Racial Discrimination - 1086 Words

For nearly three centuries, the U.S has directly and indirectly encouraged racial violence, has had an intolerance with races, and inserted itself into conflicts that caused more racial tension. Strain between the races has been present in the U.S since its inception, the very founding of which was built on the backs of slaves who even after its abolishment received little compensation for their hundreds of years of forced labor. Today, while divided has lessened, the hidden institution of racism continues to thrive. Racial Violence has been enacted in the U.S and abroad by centuries of unjust legislation that promotes a racial divide by targeting particular ethnic communities and not including a clear limit of laws into legislation to†¦show more content†¦Some of these questions required that the person relinquish all affiliations with Japan including any citizenship. This was problematic because some people hadn’t acquired a U.S citizenship for a number of reasons a nd the relinquishment of their Japanese citizenship whether they were predominantly living in the U.S of not meant that they would legally belong nowhere. While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made significant progress of race relations in the U.S regarding universal rights, legally it did not stop people from disguised discrimination. After the passing of the Civil Rights Act it was against the law to discriminate based on race, religion, gender, or national origin, but that didn’t stop people from justifying racial discrimination. Malcolm X was one activist the challenged the Civil Rights Act, he believed and preach that the black community should not stop fighting for equality even after the passing of the legislation in 1964. In his earlier years, Malcolm X was a huge supporter for â€Å"Black power† and unlike Martin Luther King Jr. argued that violence was a necessary form of activism. He emphasized that the Civil Rights Act did little to help the ill-fated black communities because of the acts reluctance to include solutions or advancements to domestic issues. Malcolm X also condemned the Civil Rights Act as a whole r eferring to is as a â€Å"propaganda maneuver† where the main purpose was to keep the African fight for equality out of theShow MoreRelatedOvert Racial Discrimination and Institutional Racial Discrimination635 Words   |  3 PagesPrior to the 1960s, discrimination was viewed as a creature of prejudice (Feagin Feagin, 1988). What this means is that the problem of discrimination was viewed as one motivated primarily by individuals (or groups of individuals) on the basis of prejudice or hatred. Implicit in this prejudice-causes-discrimination-model (Feagin Feagin, p. XX) was the assumption that the solution to discrimination was one of simply eliminating prejudice. Thus, the elimination of prejudicial behavior wouldRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination Essay1347 Words   |  6 PagesRacial discrimination is one of many terms used to express the suppression of a race or many races, but more specifically, it refers to the ill-treatment a person or group receives as a result of differences in their race, color, descent, national, ethnic origin or immigrant status. (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2016). Racial discrimination can be perpetrated by individuals within society, and corporate institutions such as schools, the work force and the government, all of which we have seenRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination1637 Words   |  7 Pagesreferencing the topic of racism and racial discrimination in today’s society, one of the biggest questions that still remain unanswered is as such: Why does racial discrimination still exist? What factors take place within the human mind that might cause feelings of hatred and bigotry? What can result from an individual using racially discriminating language? From times predating even the most notable case of as much, pre-Civil War United States American slavery, discrimination has existed in many differentRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Racial Profiling1524 Words   |  7 Pages In our society today, racial discrimination and inequality continues to be an issue. Regardless of the advancements we make in our society in terms of race, discrimination is something that can not simply be erased. The conflict with discrimination is evident when we look at the issue of racial profiling. Racial profiling refers to the treatment of an individual based on their race or ethnicity (Statistics of Racial Profiling 1). It is often a tool being used by law enforcement when deciding toRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination859 Words   |  4 Pageshundred percent accurate. A racial comment would be that African Americans are dangerous coming from the fact that there are more African American in prison that any other demographic. In today’s America, racism is practiced in every sort of way from subtle, aversive, to even â€Å"reverse† racism and, many more. the most common way to racially discriminate against a group is through visual processing, ho wever, what causes this to be the most common mean of discrimination, could it be that this is howRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Gender Discrimination962 Words   |  4 Pagesincreasingly being seen, especially on social media. It s a single word which people are using instead of the longer phrases disability discrimination or disability prejudice. Racial discrimination and gender discrimination have their own single words - racism and sexism - and so those ideas can be expressed a little more easily. Disability discrimination is often complicated and misunderstood. At one end of the scale, buildings with steps instead of ramps may be said to be ableist. Less obviousRead MoreRacial Oppression And Racial Discrimination997 Words   |  4 PagesHuman begins since the beginning of time have understood the concept of racial solidarity but yet decides to ignore it. Racial oppression is a direct consequence of a superior race. Racial oppression is the act of power that causes the sta te of being to feel heavily exploited. There are two types of racial oppression that are not commonly well known of, institutionalized and internalized. Institutionalized oppression is expressed when a group of people based on their race has a different chance ofRead MoreA Brief Note On Discrimination And Racial Discrimination1532 Words   |  7 PagesDiscrimination made its way to planet earth way before it could be documented. Racial discrimination happens all over the world both consciously and unconsciously, destroying lives every day. Racial discrimination can best be described as, when a person is treated less favorably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. There are many forms of racial discrimination even if we don’t want to face it. Among the mostRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Its Effects On American Culture970 Words   |  4 PagesIf there is one thing I have noticed dur ing my, admittedly, short sixteen years, it is the racial discrimination and obvious bigotry of the those who are not white. Stereotypes and detrimental comments are slung every which way. Others, rely on subtle jabs while some are oblivious to the offense of the people they are around. It seems to me, that people do not seem to care. I have listened to countless conversations where people would nonchalantly insult their own culture and heritage as if theyRead MoreRacial Discrimination Essay2245 Words   |  9 Pages The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes, consequences and remedies of racial discrimination in the labor market. Understanding racial discrimination in the labor market is of critical importance because of the sever wage differentials between different races in the market. Most of the economic research on racial discrimination focuses on black and white males. Hence this paper will also be focusing on wage and employment differentials between black and white males. I will start by discussing

