If A Tree Falls in the Philosophical Forest, Someone Managed to Undermi

To truly think about knowledge brings about some interesting thought. When asked to think about knowledge, most individuals concern themselves solely with what they know such as certain subjects, theories or facts. In the grand scheme of things, this way of thought is seemingly only minute or even superficial. As human beings, we do not always considered how we come to know what we know. We often place are acquisition of knowledge lower in a taxonomy of importance. All too often, individuals take knowledge and its power for granted. However, individuals like Renà © Descartes and his work, The Meditations, provide a deep exploration of knowledge and all its facets. For every individual or scholar this work is very important in that it causes the reader to consider what we assume as truth and to envision a foundation for knowledge that is indubitable. The aim of this paper is to consider the role of knowledge in epistemology, to expose the concept of an indubitable foundation for all knowledge and the overall influence of Descartes on the imminent enquiries. First of all, I demonstrate that epistemology is the study of all that encompasses knowledge. Furthermore, I support the traditional epistemological concept of justified true belief by arguing that this model is largely relied on in the expectations of current empirical data. Second, I examine Descartes intentions, method and product, The Meditations. Following this review, I assert that it is impossible to find a true foundation for knowledge due to the unknown origin of human creation, the element of subjectivity and solipsism and the limitations of knowledge being indubitable. Furthermore, I critically assess that the Cartesian circle and Descartes presumption of God in h... ...rably thoughtful but is not without flaw and criticism. As stated, his goal and ambition is admirable in that he sought to support what his previous achievements, and those of many others, where fatefully resting upon. Whether scholars, students or just the individual interested in philosophy may agree or disagree with Descartes meditations, one thing I argue is truly beneficial about Descartes work is that doubt can be very valuable to our every day lives. All to often individuals take such facets of news, gossip, literature and theory all too seriously and fail to see the implications of implying indubitable confidence in what we accept as individuals. References Descartes, R. (2003). Meditations and Other Metaphysical Writings. Toronto, ON: Penguin Classics. (Original work published 1641). Lightbody, B. (2011). Philosophy 1F91 Lectures. Brock University.

