Monday, September 30, 2019

Challenges Facing the Youth

Bill Henry ENC 1101 4th period Would you agree that in society today, there are several challenges facing the youth? Due to the economy and state standards, it has become harder for the youth to not only set goals but to accomplish the task which they have set for themselves. Graduation rates are lower, college enrollment is declining, and unemployment rates are increasing. One challenge facing today’s youth is that graduation rates are gradually decreasing yearly because school is becoming harder due to new state standards. As of the year 2012-2013, eleventh grade students have been required to take a test called the PERT.The PERT test assesses students on the three basic subjects: math, reading, and writing skills. To display college readiness it is required that a student at least makes a 113 in math, 104 in reading, and a 99 in writing. If you fail to obtain the recommended score in these subject areas and your ACT scores are lower than average, you will be placed in remed ial courses your senior year. Not all students are great test takers; therefore, for most students this may be a challenge. Yet another challenge is declining college enrollment. Many young adults feel as though college is not for them due to the hard time they may have had in high school.Not only that, the cost of tuition is extremely high. Between 2000–01 and 2010–11, prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions rose 42 percent. Most young adults cannot afford it, especially those who are forced to be on their own after high school. Another challenge that is facing the youth is increasing unemployment rates. In a 2011 news story, BusinessWeek reported, â€Å"More than 200 million people globally are out of work, a record high, as almost two-thirds of advanced economies and half of developing countries are experiencing a slowdown in employment growth†.Nowadays, most jobs require that you have a high school diploma to work. Not everyo ne finishes high school! Many students in previous years are satisfied with a GED. These young adults with GED’s have now encountered a problem with job finding. Due to the economy and state standards, graduation rates are lower, college enrollment is declining, and unemployment rates are increasing. Yes, I definitely agree that in society today, there are several challenges facing the youth.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

My Name

As per the Chinese tradition, I was named by my grandfather after the Princess of Wales, Lady Diana Spencer, who was well known for her grace, beauty, and generosity of spirit.   I was born in America, although my origin is Chinese.   My grandfather felt that it was necessary for him to give me a name that sounds American (or European) in origin.   The name, Diana, felt appropriate also because it is a popular name among the Chinese (â€Å"Chinese Culture†). This name was derived from an old Indo-European root with the meaning, heavenly or divine (â€Å"Diana†).   Perhaps this is the reason why I am never offended when my friends often call me â€Å"Dee† or â€Å"Di.†Ã‚   I know that Lady Diana Spencer, too, was often referred to as Lady Di.   All the same, it is perhaps the sacredness of the meaning of my name, Diana, that saves me from feeling insulted when I am called, â€Å"Di† (pronounced as â€Å"Die†). In short, I have never had a problem identifying with my first name.   It is only my last name, Ng, that has given me some trouble, seeing that it is almost impossible for a person with American (or European) origin to read it correctly, unless of course he or she has conducted some research on the pronunciation of Chinese names.   Hence, unfortunately, there are few people I know outside my family that pronounce my last name correctly. Chinese last names are patrilineal.   In other words, they are passed from fathers to their children.   Chinese women are also typically known to retain their birth surnames after marriage (â€Å"Chinese Surname†).   Although I may or may not retain my last name after marriage, the mere fact that the last name is traditionally known to be significant enough to be used throughout one’s lifetime, gives me the reason to respect my own last name unconditionally.   This is despite  the fact that many people mispronounce my last name, Ng, as â€Å"Nig† or simply call me Miss N- G.   People have additionally made fun of my last name by remarking that NG stands for either â€Å"no good† or â€Å"not given.†Ã‚   Even so, I continue to honor my traditions and my family name. I understand that Ng is an unusual last name in America, and difficult to pronounce because it lacks a vowel.   Moreover, I have felt annoyed at people’s mispronunciation of my last name, and their mockery of it.   Ng was translated from Cantonese, and in Mandarin it is Wu.   The name has various other dialect variants such as Wone, Wong, Bong, Huynh, Hoang, Hwang, Oei, Oi, Ooi, Uy, Wee, and Ong (â€Å"Family Name: Wong†). Unsurprisingly, all of the dialectical variants are transliterated and pronounced differently.   Furthermore, because of the different pronunciations and romanizations, it is generally easy for the people of Chinese origins to tell whether a person using a different dialectical variant of a last name is from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Southeast Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia (â€Å"Chinese Surname†). Many of my cousins in America have changed the last name to Eng in order to make it easier for others to pronounce.   I do not change it because I am quite attached to the idea of preserving good old family traditions.   According to Scott Edward Harrison, Chinese names in the original script are relatively problem free only for those who are familiar with the written language. But when those names are transliterated based on established standards of transliteration, some intelligibility may be lost.   This is certainly true with my last name.   So, even though my last name is often mocked or mispronounced, I do not overreact to the insult because I have perfect understanding of the nature of the problem. Had Chinese writing been popular in America, nobody would have had a problem saying my last name.   What is more, I have firm trust in the  fact that Americans do not mean to harm or humiliate me by saying my last name incorrectly, or using it inappropriately.   I do believe that the people I know respect and honor me as an individual.   Fortunately, in America one’s personal strengths are more important than one’s origins or name.   Hence, I have never really felt like a misfit, or suffered maladjustment in any way. One variant of my last name, Wong or Huang, is known as the seventh most common last name in China (â€Å"List of Common Chinese Surnames†).   The name is also used by many people in Vietnam, and almost one million in Korea.   Moreover, approximately two million Chinese people settled overseas are known to be using at least one dialect variant of my last name (â€Å"Family Name: Wong†).   According a 1987 study, there are more than four hundred and fifty surnames in use in Beijing (â€Å"Chinese Surname†).   Knowing that my last name, including its dialectic variants, is among the most popular Chinese names, makes it even easier for me to feel at ease with respect to my last name. Works Cited 1Chinese Culture. â€Å"Diana.† Retrieved from http://chineseculture.about.com/library/name/female/blna_diana.htm. (14 February 2007). 2.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Chinese Surname.† Wikipedia (2007, February). Retrieved http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_surname. (14 February 2007). 3.â€Å"Diana.† Behind the Name: The Etymology and History of First Names (1996). Retrieved from http://www.behindthename.com/. (14 February 2007). 4.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Family Name: Wong.† Retrieved from http://www.generasian.ca/roots_wong.html. (14 February 2007). 5. Harrison, Scott Edward. â€Å"Chinese Names in English.† Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, Volume 15, Issue 4 (1993, February). â€Å"List of Common Chinese Surnames.† Wikipedia (2007, February). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames. (14 February 20

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The changing interaction of finance information and technology Essay

The changing interaction of finance information and technology - Essay Example The test life cycle of the system is divided in different scenarios from 1 through 11. The significant feature of the system is that it validates the data at every step. The process is completed by following scenarios which are defined below (Dan Lemus, April 13, 2011): Scenario 1 starts by creating a new project or working on the existing project. System assigns a unique user name for the user and stored it in the database of the system for later validation. To start a project we first define a project and system assigns a unique project code following with the details of Project principal, description and initiator of the project. When the project is formally initiated we move to Scenario 2. This phase of system is wholly related to the transfers funding for the project initiated. In this phase all accounting credentials are added against project initiated. Accounting information includes the accounting numbers â€Å"From Accounting Number† from which the fund will be transferred and the â€Å"To Account Number†. In this phase an important feature is also available to import accounting line information from a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file. Then final step is to submit the eDoc of transfer fund for routing to get approvals from the concerned. While proceeding to Scenario 3 the approvals will see the eDoc routed in their â€Å"Action List†. The approvers can approve/reject the document. They can leave remarks, if needed. When all the approvers have approved the eDoc the initiator will be able to see the Final status of the document in â€Å"Document Search† option at the top of the page. In Scenario 4 we can check the General Ledger Balance to see the current balance of the company. This detail can further be evaluated to monthly financial information. This information can help the managers to have a bigger picture of the funds available that could be consumed for a project. Next scenario (Scenario 5) is to make disbursement voucher in

Friday, September 27, 2019

Superbad Movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Superbad Movie - Essay Example Classic Hollywood movies were work of art that was devoted close to theoretical and critical attention of the movie plot and cinematic text and ideology. Genre analysis can be problematical though. What is called analysis or criticism is often little more than making note of superficial similarities or differences amongst films. This is true across film criticism in general. Rick Altman calls this approach to genre criticism the semantic approach—a focus on the more superficial aspects of films that fit into a given genre. A semantic examination would point out the character types, aesthetics, plot lines, etc., which are common to the films. The inevitable question that must arise from such an assessment is, â€Å"Why bother?† What good does it do to point out that noir films all make extensive use of light and shadow plot development for example, or that Westerns usually feature saloons? In this case genre analysis is no different from a similar analysis of a given individual film. To be valuable, genre analysis must bring deeper issues to the surface. In the context of this deeper, broader method of analysis, I think that genre criticism can be very useful. Qualities or incidences and similarities that seem insignificant in individual films can take on more meaning when connected with similar characteristics of other films in the genre—if we have shown the existence of the genre itself. So while the semantic approach is necessary, it is a means to an end—the end being the syntactic analysis which can then be taken up, and which can tell us something about the societies in which the films are produced and consumed. These high school comedy romance movies are new genre and all similar movies are based on almost the same story line. The existence of particular genres themselves is significant as well. Given that a group of films of this high school genre share a common lot of significant characteristics, we can and should then ask why this is

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Define the concepts 'realism', 'fantasy', and 'utopia' Essay