Phonological and Writing Systems of English and Thai Free Essays

In the second language and foreign language (FL) classroom literature, it has been claimed that several variables related to the interface between L1 and L2/ FL, i. e. psychological aspects, contribute to language learners’ perception and production of a foreign language. We will write a custom essay sample on Phonological and Writing Systems of English and Thai or any similar topic only for you Order Now A study of these variables could have important implications for the teaching of foreign languages. More recently, the role of spoken and written L2 input (e. g. Bassetti, 2008; Moyer, 2009) has been studied in greater detail, and there is an abundance of such studies. In this chapter, the relevant literature will be illustrated and critiqued, with particular attention to the works on phonological systems and writing systems across languages and the interaction between the two systems. In addition, the influence of affective factors on the productive skills of Thai learners is reviewed. The first section of the chapter is a discussion of the relevant literature on the differences between phonological and writing systems across languages and the resulting language learner output, followed by a review of the framework to be used in this study. The final section is a review of the effects of the affective factors on the learners’ language achievement and language performance as well as on language learning. 1. The related literature The findings reported in the literature that the majority of Thai learners of English demonstrate a low degree of proficiency, especially in the productive skills (speaking and writing) reflect the fact that â€Å"English language pedagogy in Thailand †¦ is still in its infancy† (Wongsothorn, A. , Hiranburana, K. Chinnawongs, S. 2002; Laopongharn Sercombe, 2009, among others). As reported in the national survey (1999) conducted by the Office of Educational Testing of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (in Khamkhien, 2010), â€Å"high school sstudents’ productive skills were generally below 50 per cent, i. e. below average, leading to the recommendation in the report for immediate improvements of writing ability in all educational institutions in the country † (Wongsothorn et al. , 2002: 112). There are several factors that could prevent Thai learners of English from aining a sthrong command of productive skills in English. In terms of the phonological system, Yangklang (2006) investigated the improvement in pronunciation of English final [l] in 40 Thai sstudents in Matthayom Suksa 4 at Assumption Convent Lamnarai School who had used the Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) programme she was testing. The CAI in the study, as described by Yangklang: â€Å"contained drill and practice exercises. Drill and practice activities aimed to provide learners with adequate practices and also to review items that were new to learners. The goal of the drill and practice activities was to teach sstudents to pronounce words with final /-l/ accurately and automatically. † These practices and exercises were, therefore, provided by the computer programme as part of the post-lesson activities. The participants were divided into two groups according to their competence of pronunciation of English, one with good pronunciation and the other with poor ability. Prior to the experimental task, each participant had taken a placement test to classify their pronunciation competence. Subsequently, they all took three pronunciation post-tests every week for three weeks. It was found that both groups of sstudents improved their pronunciation significantly after they used the CAI programme. In general, both groups had positive reactions to the use of the CAI programme for improving their pronunciation. Obviously, the programme helped the participants improve their pronunciation, given that they had intensive training on pronunciation practice of specific English consonant sounds, and the post-test of pronouncing the sound was administered immediately after the programme training. As Graham (1997) and Macaro (2006), among others, have pointed out, effective language learning is about mastering communicative skills, i. e. speaking, writing, listening, and reading. This indicates that the more learners practise, the better their communicative performance in a language. In line with this, the results did not show anything unexpected. The point at issue, which I shall leave for future study, is how can accurate pronunciation, e. g. of the /l/ sound, be maintained after short-term, intensive training? In Yangklang’s findings, the English consonant sound /l/ which constitutes the coda, i. e. word-final ending in /l/, (see Figure 1 below) could be realised as [l], [n], and [w] by the participants. The participants with good pronunciation appeared to produce the [l], whilst the participants from the poorer group appeared to generate [n] and [w] instead of [l] or [? ]. The [n] was produced more frequently than [w] by these participants, however. Yangklang did not discuss why [n] and [w] constitute allophones of /l/. In the study, it was the poorer group who produced such allophones, and it was reported from interviews that the participants had not yet been exposed to an environment where English is used as a medium of communication. In the word list, part of the research instrument which consisted of pronunciation tests contained words like ‘ball’, ‘mile’, etc. which are English loanwords. I assume that there is some force of segmental alternation with regard to English loanwords. As /l/ is not available at coda position, the notion of final consonant phoneme alternation appears plausible. That is to say, [n] and [w] appear to be alternatives. Paradis (1996) in Kentowicz Suchato (2006), claimed that the location of such segments in feature geometry and prosodic structure was relevant in dealing with segmental alternation in loanwords. Based on the data, /l/ and /n/ fall into the same natural class, in that both of them are sonorant consonants, which can be represented by the feature matrices How to cite Phonological and Writing Systems of English and Thai, Papers

Jewels Horse Essay As I Lay Dying Example For Students

Jewels Horse Essay As I Lay Dying Adam CooperCooper 1In one of William Faulkners greatest novels, As I lay Dying, the characters selfishness is revealed. As I Lay Dying is a detailed account of the Bundrens family trek across Mississippi to bury Addie, their wife and mother. As Addie is dying, all the characters go through a different state of emotions, all of which are explained in fifty-nine chapters. An analysis of William Faulkners As I Lay Dying reveals the importance of goals, mishaps, and characters as they look on the death of Addie. During the initial stage after Addies death three main goals are exposed: burying her, getting new teeth for Anse, and getting an abortion for Dewey Dell. According to George Wolfe, Addies section is narrated in tense, cryptic, and expository prose because Addie is a person who has tried to solve some of the basic problems of life and has failed (203). To Cash, his mother is his world, and he does not realize she dies because he is too busy trying to build her a coffin. The family is able to deal with Addies death as a whole, although Vardaman has a harder time, while Dewey Dell is anxious for other reasons all together. According to Warren, Throughout Addies life, she lived with a man that was emotionally dead from the beginning, and it basically killed her (172). Anse was always a selfish man, so, it is no surprise he is ready to get to Jefferson County for his own selfish reasons, his teeth. Dewey Dell is just as anxious to reach Jefferson County to have an abortion. During the Jo urney to Jefferson County, they face mishaps, a flood and a fire, which temporarily keep the family from being able to bury their loved one. The Yoknapatawpha River floods and forces them to use an alternate bridge, this event turns out to be a major mistake, because regardless of the damage done to the bridge by the flood, they cross it. In turn Cash breaks his leg and they almost lose Addie to the river. They also have to buy new mules for the rest of the trip. Before they get to Jefferson, the family spends the night at Gillespies Place. In the middle of the night, the barn catches fire, and Addie is saved by Jewel. Vardaman swears that he saw something, but Dewey Dell tells him not to say a thing. From the beginning to the end, the characters reveal their emotions about the death of Addie. From Darls longest chapter to Vardamans, My mother is a fish, They all feel lost and incomplete without Addie. Warren remarks, Anger, hatred, jealousy, loyalty, reverence, fear- Faulkner creates a panorama as he presents the characters dramatically (290). Anse, being one of the laziest characters, believes that people are put on earth to care for him now. Cash is the oldest of the children. According to Warren, he refers to himself as The builder who sacrifices himself for his family (290). Darl, who is the most complex, yet oddest character, is the most involved. He is confused on how he feels about his mothers death because he was always denied her love. Hillgrass states, He was able to accept that he was the unwanted and motherless child (64). Jewel, who is not Anses child, loves his mother. He is the one who saves her through the flood and the fire. He, by a considerable amount, was his mothers favorite child. Dewey Dell, the only girl, was never close to her mom. She, like her father, only goes to Jefferson County for personal reasons. She can never think of one thing for a long time; her mind jumps from all around. Last, Vardamanm who is the youngest child was not born out of love, but to replace another child. Being the youngest, he is the most affected by his mothers death. He has weird experiences that consist of handling a dead fish, dealing with the death of his mother being caught in the barn, and unable to breathe. The whole family seems to be affected, yet each in his own way. .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 , .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .postImageUrl , .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 , .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2:hover , .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2:visited , .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2:active { border:0!important; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2:active , .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2 .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u7a5dcf18bb0f5d14e40654ab21b493c2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independen EssayBryfonski states, The entire structure of As I Lay Dying is dialectical, involving a continual and fructifying movement between inner and outer world (Bryfonki 205). Even though the family has a frustrating time getting to Jefferson County to bury their loved one, the family makes it together and buries Addie. As I Lay Dying is a unique novel, based on the lives of an odd family during the 1900s. It is a bizarre, yet powerful story of a familys struggle to work together to resolve its conflicts. Modern readers can recognize the aspects of the dysfunctional family that Faulkner depicts and learn from the interactions o f the unusual members. A critic remarks Faulkner the humanistic realist is never sensational (Bryfonski) 172-73) As I Lay Dying surely insured Faulkners place in writing history. Bibliography:

