Utility

In economics, utility is a measure of preferences over some set of goods and services. The concept is an important underpinning of rational choice theory in economics and game theory, because it represents satisfaction experienced by the consumer of a good. A good is something that satisfies human wants. Since one cannot directly measure benefit, satisfaction or happiness from a good or service, economists instead have devised ways of representing and measuring utility in terms of economic choices that can be measured. Economists have attempted to perfect highly abstract methods of comparing utilities by observing and calculating economic choices. In the simplest sense, economists consider utility to be revealed in people's willingness to pay different amounts for different goods.

Applications

Utility is usually applied by economists in such constructs as the indifference curve, which plot the combination of commodities that an individual or a society would accept to maintain a given level of satisfaction. Utility and indifference curves are used by economists to understand the underpinnings of demand curves, which are half of the supply and demand analysis that is used to analyze the workings of goods markets.

Pickup truck

A pickup truck is a light duty truck having an enclosed cab and an open cargo area with low sides and tailgate. Once a work tool with few creature comforts, in the 1950s consumers began purchasing pickups for lifestyle reasons and by the 1990s less than 15 percent of owners reported use in work as the pickup truck's primary purpose. Today in North America, the pickup is mostly used like a passenger car and accounts for about 18 per cent of total vehicles sold in the US.

The term pickup is of unknown origin. It was used by Studebaker in 1913 and by the 1930s pick-up (hyphenated) had become the standard term. In Australia and New Zealand ute, short for utility, is used for both pickups and coupé utilities. In South Africa people of all language groups use the term bakkie, a diminutive of bak, Afrikaans for bowl.

History

In the early days of automobile manufacturing, vehicles were sold as a chassis only, and third parties added bodies on top. In 1913 the Galion Allsteel Body Company, an early developer of the pickup and dump truck, built and installed hauling boxes on slightly modified Ford Model T chassis, and from 1917 on the Model TT. Seeking part of this market share, Dodge introduced a 3/4-ton pickup with cab and body constructed entirely of wood in 1924. In 1925 Ford followed up with a Model T-based steel-bodied, half-ton with an adjustable tailgate and heavy-duty rear springs. Billed as the "Ford Model T Runabout with Pickup Body," it sold for US$281. 34,000 were built. In 1928 it was replaced by the Model A which had a closed-cab, safety glass windshield, roll-up side windows and three-speed transmission. In 1931 Chevrolet produced its first factory-assembled pickup. Ford Australia produced the first Australian "ute" in 1932. During the Second World War, the United States government halted the product of privately owned pickup trucks.

Utility player

In sport, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently, a sort of jack of all trades. Sports in which the term is often used include football, baseball, rugby, rugby league, water polo, softball and track.

The term has gained prominence in all sports due to its use in fantasy leagues, but in rugby and rugby league, it is commonly used by commentators to recognize a player's versatility.

Association football

In football, like other sports, the utility man is usually a player who can play myriad positions. This will commonly be defence and midfield, sometimes defence and attack. A few outfield players have also made competent substitute goalkeepers, for example Phil Jagielka, Jan Koller (originally trained as a goalkeeper before converting into a striker) and Cosmin Moți. But in the case of goalkeepers playing as outfield players, it is extremely rare. Some may be free kick and penalty specialists (Rogério Ceni, José Luis Chilavert and Jorge Campos), but they don't hold a role in the outfield. John O'Shea a former Manchester United player, is a famous example for playing in all positions in his United career. More recently, another Manchester United player, Phil Jones has become a utility player being used as a right back, and centre back as well as taking up both defensive and more attacking midfield roles. The former Bulgarian international and Sporting Lisbon player Ivaylo Yordanov has played in all three outfield roles. Former Scottish international and Rangers F.C. captain Lee McCulloch also played in every outfield role for the club. Former Dutch international and Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and Milan player, Ruud Gullit played as a defender, midfielder and striker.

Developer

Developer may refer to:

See also

Real estate development

Real estate development, or property development, is a multifaceted business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. Real estate developers are the people and companies who coordinate all of these activities, converting ideas from paper to real property. Real estate development is different from construction, although many developers also manage the construction process.

Developers buy land, finance real estate deals, build or have builders build projects, create, imagine, control and orchestrate the process of development from the beginning to end. Developers usually take the greatest risk in the creation or renovation of real estate—and receive the greatest rewards. Typically, developers purchase a tract of land, determine the marketing of the property, develop the building program and design, obtain the necessary public approval and financing, build the structures, and rent out, manage, and ultimately sell it. Sometimes property developers will only undertake part of the process. For example, some developers source a property get the plans and permits approved before on selling the property with the plans and permits to a builder at a premium price. Alternatively, a developer that is also a builder may purchase a property with the plans and permits in place so that they do not have the risk of failing to obtain planning approval and can start construction on the development immediately. Developers work with many different counterparts along each step of this process, including architects, city planners, engineers, surveyors, inspectors, contractors, leasing agents and more. In the Town and Country Planning context in the United Kingdom, 'development' is defined in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s55.

Photographic developer

In the processing of photographic films, plates or papers, the photographic developer (or just developer) is one or more chemicals that convert the latent image to a visible image. Developing agents achieve this conversion by reducing the silver halides, which are pale-colored, into silver metal, which is black (when a fine particle). The conversion occurs within the gelatine matrix. The special feature of photography is that the developer only acts on those particles of silver halides that have been exposed to light. Generally, the longer a developer is allowed to work, the darker the image.

Chemical composition of developers

For black-and-white photography, the developer typically consists of a mixture of chemical compounds prepared as an aqueous solution. Three main components of this mixture are: