Interface, the quintessential computer term, is the method by which two parts of a system communicate with each other. Computers interface with other electronic devices—for…
Abstract
Interface, the quintessential computer term, is the method by which two parts of a system communicate with each other. Computers interface with other electronic devices—for example, printers and modems—and with nonelectronic “devices,” namely, human beings.
Whether you are delighted with the prospect of learning about computers or have less noble motivations (like necessity), perhaps the most challenging obstacle before you is…
In the last issue, I invited you to join me in poking a bit of fun at some of the terms used in the data processing field. A little levity can relieve some of the tension that…
Abstract
In the last issue, I invited you to join me in poking a bit of fun at some of the terms used in the data processing field. A little levity can relieve some of the tension that many have felt when confronted by computer jargon and it acknowledges that computer terminology was never designed to be easily understood. Computer terms are usually shorthand for concepts their users already understand.
I am still amazed when I hold my stereo recordings to the light and see the rainbowed patterns in the grooves. “That's the music,” I say to myself. Perhaps my fascination dates…
Abstract
I am still amazed when I hold my stereo recordings to the light and see the rainbowed patterns in the grooves. “That's the music,” I say to myself. Perhaps my fascination dates from my childhood, when I would turn on my record player and drag a straight pin along the groove of my Walt Disney records. I was in awe of music coming from rotating plastic and a straight pin.
Like Ebenezer Scrooge, computers have acquired a negative image that they do not necessarily deserve. Let's consider some ways computers partake of the holiday spirit.
A “system,” in its simplest sense, is something that accomplishes work. Materials introduced into a system are transformed by that system according to well‐defined procedures…
Abstract
A “system,” in its simplest sense, is something that accomplishes work. Materials introduced into a system are transformed by that system according to well‐defined procedures. Then, results are presented in a usable form. For example, every morning I use a most ingenious “dough transformation system”:
Dealing with the subject of the artificial bleaching of flour, The Lancet observes that the public criterion of quality in respect of foods and beverages shows some interesting…
Abstract
Dealing with the subject of the artificial bleaching of flour, The Lancet observes that the public criterion of quality in respect of foods and beverages shows some interesting anomalies. Appreciation is often based, for example, on appearance, on how things look, and it is in this direction that conclusions often and obviously become illogical. In some instances the article demanded must be spotlessly white, while in others, if naturally white, it must be artificially coloured. The white loaf is a popular fancy, but white milk is suspected, and yet natural flour may be of a rich golden colour, while rich milk may have only a shade of brownish colour which is supposed to connote cream. The result is that in the one case flour is often deprived of its colour by a process of chemical bleaching, and that in the other an artificial colouring is added. Natural colour is objected to on the one hand, and on the other an artificial addition is demanded. It may be urged that both expedients are justifiable inasmuch as they meet a popular fancy, and that this counts in the enjoyment and even digestibility of the foods. If artificial means are employed to adjust the appearance of food to a popular standard, the proceeding can clearly only be allowed when it has been proved beyond all doubt that the products are not dietetically impaired or that they do not masquerade as something which they are not.
“…The greatest contribution the marketing man can make to the long‐range plans of his company is the use of real creative marketing…”
The catering industry forms the subject of our first market analysis report. It is an industry which has been much criticised for its indifferent marketing and its inefficient use…
Abstract
The catering industry forms the subject of our first market analysis report. It is an industry which has been much criticised for its indifferent marketing and its inefficient use of labour. Ray Davey argues here that only franchising will help the independent caterer to survive.
1982 US intra‐industry trade (IIT) for 308 four‐digit manufacturingproducts is related to industry characteristics in a cross‐sectionregression study of the sources of two‐way…
Abstract
1982 US intra‐industry trade (IIT) for 308 four‐digit manufacturing products is related to industry characteristics in a cross‐section regression study of the sources of two‐way trade. Results indicate the empirical relevance of models which present IIT as the result of international external economies in the production of differentiated producers goods. IIT as a means of satisfying consumers′ tastes for variety does not seem to be important, but oligopoly models of two‐way trade in consumer goods are supported owing to the association with concentration ratios. In contrast to recent studies which concluded that scale economies inhibit IIT in manufactured products, an examination of four different proxies for internal economies reveals that neither IIT nor inter‐industry trade based on comparative advantage is influenced significantly by scale effects, whether measured by size of establishment or by the productivity advantages of large plants.