The Effects of Violence in Media on Society Today Persuasive Essay Example For Students

The Effects of Violence in Media on Society Today Persuasive Essay Is societies violence the medias fault? This is the question that has been asked since before television was in every Americans house. Of course there are the different types of media today ranging from newspapers, to on-line reports and stories. There have been arguments upon arguments about this issue, and over 3,000 studies conducted. Unfortunately there isnt one single result, there is only an array of supposed answers to this undying question. CBS president, Howard Stringer is pointing to a different scapegoat for societys violence. I come from a country that puts a lot of American movies on and has more graphic violence within its live drama on the BBC than anywhere else, and there is a lot less violence in the United Kingdom than there is here. There are 200 million guns in America, and that has a lot to do with violence. We will write a custom essay on The Effects of Violence in Media on Society Today Persuasive specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now He feels it has to do with gun control, which others have suggested. But there are so many violent acts, that one cant focus on the guns, just like one cant focus on the media. David Phillips, one of the men we discuss later put it perfectly, Its like watching rain fall on a pond and trying to figure out which drop causes which ripple.There have been many studies conducted on the effects of violence on children, and on the effects on society as a whole. There have been about 3,000 studies performed on this topic. Two of the most prolific studies were the UCLA Television Violence Monitoring Report, and the Mediascope, Inc. test sponsored by the National Cable Television Association. Of course there were many other studies done, but these made headlines because of their results. The UCLA study focused on all of the television media, and discovered some interesting facts from their study. Prime Time Series raised the least concern. Theatrical films raised more concern and had a lot more violence. The Saturday morning cartoons had mixed reviews. 23% of the cartoons raised concern, but that was only rating the most popular cartoons: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, X-Men, etc. They termed the action in cartoons as Sinister Combat Violence which basically means the whole story line leads to violence.Mediascope, Inc. focused on the amount and context on cable, effectiveness of rating systems and parental advisories, and the success of anti-violent messages. They found that perpetrators go unpunished in 73% of all violent scenes, one out of four violent interactions involved the use of handguns, and premium cable channels present the highest percentage of violent programs (85%). There was more to their findings, but these were the more prevalent findings.University of Michigan psychologists Dr. Leonard Eron and Dr. Rowell Huesmann conducted a study, which continued for decades. This was conducted beginning in 1960. They took 800 eight-year-olds and found that children who watched many hours of violent television tended to be more aggressive in the playground and the classroom. They checked back with these kids 11 and 22 years later. They found the aggressive eight-year-olds grew up to become even more aggressive. They testified before congress in 1992 stating, Television violence affects youngsters of all ages, of both genders, at all socioeconomic levels and all levels of intelligence. The effect is not limited to children who are already disposed to being aggressive and is not restricted to this country.David Phillips, a scientist at the University of California in San Diego conducted a study on prizefights on television. He thought of this topic, because he felt there wasnt enough research being conducted on the copycat violence. He found that after prize fights on television, there would be about a 10 percent increase in murders for a few days afterwards. He quoted, It also seems to be the case that the kind of person killed just after the prizefight is similar to the person beaten in the prize fight.There are four major theories of television violence. The arousal theory, the social learning theory, the disinhibition hypothesis, and the catharsis hypothesis. These four hypothesis/theories are old and new conclusions to the question at hand. It is notable to see that some of these theories were stated as early as 1961. Most would have to disagree with these theories just because of the age of their births, but to most peoples surprise they still hold in the 21st century. The arousal theory is basically self-explanatory. This was theorized by P.H. Tannenbaum in 1975. .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .postImageUrl , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:hover , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:visited , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:active { border:0!important; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:active , .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841 .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub4a04f6c7f9e4b37fcc381444afd0841:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Marshant Museum Of Art And History Essay He said exposure to television violence increases aggression because violence increases excitation, or arouses viewers (Tannenbaum Zillman, 1975). This is also being found in the recent studies, which shows the progression in the medias will to change.The social learning theory was described by Dr. Bandura. This theory says ways of behaving are learned by observing others, and that this is a major means by which children acquire unfamiliar behavior, although performance of acquired behavior will depend at least in part on factors other than acquisition (Bandura, 1973). A perfect example of this theory was when the murders occurred after the prizefights.The disinhibition hypothesis was L. Berkowitzs investigation. This hypothesis explains that television violence in certain circumstances will result in increased interpersonal aggression because it weakens inhibitions against such behavior (Berkowitz, 1962).The final theory, catharsis hypothesis was written by S. Feshbach. This theory explains that under certain conditions exposure to television violence will reduce subsequent aggression (Feshbach, 1961). What this is saying is that if someone sees a fantasy on TV, or now with technology, entertains themselves with virtual reality, that fantasy is fulfilled, which makes them not feel they have to do that in real life.So many people have discussed the topic of media effecting society, from Aristotle to the President of CBS. It has always been a question, but never as needy for an answer as now. Hopefully the government has some say in this soon, so the drama of centuries will finally be over. But that probably wont occur anytime soon.Aristotle was a big supporter of catharsis. He believed that the audience became psychologically involved with the story on stage, even though they knew it was 100% fiction. He felt when aggression climaxed with the actors, there was a catharsis in the audience, which was pleasurable to experience and left the audience cleansed, uplifted, and less likely to act violently among themselves. Sigmund Freud also felt as Aristotle did by saying, Unless people were allowed to express themselves aggressively, the aggressive energy would be dammed up, pressure would build, and the aggressive energy would seek an outlet, either exploding into acts of extreme violence or manifesting itself as symptoms of mental illness . But there is no direct evidence for this conclusion (Aronson, 1995, p. 258). President Clinton looks at it in a different light saying, for people who have never been taught to understand the consequences of their action these things can unintentionally set forth a chain reaction of ever more impulsive behavior. Hollywood figures of the 21st century blame factors such as poverty, drugs and alcohol, poor schooling, lax gun control and a general breakdown of families but not screen violence.University of Iowa professor of Journalism and Mass Communication Albert Talbott said, In the 30s, when I was a toddler, one of the things that concerned parents were comic books and the violence in them. As soon as the modern media started to develop, we have all kinds of things on how we are affecting people.Technology today isnt helping everyone to feel better about this dilemma. It is actually going to get worse before it gets better. There isnt only movies or news reports someone can watch to see violence, but also the new video game craze. Video games have become an enormous industry in the past decade. People from 4 years old to 70 years old own their own Sega Genesis or Nintendo Play Station. Of course there is a number of games to choose frombut what is the highest wanted game? None other then Mortal Combat. The name speaks for itself. Just for the record, this game consists of choosing a character, a weapon and then fighting another character until one is dead. It also is equipped with sound effects for when someone is punched or stabbed, and also shows the blood flying from the body when hit. So many studies have been done on the affects of media violence on children. Most are concerned with the results, especially parents. If the government, parents or others are so concerned with the effect of their child seeing violence on the television, maybe they should practice what they preach when Christmas rolls around. They should think twice before buying that Mortal combat III for their son. This is where it gets sticky. Parents need to draw the line between appropriate and not appropriate. It would be a nice convenience to have a rating system on the television, but parents should be aware enough of what their children are doing and watching that they are the rating system themselves.The question now is what is happening to help this situation currently? The answer is quite relieving. .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .postImageUrl , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:hover , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:visited , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:active { border:0!important; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:active , .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190 .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5afc22349f87da01d2788056218fd190:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Hypotheses of the Effects of Wolf Predation Essay All of the networks are on their tippy toes so they wont get a bad name. The Entertainment Industries council, which distributes suggestions to the writers and producers of network shows and TV movies on social issues, is now meeting with writers to develop ways for dramatizing conflict without violence and showing the consequences of violence. MTV is the most risqu station on cable right now. It shows a good amount of sex and violence everyday. Usually more sex then violence, but there is a good amount of both. But at MTV, almost one out of three music videos submitted is being ruled inappropriate for broadcast.The V-Chip is another work in progress for parents. This device will be in all televisions within 5 years. It is a rating system for parents, and they can program it to cut off shows with violence or nudity, etc. This will help parents regulate what their children will watch, even when they arent around. It will be like on-line shopping, a convenience, but you still have to choose what you want to buy.Film director Oliver Stone says, Films have become more sanitized. Were moving away from reality. Were in the grip of a political correctness thats bothersome. Obviously there will be some who are concerned with the action government is taking, because media should be realistic and educating, even if it is gruesome. Some would disagree with that statement, and those are the ones taking action now. Photojournalist Assistant Professor John Kimmich Javier said, News isnt always pretty or nice. People must face that reality. People have had to face that reality, and now are taking action to stop that from continuing to be reality. Should it be stopped is the real question. What is the effect of violence in media with children compared to with adults? Children model behavior they see in the media. If they dont see the consequences of violence, it will teach them that violence doesnt cause serious harm. Adults see more violence in the media than actually exists in real life. Thats because producers believe that they have to include extraordinary violence in order to keep the viewer. When heroes use violence, children think that violence is an appropriate way to respond to problems. Children are younger, so they see things and apply that to their lives, because they are learning everything at that age. Adults look at it as the mean world syndrome in which they see how society is portrayed on TV, and they think that every neighborhood is dangerous, like shown. When in fact most neighborhoods are nothing like they are portrayed on TV. The writers and producers are exaggerating, to make it all interesting.There is also discussion of violence on TV not having any affect at all. People have seen so much, that they dont really think about the actual act occurring on screen. Hanno Hardt, a professor at J-MC School said, Its lost its shock value. Maybe 20 to 30 years ago we would have been shocked. Now, a generation later, we know that this is a violent society. And when we read about violence, it only reinforces what we know. People have become used to seeing violence on television, but this has become somewhat surreal to them. They dont think of it as reality until it happens to them. When violence happens to people or their family, they become eyewitnesses to this violence. They have personal experiences compassion sensitivity, fear. People havent lost that. We have covered a huge amount of information about the effect of violence in media on society. Did we answer the question though? I dont think we did, but I do think that the answer is making progress. We are also a lot more informed now of what exactly is in the media right now, and what studies have shown to be happening. There has always been an issue of something effecting society, and there will always be a plentitude of scapegoats. What is the actual answer though? No one seems to have it. There is a lot of gray area, but society seems to be making this more of a black and white issue. Will the government ever really take action? Does action need to be taken? Hopefully after reading this, one is more educated on the difficulty in answering these questions.