Define the concepts 'realism', 'fantasy', and 'utopia' - Essay Example Realism Realism is widely-known since it contains cosmopolitan elements most people would agree to be the truth. It is a concept used to rationalise everything in the world, unifying how everyone sees reality through measurable and specific attributes (Morris, 2003). However, realism is not fully grasped by every individual due to innate differences. Each person experiences some parts of reality but not fully, making individual persons and their existences separate from absolute reality. This detachment from absolute reality is constant through time and space. Because each person has a unique set of experiences and memories by being in various places and periods in time, it would be impossible to say that how a person sees reality is the absolute truth since a person’s collection of knowledge and memories affects how reality is felt and experienced (Berger, 2008; Searle, 1995). It false to assume one person sees ultimate reality, but is socially acceptable that every person se es reality according to how one reacts to it, believing this to be the truth. The idea took a long time to form and even longer time to conceptualise due to difficulties in uniformly defining realism and reality. Before realism was coined, cultures come to accept everything simply what these things seem to them without any further questioning. The advent of Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution started people questioning what reality is, and defines this further through the growth of various fields of knowledge such as sciences and humanities. This makes it easier to create a representation of what reality truly is by delineating what defines something real and what makes it unreal, as agreeable to the majority. However the emergence of a culture giving priority or power to entities bearing the highest amount of money or capital such as rich or influential people skewed this balance of equal opportunities in presenting individual realities, giving them greater capacities to delive r their ideas and perceptions of their own reality to others compared to those lacking resources to do the same. If the powerful person or entity communicates its reality in attractive forms like literature among impressionable people with limited experiences, these audiences will be convinced of its absolute truth, twisting the people’s individual perception of realism and taking its face value for convenience. But people who totally reject and disagree with this reality do so because they either have an entirely different sense of realism based on their own experiences, or they already created opposing belief systems far from how powerful entities sell their reality. This keeps distrusting people unresponsive to mass-produced reality and fully aware of its differences with their own, shaping their own senses of realism. Fantasy and Utopia Realism has its antitheses: fantasy and utopia. For many, fantasy is something unchained, imaginary and a form of escape from one’ s insight on reality (Jackson, 1981). In this made-up world, ideas and thoughts are not confined by others’ definition and view of reality. Impossible things in realism is acceptable as true or absolute in fantasy, including the reversal of social codes, gender, good and evil, or anything most people find troublesome in the reality they experience. Fantasy bluntly or subtly rejects the reality in most people by showing the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 9

Marketing - Essay Example The main purpose of this exercise is to enforce marketing strategies that could allow the manager to take strategic decisions on various dynamics in the marketing of voice- recognition devices software (VRD) in the domestic market. â€Å"Interactive Voice Recognition or Voice Recognition Information is one of the most common telephone functions in use across the business community and is capable of bringing remarkable benefits to your company. Interactive Voice Recognition allow 24 hour access to a company from its customers Interactive Voice Recognition its phone system.† (Interactive voice recognition, 2005). Coming now to the actual exercise, what Marketing Games actually means to do is to put â€Å"you in the driving seat of a fictitious business. You have been brought in by the CEO to develop a winning market strategy that will turn the business around.† (The big marketing game, 2010). Thus the main objective of this game would be in terms of the overriding factors that contribute to profits/losses of the business, and the ways and means by which the losses could be turned around into profits. It also seeks to lower operating costs, increase productivity and ensure better all round performance. Another major consideration that needs to be taken up is also in terms of competitors, since our business development and growth is also dependent upon them, in that the business development of Speakeasy is also linked with that of its competitors who lay stakes on market shares, customer segments and volume of business and off takes. Thus, it is also necessary to predict possible competitive forays and adopt ways and means that could counter these effectively. Principally, â€Å"Voice recognition software programs work by analyzing sounds and converting them to text.† (Voice Recognition Software: An Introduction, 2009, p.1). There are only four makers of this VRD in the market. One is the product

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Grounded Theory Project - Respectful Interaction Essay

Grounded Theory Project - Respectful Interaction - Essay Example These ideas were investigated using qualitative analysis as well as the construct of ethnography. The general, overall theme is self-consciousness of interaction which is respectful in various situations which denote three dominant themes and one emerging theme that was taken directly from data utilizing the Ground Theory Method: (1) transformative behaviors; (2) self-consciousness of one’s self and others; (3) maintaining and developing situational awareness; and (4) alteration of attitudes for the purposes of social contracts and societal approval. Methods: Data Collection and Analysis of Interview Results The coding that was done was completed due to having analyzed a total of 37 narratives as well as select interviews, most of which dealt with the idea of respective interaction. Four personal interviews were used in order to look at the unique categories which emerged that also consequently had similar elements. After starting to code in the beginning, Axial coding was use d. This was how categories were realized. The importance was in looking for relationships that would form a categorization, then connecting the four categories that were identified. The coding helped one comprehend various happenings that had effects on the element of respectful interaction. At the same time, discourse explaining the similarities was looked at in-depth. In addition, codes which were most prevalent among the 37 participants in the study were found, in addition to those which were utilized less frequently. As such, starting off with minimal knowledge, the participants knew about various reactions they had had in various situations, finding out that theme kept reoccurring within the scope of the study. The difficulty in managing all the various themes was what inspired the entire coding process. At that stage, categories were reworked in order to collude the findings with the theory. Looking at why the coding was done, one begins to realize the logic behind the code. T he grounded theory method informed data analysis. Various techniques were used in order to figure out categories, as well as analyze elements that came directly from the copy of the interviews that were listened to or read aloud. These elements were connected together to established, legitimate theories. Reading through various notes taken on the subject, several themes developed. As the categories themselves came to fruition, data was compared amongst categories. The categories seemed to be like pieces of a puzzle which each had different parts. In analysis of the interview results, what was summarily done was coding. Coding was utilized in order to find the various elements that would illuminate the various types of groups. As the coding was occurring, it was observed that although these elements vary in nature, they happened to show actions that circled around a familiar entity which was comprised of consciousness of oneself as well as other people. This entity could be categoriz ed under a more vague concept, which was a category entitled detachment. The three common themes show the prevalent necessity of respectful interaction, especially in the context of networking and making friendships adn acquaintances

Monday, September 23, 2019

Adult Learners in Higher Education and Training Assignment - 1

Adult Learners in Higher Education and Training - Assignment Example alcolm Knowles was one of the most active adult educators who claimed that learning contracts is the best tool in achieving study goals he sets out for adult learners. Even though contract learning might be one of the most valuable tools for learning in adults it is not always the most useful. In those cases where learners do not have much knowledge about their subject, its depths and its prospects, students are not in a very sound position to make strategies and commitments about the goals they set for themselves in a contract. The main objective of contract learning for Knowles was structuring the learning process in its best and most fruitful way where the content of the educational material is replaced by the process. Students get involved in the study process and they comprehend everything with an active approach. Contract learning puts a sense of responsibility on student and they feel more in control of what they would want to learn instead of feeling ‘being stuck’ with studies. Contract learning is also effective in student groups comprising of students with different backgrounds. This tool reduces the problems due to such difference in

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Consumer Driven Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts Essay

Consumer Driven Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts - Essay Example ible Spending Accounts such as tax benefits to employees and employers, a portable health program, an attractive incentive program and an affordable approach to health care. They are preferable to other options because they offer portability and are less limited or risk-laden than the HSA. However, they do require a high deductible health plan. In determining the best type of health plan to offer our employees, the option of Health Savings Accounts presented itself as being the best choice for our company situation as a small but growing firm. This paper describes what a Health Savings Account is, addresses the most unique advantages it has to offer with particular emphasis on the advantages offered to small companies and compares this type of program with other consumer driven health plans available. In addition, the disadvantages of Health Savings Accounts are discussed, common questions are posed with answers provided by the Department of Treasury and consumer feedback is offered. A Health Savings Account (HSA), an example of a consumer-driven health plan, offers a distinct alternative to the way in which we work with traditional health insurance programs such as Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) or Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO). One of the greatest advantages of HSAs is that they offer tax breaks that continue to grow wealthier because consumers decide for themselves how to spend less. Patients pay for a greater share of their health care directly and are given more control over the money in their HSA than they would have in more traditional plans. These plans are contingent on the use of a high-deductible health insurance plan that meets specific criteria, which functions to lower costs for employers as well as premiums for employees. Decisions on what types of investments to make with the money are made by the individual consumers without relying on a third party employer relations expert or a health insurer. In addition, each person

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Effect of Grammar Learning on Speaking Ability of Efl Learners Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Grammar Learning on Speaking Ability of Efl Learners Essay Nowadays, one of the hottest issues in the field of foreign and second language learning or teaching is how to converse fluently in the target language. Generally speaking, most of the EFL learners believe that their knowledge in English is nearly assessed by the way they can interact in the target language. They maintain that their linguistic knowledge and their abilities in other skills—reading, writing, and listening—are not that much important. What is significant is their ability in conversational situations. Of course, this belief belongs to lay and ordinary people. Unfortunately, a majority of EFL teachers and instructors follow this point of view in a broader sense, too. These instructors declare that in learning English EFL learners do not have to be trained from the grammatical point of view. Now, the question is that is it really no relationship between the grammatical rules and learning to communicate fluently in a foreign language? The linguistic knowledge in English consists of the ability to analyze and recognize the structural features and components in the language. These abilities are concerned with phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic issues. The building blocks of the communication are grammatical points which make the structure of a language. Before starting to speak many factors and components must be formed in a person’s mind. First, the sounds should be matched with each other to shape different words. Second, these words need to be united together to form phrases, clauses, and at last sentences through which a particular meaning can be conveyed. Considering these facts, we can say that it is probably impossible to communicate in a foreign language without knowing the grammatical rules and structures of the target language. The focus of this paper is to review the literature in order to find any possible relationships between these two elements in the view of other researchers in this field of study. Also, at the end of this article, the opinions of a group of Iranian EFL learners will be presented about this issue to clarify the aim of our research better.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Management Of Sustainability At Barclays Marketing Essay

