The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Almost everyone is familiar with the striped bars found on grocery and retail store items. These are bar codes, or more specifically, the Universal Product Code (UPC). UPC codes first appeared in stores in 1973 and have since revolutionized the sales industry. The UPC code consists of ten pairs of thick and thin vertical bars that represent the manufacturer's identity, product size and name. Price information, which is not part of the bar code, is determined by the store. Bar codes are read by hand-held wand readers or fixed scanners linked to point of sale (POS) terminals. Bar codes are also used for non-retail purposes. One of the earliest uses for bar codes was as an identifier on railroad cars. Organizers of sporting events also take advantage of bar code technology.For example, as runners of the Boston Marathon complete the 26 mile course,they turn over a bar code tag that allows race officials to quickly tabulate results. From 1965 through 1982, the United States Post Office experimented with optical character recognition (OCR) and bar code technology to speed up mail delivery. The Post Office now utilizes another type of bar code called the POSTNET bar code. Consisting of full and half height bars representing the zip-code and delivery address, the bar code allows mail to be sorted automatically at speeds of up to 700 pieces per minute.