Native American essay part 2

Native American essay part 2 Native American essay part 2 Native American essay part 2Native American essay part  1In the 1830s, Native Americans still lived in their native lands for the most part. However, white men considered them a threat to peace. So, in 1838, the Federal government had what they called the Five Civilized Tribes removed (Briggs Pittman, 1997). These tribes were the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole. They were moved at a forced march up to 800 miles from their homelands to the Indian Territory, which is modern-day Oklahoma. Under cruel conditions, the army forced the peaceful tribes through the cold, winter weather to their new homes (Hertz, 2004). During this ordeal, known as the Trail of Tears, over 4,000 Cherokees alone died, out of the 15,000 moved (Billings, 2002). However, the removal of Native Americans had proved to be disastrous for them because they died due to disease, exposure, and starvation. The conditions of the removal were unbearable and Native Americans could not physically survive t he relocation. More important, the relocation was poorly managed since Native Americans were just forced out of their land, they had got the destination and the land, where they had the right to settle, and all the rest was virtually up to Native Americans, how to relocate without any support from the part of the government or white Americans.Even when the Indian Territory was reached, the US Government was not satisfied. Slowly, more and more of the land was taken from the Native American tribes. A government who maintained ideas of equality and freedom, were showing that these ideas obviously did not pertain to everyone. In 1902, several hundred thousand acres were cleared out for white settlements (McCary, 2010). In 1907, the Indian Nations ceased to exist, and when Oklahoma became a state, all Native American territory was assimilated into the Union (Rountree, 2005).Naturally, Native Americans were unwilling to obey to decisions taken by the white officials because they still be lieved that their land belonged to them and they were the native population of America and, thus, they were not going to give in their land to white Americans just because the US Congress decided so. In fact, the increasing pressure of the US government on Native Americans resulted in the open military conflict between Native Americans and white Americans. The series of bloody battles started several years after the end of the Civil War, due to the demand of Indian territory by the white Americans and ended with the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 (Egloff Woodward, 2001). Thousands of Native Americans were slaughtered by the cruel Union Army, led by generals such as Custer, Gabon, and Sherman. The Native Americans, led by heroes such as Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, and Crazy Horse, fought outnumbered for many years before being defeated one by one at the hands of the Federal Government (Potter, 1993). They won many battles, such as the Kidder massacre, in which they killed an entir e regiment, with only 2 casualties themselves (Holton, 2000). However, such achievements only enhanced the pressure on Native Americans and provided the US government with the support of the public opinion because white Americans grew certain that Native Americans were dangerous.For the most part, however, the Union was a ruthless enemy. They attacked many harmless villages, and killed many Native Americans in the massacres of Powder River, Sand Creek, Little Wolf, and Wounded Knee (Nash, 1999). The Native Americans were outnumbered and outgunned. By the end of the war, they had won many battles against the Union Army, but they also lost so many warriors that they were forced to surrender (Rountree, 2005). Eventually, Native Americans’ resistance faded away as they could not resist to the overwhelming power of the US. Native Americans could not confront the well-trained army and defeat it. This is why they were forced out of their land, but they lost not only their land but a lso many Native Americans lost their life. Today, the removal of Native Americans is perceived as a humanitarian catastrophe managed by the US government, but, in that time, it was perceived as the operation aiming at securing western frontier of the US and as the only effective way to eliminate the Indian threat.However, this threat was ephemeral and rather imagined than real. As the film Soldier Blue shows the threat was imagined by white Americans because they did not understand Native Americans. More important, they did not want to negotiate or develop closer relations with Native Americans neither. Instead, they preferred to eliminate Native American physically, either through their removal or through their slaughtering. In this regard, the understanding of motives of white Americans justifies, to a certain extent, their actions. At any rate, the film and conclusions that has been just made from this film allow viewing the oppression of Native Americans by white Americans not a s the manifestation of the ultimate cruelty and a genocide attempt but, instead, it may be viewed as actions driven by sheer fear of white Americans, who did not know Native Americans and it was the fear that determined their actions and oppression of Native Americans.Thus, the complexity of relationships between white Americans and native Americans was, to a significant extent, determined by the fear and oppression as the major drivers of the tension between them. White Americans did not know Native Americans, their culture and lifestyle but their traditions appalled then. This is why they viewed Native Americans as a threat and attempted to remove them from the western frontier. However, Native Americans naturally resisted because they were eager to protect their land. As a result, the US Congress took the decision on the removal of Native Americans, who were later settled in reservations.