The Tempest Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare, Classics

The similarities and differences between Aime' Cesaire's ATempest and William Shakespeare's The Tempest gives the reader an idea that it is a political response. From the way that both of the titles of these works of literature differ, an idea of concept is offered. They share a similar story line yet, after some one has read A Tempest : a different perspective is gained. A Tempest is actually considered a post colonial period piece of writing and one can acquire and prove this by the forms in which Aime' Cesaire portrays the characters and switches around their personalities and their traits,the time periods and the acquisition of language, and the ways power is used reveals that it is indeed a political response from a post colonial perspective. Shakespeare's The Tempest and Cesaire's A Tempest differ in the way it is expressed. From the words, the and a the whole concept of tempest is changed completely. The definition of the word tempest could mean two things, a violent windstorm, frequently accompanied by rain,snow,or hail and/or a furiosus agitation, commotion,or tumult; an uproar. Shakespeare's The Tempest is correlated with the first definition while Cesaire's A Tempest associates more with the second one. Shakespeare's The Tempest starts of with a storm and on a ship [A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard] (Shakespeare 1667-69) while Cesaire's begins with Caliban shouting, "Uhuru!" (Cesaire 1721) which means freedom. Those examples gives us the concept of the storm and an a uproar. The time period in which The Tempest was written is the age of exploration is within the time frame of the mid 1400's towards the late 1500's. The discovery and colonization of far off lands, these years were filled ... ...liban called him "a colony addict" .(Cesaire 1727) Also,Cesaire made it seemed as Prospero revenge was another conquest not really a vengeful act. By the end, the reader sees this with his reasoning of why he forgived them. Ariel was always overly compliant and was always called my dear Ariel by Prospero. While Caliban, the black slave was treated horridly and threatned. Prospero told Ariel it doesn't matter what that villain plots against me?All the nobility of Italy,Naples,and Milan and henceforth combined,will protect my person."(Cesaire 1723) There is no doubt that Cesaire is trying to say no matter what, us Europeans always stick together, so he has nothing on me, he doesn't phase me which is one of the main ideals in this political response.During slavery, Europeans had alot of control over the Africans fate but, there were always limits that caused a tempest. The Tempest Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare, Classics The similarities and differences between Aime' Cesaire's ATempest and William Shakespeare's The Tempest gives the reader an idea that it is a political response. From the way that both of the titles of these works of literature differ, an idea of concept is offered. They share a similar story line yet, after some one has read A Tempest : a different perspective is gained. A Tempest is actually considered a post colonial period piece of writing and one can acquire and prove this by the forms in which Aime' Cesaire portrays the characters and switches around their personalities and their traits,the time periods and the acquisition of language, and the ways power is used reveals that it is indeed a political response from a post colonial perspective. Shakespeare's The Tempest and Cesaire's A Tempest differ in the way it is expressed. From the words, the and a the whole concept of tempest is changed completely. The definition of the word tempest could mean two things, a violent windstorm, frequently accompanied by rain,snow,or hail and/or a furiosus agitation, commotion,or tumult; an uproar. Shakespeare's The Tempest is correlated with the first definition while Cesaire's A Tempest associates more with the second one. Shakespeare's The Tempest starts of with a storm and on a ship [A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard] (Shakespeare 1667-69) while Cesaire's begins with Caliban shouting, "Uhuru!" (Cesaire 1721) which means freedom. Those examples gives us the concept of the storm and an a uproar. The time period in which The Tempest was written is the age of exploration is within the time frame of the mid 1400's towards the late 1500's. The discovery and colonization of far off lands, these years were filled ... ...liban called him "a colony addict" .(Cesaire 1727) Also,Cesaire made it seemed as Prospero revenge was another conquest not really a vengeful act. By the end, the reader sees this with his reasoning of why he forgived them. Ariel was always overly compliant and was always called my dear Ariel by Prospero. While Caliban, the black slave was treated horridly and threatned. Prospero told Ariel it doesn't matter what that villain plots against me?All the nobility of Italy,Naples,and Milan and henceforth combined,will protect my person."(Cesaire 1723) There is no doubt that Cesaire is trying to say no matter what, us Europeans always stick together, so he has nothing on me, he doesn't phase me which is one of the main ideals in this political response.During slavery, Europeans had alot of control over the Africans fate but, there were always limits that caused a tempest.