The Management Of Sustainability At Barclays Marketing Essay The history of Barclays was developed in 1960 in London by John Freame and Thomas Gould started their business as trading goldsmith bankers. In the year 1736, when James Barclay joined the organisation the name Barclays became connected with the company even though it was not until 1896 then the company is known as Barclays bank. Then is 1896 the company joins 19 other private banking businesses to form Barclay Company Limited, with 182 branches and a deposit of  £26m. By the year 2009 Barclays bank has established in 59 countries with 140, 000 employees throughout the world due to globalisation and the advancement of technology. Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management. According to the annual report for 2012, in order to have a sustainable basis, Barclays had to store trust and restore performance. There was also a change in the remuneration packages, a s they prefer paying according to the performance relationship. In relation with shareholders they have increase the share from the total net income and they mention that it is essential to the business and those employees working in an extreme competitive international environment. Barclays also states that their hitting their targets which satisfies them. They claim that their doing work which is socially important and useful to the environment, as well to generate a sustainable return for the shareholders. Sustainability is an increasingly important theme for businesses. At the current situation, the concept of sustainability has been broadened to include not only environmental consideration, but also economic and social consideration claims Elkington (1998). If these factors are implemented in the business, it would be successful. Sustainability is essential for Barclays competitive advantage as Barclays has various competitors in the market. Barclays sustains its competitive ad vantage by creating a size and diversity for the business as well as the quality, character and the relationships with their customers. Diversity has allowed them to build a sustainable business by delivering an operational excellence, investing in innovation and managing their risks. 2.0 Findings 2.1 Sustainability /Sustainable development Sustainability refers to the ability of a mankind to continue indefinitely by making a zero impact on the environmental resources (Blowfield Murray, 2011). Crane Marten (2010) states that sustainability is defined as a long- term maintenance of systems according to environmental, economic and social considerations. Sustainable development is the process by which mankind moves towards the ultimate goal of sustainability. The goal of sustainable development is to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and to enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life of future generations (HMG, 2005). 2.2 Business Sustainability Business sustainability is known as adapting to the business strategies and activities that meets the needs of business stakeholders today and the near future. There are few frameworks which are used to measure the sustainability of the business, and one of the best ways of testing sustainability would be the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) method introduced by John Elkington. It consists of three important elements which is Economic, social and Environmental. It generates the basis of both Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Balance Scorecard (SBSC). Now this report would move on to evaluate the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). 2.3 Economic Sustainability The economic dimension, sustainability is concern about the organizations impacts on the economic environment of its stakeholders and on economic system at local, national and global levels. A narrow concept of economic sustainability focuses on the economic performances of the corporations itself: the responsibility of management is to develop, produce and market those products that secure the long-term economic performances of the corporation (Crane and Matten, 2010).The economic perspective on sustainability is strong and stable economy would create jobs and incomes for society in order to provide basic standard of living. 2.4 Environmental Sustainability The environmental sustainability is concern about organisations impact towards the diverse ecosystem, like water, land and air. The basic principles of sustainability in environment perceptive concern the effective management of physical resources so that they are conserved for the future (Crane and Matten 2010). Basically, it provides resources for human activities and acts as sinks which absorb and recycle human waste such as microorganisms. It is also known as the main resource provider to people, such as water, soil fertility and pollination. 2.5 Social Sustainability The Social Sustainability focuses on the impacts of an organisation towards the social structure which it operates. The development in social perspectives on sustainability has tended to trial behind that of the environment and economic perspectives (Scott, Park and Cocklin, 2000). The main social point of sustainability is the key justice. It deals with a strong, healthy and fair society. It provides promotion for personal well- being, social cohesion and inclusion and equal opportunities for the society (HMG, 2005). 3.0 Measuring Businesses Sustainability 3.1 Sustainability Balance Scorecard Kaplan and Norton (1992) developed the balanced scorecard in order to give managers a more comprehensive view of business performances. Balance scorecards combine both qualitative and quantitative measures, acknowledge the expectations of different stakeholders and relate an assessment of performance to choice of category. It contents of four perspectives financial, customers, process, learning and growth. The sustainability balance scorecard consists of four elements, which would be financial, internal business process, customer, learning and growth. It helps the organisation to breakdown corporate level measures which will help manager and employees to look at what could be done to make the organization to improve internal and external communications and monitor organisations performances against goal. Barclays has been using sustainability balance scorecard in measuring their organisation sustainability. According to the annual report in 2012 in mentioned that the economic environment in Barclays main markets was marked by generally weak or negative growth (as measured by GDP), which has affected business, consumer and investor confidence across these regions. Economic performance in the near term remains uncertain and is expected to be subdued. As an example, to overcome this situation Barclays expects to incur a restructuring charge of approximately  £500m in the first quarter of 2013 and costs associated with implementing the strategic plan of approximately  £1bn in 2013,  £1bn in 2014 and  £0.7bn in 2015 ( Barclays annual report, 2012). 3.2 Global Reporting Initiative Social accounting is the voluntary process concerned with assessing and communicating organisational activities and impacts on social, ethical, and environmental issues relevant to stakeholders. Corporate organisations involves in social accounting for both practical and moral reasons. The main four reasons are internal and external pressure, identifying risks, improved stakeholder management and enhanced accountability and transparency. A good social accounting is complete when a scheme in place attempts to the activities like Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Crane and Matten (2010) states that Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an international multi-stakeholder effort to create a common framework for reporting on social, economic and environmental triple bottom line sustainability. Barclays has reported against the Global Reporting Initiative (G3) Indicator protocols and Financial Sector Supplement. In 2011, Barclays have self-declared for their GRI performance application to be B+ (Annual Report Barclays, 2011). 4.0 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) CSR is a set of measures that business could take in order to become sustainable. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is known as a business initiative to evaluate and take accountability on the organizational effects on the environment and impact on the community which is meant that it benefits the organization as well as the community. Rionda claims that CSR is alternatively referred to as corporate citizenship, which essentially means that a company should be a good neighbor within its host family (Rionda.Z, 2002). Organization that is socially responsible would be rewarded with more satisfying customers, which will help to meet the organization goals and expansion of the business. CSR is also as one of tool for brand reputation for business which is developed globally. As an example, a company which has a strong global brand and consumer pressure will be the key drivers towards CSR practices (Zadek, 2004). Most of the companies nowadays have decided to get involved in CSR becau se they realize that in order to stay productive, competitive and relevant in a rapidly changing world, they have to become socially responsible. CSR has also been defined by Moir (2001) who states the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large. 4.1 Carroll CSR Model Source: A Carroll (1991) The pyramid of corporate social responsibility, Business Horizons, July-August, pp-39-48. The study on Barclays CSR is based on the Carroll four part CSR model that has helped Barclays to meet the two stage of this model which includes economic and legal. Barclays has reported all their CSR activities clearly which gives an indication that Barclays gives an impression to be a sustainable organization and Barclays has been doing well in all these aspects to maintain their sustainability. Barclays seem to give much attention to aim on their CSR activities at stakeholders to contribute to economic, environment and social sustainability to remain sustainable. Now this report will move on to discuss on the CSR policies adapted by Barclays. 4.2 Barclays CSR Barclays has been actively engaging themselves in CSR activities. Barclays believes business can have a positive impact towards the community they serve if CSR is being implemented. Ever since they have start operating their first bank in 1960, they have dedicated their selves to trust and respect their customers and shareholders. Barclays is involving themselves in CSR activities such as, environmental, social and economic. As an example, Barclays Bank in Kenya state that, in order to stay in business for another100 years, they need to be partners with their stakeholders to maximize the opportunities presented by economic, social and environmental sustainability issues, as well as collaborate to minimise the associated risks in both direct and indirect ( Barclays Annual report, 2010). This report will now evaluate the CSR activities of Barclays. 4.3 Environmental Barclays Environmental sustainability approach is to reduce their impacts on the environment. They are not only focusing on the direct operational impact, while they are also looking at wider influence through their lending and investment activities. To make this more efficient Barclays has introduced climate exchange program. This program emphasizes on waste management, water use and paper use. They are designing, building and operating in way that reduces the impact on the globe. There are three main issue which influences Climate exchange Program. The first one would be developing products and services for a low carbon economy, and then followed by managing climate change risks which means managing social and environmental risk in lending and finally managing their own carbon footprint (Citizenship Report, 2011). With adopting all this environmental policies, Barclays was able to meet a sustainable environmental operation to their business. 4.4 Social In social sustainability Barclays is involved with the community. In 2012, Barclays global community investment team managed to engage 73,000 staff in volunteering, fundraising and support programmes that benefited an estimated two million people worldwide (Ainsworth, 2012 Third Sector). Barclays states that in order to have social sustainability two things beings involved; community investment programs and employee programs with the direct efforts of employees. The community programs which Barclays practices are Building Young Futures that aims to equip 74,000 disadvantaged young people in six countries Brazil, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Uganda and Zambia with the skills to help them fulfil their potential with a partnership between Barclays and UNICEF( Barclays citizenship plan , 2012). This program is introduced to help the poor community in these countries to have a proper skill and self-confidents in securing their income with a job or set up a small business with skill and knowle dge provided by this program. The main aim of this program is to reduce unemployment rate among the younger generation in these countries. As an example, in the first four years of their partnership, Building Young Futures gave more than 600,000 young people: improved education opportunities; financial, employment and enterprise skills; and support to manage their money (Barclays citizenship plan, 2012). Besides that, Barclays has introduced a citizenship award in 2012 to recognize and appreciate the work contribution done by their employees for community. The employees in Barclays are actively involved in fund raising for the local community around the globe. For instance, Nearly 1,000 customers and employees took in the sights of the UK capital by night on a 10-km walk, as they raised almost  £100,000 to support UNICEF and UK broadcaster Heart radios Have a Heart charity (Barclays citizenship plan, 2012). With this programmes it would help the local communities to achieve financial independence and security in their lives. Furthermore, these programmes applied towards the community would help Barclays to be more sustainable in a social context. 4.5 Society/ Diversity Aside making huge profits and meeting organisation goals, Barclays have also created a culture where diversity is valued and respected. Barclays mention that their global diversity strategy in place across the organisation, and they are continuing to extend and update this to reflect industry best practice and to meet the expectations of stakeholders and customers (Barclays, 2011).As an example, Barclays have worked closely with external recruitment firm to let them know their diversity priorities, so they could provide them with huge number employees for recruitment and selection. This method is used to measure the employees potential and hard work and to ensure individuals with disabilities have equal rights and job prospects. Barclays has given priorities to diversity as want to meet an equal gender workforce and to support co-workers and customers who has disability. For instance , the UK Corporate Banking business rose to first from fourth place among its peers in terms of clien t satisfaction, and a business in their Wealth and Investment Management division won Best Customer Experience Award in Financial Services in the 2011 Customer Experience Awards. Now this report would move on to access the economic sustainability. 4.6 Economic Barclays practices transparency to their stakeholder. Based on the findings, Barclays believes that the best way to support their stakeholders is by operating a strong, profitable and growing business, which creates jobs and contributes to the economic success of the communities in which they live and work (Citizenship Report, 2011). Transparency is the degree to which corporate decision, policies, activities and impacts are acknowledged and made visible to relevant stakeholders (Crane and Matten, 2010). Jenkins Barclays CEO has mention (International Business Times)that he is committed to building a better bank with massive changes that will boost up shareholder returns over the longer term and based on the 2012 annual report Shares in the group rose 4.2 per cent (Baccardax, 2013). According to the analysis on Barclays CSR activities that theyre involved with, it gives a reflection that Barclays supports the Stakeholder theory. Stakeholder theory seeks to balance the interest of a r ange of economic, social and environmental stakeholders. The theory was been developed by Edward Freeman (1984) who states that a stakeholder of an organization is any group or individual who can affect, or is affected by, achievement of the organisations objectives(Freman 1984:46). For a more precise definition (Evan and Freeman 1993) has suggested two principles: Principle of corporate right, which means the corporation has the obligation not to violate the right of others and Principle of corporate effect which means companies are responsible for the effect of their actions on others. Stakeholder theory is known as the utilitarian ethical stances that give a balancing of stakeholder interests in decision making using a triple bottom line approach. Stakeholder theory is essential in multinational organisation like Barclays and they are sustaining with this approach. 4.7 Weaknesses of CSR policies in Barclays Barclays seems to provide information that theyre sustainable however there are few weakness and risk in the CSR policy. In early 2013, according to The Guardian news, Barclays was preparing to hand its chief executive Antony Jenkins a bonus of at least  £1m for 2012 and it is a year when the bank was fined  £290m for its part in the Libor-rigging scandal and set aside a further  £1bn for mis-selling payment protection insurance (The Guardian ,2013). Besides that, Barclays was under pressure from some of their shareholder demanded for a repay of past bonuses from its new boss. It was surprising that Barclays could be origins of the recession in the credit crunch caused by reckless bank lending. Latest news on Barclays that they will become a self-service-oriented company, thereby allowing the remaining staff to focus on delivering added value to its customers and they have mention that Barclays is changing (The Telegraph, 2013). With this information Barclays is seen as not con sistent with their policy. On the other hand, they still could be an omissions supporting by mentioning that Barclays is still a sustainable organisation. As Freidman (1970) argues that social and environmental sustainability are the responsibility of individuals and the government. The whole Barclays management shouldnt be blame for this issues it could possibly be an individual who is liable. 5.0 Summary Based on the outcomes made for this report Barclays appears to be a sustainable organisation. As seen in the outcomes, Barclays is actively engaged with many CSR activities are have updated them in GRI as well as SBSC. Barclays has establish themselves as the most recognised and respected organization in the world, to sustain it Barclays plans to continue to expand rapidly and commit to more CSR activities to be more sustainable. 6.0 Recommendation The recommendation is made after evaluating Barclays CSR activities and from my point of views on what Barclays should do in achieving a sustainable organisation. Barclays should emphasize on social and economic sustainability as their lack in this both activities. I agree that Barclays is involved in economic and social CSR activities, while be a global organisation its suggested that they should give emphasis to strategic importance of CSR drivers for globalization. As an example, Barclays is engaged in banking industry for many years, they seem expand their business to a more wide area in the world which is due to globalization and this will help them to achieve a sustainable business and profitable organisation. Besides that, having CSR activities which engaging public will gain more popularity for Barclays as it will reach the public faster than indoor activities. Barclays should also concentrate on the Utilitarian ethical stances of social responsibility. It seeks a balanced st akeholder interest in decision making using a triple bottom line approach which includes economic, environment and social which will be an advantage for Barclays. Referencing Crane, A and Matten, D, (2010) Business Ethics, 3rd ed , Oxford University Press, USA. Elkington, J. (1998). Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line in 21st Century Businesses. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Is., BC. Blowfield, M and Murray, A (2011), Corporate Responsibility, 2nd Ed, Oxford University Press,USA. HMG (2005). Securing the Future: Delivering UK sustainable development strategy, TSO, London.www.sustainable-development.gov.uk Kaplan, S and Norton, P (1992), The Balanced Scorecard Measures That Drive Performance, Harvard Business Review , Jan-Feb retrieved on April 14,2013 from ftp://docenti.ing.units.it/arc_stud/Centrone/Corso_Tecniche%20di%20Gestione%20Aziendale/Dispense%20%20Books/Kaplan%20%20Norton/Kaplan%20%20Norton%20-%20The%20Balanced%20Scorecard%20-%20Measures%20That%20Drive%20Performance.pdf . Rionda.Z, (2002), WHAT IS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, CATALYST Consortium, USA, retrieved on April 11, 2013 from http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnada498.pdf. Zadek,(2004), The path to corporate responsibility ,Harvard Business Review,82, December:125-32. Moir L. 2001. What do we mean by corporate social responsibility? Corporate Governance 1(2): 16-22. Freeman, R. E. (1984) Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Boston, MA: Pinnan. Evan, W.M. and Freeman, R.E (1993), A stakeholder theory of the modern corporation: Kantian capitalism. In W.M. Hoffman and R.E. Frederick (eds.), Business ethics: readings and cases in corporate morality:145-54. New York: McGraw-Hill. Friedman, M (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine, 13 September. Scott, K, Park, J. and Cocklin, C (2000). From sustainable rural communities to social sustainability: giving voice to diversity in Mangakahia Valley, New Zealand. Journal of Rural studies,16: 443-6. Barclays (2012), Annual Citizenship Report 2011, retrieved on April 15, 2013 from, http://reports.barclays.com/cr11/howwereport/globalreportinginitiativeindex.html. Barclays (2010), Annual report and financial statement Barclays bank Kenya, retrieved on April 15, 2013 from, http://www.barclays.com/africa/kenya/documents/Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Report.pdf. Barclays (2012), Barclays Annual PLC report, retrieved on April 16, 2013 from, http://reports.barclays.com/ar12/servicepages/downloads/files/entire_barclays_ar12.pdf. Barclays (2013), Annual Citizenship report 2012, retrieved on April 16, 2013 from, http://group.barclays.com/about-barclays/citizenship. Barclays (2011), Annual Citizenship report for Environmental and social risk in lending, retrieved on April 17, 2013 from, http://reports.barclays.com/cr11/thewaywedobusiness/environmentalandsocialriskinlending.html?cat=b. Barclays (2012), wealth and investment management, retrieved on April 17, 2013,from , http://www.barclayswealth.com/about-us/in-the-community.htm. Barclays (2002), corporate social responsibility annual report, retrieved on April 17, 2013 from, http://www.investor.barclays.co.uk/results/2002results/annual_report/website/impact/csr16.html. Baccardax, M (2013), Barclays CEO: Strategy Overhaul Global Economy will slow Near-term growth, retrieved on April 17, 2013 from, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/434161/20130212/barclays-antony-jenkins-investment-banking-job-cuts.htm. Ainsworth, D (2012), Business Charity Awards: CSR team -Winner: Barclays, Retrieved on April 17, 2013, from , http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/Fundraising/article/1131962/business-charity-awards-csr-team-winner-barclays/. Anonymous (no Date http://historyofbusiness.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/history-of-barclays-bank.html access on: 18 April 2013. Barclays (2011), Citizenship report for direct economic contribution, retrieved on April 19, 2013, from, http://reports.barclays.com/cr11/contributingtogrowth/directeconomiccontribution.html?cat=b. Barclays (2013), Citizenship report for supporting our community, retrieved on April 19, 2013, from, http://group.barclays.com/about-barclays/citizenship/supporting-our-communities. Treanor, J ( 2013), Barclays preparing to pay bonus of at least  £1m to new chief Antony Jenkins, The Guardian , February , 29 retrieved on April 19,2013 from, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jan/29/barclays-executive-pay-jenkins-libor. Telegraph staff (2013), Barclays could cut up to 40,000 jobs, The Telegraph, March, 7 retrieved on April 19, 2013, from, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9916111/Barclays-could-cut-up-to-40000-jobs.html.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The War in America :: essays research papers fc