Brain Computer Interface

Modifying the human body or enhancing our cognitive abilities using technology has been a long-time dream for many people. An increasing amount of research tries to link the human brain with machines allowing humans to control their environment through their thoughts. Research on BCIs began in the 1970s, but it wasnt until the mid-1990s that the first working experimental implants in humans appeared. Following years of animal experimentation, early working implants in humans now exist, designed to restore damaged hearing, sight and movement. The common thread throughout the research is the remarkable cortical plasticity of the brain, which often adapts to BCIs, treating prostheses controlled by implants as natural limbs. With recent advances in technology and knowledge, pioneering researchers could now conceivably attempt to produce BCIs that augment human functions rather than simply restoring them, previously only the realm of science fiction. 2. Brain Machine Interface (Brain Computer Interface): In this definition, the word â€Å"brain† means the brain or nervous system of an organic life form rather than the mind. Computer† means any processing or computational device, from simple circuits to silicon chips (including hypothetical future technologies such as quantum computing). A Brain Machine Interface (BMI), sometimes called a Direct Neural Interface or a Brain Computer Interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal brain (or brain cell culture) and an external device. In one-way BCIs, computers either accept commands from the brain or send signals to it (for example, to restore vision) but not both. Two-way BCIs would allow brains and external devices to exchange information in both directions but have yet to be successfully implanted in animals or human. Brain-computer interface (BCI) is collaboration between a brain and a device that enables signals from the brain to direct some external activity, such as control of a cursor or a prosthetic limb. The interface enables a direct communications pathway between the brain and the object to be controlled. In the case of cursor control, for example, the signal is transmitted directly from the brain to the mechanism directing the cursor, rather than taking the normal route through the bodys neuromuscular system from the brain to the finger on a mouse. By reading signals from an array of neurons and using computer chips and programs to translate the signals into action, BCI can enable a person suffering from paralysis to write a book or control a motorized wheelchair or prosthetic limb through thought alone. Current brain-interface devices require deliberate conscious thought; some future applications, such as prosthetic control, are likely to work effortlessly. One of the biggest challenges in developing BCI technology has been the development of electrode devices and/or surgical methods that are minimally invasive. In the traditional BCI model, the brain accepts an implanted mechanical device and controls the device as a natural part of its representation of the body. Much current research is focused on the potential on non-invasive BCI. At the European Research and Innovation Exhibition in Paris in June 2006, American scientist Peter Brunner composed a message simply by concentrating on a display. Brunner wore a close-fitting (but completely external) cap fitted with a number of electrodes as shown in fig. Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity from Brunners brain was picked up by the caps electrodes and the information used, along with software, to identify specific letters or characters for the message. The BCI Brunner demonstrated is based on a method called the Wadsworth system. Like other EEG-based BCI technologies, the Wadsworth system uses adaptive algorithms and Pattern-matching techniques to facilitate communication. Both user and software are expected to adapt and learn, making the process more efficient with practice. During the presentation, a message was displayed from an American neurobiologist who uses the system to continue working, despite suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrigs disease). He was able to send the following e-mail message: I am a neuroscientist who (sic) couldnt work without BCI. I am writing this with my EEG courtesy of the Wadsworth Center Brain-Computer Interface Research Program. EEG Pattern Recognition This project aims to improve performance of NASA missions by developing brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies for augmented human-system interaction. BCI technologies will add completely new modes of interaction, which operate in parallel with keyboards, speech, or other manual controls, thereby increasing the bandwidth of human-system interaction. The research will extend recent feasibility demonstrations of electromyographic (EMG) methods for neurocontrol to the domain of electroencephalographic (EEG) methods of neurocontrol. These methods will bypass muscle activity and draw control signals directly from the human brain. BCI technologies will provide powerful and intuitive modes of interaction with 2-D and 3-D data, particularly for visualization and searching in complex data structures, such as geographical maps, satellite images, and terrain databases. . Model train control via brain interface machine: Hitachi has successfully tested a brain-machine interface that allows users to turn power switches on and off with their mind. Relying on optical topography, a neuroimaging technique that uses near-infrared light to map blood concentration in the brain, the system can recognize the changes in brain blood flow associated with mental activity and translate those changes into voltage signals for controlling external devices. In the experiments, test subjects were able to activate the power switch of a model train by performing mental arithmetic and reciting items from memory. The prototype brain-machine interface allows only simple control of switches, but with a better understanding of the subtle variations in blood concentrations associated with various brain activities, the signals can be refined and used to control more complex mechanical operations. In the long term, brain-machine interface technology may help paralyzed patients become independent by empowering them to carry out actions with their minds. In the short term, Hitachi sees potential applications for this brain-machine interface in the field of cognitive rehabilitation, where it can be used as an entertaining tool for demonstrating a patient’s progress. NOTE: The earliest interfaces developed in this breakthrough field of research require scientists to insert electrodes into the skull in order to physically tap directly into the brain, and researchers are currently trying to develop technologies that will enable them to access neurological activity through minimally invasive techniques. It is hoped that some day brain machine interfaces will be able to read neural signals non-invasively, from outside the skull, and that devices will be operated involuntarily, without deliberate conscious thought. Thus, for example, fighter pilots wearing specialized helmets may be able to operate some controls automatically, just by thinking. 4. Neuroprosthetics: Neuroprosthetics (also called Neural Prosthetics) is a discipline related to neuroscience and biomedical engineering concerned with developing neural prostheses, artificial devices to replace or improve the function of an impaired nervous system. The neuroprosthetic seeing the most widespread use is the cochlear implant, with approximately 100,000 in use worldwide as of 2006. There are several types of neuroprosthetic as follows: I. Sensory Prosthetics: i. Visual prosthetics: One of the prominent goals in neuroprosthetics is a visual supplement, noting roughly 95% of all people considered blind suffer significant impairment but have some capability (for example, seeing some sort of blur) only about 5% of blind people are totally blind. By the 1940s, researchers had established the concept of artificial electrical stimulation of the visual cortex, and in the late 1960s, British scientist Giles Brindley produced breakthrough findings with a system for placing electrodes on the brains surface. When specific areas of the brain were stimulated in blind volunteers, all reported seeing phosphenes that corresponded to where they would have appeared in space. However, experiments were discontinued because of the uncomfortably high currents required for stimulation on the surface of the brain. Encouraged by this work, the National Institutes of Health undertook a project to develop and deploy an interface based on ultra fine wire (25 to 50 micrometers) densely populated with electrode sites that could be implanted deep into the visual cortex, thus requiring less current than Brindleys original design. This work led to new electrode technology—finer than the width of human hair—that could be safely implanted in animals to electrically stimulate, and passively record, electrical activity in the brain. The efforts produced significant advances in neurophysiology, with publication of hundreds of papers in which researchers attempted to develop an electronic interface to the brain. ii. Auditory prosthetics (cochlear implant): A cochlear implant (or bionic ear) is a surgically implanted device that can help provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. Unlike hearing aids, the cochlear implant does not amplify sound, but works by directly stimulating any functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlea with electrical impulses. External components of the cochlear implant include a microphone, speech processor and transmitter. iii. Prosthetics for pain relief (Spinal Cord Stimulator): The Spinal Cord Stimulator or (Dorsal Column Stimulator) is used to treat chronic neurological pain. It is implanted near the dorsal surface of the spinal cord and an electric impulse generated by the device provides a tingling sensation that alters the perception of pain by the patient. A pulse generator or RF receiver is implanted in the abdomen or buttocks. A wire harness connects the lead to the pulse generator. II. Motor prosthetics: . Bladder control implants (Sacral anterior root stimulator): Where a spinal cord lesion leads to paraplegia, patients have difficulty emptying their bladders and this can cause infection. From 1969 onwards Brindley developed the sacral anterior root stimulator, with successful human trials from the early 1980s onwards. This device is implanted over the sacral anterior root ganglia of the spin al cord; controlled by an external transmitter, it delivers intermittent stimulation which improves bladder emptying. It also assists in defecation and enables male patients to have a sustained full erection. The related procedure of sacral nerve stimulation is for the control of incontinence in able-bodied patients. ii. Sensory/Motor prosthetics: In 2002 an implant was interfaced directly into the median nerve fibres of the scientist Kevin Warwick. The electrode array inserted contained 100 electrodes, of which 25 could be accessed at any one time. The signals produced were detailed enough that a robot arm developed by Warwicks colleague, Peter Kyberd, was able to mimic the actions of Warwicks own arm and provide a form of touch feedback via the implant. Fig: Electrode array Fig: Robot arm iii. Cognitive prosthetics: Sensory and motor prostheses deliver input to and output from the nervous system respectively. Theodore Berger at the University of Southern California defines a third class of prostheses aimed at restoring cognitive function by replacing circuits within the brain damaged by stroke, trauma or disease. Work has begun on a proof-of-concept device a hippocampal prosthesis which can mimic the function of a region of the hippocampus a part of the brain responsible for the formation of memories. . BMI versus Neuroprosthetics: Neuroprosthetics is an area of neuroscience concerned with neural prostheses — using artificial devices to replace the function of impaired nervous systems or sensory organs. The most widely used neuroprosthetic device is the cochlear implant, which was implanted in approximately 100,000 people worldwide as of 2006. [2] There are also several neuroprosthetic devices that aim to restore vision, in cluding retinal implants, although this article only discusses implants directly into the brain. The differences between BCIs and neuroprosthetics are mostly in the ways the terms are used: neuroprosthetics typically connect the nervous system, to a device, whereas the term â€Å"BCIs† usually connects the brain (or nervous system) with a computer system. Practical neuroprosthetics can be linked to any part of the nervous system, for example peripheral nerves, while the term BCI usually designates a narrower class of systems which interface with the central nervous system. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably and for good reason. Neuroprosthetics and BCI seek to achieve the same aims, such as restoring sight, hearing, movement, ability to communicate, and even cognitive function. Both use similar experimental methods and surgical techniques. 6. Future Trends and Scopes: Recent advances in cortically controlled brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) have demonstrated that goal-directed movement of external devices is possible in real-time using multi-electrode recordings from cortex. A number of challenges are currently being confronted to further advance BMI research to the next level. These include choosing the optimal decoding algorithm for the type of control to be performed, localizing the optimal cortical site for reliable control, and focusing on the most suitable electrophysiological signal for practical use in a BMI. We present results that attempt to address these challenges based on multi-electrode recording from multiple motor cortical areas in behaving monkeys. . Conclusion: Although brain–machine interfaces are often talked about in relation to disabled people, we can expect they will also be used by the non-disabled as a means to control their environment especially if the devices are non-invasive and no implants are needed. To date there has not been much public discussion of the implications of brain machine interfaces, the amount of public RD funding they receive, and control, distribution and access to these devices.