Acid Rain Research Paper Essay

Rain is one of the most dire and essential needs for a thriving ecosystem, and to sustain human, animal, and plant life. The water provided by the water cycle, the event causing rain, is required to keep all life on Earth alive. Rain, although naturally acidic, seems to have been increasing at a rapid rate due to many reasons. Some of these many reasons include, pollution. Pollution from homes, factories, power stations, cars, and many more man-made products. So even though rain, while naturally acidic, was not referred to as â€Å"Acid Rain† till man-made pollutions began to alter it in a greater way. The effect of these pollutions on rain, is now the reason why acid rain is of existence. However, contrary to popular belief, acid rain isn’t just a problem that’s occurred in the past thirty years. Over a hundred years ago, a chemist named Robert Smith found great evidence that the rainfall in Manchester, U.K. was more acidic than reasonable. After studying chemicals like sulphur dioxide, he found a link between the increased acidity in the rain and the amount of chemicals being given off when coal was burnt in factories. Acidity levels in rain rise mainly when pollutants from all aforementioned sources are mixed with the atmospheric moisture. Due to this mixing of the atmosphere, it is incredibly hard to maintain and/or contain the levels of acidity in rain to a single area. Pollutants and chemicals may be carried in clouds over incredibly long distances before finally resulting in downpour. This means that outside of factories and industrial zones, acid rain can hit commercial areas, and can also spread to wildlife areas, such as rainforests, forests, jungles, and other biomes. All this attributes to the rising rates of acidic rain over the past 100 years. The effects of acid rain on living things, such as plants, marine life, animals, and humans? There is an obvious and increasing link between acid rain and the harm done to organic life. Primarily, since more easily documentable, human health seems to be affected the most in this trifle. People can be harmed by breathing in toxins, chemicals, and pollutants, from either dry deposits of this acid rain, or chemicals can be released through vapor/liquid form. This can range from causing chest illnesses, breathing problems, birth defects, and other unusual diseases more and more commonly being revealed as time progresses. Some birth defects include, but are not limited to, birth without certain limbs, birth without ability to reproduce, or lacking reproductive organs completely, and other respiratory conditions. These respiratory conditions occur because when toxins burrow into the lungs, it acts as a poison, and causes the airways to get narrower. The narrowing of the respiratory system’s airways causes it to become harder to breathe. The same conditions exist for other organic life, only in a slightly different manner. Marine life and animals seem to exhibit nearly the same conditions that humans do, except with less frequent birth rates with lack of limbs. Breathing gets more difficult for all living organisms with a respiratory system, or similar breathing mechanism. However, acid rain becomes a much more complex matter when dealing with plants. Over the progression of time, scientists have noted a slowed progression of forests, leaves turning brown and dying whereas they should be green and healthy. After massive conductions of tests, scientists have noted that acid rain is one of the primary reasons for dying/slowed/injured rainforests. In other studies, it’s shown that soil degradation is a product resulting from acid rain, mainly in the eastern regions of the US. The effects of acid rain on buildings? The acidity levels in rain have a much slower impact on constructions and buildings than they do on organic life, but the impact is still notice, increasingly over the past few years. It is a proven scientific fact that acids have a corrosive effect on many buildings and sculptures, most notably, the statue of liberty. The Statue Of Liberty, being made from  copper, has an extreme reaction when having dealt with acid rain. As well as having a dire effect on constructions of copper, other materials such as limestone and marble also have an extreme corrosive reaction to acids and acid rain. It is scientific fact that any wet or dry deposition of sulfur dioxide drastically increases the rate of corrosion on limestone, marbles, sandstones, and coppers. A common test to prove this would be dropping an egg into vinegar, a test many have conducted as proof to this fact. Eggshells are made from the same materials as limestone, calcium carbonate, and vinegar also has a great acidity level. Within an hour from dropping this egg into the vinegar, the shell will completely dissolve. In these two pictures you can see the effects of acids on different construction material. This massively demonstrates the fatalities of acidic rain levels being increased over time. In the picture to the right, the eggs in water and orange are practically new, where as the egg in coke seems to have a few obstructions. However, the egg that is in the vinegar, is shown to be completely dissolving with bubbles even popping out from around it. In the picture to the left it show’s the stature of liberty as how it once used to be (Artists depiction), and of how it is now. These drastic effects are fatal on the environment, natural or manmade. Solutions to solve this problem of acid rain? To reduce the acidity levels of rain, industries must cut down the amount of sulphur dioxide being produced when fossil fuels are burned and used. Viewing it like this, industries have a few options in which to choose from. They can produce and use coal that has little to no amounts of sulphur on it, research can be done to find a way in which to remove sulphur from coal. Other choices, but less conventional range from using a different kind of fuel, or researching a way in which when the coal is burned, the sulfur is destroyed before being emissed into the atmosphere. There seems to be many ways to combat this issue, but the most conventional seems to be halting the emissions of pollutants all in all. Reducing the amount of nitrogen oxide emissions caused by car exhaust is an effective solution. Public transport systems need to be improved so that people can travel without having to use their cars. If more people used public transport, it would cut the number of  private vehicles on the roads, and would reduce pollution dramatically. Everybody needs to work together to reduce pollutants to make the world a safer and healthier place to live. In conclusion, acid rain continues to develop into a greater and more massive problem as time progresses. However, if certain countermeasures are taken, which in hindsight, shouldn’t have to have been even contemplated if measures were taken in the past, can prevent acidity levels in rain to become a greater problem than it already is. In addition to limiting its growth, we can also work together, industries and the common denizens of society, to lowering its level as a whole.