The War in America Vietnam is a small Asian country, 9000 miles away from the United States. Yet America felt that its national interest were threatened strong enough to fight a war over there. Their fear was caused by the spread of communism at that time. The role of communism was extremely important in this conflict. The United States had to enter the war to stop the spread of communism in Asia since the North Vietnam were communist. If North Vietnam converted Vietnam into a communist country, it could become very powerful and go on to persuade other countries to become communist. The U.S. believed that Vietnam could become powerful, and it was willing to go through anything to stop that, including sending millions of US troops to Vietnam and watching them die live on TV, and this greatly effected the American culture and society. The Vietnam War changed the lives of many people. "By the end of 1965, 184,314 troops were in Vietnam" (Alterman 11). "Within a year, the number had grown to 385,000"(Alterman 11). Back in America, they were suffering as their sons died overseas. All this effected American society greatly. Moms were losing sons, sisters were losing brothers, and children were losing dads. The Vietnam War had a horrible outcome. â€Å"More than 47,000 Americans were killed in action, 11,000 died of other causes, and 303,000 were wounded†(Alterman 11). As more Americans continued to leave for Vietnam, the American people responded with disappointment and that caused the American society to lose faith in the government. At this time a series of protests took place across the nation. Students and professors began to organize teach-ins on the war at university all across America. This really showed how the war had effected America society, causing protests, and marches. When President Johnson sent in the first combat troops, and ordered the bombing of North Vietnam in 1965, the antiwar movement in the US grew even larger. "Many Americans felt cheated and betrayed by Johnson because they had considered him as a peace candidate in 1964"(Thomas and Vistica 24 ). â€Å"One of The first anti-war protest was the Washington, 20,000-person marchâ€Å"( McMahon 303). Opposition to the war also caused students to resist the draft. They refused to be selected for the military because they thought the war was wrong. Many 19-year-old boys were dying. College students received deferments, or postponement of military services, because of their occupation.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