Analysis of the Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe Essay

Analysis of the Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe - Essay Example The story is depicted in first person narration. The writer makes use of simple diction and weaves the web of words in a manner that keeps the readers enthralled and forces them to read till the end in order to determine the whole story in other words the story catches and holds of the readers’ interest. The plot of the story gradually develops. The story reaches at its climax when it is stated, ‘In niche, and finding an instant he had reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood stupidly bewildered. A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally.’ This climax is also the point where Montresor’s intentions and manner in which he will kill Fortunato is revealed to the readers. The author also makes use of irony and foreshadowing which is a technique that further heightens the anticipation of readers to know the upcoming action taking place in the story. As mentioned, ‘the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.’ This phrase foreshadows the approaching Montresor’s betrayal of Fortunato’s trust. Moreover it is ironic when Montresor says, ‘And I to your long life’ because even when he says so he was plotting Fortunato’s murder.... I continued, as was my wont to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile  now  was at the thought of his immolation’. Symbolism is another stylistic technique that is used by the author. The whole prose is a metaphorical representation of degeneration and desolation of man. The brutal treatment of Montresor is symbolic of the animalistic side of human beings and reiterates the fact that man has turned in to a monster disguised in the body of a human being. He is a self indulgent and selfish creature as his only priority in life is himself as it is also apparent from the beginning lines of the story where it is stated, ‘THE THOUSAND INJURIES of  Fortunato  I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This further illustrates the fact that Montresor keeps grudges in his heart and the intensity of his hatred knows no bounds of rationality and sensibility. Chai ns are also symbolic of the shackles of insincerity and selfishness that hold human beings in a death grip hence resulting in a lack of sense of responsibility and sensitivity to others. This degeneration is also demonstrated by the heap of bones that were their in the catacombs. As also stated in the text, ‘From the fourth side the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the displacing of the bones†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Moreover the clothing of Fortunato is also symbolic of his being a fool since he is attired as a clown or a costume of a fool as mentioned in the story, ‘ The man wore

Philosophical Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophical Questions - Essay Example This paper will provide four arguments that God exists. To begin with, one should point out one simple, yet rather important fact: the belief in divine powers has been known since the dawn of humanity; so, this continuous existence of the tradition might be considered to be an indirect indication of existence of God. Common sense suggests that there is no smoke without fire. If there had not been any divine power, millions of people around the world could not simply have imagined it out of nowhere. Keeping in mind that there was no communication between the groups of the early people, the very existence of religious cults might be regarded as a valid evidence that God exists. Is it possible that people have been mistaken for thousand or years about one of the most defining aspects of their identity? It is rather hard to believe in that. Therefore, the existence of religious beliefs that dates back to the primitive society may be a suitable argument for existence of God. The second indirect indication that God exist focuses on our very lives. Should not the latter be considered to be a true miracle? The process of ovum fertilization by spermatozoid has not only been studied in great details, but also filmed. It may seem that science has taken cover from the greatest mystery – the beginning of live. However, no scholar is able to point out that moment when a small number of cells become a living organism. In other words, science did its best to analyze the world around us, but it could not get a hold of one of the fundamental powers – life. It would not be a mistake to suggest that without any divine intervention the above mentioned set of molecules would have never become a living creature. So, all the organisms in the world are the living arguments for the existence of God. Another point that should be taken into