Ratio Analysis of Starbucks vs Mcdonald’s

Running Head: RATIO ANALYSIS Starbucks Corporation & McDonalds Corporation McDonald’s Corporation McDonald’s Corporation operates in the food service industry. The company has its restaurants in more than 100 countries of the world. McDonald’s, the world’s largest food chain is headquartered in U. S. having an employee population of 390000 (About McDonald's†¦ , 2008). Starbucks Corporation Seattle based, Starbucks Corporation is the leading coffeehouse chain in the world. The company has its operations in more than 44 countries. The main products offered by Starbucks various kinds of drinks, snacks, coffee beans. The company also operates in the field of marketing of music, books (The Company, 2008). Ratio Analysis Ratio Analysis (2007) RatiosStarbucksMcDonalds Current Ratio0. 790. 80 Quick Ratio0. 300. 67 Debt Equity Ratio1. 340. 92 Proprietary Ratio0. 430. 52 Solvency Ratio0. 570. 48 Inventory Turnover Ratio12. 13118. 77 Gross Profit Ratio (%)23. 3434. 69 Net Profit Ratio (%)7. 1515. 67 Return on Proprietors' Funds (%)29. 4515. 67 Earning Per Share0. 912. 06 Current Ratio Current Ratio may be defined as the relationship between current assets and current liabilities. It is also known as working capital ratio or 2: 1 ratio. It is calculated by dividing the current assets by current liabilities. The main components of this ratio are current assets and current liabilities. Current assets of a firm represent those assets which can be, in the ordinary course of business, converted into cash within a period not exceeding one year. Current liabilities mean those obligations which are to be paid within a period of one year of current assets or by creation of current liabilities (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Current ratio of the Starbucks Corporation and McDonalds Corporation is . 79 and . 80 respectively in the year 2007. There is little difference in the current ratio of both the companies. The ratio reflects weak liquidity position of both the companies and it shows that the companies do not have short term solvency. Liquidity position can be improved to some extent and can be made equivalent to industry average. The industry average of current ratio is . 90: 1. Quick Ratio This ratio is also helpful in analyzing short term financial position of a business. Quick ratio is the measure of the instant debt paying ability of the business enterprise, hence it is called quick ratio (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). A quick ratio of 1:1 is considered as an ideal ratio. If the liquid ratio is more than 1:1, the financial position of the firm seems to be sound and good. On the other hand, if the ratio is less than 1:1 the financial position of the firm is unsound. Quick ratio of Starbucks is . 30:1 and McDonald’s ratio is . 67:1. There is high difference between the quick ratios of both the corporations. McDonald’s liquidity position is much better than Starbucks. Overall, the short term liquidity position of both the firms is quite poor because both the ratios are less than the desired norms. For instance, current ration should be 2:1 whereas, it is 1:1 approximately. Similarly the liquidity ratio is much less than 1 as compared to ideal standard of 1:1. Therefore, the companies will face difficulties in current obligations on maturity. Debt Equity Ratio This ratio indicates the relative proportion of debt and equity in financing the assets of a firm. Debt Equity ratio reflects the relative claims of creditors and shareholders against the assets of a firm. The industry average of ratio is . 42:1. Debt equity ratio of McDonalds is . 92:1 which is highly satisfactory as normally the ratio of 1:1 is considered reasonable. The Starbucks ratio is 1. 34:1 which is very high. A high debt equity ratio has serious implications from the firm’s point of view. A high proportion of debt in the capital structure lead to inflexibility in the operations of the firm as creditors would exercise pressure and interfere in management. Proprietary Ratio Proprietary ratio establishes relationship between proprietors or shareholder’s funds and total assets of the business. This ratio highlights the general financial strength of the firm. It is of great importance to creditors since it enables them to find out the proportion of shareholder’s funds in the total assets used in the business. The ratio of Starbucks is . 43:1 and for the McDonalds it is . 52:1. Though, ratios are quite similar but McDonalds again has a better position than Starbucks Corporation. Solvency Ratio This ratio measures the long term solvency of the business. It reveals the relationship between total assets and total external liabilities. This ratio measures the proportion of total assets provided by creditors of the firm i. e. what part of assets being financed from loans (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). The total assets of Starbucks and McDonald’s are more than total liabilities which indicates that the company is solvent. So, the higher the ratio, the grater is the amount of creditors that is being used to generate profit foe the owners of the firm. The difference in both the companies’ ratio is small but still Starbucks has better performance than McDonald’s in terms of