VIOLENCE IN THE MEDIA: DO WE REALLY CARE? :: essays research papers

The TV is designed to show images more than to go deeply into the information, where the written press takes the baton because it is a way for nature reflexively: the reading. The radio, in turn, has the gift of entertaining and to make reflect because of being a way that is transmitted, in general, live and that does not need the whole attention of the listener. The opposite thing happens in the television which audience is attracted by the magnets of the explosions, the fire, the pursuit, the shots, this means: scenes full of violence... it is enough to see to raise the "rating" of the newscasters when there are brutal notes compared with the information of the long speeches in political discussions considered boring because the image stays static in a certain speaker and lacks of dynamism. The TV is a way for the action, not the reflection. It is done to optimize the entertainment, it means, to be relaxing and to manipulate, not to think, not even to grow... This leads us to the following questions: Is the people who asks for violence?, or with what purpose the media offers it? The climate of hostility has been intensified?, or it is a faithful reflex of a social decomposition due to the unemployment, the shortage of money and the radical political changes through which the nations cross? Nobody knows the answers of these questions, but the television stays as the only window opened a world supposedly better. The addiction to the TV and the lack of communication in home prohibit the people the balanced development of their capability to have relationships and the acquisition of qualities as the ease, the good deal, the affability, the comity; the nobleness in the males and the thin sensibility in the women. The people who remain a lot of time in front of an electronic equipment, the TV or a computer, lose the necessary talents to be with other human beings and those people who shelter and construct themselves a perspective of the world across the television world, have much more hostile vision of the reality. For this reason, they behave with more hostility and less solidarity. The viewer has the trend to increase consuming and every time worse. He prefers being isolated; each one looks at the TV in his/her own place: father, mother, son and daughter.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism Essay

The Chinese are the among the cultures to whose lives and philosophies are greatly influenced by their religion – Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. These three school of thoughts basically deal as to how the Chinese live in harmony, not only among themselves but with nature as well. Among the three schools of thought, Buddhism is the only one which did not originate in China. Hence, it differs with Confucianism and Taoism in as much as it deals with the human being alone and his suffering. Nonetheless, although it is different from Confucianism and Taoism, it is admittedly not in conflict with these two but rather it reinforces the concepts and tenets of the two schools of thought. Buddhism primarily believes in reincarnation (nirvana) and affirms the fact that life is â€Å"suffering† and that â€Å"desire and craving† are the causes of suffering. In order to attain happiness, one has to overcome his cravings and desires, hatred and complaints. Although Buddhism was not originally from China, it has nonetheless gained widespread popularity over the centuries. At the start, Buddhism and the Chinese native religions vastly varied. Buddhism reinforced reincarnation while the native Chinese believed in single life only. Secondly, Buddhism insists that in order to achieve the state of Nirvana, one has to give up or leave society and enter the celibate and homeless life of a monk or nun while the Chinese placed great emphasis on the family and its continuance of descendants. Furthermore, Buddhism does not believe in the existence of the soul compared to the native Chinese who believe in earthly and heavenly souls and lastly, while Buddhism reiterates the independence of the monastic community, native Chinese religions insist that all institutions whether religious or secular are under the government. Eventually though, Buddhism adjusted to Chinese society and vice versa. Hence, the Chinese came to believe in reincarnation and believed that their deceased relatives became ancestors. Because Buddhism propagated the belief of reincarnation and the Chinese came to believe in it, it was able to bring together the development of a series of ideas regarding heaven and eternal happiness and that they could be reborn into different levels. Hence, modern Chinese society used Buddhist temples as the centrepiece of worship and study. It also made Buddhists the key players in funerals by taking over the burial and remembrance of the deceased. Wealthy and affluent Chinese make sure to have Buddhist monks during funerals because their presence more or less became an assurance of a good rebirth. Moreover, a deceased’s name place in a spirit plaque inside the temple meant that he or she is part of the daily Buddhist prayer. Gleaning from the history of Buddhism, the religion took different paths. Originally, it was an individualistic religion wherein one is responsible for his own progress in the path to nirvana. Thus, it entails that the believer has to enter the monastery and become a monk, with the aim of abandoning their desires. This is done by not doing any work and was only supported through begging and donations from the community. But the Chinese found this path to be very difficult and soon â€Å"easier paths† took form. The Chinese are known for their excellent health and long life. This is also attributed to Buddhism. With the separation from the original form of Buddhism came the Tantric form of Buddhism which stresses the total involvement of the body, mind and speech in the search for enlightenment and nirvana. As the doctrine of the karma took hold and fabricated itself into Chinese society, out came new types of behaviour that can be attributed to the Buddhists. The Chinese began to practice seated meditation and make offerings to images. They also adapted the Buddhist rites of confession and consecration. While Buddhism mainly seeks to promote the belief of reincarnation and karma, it was also able to alter the world of the Chinese in terms of materials by introducing new objects, symbols and rituals. The practice of making donations to the Buddhist monks in order to ensure their good rebirth also became adapted. Hence, inspite of its belief that in order to achieve Nirvana, one has to abandon all worldly and material things, Buddhism today especially in Chinese society encourages donations even at such huge amounts to the extent that the donor fails no reluctance for giving such to a supposedly celibate and austere community all for the sake of ensuring good karma and Nirvana. There is one basis for this practice: the monks relied mainly on the donations of the community. Aside from donating for the monks’ clothing and food, donors are also encouraged to make material offerings to Buddha such as gold, topaz, silver and crystal. Devotees are also encouraged to make images of the Buddha. While the Chinese are known for their frugality, they nonetheless place great importance in the splendour of Buddhist practices and images or objects. As can be seen, the Chinese value images of the Buddha that are made of precious stones and metals. Unlike Christians who use wood or clays for their images and icons, Chinese Buddhists believe that Buddhist deities must be given such images as their expression of respect. In summary, although Buddhism maintained the belief and practice of austerity and celibacy in order to attain eternal happiness and enlightenment, Chinese society in practice contradicts the tenets of Buddhism. This may be attributed to the fact that Buddhism adapted the culture of the Chinese instead of the other way around. Therefore, even though monks promoted and practiced austerity, they nonetheless encouraged their believers to give material wealth to the monastic community as security for their â€Å"rebirth†.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Psychological View

Psychological View Many Americans, until this day, have been diagnosed with psychotic disorders. According to the Schizophrenia Health Center, psychotic disorders are a group of serious illnesses that affect the mind. These illnesses affect a person’s responsibility to think clearly, make good judgments, respond emotionally, communicate effectively, understand reality, and behave appropriately. When symptoms are severe, people with psychotic disorders have difficulty staying in touch with reality and often are unable to meet the ordinary demands of daily life. In Edgar Allan Poe’s poem â€Å"The Raven†, we can see that the speaker of this famous piece of American literature is a man grieving over the death of his beloved, Lenore. The speaker tries to go on with his life, but he always feels grief for the person he lost. No matter what he does, the feeling comes back, and he cannot ignore it – just like we couldn’t ignore a bird in our room who was always staring at us. Based on my reading on â€Å"The Raven† by Edgar Allan Poe, the speaker was hallucinating images, suffering depression, and struggling through delirium tremens. After reading Poe’s poem, we can clearly see all of the speaker’s psychological conditions. Throughout the poem â€Å"The Raven†, the speaker suffered hallucinations. The loss of his beloved Lenore hit him hard, especially psychologically. â€Å"That I scarce was sure I heard you – here I opened wide the door; – Darkness there and nothing more† (page 468 lines 23-24). Through this quote, the speaker shows auditory hallucinations. He’s sure he heard a knock on the door, but when he opened it, there was nothing but darkness. According to my understanding of the poem, the speaker also suffered visual hallucinations, unless we assume that the speaker really did see a raven. However, it does work well as a symbol for mental disorder, especially as a raven is known for its color, and depression is often referred to as the black dog. People who have hallucinations may hear sounds or voices or see things that are not really there, just like the speaker from â€Å"The Raven† thought he saw a raven. The speaker’s loss of his beloved Lenore brought great depression upon him. â€Å"Eagerly I wished the morrow; – vainly I had sought to borrow from my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore – for the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore† (page 467 lines 9-11). The speaker is grieving for his ‘lost Lenore’ and it is almost as if the raven has been sent as a messenger from the underworld to torment the speaker even more. According to the Depression Health Center. eeling depressed can be a normal reaction to loss, life’s struggles, or an injured self-esteem. Left untreated, depression can lead to problems at home, work, school, drug abuse, and even tragedy. Depression is a mental illness that affects most of the world’s population, but if treated correctly it could be cured. The loss of the speaker’s beloved Lenore made him fall into depression, and sadly he couldn’t get himself any help. Based on my understanding of the â€Å"The Raven†, the speaker is struggling through delirium tremens. According to an article from Medline Plus, delirium tremens is a severe form of alcohol withdrawal that involves sudden and severe mental or nervous system change. The speaker of â€Å"The Raven† had too much going at one time of his life, so most likely he turned to alcohol as a nepenthe. Nepenthe was an ancient Greek concept of a medicine for sorrow, it would be what today is classified as an anti-depressant or a â€Å"drug of forgetfulness†. Scholars have thought of it as a substitute for Opium or Wormwood. We can tell he had some drinks because he was feeling weary. â€Å"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary†¦Ah, distinctly I remember it was in bleak December† (page 467 lines 1 and 6). The speaker mentions that it is night time and that he’s in his chair feeling weak and weary. This could be possibly due to extreme alcohol consumption especially since the poem mentions that it is December, a time to be ‘merry’ with our loved ones, or perhaps just alone and drunk if we have lost our loved one just like the speaker in â€Å"The Raven† did. According to an article all about delirium tremens, the main symptoms of delirium tremens are confusion, disorientation, agitation, and fever. The speaker seemed confused and disorientated because he was still grieving the loss of his beloved Lenore. â€Å"The Raven† by Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous poems in American literature. Among other achievements, the poem is a detailed examination of hallucinations, depression, and delirium tremens. Poe’s protagonist moves through several specific stages of grief until he sinks into hopelessness at the poem’s conclusion. He does not come to accept his loss; he only suffers and attempts to deal with it. The raven symbolizes grief. The speaker tries to move on with his life, but something keeps pulling him back, and he can’t ignore it – just like the raven that sat in the room, staring. Throughout â€Å"The Raven† we saw many psychological conditions the speaker had to deal with. It’s very sad knowing how loosing someone we love can affect our life to a point where we just feel hopeless.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Mr. Yang