6 master plans Essay Example for Free

6 master plans Essay 1. LOI 39/2001 SANDIGAN MASTER PLAN (Anti-Criminality Master Plan) dated 03 December 2001 This Plan shall serve as the Master Plan in which all plans and programs of the PNP shall conform with and supplement. It shall prescribe the grand strategy to be undertaken by PNP Offices and personnel on crime prevention, control and suppression, in the total fight against all forces of criminality. 2. LOI 40/2001 SANDUGO MASTER PLAN (The PNP ISO Master Plan) dated 04 December 2001 This serves as the long-range and holistic master plan of the PNP in waging an internal security support operations nationwide. Premised on the estimate of the national situation and other considerations, it prescribes the counter-insurgency support strategy, operational concept, scheme of implementation, service support and coordinating instructions in order to accomplish the PNPs internal security support mission. 3. LOI 42/2001 SANGYAMAN MASTER PLAN dated 06 December 2001 (Pnps Master Plan To Help Protect And Preserve Our Environment, Cultural Properties And Natural Resources) See more: Social process essay This master plan prescribes the guidelines to be followed by tasked PNP Units/Offices in assisting lead government agencies in the enforcement of laws over Philippine territorial waters, lakes, rivers, mountain ranges, forest, to include laws and ordinances that have been set forth to preserve, protect and enhance our environment and natural resources, in close coordination with the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other tasked government agencies. 4. LOI 43/2001 SANG-BANAT MASTER PLAN (Pnps Master Plan For The Campaign against Illegal Drugs) dated 07 December 2001 This master plan sets forth the concept of operations, operational guidelines and tasks of all PNP units/offices in the total fight against illegal drugs: integrating/orchestrating the activities of all concerned National Government Agencies (NGAs) in the conduct of anti-illegal drug campaign at the national down to barangay levels. LOI 44/2001 SANG-INGAT MASTER PLAN (Master Plan On Security Preparations) dated 10 December 2001 This Master Plan sets forth the strategic concepts and operational guidelines, as well as contingency plan to ensure the maintenance of peace and order during the year-round observance of holidays, which involves great concern on movement of the citizens, international, national and local meeting/conferences/events, and rallies/mass action in protest to wide range  of issues. 6. LOI 45/2001 SAKLOLO MASTER PLAN (MASTER PLAN ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS) dated 12 December 2001 This Master Plan sets forth the strategic concepts, operational guidelines and coordinating instructions to be undertaken by PROs and tasked units/offices on disaster management. With this Letter of Instructions, the action that will be undertaken by the concerned PNP units/offices will be as responsive and possible with the support of the government agencies and community.

islam :: essays research papers

The literal meaning of Islam is peace; surrender of one’s will i.e. losing oneself for the sake of God and surrendering one’s own pleasure for the pleasure of God. The message of Islam was revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings on him) 1, 400 years ago. It was revealed through angel Gabriel (on whom be peace) and was thus preserved in the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran carries a Divine guarantee of safeguard from interpolation and it claims that it combines the best features of the earlier scriptures. The prime message of Islam is the Unity of God, that the Creator of the world is One and He alone is worthy of worship and that Muhammad (peace and blessings on him) is His Messenger and Servant. The follower of this belief is thus a Muslim - a Muslim’s other beliefs are: God’s angels, previously revealed Books of God, all the prophets, from Adam to Jesus (peace be on them both), the Day of Judgement and indeed the Decree of God. A Muslim has five main duties to perform, namely; bearing witness to the Unity of God and Muhammad (peace and blessings on him) as His Messenger, observing the prescribed prayer, payment of Zakat, keeping the fasts of Ramadhan and performing the pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam believes that each person is born pure. The Holy Quran tells us that God has given human beings a choice between good and evil and to seek God’s pleasure through faith, prayer and charity. Islam believes that God created mankind in His image and by imbuing the attributes of God on a human level mankind can attain His nearness. Islam’s main message is to worship God and to treat all God’s creation with kindness and compassion. Rights of parents in old age, orphans and the needy are clearly stated. Women’s rights were safeguarded 1,400 years ago when the rest of the world was in total darkness about emancipation. Islamic teachings encompass every imaginable situation and its rules and principles are truly universal and have stood the test of time. In Islam virtue does not connote forsaking the bounties of nature that are lawful. On the contrary one is encouraged to lead a healthy, active life with the qualities of kindness, chastity, honesty, mercy, courage patience and politeness. In short, Islam has a perfect and complete code for the guidance of individuals and communities alike.

