program that promotes and exhibits technology materials, ideas and information, the Technology-Based Enterprise Development Assistance Program which gives financial assistance to technology-based micro, small and medium scale enterprises, the Investors Forum Program which brings together technology operators and investors to create actual business ventures, and many other programs that promotes and supports Philippine local inventions (TAPI, 2008). All these programs lie under the Technology Information and Promotion Division. Among various programs of the TAPI caters to agricultural enterprises, manufacturing firms, students and non-government organizations through its Investment and Business Operations Division. TAPI also extends its assistance to agricultural-based enterprises through the Consultancy for Agricultural Productivity Enhancement (CAPE). It also assists small and medium scale enterprises in manufacturing to attain higher productivity through the Manufacturing Productivity Extension (MPEX) Program and the Venture Financing Program. TAPI also caters to students, young professional in developing their entrepreneurial competencies through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program DOST-Academe Technology-Based Enterprise Development (SETUP-DATBED) Program. DOST also supports technology transfer through the Science and Technology volunteer Pool Program (STEVPP). This program basically provides experts and scientists to its interested clients in the various regions and municipalities in th e Philippines in order to provide them technical assistance on technology commercialization (TAPI, 2008) Lastly is the Invention Development Division (IDD) who is mainly responsible for providing financial assistance to Filipino inventors by upholding the intellectual property system as well as the business development of inventions and technologies (TAPI, 2008). They basically provide funding assistance for the local inventors in their activities such as securing intellectual property protection, industrial applications in private enterprises, manufacturing and testing of their inventions, developing their invention as an enterprise commodity and even travel assistance. They are also given tax and duty exemptions through an endorsement to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Department of Finance. Inventors are also encouraged to showcase their inventions through the National Invention Contest and Exhibits (NICE) wherein they can have cash incentives or prizes amounting to P150,000.00 as well as WIPO Gold Medals and certificates. This contest is held annually and is open for all local inventors in the academe (high school and college level) as well as those in the private sectors. Among the other agencies concerned in the promotion of local invention and the protection of intellectual property rights are the Filipino Inventors Society and the Intellectual Property Rights Office of the Philippines. V. Cultivating Technological Innovation for Development Development or innovation in society of technologies, such as information and communication technologies should be self-cultivated rather than imported. (Corea, 2000) Based from the research paper there is a need for developing countries to improve or focus on achieving a technological adoption particularly on Information Communication Technologies to reap its benefits. There have been multiple research disciplines to support such study particularly; behavioral notion on development, concepts of change, theoretical formulations. The paper applies these ideas for understanding the macro-phenomena of national development in terms of technological innovation Technological change as defined in the paper is any incremental or radical changes in the application of problem-solving knowledge to the production process, resulting in increased efficiency, either in the form of a product or service produced with lower costs or in the form of a qualitative improvement in a product or service.

Advances in Medical Technology :: Medicine

Advances in Medical Technology Since the 1800s medical technology as made remarkable advances. The most basic instrument for a surgeon, which was a field in which Dr. Frankenstein was a pioneer, is the scalpel. There have been no drastic changes in the scalpel since it was first constructed. What has occurred are the refinements to the instrument. When Dr. Frankenstein wielded the instrument it was a simple steel blade with an ivory handle. Although the instrument was adequate it was not completely sterile because of the ivory handle. The fact that it was also kept in a velvet lined case did also prevented the scalpel from being 100% sterile. The scalpel of today is not only completely made from stainless steel, but there are now scalpels that are disposable. How the disposable scalpel works is" a one piece handle molding including a unique integral one-way hinge" (The Granton Knife Company). This one time use blade decreases the risk of cross infection. Even though scalpels are always disinfected after each use this is just an added precaution to prevent infection. The main reason that no drastic design changes have occurred to the basic steel blade scalpel is because " the physiology of the human hand and body have not changed since ancient times, surgical tools manifest a remarkable constancy". (The Science of Incision, Barry M. Katz) Steel blades are not the only form that a scalpel takes. Scalpels are now in the form of lasers. The use of lasers began with a laser knife. The CO2 laser was used to remove cancerous tissue. Later the Nd:Yag laser was used. Lasers knifes are not the only addition to new medical technology. The introduction of the computer-tomography (CT) scanner and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have greatly helped doctors to make a better diagnosis. When video imaging became available in the 1970s doctors discovered that by " inserting a fiber-optic endoscope through a cannula they could explore otherwise quite unimaginable places without invasive surgery". This technique led to the laparoscopic surgery "where the surgeon manipulates elongated tools through a cannula" (Katz), but instead of watching the patient the surgeon watches a video monitor. This type of surgery has forced the doctors to develop eye-hand coordination that is counterintuitive to the style in which these doctors were originally trained. The original question that was posed to me was how I felt about technology.