Introduction In recent years, the competition between low-cost airlines / no frills airlines and legacy airlines has arouse a heat debate, especially In North America. Although airline Industries Including diverse tasks, deciding the price of airplane ticket might be the most significant part In marketing. This assignment attempts to analysis the different pricing strategies that Airline companies make to enhance competitiveness in North America. Moreover, these comparisons will be supported by examples of low-cost airline (Southwest Airline) and legacy airline (American Airlines).Firstly, cussing the operation, which is called low-cost carrier. Secondly, analysis their strategy in defining price. Final parts are a development with these points and a proof of the successful experiences in the airline industry. Key point 1 â€Å"Pricing† is a useful strategy for Airline Companies to increase their profit. It is widely believed that Airline Industry has become intense because th ere are over 200 airlines companies attempt reducing price of airplane tickets. Facing the intense competition, Low Price might be the tactic used by airlines.In addition, â€Å"Fixed cost†, the basic costs o malting a company, Is the other difficulties In traditional airline companies for covering financial situation due to problem of Inflation. The two challenges threat airlines in recent years, hence some traditional airlines transfer to Low-Cost carrier (LLC) to economize unit costs. Furthermore, the cost in Human Resource (HRS)/cost of employees conceivably rise to the most expensive part in fixed costs, however the drawbacks usually are ignored by traditional airlines (Laurie H. 006. POP 5). In other words, LLC is a conception that responds the lower cost to lower price. Southwest airline, one of the LLC Airline Company, has become a famous case learned by Ryan Air, Easy Jet and other Low-Cost Carrier, because Southwest airline reduced not only the cost in their human r esource department but also In many approaches Including cost of entertainment, cargo, meal and additional service (Hall, A. 2007 Completed In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of MM 5210 up).On the contrary, even though lower pricing cost seems logic, there are arguments claimed by gurus: Ryan Gannett (2012) doubted that there is a dramatic growth (182. 0%) in average of fuel per gallon from 2005 to 2011, passengers are frequently demanding equipment and services added to cabins. Can the constantly increased cost be covered by Southwest airline? However, according to the Flight Global Data Research Team (2013 Top 1 0: The Americas): Southwest Airline achieved number one (133. 2 Passengers per mile) of amount of sales in 2013 (Manuel A. H. And Steven N. W. 2013).Furthermore, International Air Transportation Association (DATA) published the newest rank In 2014: Southwest airline carried 115. 323 thousand passengers to e the champion as well. These methods help themselves becomi ng more competitive than Lorene companies and successful. Into the future, and this rise will put an ever greater strain on Southwest's already depleted margins. If oil prices are brought under control with certainty, then Southwest is a great investment; but until then, Southwest is Just too vulnerable to oil prices. Key point 2 An accurate price can support a company to increase their profit.In recent years airline, companies prefer to follow the dynamic price system to match the demands f customers, therefore airline companies define the most expensive airplane ticket on Friday night and the cheapest on Tuesday morning due to â€Å"Travel scheme† which is choose to travel on weekends then return on Sunday or Monday, regard this issue, airlines faced the problem: middlemen sell Open-Jaw tickets on weekends and buy Open-Jaw tickets on Tuesday. Open-Jaw ticket is â€Å"Return ticket† can be used in any time and separated in two single tickets to sell to two customers.T hese tickets tremendously declined the revenue when cheaper ticket was used in the peak period ND customers could buy another ticket in other airlines as well, it generate the affection: the Revenue, Coverage, Loading and Reputation. (Tim H. 2011). When others airline were used to follow dynamic price system, American Airline (AAA) announced â€Å"Saturday night stay over restriction† to against this risk. The restriction aims the problem that is caused by open-Jaw ticket on weekends (Tim H. 2011 IPPP). By using the methods, AAA are able to earn bonus as much as $500 million a year from sass.Despite decision is selected by passengers, The most important effects in dynamic price discrimination arise not from an attempt o extract more money from the consumer, but from addressing incomplete markets, and in particular from the value and costs of advance contracting. Key point 3 In the opposite, experts illustrated that the ticket price should be bundled with demand, due to the pr ice is decided by customers' demand (Diego E. 2013). Therefore, airline companies often need to consider the priority between price and loading in different timing.To be more precise, sometimes the asymmetric price might be caused by lower rate of loading (Manuel A. H. And Steven N. W. 2013). As a tater of fact, the lower demand shows the ticket price cannot be increased even in boom season; this is the reason why some gurus recommend finding the demands first and next defining price. However, the Price has to respond the fixed cost, hence airlines need to think increasing profit with Demand and Cost (Diego E. 2013). Nevertheless if the greatness of seats were released to sold in the day near the departure date, it is possible the high-risk will be faced is large amount of empty seat (Diego E. 013). Conclusion To sum up, this essay has shown that there are clear methodologies of using pricing tragedy in the airline industry of North America. As mentioned in my second reducing costs; moreover the case of Southwest airline proofs it in different approached, and the low-cost strategies help them to become the most popular airline in north America in 2013-14. Nevertheless, in the fourth paragraph, it indicates the significance of defining price with float system by legacy airline companies, because the different timing reflects different cost and factors.

