Dominant designs Essay Example for Free

Dominant designs Essay Dominant designs tend to help everybody. Good ones reduce production costs, benefiting suppliers and competitors as research and development costs are reduced to near-zero. They also greatly improve the situation for complementors, who are able to produce a wide variety of easily standardized, low-cost complementary products. Consumers benefit too, as costs are driven down by fierce competition to produce the dominant design at lowest cost. The process at its best can be seen in one of the most commonly used and least commonly thought-about products in the world: the lightbulb. There are thousands of brands of lightbulbs produced using a standard design, yet they are entirely indistinguishable. Lightbulbs from China, from Korea, Vietnam, and even America are all produced at roughly the same cost to exactly the same standards. The main variability between them, wattage, is clearly marked and well-understood. Costs are low, and innovation survives. The dominant design in the lightbulb consists of the screwing-in part and the wattages. However, lightbulbs can be developed at all shapes and sizes, and with different color filters. Key innovations, like compact florescent bulbs and floodlights, were seamlessly integrated into the existing system. Even exotic designs, including LEDs and blacklights, were developed using the dominant design. And, of course, the number of available lamps to house them is enormous and standardized. You can even get one with a fan. Computer operating systems, on the other hand, represent a failure of the dominant design. Because each OS behaves differently, a dominant platform like Windows forces programmers to develop their programs either exclusively for Windows or invest lots of time and effort rewriting the program. But since the platform is proprietary, it leads to a powerful monopoly on operating-system technology that creates excessive costs and relatively poor performance, since there are no direct competitors. However, I believe this situation is rare.

The Value of Currency in Eighteenth Century England Essay -- European

The Value of Currency in Eighteenth Century England For most of the eighteenth century, a shilling a day was a fair wage for most workers. Highly skilled workmen naturally made more; unskilled laborers and farm workers fared somewhat less favorably. One shilling would take home "5 Ibs.. of meat or four rabbits, 3 quarts of strong ale, or 6 gallons of 'middling' beer" (Mays 6). M. Dorothy George relates that the cheapest theatre seat, in the top gallery, was about a shilling. And the "weekly rent of a miserable London attic, ready furnished" might be 1 shilling six pence" (George Hogarth 51 n). John O'Donald Mays points out: The coin would also allow the traveler to ride about 4 miles on the stagecoach in winter, and a slightly greater distance in summer. At a noted Liverpool inn, 'The Lion,' a couple could pay a shilling and enjoy a fine meal consisting of veal cutlets, pigeons, asparagus, lamb and salad, apple-pie and tarts. In London the shilling had a slightly lower purchasing power than in the provinces, but nonetheless went a long way in supplying items for the family larder. For twelve pence one could get almost 4 Ibs.. of meat, 1 = Ibs.. of salt butter, almost 3 oz. of tea, 2 Ibs.. of sugar, and 2 Ibs.. of cheese. (quoted in Mays 7) For a country girl traveling to the city, the cheapest, and slowest, form of travel was the wagon. For a mere "shilling a day, which meant a halfpenny a mile," she might even have the luxury of lying in the soft straw. Nights however might also have to be spent either in the wagon or in a bam along the way since no respectable inn would lodge someone who rode in a wagon (George, Hogarth 51 ) . Not nearly so comfortable, but much more dignified, was the stage coach. ... ...(Porter 93). A Conversion Table from Roy Porter s English Society in the Eighteenth Century: * 12 pennies (d.) = 1 shilling (s.) * 20 shillings = 1 pound * 21 shillings = 1 guinea * 5 shillings = 1 crown 100 pounds in the 18 century = about 6,000 pounds today To roughly convert 18th century pounds to 1990 dollars, multiply by 100 (these exchange rates and computations, compliments of Dr. Grove) Works Cited Defoe, Daniel. The Complete English Tradesman. Gloucester: Allan Sutton Publ., 1987 - - - . Moll Flanders. Mineola: Dover, 1996. George, M. Dorothy. Hogarth to Cruikshank: Social Change in Graphic Satire. London: Viking, 1987. Mays, James O'Donald. The Splendid Shilling: A Social History of an Engaging Coin. Burley: Pardy & Son, 1982. Porter, Roy. English Society in the Eighteenth Century. London: Penguin, 1990.

Sonnet 116 Review

marriage†¦ impediments (1-2): T. G. Tucker explains that the first two lines are a â€Å"manifest allusion to the words of the Marriage Service: ‘If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony'; cf. Much Ado 4. 1. 12. ‘If either of you know any inward impediment why you should not be conjoined. ‘ Where minds are true – in possessing love in the real sense dwelt upon in the following lines – there can be no ‘impediments' through change of circumstances, outward appearance, or temporary lapses in conduct. † (Tucker, 192). ends with the remover to remove (4): i. e. , deviates (â€Å"bends†) to alter its course (â€Å"remove†) with the departure of the lover. ever-fixed mark (5): i. e. , a lighthouse (mark = sea-mark). Compare Othello (5. 2. 305-7): Be not afraid, though you do see me weapon'd; Here is my journey's end, here is my butt, And very sea-mark of m y utmost sail. the star to every wandering bark (7): i. e. , the star that guides every lost ship (guiding star = Polaris). Shakespeare again mentions Polaris (also known as â€Å"the north star†) in Much Ado About Nothing (2. 1. 222) and Julius Caesar (3. 1. 65).Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken (8): The subject here is still the north star. The star's true value can never truly be calculated, although its height can be measured. Love's not Time's fool (9): i. e. , love is not at the mercy of Time. Within his bending sickle's compass come (10): i. e. , physical beauty falls within the range (â€Å"compass†) of Time's curved blade. Note the comparison of Time to the Grim Reaper, the scythe-wielding personification of death. edge of doom (12): i. e. , Doomsday. Compare 1 Henry IV (4. 1. 141): Come, let us take a muster speedily: Doomsday is near; die all, die merrily.

Domestic Violence And Gender Roles - 940 Words

The gender and the gender role attitudes have been extensively studied, and the study findings indicate towards the existence of domestic violence disputes (Esqueda, Harrison, 2005). According to the studies, the gender role attitudes contribute significantly towards the understanding as well as the predicting of people’s beliefs and perceptions of violence against women, as well as domestic violence culpability. Seelau, and Seelau, (2005) reveals that men and women have different perceptions about domestic violence, as more men than women are likely to view domestic violence as a norm, and they tend to view the situation as less serious compared to the women. Moreover, the men and women differ significantly in terms of their likelihood of calling the police, as well as the severity of the penalty assigned to the perpetrator. In other studies, women have been found to be more sympathetic toward the victim compared to the men. However, the victim’s gender has been found to play a less important role in influencing the women, as they are more likely to believe the domestic abuse victim and either call the police or recommend that the victim press charges against the perpetrator (Poorman, Seelau, Seelau, 2002). Therefore, when women and men are involved in a romantically abusive relationship, the gender roles as well as their expectations may dictate the perceived acceptability of the abuse. For instance, the men are traditionally believed to be bigger and stronger, whileShow MoreRelatedGender And Gender Violence1482 Words   |  6 PagesGender-based violence is the unequal power relationships between men and women. It includes rape, sexual assault and harassment, domestic abuse, and stalking. Gender violence reflects the idea that violence is often used to uphold structural gender inequalities. Gen der violence includes all types of violence against men, women, children, gay, lesbian, and transgender people. 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