The Dual Role of Gods in The Iliad Essay -- Iliad essays

The Dual Role of Gods in The Iliad      Ã‚   With even a cursory exposure to ancient Greek texts, it is obvious that the gods and goddesses are very important in traditional Greek culture. As literary figures in mythos and specific poetry and drama, the gods dabble in the life of man, predict his fate, and routinely thwart any attempt for him to entirely forge his own future. But for those of us who are not extensively schooled in antiquities, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what the gods are to the ancient Greeks, and what they are to us as readers of literature who live outside the culture. Were the gods accepted as parable figures, meant to instruct? Were they used to explain acts of nature? Do they now belong to anything outside the scope of literary history?    Rather than speculate about the role of gods in all of Greek culture, it is more manageable to look at one specific text and determine the role its gods play within its world. In The Iliad, the gods are an integral part of the poem. Their foibles and fickleness recall for the reader the humanness of the Greek gods, and spark a mental association of men to myths. This makes the long-dead warriors more real to anyone who reads the poem. But the gods of The Iliad also inculcate what could be nothing more than a dry account of a historical war that no one recorded while it was happening. This historical-cultural element, one that connects the events of that unwritten war to readers by pulling the past into the present, make the old archetypes oddly modern and applicable to the present day world and its men. One of the most interesting lines in The Iliad is when one Aias tells the other that he recognizes Poseidon, who has disguised himself as K... ...ormalized remembrance; the gods' inclusion make that remembrance bigger than any sterile account or battlefield casualty list could be. This expanded scope makes relevant the deaths of would-be anonymous warriors, makes tragedy out of widows and orphans, makes us think about the cycles of human aggression. The gods and their powerful presence is one element of this relevant piece of historic art.    Works Cited and Consulted Camps, W. A. An Introduction to Homer. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. Homer. "The Iliad." Western Literature in a World Context: The Ancient World through the Renaissance. Ed. Paul Davis et al. vol 1. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. 25-156. Steiner, George, and Fagles, Robert, eds. Homer: A Collection of Critical Essays. Twentieth Century Views, ed. Maynard Mack. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1962.   

Benefits of Social Networking Sites Essay -- Argumentative, Twitter, Fa

Throughout life, men, women, and youth meet people. These people will either leave a negative or positive effect on us and some will only be in our lives for a short period of time. However, once we start to lose contact with them questions arise and we begin to wonder: What does he/she look like now? ; Where has he/she been? ; How has he/she been? ; Why did we stop talking to one another? ; or what would our relationship be like if I had kept in contact with him/her? Well there is no need to wonder anymore. Ever since the invention of social networking tools, such as, Facebook, MySpace, AIM, Blackberry Messenger (BBM), Twitter, and Formspring, millions of people have been able to instantly notify others concerning their whereabouts, meet/make new friends, reconnect with old friends, blog, play games, and upload videos and pictures. Social networking has become a part of our daily routine and is a trend that will only continue to evolve as we grow old. Before the release of the highly popularized social networking websites, such as, Facebook in 2004, similar forms of social networking tools were used. Brian McConnell, an internet user since 1988, stated that â€Å"he used various sites, known as CompuServe, and Prodigy (McConnell, 2008).† I did some research on the sites he listed and found out that CompuServe was the first online service available in the 1980s and played a major role in the foundation of user i.d’s, email services, picture transfers and etc. As time passed by the second online service became available. It was called Prodigy and allowed users to access a number of different networking sites. They ranged from news and weather services to bulletin boards, games, polls, banking and a variety of other features. Since t... .../ Boyd, Danah. (2007) â€Å"Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.† MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning – Youth, Identity, and DigitalMedia Volume (ed. David Buckingham). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Facebook.com. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1226190648&ref=ts Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html McConnell, Brian. (2008). Social Networks from the 80s to the 00s. Retrieved February 17,2010, from http://gigaom.com/2008/01/20/social-networks-from-the-80s-to-the-00s/ Friendster.com. Retrieved February 15,2010, from http://www.friendster.com/