Fool Chapter 2

TWO NOW, GODS, STAND UP FOR BASTARDS![11] I found Drool in the laundry resolving a wank, spouting great gouts of git-seed across the laundry walls, floors, and ceiling, giggling, as young Shanker Mary wagged her tits at him over a steaming cauldron of the king's shirts. â€Å"Put those away, tart, we've a show to do.† â€Å"I was just giving ‘im a laugh.† â€Å"If you wanted to show charity you could have bonked him honest and there'd be a lot less cleaning to do.† â€Å"That'd be a sin. Besides, I'd as soon straddle a gateman's halberd as try to get a weapon that girth up me.† Drool pumped himself dry and sat down on the floor splay-legged, huffing like a great dribbling bellows. I tried to help the lout repack his tackle, but getting him into a codpiece against his firm enthusiasm was like trying to pound a bucket over a bull's head – a scenario I thought comical enough to perhaps work into the act tonight, should things get slow. â€Å"Nothing stopping you from givin' the lad a proper cleavage toss, Mary. You had 'em out and all soaped up, a couple of jumps and a tickle and he'd have carried water for you for a fortnight.† â€Å"He already does. And I don't even want that thing near me. A Natural, he is. There's devils in his jizm.† â€Å"Devils? Devils? There's no devils in there, lass. Chock full o' nitwits, to be sure, but no devils.† A Natural was either blessed or cursed, never just an accident of nature, as the name implied. Sometime during the week, Shanker Mary had gone Christian on us, despite being a most egregious slut. You never knew anymore who you were dealing with. Half the kingdom was Christian, the other half paid tribute to the old gods of Nature, who were always showing promise on the moonrise. The Christian God with his â€Å"day of rest† was strong with the peasants come Sunday, but by Thursday when there was drinking and fucking to be done, Nature had her kit off, legs aloft, and a flagon of ale in each hand, taking converts for the Druids as fast as they could come. They were a solid majority when the holiday was about, dancing, drinking, shagging the virgins, and sharing the harvest, but on the human sacrifice or burn-down-the-King's-forest days, there was none but crickets cavorting 'round the Stonehenge – the singers having forsaken Mother Earth for Father Church. â€Å"Pretty,† said Drool, trying to wrestle back control of his tool. Mary had commenced to stirring the laundry but had neglected to pull her dress up. Had the git's attention hostage, she did. â€Å"Right. She's a bloody vision of loveliness, lad, but you've buffed yourself to a gleam already and we've work to do. The castle's awash in intrigue, subterfuge, and villainy – they'll be wanting-comic relief between the flattery and the murders.† â€Å"Intrigue and villainy?† Drool displayed a gape-toothed grin. Imagine soldiers dumping hogsheads of spittle through the crenellations atop the castle wall – thus is Drool's grin, as earnest in expression as it is damp in execution – a slurry of good cheer. He loves intrigue and villainy, as they play to his most special ability. â€Å"Will there be hiding?† â€Å"There will most certainly be hiding,† said I, as I shouldered an escaped testicle into his cod. â€Å"And listening?† â€Å"Listening of cavernous proportions – we shall hang on every word as God on Pope's prayers.† â€Å"And fuckery? Will there be fuckery, Pocket?† â€Å"Heinous fuckery most foul, lad. Heinous fuckery most foul.† â€Å"Aye, that's the dog's bollocks,[12] then!† said Drool, slapping his thigh. â€Å"Did you hear, Mary? Heinous fuckery afoot. Ain't that the dog's bollocks?† â€Å"Oh yeah, the dog's bloody B. it is, love. If the saints are smilin' on us, maybe one of them nobles will hang your wee mate there like they been threatening.† â€Å"Two fools well-hung we'd have then, wouldn't we?† said I, elbowing my apprentice in the ribs. â€Å"Aye, two fools well-hung, we'd have, wouldn't we?† said Drool, in my voice, tone to note coming out his great maw as like he'd caught an echo on his tongue and coughed it right back. That's the oaf's gift – not only can he mimic perfectly, he can recall whole conversations, hours long, recite them back to you in the original speakers' voices, and not comprehend a single word. He'd first been gifted to Lear by a Spanish duke because of his torrential dribbling and the ability to break wind that could darken a room, but when I discovered the Natural's keener talent, I took him as my apprentice to teach him the manly art of mirth. Drool laughed. â€Å"Two fools well-hung – â€Å" â€Å"Stop that!† I said. â€Å"It's unsettling.† Unsettling indeed, to hear your own voice sluicing pitch-perfect out of that mountain of lout, stripped of wit and washed of irony. Two years I'd had Drool under my wing and I was still not inured to it. He meant no harm, it was simply his nature. The anchoress at the abbey had taught me of nature, making me recite Aristotle: â€Å"It is the mark of an educated man, and a tribute to his culture, that he look for precision in a thing only as its nature allows.† I would not have Drool reading Cicero or crafting clever riddles, but under my tutelage he had become more than fair at tumbling and juggling, could belch a song, and was, at court, at least as entertaining as a trained bear, with slightly less proclivity for eating the guests. With guidance, he would make a proper fool. â€Å"Pocket is sad,† said Drool. He patted my head, which was wildly irritating, not only because we were face-to-face – me standing, him sitting bum-to-floor – but because it rang the bells of my coxcomb in a most melancholy manner. â€Å"I'm not sad,† said I. â€Å"I'm angry that you've been lost all morning.† â€Å"I weren't lost. I were right here, the whole time, having three laughs with Mary.† â€Å"Three?! You're lucky you two didn't burst into flames, you from friction and her from bloody thunderbolts of Jesus.† â€Å"Maybe four,† said Drool. â€Å"You do look the lost one, Pocket,† said Mary. â€Å"Face like a mourning orphan what's been dumped in the gutter with the chamber pots.† â€Å"I'm preoccupied. The king has kept no company but Kent this last week, the castle is brimming with backstabbers, and there's a girl-ghost rhyming ominous on the battlements.† â€Å"Well, there's always a bloody ghost, ain't there?† Mary fished a shirt out of the cauldron and bobbed it across the room on her paddle like she was out for a stroll with her own sodden, steaming ghost. â€Å"You've got no cares but making everyone laugh, right?† â€Å"Aye, carefree as a breeze. Leave that water when you're done, would you, Mary? Drool needs a dunking.† â€Å"Nooooooo!† â€Å"Hush, you can't go before the court like that, you smell of shit. Did you sleep on the dung heap again last night?† â€Å"It were warm.† I clouted him a good one on the crown with Jones. â€Å"Warm's not all, lad. If you want warm you can sleep in the great hall with everyone else.† â€Å"He ain't allowed,† offered Mary. â€Å"Chamberlain[13] says his snoring frightens the dogs.† â€Å"Not allowed?† Every commoner who didn't have quarters slept on the floor in the great hall – strewn about willy-nilly on the straw and rushes – nearly dog-piled before the fireplace in winter. An enterprising fellow with night horns aloft and a predisposal to creep might find himself accidentally sharing a blanket or a tumble with a sleepy and possibly willing wench, and then be banished for a fortnight from the hall's friendly warmth (and indeed, I owe my own modest apartment above the barbican[14] to such nocturnal proclivity), but put out for snoring? Unheard of. When night's inky cape falls o'er the great hall, a gristmill it becomes, the machines of men's breath grind their dreams with a frightful roar, and even Drool's great gears fall undistinguished among the chorus. â€Å"For snoring? Not allowed in the hall? Balderdash!† â€Å"And for having a wee on the steward's wife,† Mary added. â€Å"It were dark,† explained Drool. â€Å"Aye, and even in daylight she is easily mistaken for a privy, but have I not tutored you in the control of your fluids, lad?† â€Å"Aye, and with great success,† said Shanker Mary, rolling her eyes at the spunk-frosted wall. â€Å"Ah, Mary, well said. Let's make a pact: If you do not make attempts at wit, I will refrain from becoming a soap-smelling prick-pull. What say ye?† â€Å"You said you liked the smell of soap.† â€Å"Aye, well, speaking of smell. Drool, fetch some buckets of cold water from the well. We need to cool this kettle down and get you bathed.† â€Å"Nooooooo!† â€Å"Jones will be very unhappy with you if you don't hurry,† said I, brandishing Jones in a disapproving and somewhat threatening manner. A hard master is Jones, bitter, no doubt, from being raised as a puppet on a stick. A half-hour later, a miserable Drool sat in the steaming cauldron, fully-clothed, his natural broth having turned the lye-white water to a rich, brown oaf-sauce. Shanker Mary stirred about him with her paddle, being careful not to stir him beyond suds to lust. I was quizzing my student on the coming night's entertainments. â€Å"So, because Cornwall is on the sea, we shall portray the duke how, dear Drool?† â€Å"As a sheep-shagger,† said the despondent giant. â€Å"No, lad, that's Albany. Cornwall shall be the fish-fucker.† â€Å"Aye, sorry, Pocket.† â€Å"Not a worry, not a worry. You'll still be sodden from your bath, I suspect, so we'll work that into the jest. Bit of sloshing and squishing will but add to the merriment, and if we can thus imply that Princess Regan is herself, a fishlike consort, well I can't think of anyone who won't be amused.† â€Å"‘Cepting the princess,† said Mary. â€Å"Well, yes, but she is very literal-minded and often has to be explained the thrust of the jest a time or two before lending her appreciation.† â€Å"Aye, remedial thrusting's the remedy for Regan's stubborn wit,† said the puppet Jones. â€Å"Aye, remedial thrusting's the remedy for Regan's stubborn wit,† said Drool in Jones's voice. â€Å"You're dead men,† sighed Shanker Mary. â€Å"You're a dead man, knave!† said a man's voice from behind me. And there stood Edmund, bastard son of Gloucester, blocking the only exit, sword in hand. Dressed all in black, was the bastard: a simple silver brooch secured his cape, the hilts of his sword and dagger were silver dragon heads with emerald eyes. His jet beard was trimmed to points. I do admire the bastard's sense of style – simple, elegant, and evil. He owns his darkness. I, myself, am called the Black Fool. Not because I am a Moor, although I hold no grudge toward them (Moors are said to be talented wife-stranglers) and would take no offense at the moniker were that the case, but my skin is as snowy as any sun-starved son of England. No, I am called so because of my wardrobe, an argyle of black satin and velvet diamonds – not the rainbow motley of the run-a-day fool. Lear said: â€Å"After thy black wit shall be thy dress, fool. Perhaps a new outfit will stop you tweaking Death's nose. I'm short for the grave as it is, boy, no need to anger the worms before my arrival.† When even a king fears irony's twisted blade, what fool is ever unarmed? â€Å"Draw your weapon, fool!† said Edmund. â€Å"Sadly, sir, I have none,† said I. Jones shook his head in unarmed woe. We both were lying, of course. Across the small of my back I wore three wickedly-pointed throwing daggers – fashioned for me by the armorer to be used in our entertainments – and while I had never used them as weapons, truly flung they had spitted apples off the head of Drool, nipped plums from his outstretched fingers, and yea, even speared grapes out of the air. I had little doubt that one might find its way into Edmund's eye and thus vent his bitter mind like a lanced boil. If he needed to know he would know soon enough. If not, well, why trouble him? â€Å"If not a fight, then a murder it is,† said Edmund. He lunged, his blade aimed for my heart. I sidestepped and knocked his blade away with Jones, who lost a bell from his coxcomb for his trouble. I hopped up onto the lip of the cauldron. â€Å"But, sir, why spend your wrath on a poor, helpless fool?† Edmund slashed. I leapt. He missed. I landed on the far side of the cauldron. Drool moaned. Mary hid in the corner. â€Å"You shouted bastard at me from the battlements.† â€Å"Aye, they announced you as bastard. You, sir, are a bastard. And a bastard most unjust to make me die with the foul taste of truth still on my tongue. Allow me a lie before you strike: You have such kind eyes.† â€Å"But you spoke badly of my mother as well.† He put himself between me and the door. Bloody bad planning, building a laundry with only one exit. â€Å"I may have implied that she was a poxy whore, but from what your father says, that, too, is not breaking the bonds of verity.† â€Å"What?† asked Edmund. â€Å"What?† asked Drool, a perfect parrot of Edmund. â€Å"What?† inquired Mary. â€Å"It's true, you git! Your mother was a poxy whore!† â€Å"Beggin' your pardon, sir, poxiness ain't so bad,† said Shanker Mary, shining a ray of optimism on these dark ages. â€Å"Unfairly maligned, the poxy are. Methinks a spot o' the pox implies experience. Worldliness, if you will.† â€Å"The tart makes an excellent point, Edmund. But for the slow descent into madness and death with your bits dropping off along the way, the pox is a veritable blessing,† said I, as I skipped just out of blade's reach from the bastard, who stalked me around the great cauldron. â€Å"Take Mary here. In fact, there's an idea. Take Mary. Why spend your energy after a long journey murdering a speck of a fool when you can enjoy the pleasures of a lusty wench who is not only ready, but willing, and smells pleasantly of soap?† â€Å"Aye,† said Drool, expelling froth as he spoke. â€Å"She's a bloody vision of loveliness.† Edmund let his sword point drop and looked at Drool for the first time. â€Å"Are you eating soap?† â€Å"Just a wee sliver,† bubbled Drool. â€Å"They weren't saving it.† Edmund turned back to me. â€Å"Why are you boiling this fellow?† â€Å"Couldn't be helped,† said I. (How dramatic, the bastard, the water was barely steaming. What appeared to be boiling was Drool venting vapors.) â€Å"Common fuckin' courtesy, ain't it?† said Mary. â€Å"Speak straight, both of you.† The bastard wheeled on one heel and before I knew what was happening, he had the point of his blade at Mary's throat. â€Å"I've been nine years in the Holy Land killing Saracens, killing one or two more makes no difference to me.† â€Å"Wait!† I leapt back to the lip of the cauldron, reaching to the small of my back with my free hand. â€Å"Wait. He's being punished. By the king. For attacking me.† â€Å"Punished? For attacking a fool?† â€Å"‘Boil him alive,' the king said.† I jumped down to Edmund's side of the cauldron – moved toward the doorway. I'd needed a clear line of sight, and should he move, I didn't want the blade to hit Mary. â€Å"Everyone knows how fond the king is of his dark little fool,† said Mary, nodding enthusiastically. â€Å"Bollocks!† shouted Edmund, as he pulled the sword back to slash. Mary screamed. I flipped a dagger in the air, caught it by the blade, and was readying to send it to Edmund's heart when something hit him in the back of the head with a thud and he went bum over eyebrows into the wall, his blade clanging across the floor to my feet. Drool had stood up in the cauldron and was holding Mary's laundry paddle – a bit of dark hair and bloody scalp clung to the bleached wood. â€Å"Did you see that, Pocket? Smashing fall he did.† All of it a pantomime to Drool. Edmund was not moving. As far as I could see, he was not breathing either. â€Å"God's bloody balls, Drool, you've kilt the earl's son. We'll all be hung, now.† â€Å"But he were going to hurt Mary.† Mary sat on the floor by Edmund's prostrate body and began stroking his hair on a spot where there was no blood. â€Å"I was going to shag him docile, too.† â€Å"He would have killed you without a thought.† â€Å"Ah, blokes have their tempers, don't they? Look at him, he's a fair form of a fellow, innit he? And rich, too.† She took something from his pocket. â€Å"What's this?† â€Å"Well done, lass, not so much as a comma between grief and robbery, and much the better when he's still so fresh his fleas have not sailed to livelier ports. The Church wears well on you.† â€Å"No, I'm not robbing. Look, it's a letter.† â€Å"Give it here.† â€Å"You can read?† The tart's eyes widened as if I had confessed the ability to turn lead into gold. â€Å"I was raised in a nunnery, wench. I am a walking library of learning – bound in comely leather and suitable for stroking – at your service, should you fancy a bit of culture to go with your lack of breeding, or vice versa, of course.† Then Edmund gasped and stirred. â€Å"Oh fuckstockings. The bastard's alive.†