solvency. Inventory Turnover Ratio The ratio indicates the number of times inventory is replaced during the year. It measures the relationship between the cost of goods sold and the inventory level. The inventory turnover ratio measures how quickly inventory is sold (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). The inventory turnover ratio of Starbucks is 12 times while McDonald’s ratio is 118 times. McDonald’s has an efficient inventory management. Whereas Starbucks has low inventory turnover ratio and it is unsatisfactory. In general, a high inventory turnover ratio is better than a low ratio. A high ratio implies good inventory management. A very low level of inventory has serious implications. It adversely affects the ability to meet customer demand as it may mot cope up with its customer requirements. Gross Profit Ratio The ratio expresses the relationship of gross profit on sales to net sales in terms of percentage (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Goss profit is the result of the relationship between prices, sales volume and costs. Gross profit margin of Starbucks Corporation is 23% whereas the ratio for McDonald’s is 35%. McDonald’s ratio is high as compared to Starbucks which is a sign of good management. It implies that the cost of production of the firm is relatively low. The McDonald’s has reasonable gross margin which ensures adequate coverage for operating expenses of the firm and sufficient return to the owners of the business, which is reflected in the net profit margin. Net profit Ratio This measures the relationship between net profits and sales of a firm. The net profit margin is indicative of management’s ability to operate the business with sufficient success not only to recover revenues of the period, the cost of merchandise or services, the expenses of operating the business and the cost of the borrowed funds, but also leave a margin of reasonable compensation to the owners for providing their capital at risk (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Net profit ratio of McDonald’s and Starbucks is 15. 67% & and 7. 15% respectively. McDonald’s is generating adequate returns for its owners. On the other hand, Starbucks net profit margin shows inadequate returns to its owners. Overall efficiency and profitability of McDonald’s is higher than Starbucks. Return on Proprietary Funds The ratio expresses the percentage relationship between net profit and proprietors funds or shareholder’s investment (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). It is used to ascertain the earning power of shareholders investment. Return on proprietors’ funds for McDonald’s is 15. 7% and for Starbucks it is 29. 5%. Starbucks has better performance and higher return than the McDonald’s. Earning Per Share The rate of dividend on shares depends upon the amount of profits darned by the firm. Whatever profit remains, after meeting all expenses and paying preference share dividend, belongs to equity shareholders (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). These are the profits earned on equity share capital. The earning per share is calculated by dividing the profit available to equity shareholders by the number of shares issued. This is a popular ratio as it measures the profitability of a firm from owner’s standpoint. McDonald’s EPS is higher than Starbucks which shows that the market price of the firm would be greater. It will also help the company to raise additional capital without any difficulty. This ratio plays an important in comparison of two companies from investment point of view. Investment Decision I would like to invest in McDonald’s Corporation as the overall performance and productivity is high for the firm. The liquidity analysis performed through current ratio and quick ratio reveals that the McDonald’s is better in terms of liquidity position. The company also has satisfactory position in terms of long term solvency. Though solvency ratio of Starbucks is higher but overall McDonald’s has good financial position. Firm is able to quickly convert various assets into cash. McDonald’s has high profit margins which is necessary for the higher returns to the shareholders. It shows that the resources are effectively utilized at the firm. EPS is very high which is necessary for the investment. Thus, investment in McDonald’s Corporation is beneficial and it would give higher returns. References About McDonald's†¦ (2008). Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://www. mcdonalds. com/corp/about. html McDonald's Corp: Financial Statement. (2008). MSN Money. Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://moneycentral. sn. com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt. aspx? Symbol=US:MCD&lstStatement=Balance&stmtView=Ann Starbucks Corp: Financial Statement. (2008). MSN Money. Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://moneycentral. msn. com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt. aspx? Symbol=SBUX&lstStatement=Balance&stmtView=Ann The Company. (2008). Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://www. starbucks. co m/aboutus/overview. asp Van Horne, J. C. Wachowicz, J. M. & Bhaduri, S. N. (2005). Fundamentals of Financial Management (12th Ed. ). (pp. 130-133). United Kingdom: Pearson Education.