Man and a Woman: A Yin and Yang

It’s still fresh in my memory the answer of 2008 Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza in her question â€Å"Does a man or a woman live and easier life? †- â€Å"actually there’s not much difference about how a woman or man lives but rather they differ on the way they think. Man thinks the easiest way to get to the point is to go straight. Woman, not exactly, they go through many curves and fixed it†. This answer is just one among the many answers on how to differentiate a man between women. In the field of hard sciences, the difference between a man and a woman is far way varied.It is usually differentiated through sex or the possession of certain organs and hormones that make them unique. Man or male is characterized by possessing the male genitalia which composed of the testicles, the penile gland and of course Adams apple. Women or female is otherwise characterized by the possession of uterus, ovary, and vagina. In terms of the Hippocratic eye, there are differ ent hormones and chromosomes that discriminates both sexes- chromosome XY for male and XX for female (York 2008).In the society, one can easily differentiate a man from a woman by the way they act, they dress and they appear in public. A man usually is short haired contented with t-shirts and pants or tuxedo for the elite while women are often long haired, fond of having fancy dresses with playful colors and distinguished by their high pitched voices as contrast to male with a distinguishable baritone voice. During the olden times, in terms of gender and socialization, a masculine is usually viewed to be brave, aggressive, and bread winner while a feminine is usually calm, conservative, and responsible in child rearing.Tracing the history, women in the olden days are considered as one among the lower society wherein they are not allowed to vote and their only profession is to become a plain housewife. In the ancient times in Asia and Europe, women are often the subjects of slavery. In Japan, once a woman has been married to a man, she no longer free. Her work is just centered on family rearing and farewell assistance to the husband. The only way to escape from the marriage is to commit hara-kiri or the virtue of killing themselves.In the Philippines during the sultanate period, only the son of the king or sultan can inherit the land and women are just for marriage rites and are just means to procreate through pregnancy. The worst thing is that they are not allowed to rule the land. In contrast, Egypt is known to have women rulers before man became the ruler. One good example is Cleopatra who ruled the ancient Egypt and who have man as subordinates (timemagazine. com 1972). But with the rise of industrial revolution, feminists became more gender sensitive and gender equality had been on the rise.Now, there had been widespread gender stereotyping such as female police enforcers, pilots, soldiers, and the existence of working moms and even female engineers. In ad dition, there is an increase of women politicians and rulers and believe it or not that the Philippines being a democratic republic had some sort of girl power because they had already to female presidents whom actually won through people power revolution. Tracing the history is likewise one way of differentiating man between women based on their family roles and social responsibility. The existence of pluralism in nature allowed varied responsibilities of a man and a woman.Delving deeper in differentiating man and women is through their matter of feelings. Men are thought to be pride and full of ego. Women are the exact opposite as they are more patient and unruffled. Usually in a family a woman/wife is usually the mother of all chores in the house doing all the laundry, cleaning, and preparing food except if a there is a hired nanny, but still a nanny is a woman. On the other hand, those of the man usually sips coffee while reading the daily news and eats the breakfast and then go to work. Going back to the answer of Miss Universe 2008, it would be nice if we cite some examples.Man thinks that the easiest way to get through a point is to go straight. I might as well agree on that. When a man goes to off a particular thing in the department store, he goes exactly to the rack or place where it is located, grabs it and pays it over the counter immediately. Women don’t, they actually took many more time visiting every lane of the shop and fit all things that she thinks it’s nice for her and grabs unnecessary things forgetting what to buy. This only means that man is more straightforward on everything. When he wants an answer, he wants it immediately. When he takes orders in a restaurant, he wants it in a brisk.Women are more patient and complicated, they are the ones who usually start the husband-wife fight because of their hasty tongue who usually nags and nags until both of them gets pissed off. Among all of these opposite characters, I still vie w man as being a yin and a yang, a perfect opposite but a perfect combination. Every imperfection of a man can be complemented by a woman and every woman’s flaw is complemented by a man. That is why there is the existence of marriage, to unite both the ideals of a man and a woman and to live together as one body and being separate entities.A man and a woman are created complementary to work and help each other. Each sex/gender represents a function in a society. There has been a saying that â€Å"No man is an island†. Truly no man is alone because there is the existence of a woman. Every human beings life is like a puzzle, it will only be completed when the remaining pieces are there. A woman therefore is never complete without a man, which maybe her father or her lover. Likewise a man is never complete without there woman, which is his mother and his lover.