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Internet Freedom and Democracy

Internet Freedom and Democracy Recently people more aware about real democracy because technological developments and internet help people who access the internet simultaneously. Especially internet has a great contribition. Internet’s most important two features which are pure information and easy accessibility are gift from network developers to general public. Some believes that this intervention is very helpful for humanity and some others argues that internet will be a tool for mean and malevolent people such as terrorists,racist or pedophiles.Democracy’s most well known feature is being free as can as possible. Person who lives in democratic country can do what s/he wants to do without abusing the other people’s rights,feelings and freedoms. Accordingly on this definition , people can access to internet when they want. They can communicate with each other or surf on the internet and no one can stop users. Internet is a new way of promoting democracy. It is a new area that capable for keeping in touch with billions of people. It does not need to rest or it never dies. However this event depend on governments and authorities’ attitude towards the internet.As you imagine that, internet’s simplicity creates powerful interaction. This interaction ability leads billions of people’s attention. This interaction power and lots of people’s attention may cause a handicap for Authorities. Becouse of this great power States and Authorities want to control it. Thanks to the democracy, there is a obstacle for that. Our rights are saved by laws and governments can not inhibit our internet freedom. Let assume that all of the developing and developed countries are beindg governing with complete democracy.In this circumstance,a large amount of people can reach various imformation easily. Only one click on the mouse opens a door to the rest of the world. Jamie Metzl describes the internet as a quick and cheap way of exchanging the information. It is a great invention that people may gain information very fast and very easy. People can announce their voice and express their ideas. People may also express themselves without the internet but internet makes this process faster. Sharing ideas has become easier with internet. Because internet provides flow of informatin without any corruption or changes.For example (from Peter Brophy and Edward Helpin’s article), human rights organizations were challenging with authoritarian governments early 80’s but later internet usage has started to grow and they have gained adventage from internet. They published their articles and annunced their activities freely. In Peter Brophy and Edward Helpin’s article, Amnesty International which is an organization that protects human rights all over the world. In their Indonesia campaign , they used the online communication becouse government could not making intervention to that area.Day by day Indonesian peo ple have become more aware about their rights and resisted to government’s human rights abuses. Briefly , internet provides democratic rights for people. With internet’s contribitions people can understand the democracy in fast and easy way. Internet is such a great invention that it is easiest way to foster freedom. There is no militaristic pressure, police stick, or torture for readings, songs and idea expressions. It means that there is no this kind of scary affects for being free. People know that they can read, listen or say what they want with internet.This is the main reason for internet’s popularity. Completely democratic countries have been allowing flow of information for many years. Except democratic and liberal countries’ citizens, people couldn’t express themselves freely before the invention of the internet. For example; in Turkey, in early 80’s lots of author was imprisoned by military because of their ideologies and books. Al so military was burning ideological books. Even today Turkish citizens aren’t recognizing the complete freedom. However, it changed recently. Lately 90’s internet has become popular and there was no limitation for it.That interval was the pure freedom for internet users. It is a fact that, only way for spread of an idea is communication. Frequency, power and speed of communication are directly proportional with dissemination of idea or information. A user’s idea could be effective on the other user. Different thoughts could become an ideology at the internet. For example; a couple months ago Turkish government has started to applying safe-internet which is software for limiting the internet. Popular bloggers wrote articles about it and they raise awareness about this law.Firstly bloggers and a lot of users protest this issue on web but it didn’t be effective. After that bloggers planned a real protest at streets. They invited both internet users and civil public to strike this issue. Thousands of people responded this call and they protest that law because, government tried to abuse their internet freedom. However, some people argue that internet isn’t kind of a tool that helpful for democratic developments. In dictatorships and non-democratic countries internet doesn’t work properly while process of promoting the democracy.Censorship issue and authoritarian pressures prevent flow of information. Not only civil people use the internet. Governments have their own websites or blogs. Public’s internet is being limited with same technology by governments. Civilian programmers call that the Censor ware. There are lots of ways for blocking or limiting access to websites. Most well-known are Web filters which programmed by states’ programmers. Another one is blocking the website. Jonathan Strickland mentioned this issue in his article. For Strickland, Governments block access to the web pages they identify as un desirable.Undesirable means that the websites which criticizes the state’s ideology or contrary with government’s activities. As a result, these actions cause a counter belief for internet’s democracy foster power. In conclusion, many people believe that internet is accelerating the freedom and democracy in most of the countries. A few people disagreeing with that but generally thought of internet’s contributions to democracy is positive. Two main features of this technology are helping people which are fast and easy and fast accessibility and not corrupted information.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Development of automobile industry in the united states Research Paper

Development of automobile industry in the united states - Research Paper Example May 2011 brought Volkswagen’s manufacturing plant to America. In addition to manufacturing plants, several manufacturers have opened transmission and engine plants that are working in research and development, design, and testing in the United States. The whole automotive industry and dealership amounts to nearly 3.5 percent Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of the United States. By the end of 2012, auto manufacturers and related industries directly employed 786,000 people (SelectUSA). In addition to manufacturers, there is an extensive network of auto parts suppliers who produced $225.2 billion (4 percent of U.S. manufacturing) in shipments during 2012. According to the study conducted by Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and Information Handling Services, overall automobile industry’s direct employment generation was 3.62 million while indirect influence was the creation of jobs and economic wellbeing in comparison to any other sector (SelectUSA). This research paper examines U.S. automobile industry, its history and development, and finds that it the backbone of manufacturing industry, therefore, plays a vital role in strengthening American economy. During 1900 and 1930, Detroit experienced record growth in comparison to any other city in the United States. The reason behind this unparalleled growth was concentration of auto industry around Detroit, which became the largest industry in the U.S. by 1929(Davis ix). The number of auto firms grew in a gradual manner from 1895 to 1907, reaching at its peak at 82 in 1907. For the next three years, the number of entrants remained high, but after that it dropped sharply. With an average number of 15 firms every year from 1911 to 1922, it fell to only 15 firms from 1923 to 1966. After a few early years, the auto industry’s exit rate was more than 10 percent; moreover, by the year 1910, the number of exit was more than the number of entries. Excluding the two year period from