Consider the claims that Baudelaire makes and the points of argument Assignment

Consider the claims that Baudelaire makes and the points of argument that he makes - Assignment Example Instead, it posits the popular sense of being a mirror of the physical, visible world. However, at the same time to a fine artist, the photograph would depict a sensational piece of artwork depending to the title that it is given. If the title in totally sums up all the elements of the photograph without exaggeration or assumption, then it would much the fine art that Baudelaire talks about. The photograph does not show the element of surprise that would also symbolize a sense of beauty that comes with it. The photograph seems more or less dry, lacks taste and a sense of humor or wonder (85). This is due to lack of beauty that goes hand in hand with wonder and enthusiasm of scrutiny at the image as an image of mental reflection by the artist and the art lovers. As such the photograph is a qualification of the fact that photography cannot be allowed to deputize arts activities as it will altogether corrupt the good work of art. Photographs in many instances serve as a reminder of the many memories that the photographer would prefer to keep. The consideration of photography as an important part of the art does not reflect wholly on what fine art ought to be. Photographs in terms of artwork do not depict the amount of creativity of the photographer as much as painting would (86). This is because in photography, in most cases there is no a predetermined kind of thoughts and imagery that runs in ones mind as is mostly seen in the art of painting. As time goes by the scene of art has been corrupted as more and more elements are being considered as a piece of art so long as it is beautiful to the eye of the public. As a result, "art is losing in self-respect, is prostrating itself before external reality," (88) while the artists have become more inclined to works that are not driven by dream but what is appealing to the physical eye. The creativity of an

BUS Unit 4 DB SA FWP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BUS Unit 4 DB SA FWP - Essay Example India was the founding member of the GATT i.e. the world trade organization in 1947 as well as WTO i.e. World Trade Organization in 1995 and the main objective was to decrease the barriers of international trade through the decrease of tariffs, quotas plus subsidies (Krueger, 2002). The drift in Indian economic trade policy is a response to the spaghetti bowl effect which is often cited as a problematic of free trade agreements. It refers to the development of overlapping bilateral as well as regional trade agreements (Mukherji, 2011). Nevertheless the average tariffs overdid 200 percent, quantifiable restrictions on imports were widespread, as well as there were stringent restrictions on foreign investment (Mukherji, 2011). India is pushing for extra liberal global trade since protective tariff and of free trade is the foundation of classical economics, it has anticipated a leadership role amongst developing nations (Krueger, 2002). An analysis of trade restrictions in Saudi Arabia displays that various restrictions besides challenges regarding regulatory and bureaucratic management in this country occurs up to now (House K, 2013). It is true that Saudi Arabia is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Greater Arab Free Trade Area GAFTA, it is an executive program to stimulate the Trade Facilitation as well as Development Agreement (House K, 2013). Import tariffs are only useful for products from third countries. Saudi Arabia also restricts or prohibits importation of certain products and needs licenses for products too. Prohibited items are for example firearms as well as alcohol (House K, 2013). Some examples for products that need licenses from Saudi Arabian authorities are medical devices and religious material that does not relate to Islam (House K, 2013). The procedure for applying for a license can be long-lasting and poses a test for applying in companies. Restrictions that apply to the exercise of certain professions

Individual Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Individual Report - Essay Example And leadership must help the company to maintain its focus and momentum, which will naturally tend to deteriorate over time. Innovation with all its merits also carries some barriers along with it which tries to deteriorate growth. Many of the barriers comes from individuals who don’t believe in the merits of innovation, or those who believe that they wont either get funding or else their own life career might be jeopardized, if innovation fails. It is important for organization’s management to address these problems before venturing in a new project. As it is proposed by Mitch, an innovation consultant,† Real innovators challenge excuses. Real innovators challenge the status quo. They do not concede to current reality. They find a way over, around or through whatever obstacle is in their way - whether that obstacle is the lack of funding or the assumption that there is a lack of funding." Innovation completely rocks and rolls our lifestyle. It creates huge turns in way of life. Our lifestyles are the result of other people’s efforts to improve the human condition. They mixed ideas and inventions together to create the present world around us. Our innovation is going to multi tasked vending machine, vending music, multimedia content such as mp3 files; e-Books, audio books, maps and videos. The booths would be in the places such as airports, train stations and gyms. The booth is called the "mBooth". Here’s how it looks to the user – they walk up to our device and swipe a credit card. If they’ve used it before, they are recognized and their account information comes up. If not, an account is initialized. Either way they next go to a browser that lets them to select the criteria- music, books, audio books, maps. Upon choosing your option, it displays search list for available books or music or map by title, author, genre, etc. It May also have options for displaying their previous purchases through vending