How Our Society Depicts Gender Essay

Gender is a powerful force that has shaped humankind’s history and has remained a strongly divisive issue, influencing all facets of the society. The age-old sexist views against women are still evidently present and strong in today’s society. For instance, in the most recent elections in the United States, gender has played a major role, especially in the light of a good number of women joining the process, either as candidates, campaigners and advocates, or opinion leaders. Zernike, K. (2008), in a New York Times article entitled â€Å"Postfeminism and other fairy tales†, tackles the difficulties that women candidates faced amidst predominantly sex- and gender-biased electorate, and even the media. Gender in the Media The media today carries messages that are either shaped by or shaping the society. Curran, J. (2002) concludes that the media is a powerful and convenient vehicle which societal forces ride on to spread their messages, or to put forward their agenda and win support, and that what the media dominantly carries as messages are reflections of the society at large. What better way, then, to know how society depicts gender than by looking at the way media depicts it, through commercials, for instance. Take as an example Kelly Ripa’s Electrolux commercial, wherein the lady host is depicted as not only an efficient host doing a daily show among others, but also doing all household chores single-handedly. And Electrolux’s tagline â€Å"You can be more amazing† implies that although the woman, represented in the commercial by Ripa, has been juggling time and running around in her feat to efficiently serve her home while maintaining her professional life, can even do more, as if all those things she had been doing are still not enough for the woman to be admired. This depiction of a woman in this commercial does not strictly fall into any of the themes or categories explained by Goffman, as the commercial is already a mixture of various elements mentioned by Goffman, including the use of height differences, smile, elevation, etc. For instance, in a scene where Ripa drinks champagne with colleagues, her male counterparts are shown as much taller than she is, likewise her female colleague, who looks so distinctly like a male in her tailored suit and short hair. The scene sends a strong message that among them, Ripa is of lower rank, as symbolized by her short height relative to everybody else in the scene, her long blond hair and lighter colored suit. Therefore, as the one of lower rank and probably social status, Ripa has to run home to tuck her kids to bed. The use of the kitchen can easily be understood as the commercial is all about selling efficient kitchen and home appliances. However, it also gives a message that being a woman, Ripa must be efficient at home also, and must be able to respond to the kids’ needs at the exact moment that they need her. Overall, the message of the ad is clear – that a woman’s professional success does not really count, as her efficiency at home counts the most. Conclusion Contemporary society is no different from societies of centuries back. While there are several theories on gender which different groups adhere to depending on what is convenient to their beliefs and agenda (Butler, J. , 1988), it is undeniable that gender biases and prejudices have not really changed significantly despite all the efforts through the years. Society still holds a very limited perspective and myopic point of view on gender. Although formal institutions have been set to raise awareness of and promote gender equality, and various mechanisms have been established to eliminate gender biases and prejudices, there is still a prevalent culture of gender inequality. Biases against women, stereotyped as weak, domestic, naturally made for homecare, incapable of professional achievements, among others, still predominate society’s overall mantra – through the media, and even in the political, academic and social arenas. Indeed, as Butler quotes Simone de Beauvoir: â€Å"one is not born but rather becomes a woman,† (Beauvoir, 1986, as quoted by Butler, p. 519), society develops concepts, and in this case, creates the concept of a woman as society wants it to be: weak, domestic, only good for the home, among other stereotypes. As society depicts its women to be such, it should not expect, then, for its women to achieve more in life, it should not push its women to do impossible feats. The society better think of ways to take care of its women, however these women want to live their lives – limiting themselves in stereotypical women roles, or jumping out of the box and dare do what only men are expected to do. Works Cited Butler, Judith (1988), Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory, Theater Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Dec. ,1988),pp. 519-531. Curran, James (2002), Media and Power illustrated edition, Routledge 2002. Zernike, Kate (2008), Posfeminism and other fairy tales, The Nation, New York Times, published 16 March 2008.a