Data Mining and Data Warehouse Essay

ABSTRACT Data mining, the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases, is a powerful new technology with great potential to help companies focus on the most important information in their data ware houses. Data mining tools predict future trends and behaviors, allowing businesses to make proactive, knowledge- driven decisions systems. Data warehouse is a computer system designed to give business decision-makers instant access to information. The warehouse copies its data from existing systems like order entry, general ledger, and human resources and stores it for use by executives rather than programmers. Data warehouse users use special software that enables them to create and access information when they need it, as opposed to a reporting schedule defined by the information systems (IS) department. This paper describes the meaning of data warehouse and data mining basic architecture of data warehousing and data mining, functions and working of data mining. It also prese nts data mining from data warehouse INTRODUCTION: Modern organizations are under enormous pressure with recent development of the technology. Clearly we need a rapid access to all kinds of information. To assist this we need to consider the past and to identify relevant trend analysis. So to perform any trend analysis we must have a database. In most organizations you will find really large databases in operation for normal daily transactions. These types of databases are known as operational databases; in most cases they have not been design to store historical data or to respond to queries but simply to support all the applications for day to day transactions. The second type of database found in organizations is the data warehouse. This is designed for strategic decision support and is largely built up from the databases that make up the operational database. The basic characteristic of a data warehouse is that it contains vast amount of data which can mean billions of records. Smaller, local data warehouse are called data marts. A data warehouse is designed especially for decision support queries; therefore only data that is needed for decision support is extracted from the operational data and stored in the data warehouse along with the time when it was retrieved from operational databases. DEFINITION DATA WAREHOUSING A data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant and non-volatile collection of data in support of management’s decision making process. Subject-Oriented: A data warehouse can be used to analyze a particular subject area. For example, â€Å"sales† can be a particular subject. Integrated: A data warehouse integrates data from multiple data sources. For example, source A and source B may have different ways of identifying a product, but in a data warehouse, there will be only a single way of identifying a product. Time-Variant: Historical data is kept in a data warehouse. For example, one can retrieve data from 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or even older data from a data warehouse. This contrasts with a transactions system, where often only the most recent data is kept. For example, a transaction system may hold the most recent address of a customer, where a data warehouse can hold all addresses associated with a customer. Non-volatile: Once data is in the data warehouse, it will not change. So, historical data in a data warehouse should never be altered. The following are the typical steps involved in the data warehousing project cycle. * Requirement Gathering * Physical Environment Setup * Data Modeling * ETL * OLAP Cube Design * Front End Development * Report Development * Performance Tuning * Query Optimization * Quality Assurance * Rolling out to Production * Production Maintenance * Incremental Enhancements Benefits of a data warehouse A data warehouse maintains a copy of information from the source transaction systems. This architectural complexity provides the opportunity to: * Maintain data history, even if the source transaction systems do not. * Integrate data from multiple source systems, enabling a central view across the enterprise. This benefit is always valuable, but particularly so when the organization has grown by merger. * Improve data quality, by providing consistent codes and descriptions, flagging or even fixing bad data. * Present the organization’s information consistently. * Provide a single common data model for all data of interest regardless of the data’s source. * Restructure the data so that it makes sense to the business users. * Restructure the data so that it delivers excellent query performance, even for complex analytic queries, without impacting the operational systems. * Add value to operational business applications, notably customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Data Mining (DM) Data mining, also known as â€Å"knowledge discovery,† refers to computer-assisted tools and techniques for sifting through and analyzing these vast data stores in order to find trends, patterns, and correlations that can guide decision making and increase understanding. Data mining covers a wide variety of uses, from analyzing customer purchases to discovering galaxies.In essence, data mining is the equivalent of finding gold nuggets in a mountain of data. The monumental task of finding hidden gold depends heavily upon the power of computers The purpose of DM is to analyze and understand past trends and predict future trends. By predicting future trends, business organizations can better position their products and services for financial gain. Nonprofit organizations have also achieved significant benefits from data mining, such as in the area of scientific progress. The concept of data mining is simple yet powerful. The simplicity of the concept is deceiving, however. Traditional methods of analyzing data, involving query-and-report approaches, cannot handle tasks of such magnitude and complexity. Data mining consists of five major elements: * Extract, transform, and load transaction data onto the data warehouse system. * Store and manage the data in a multidimensional database system. * Provide data access to business analysts and information technology professionals. * Analyze the data by application software. * Present the data in a useful format, such as a graph or table. Data mining services can be used for the following functions: * Research and surveys: Data mining can be used for product research, surveys, market research and analysis. Information can be gathered that is quite useful in driving new marketing campaigns and promotions. * Information collection: Through the web scraping process it is possible to collect information regarding investors, investments and funds by scraping through related websites and databases. * Customer opinions: Customer views and suggestions play an important role in the way a company operates. The information can be readily be found on forums, blogs and other resources where customers freely provide their views. * Data scanning: Data collected and stored will be not be important unless scanned. Scanning is important to identify patterns and similarities contained in the data. * Extraction of information: This is the processing of identifying the useful patterns in data that can be used in decision making process. This is so because decision making must be based on sound information and facts. * Pre-processing of data: Usually the data collected is stored in the data warehouse. This data needs to be pre-processed.by pre-processing it means some data that may be deemed unimportant may therefore re removed manually be data mining experts. * Web data: Web data usually poses many challenges in mining. This is so because of its nature. For instance, web data can be deemed as dynamic meaning it keeps changing from time to time. Therefore it means the process of data mining should be repeated in regular intervals. * Competitor analysis: There is a need to understand how your competitors are fairing on in the business market. You need to know both their weaknesses and strengths. Their methods of marketing and distribution can be mined. How they reduce their overall costs is also quite important. * Online research: The internet is highly regarded for its huge information. It is evident that it is the largest source of information. It is possible to gather a lot of information regarding different companies, customers and your business clients. It is possible to detect frauds through online means. * News: Nowadays with almost all major newspapers and news sources posting their news online it is possible to gather information regarding trends and other critical areas. In this way, it is possible to be in the better position of competing in the market. * Updating data: This is quite important. Data collected will be useless unless it is updated. This is to ensure that the information is relevant so as to make decisions from it. How does data mining work? While large-scale information technology has been evolving separate transaction and analytical systems, data mining provides the link between the two. Data mining software analyzes relationships and patterns in stored transaction data based on open-ended user queries. Several types of analytical software are available: statistical, machine learning, and neural networks. Generally, any of four types of relationships are sought: * Classes: Stored data is used to locate data in predetermined groups. For example, a restaurant chain could mine customer purchase data to determine when customers visit and what they typically order. This information could be used to increase traffic by having daily specials. * Clusters: Data items are grouped according to logical relationships or consumerpreferences. For example, data can be mined to identify market segments or consumer affinities. * Associations: Data can be mined to identify associations. The beer-diaper example is an example of associative mining. * Sequential patterns: Data is mined to anticipate behavior patterns and trends. For example, an outdoor equipment retailer could predict the likelihood of a backpack being purchased based on a consumer’s purchase of sleeping bags and hiking shoes. Industries/fields where data mining is currently applied are as follows: 1. Data Mining in the Banking Sector Worldwide, banking sector is ahead of many other industries in using mining techniques for their vast customer database. Although banks have employed statistical analysis tools with some success for several years, previously unseen patterns of customer behavior are now coming into clear focus with the aid of new data mining tools. These statistical tools and even the OLAP find out the answers, but more advanced data mining tools provide insight to the answer. Some of the applications of data mining in this industry are; (i)Predict customer reaction to the change of interest rates (ii)Identify customers who will be most receptive to new product offers (iii)Identify â€Å"loyal† customers (iv) Pin point which clients are at the highest risk for defaulting on a loan (v)Find out persons or groups who will opt for each type of loan in the following year (vi)Detect fraudulent activities in credit card transactions (vii)Predict clients who are likely to change their credit card affiliation in the next quarter (viii)Determine customer preference of the different modes of transaction namely through teller or through credit cards, etc. 2. Data Mining in the Insurance Sector Insurance companies can benefit from modern data mining methodologies, which help companies to reduce costs, increase profits, retain current customers, acquire new customers, and develop new products .This can be done through: (1)Evaluating the risk of the assets being insured taking into account the characteristics of the asset as well as the owner of the asset. (2)Formulating Statistical Modeling of Insurance Risks (3)Using the Joint Poisson/Log-Normal Model of mining to optimize insurance policies (4)And finally finding the actuarial Credibility of the risk groups among insurers 3. Data Mining in Telecommunication As on this date, every activity in telecommunication has used data mining technique. (1)Analysis of telecom service purchases (2)Prediction of telephone calling patterns (3)Management of resources and network traffic (4)Automation of network management and maintenance using artificial intelligence to diagnose and repair network transmission problems, etc 4. Data Mining in Fraud Detection Data dredging has found wide and useful application in various fraud detection processes like (1)Credit card fraud detection using a combined parallel approach (2)Fraud detection in the voters list using neural networks in combination with symbolic and analog data mining. (3)Fraud detection in passport applications by designing a specific online learning diagnostic system. (4)Rule and analog based detection of false medical claims and so on. An Architecture for Data Mining To best apply these advanced techniques, they must be fully integrated with a data warehouse as well as flexible interactive business analysis tools. Many data mining tools currently operate outside of the warehouse, requiring extra steps for extracting, importing, and analyzing the data. Furthermore, when new insights require operational implementation, integration with the warehouse simplifies the application of results from data mining. The resulting analytic data warehouse can be applied to improve business processes throughout the organization, in areas such as promotional campaign management, fraud detection, new product rollout, and so on. Figure 1 illustrates an architecture for advanced analysis in a large data warehouse. Figure 2 – Integrated Data Mining Architecture FROM DATA WAREHOUSE TO DATA MINING DM is a set of methods for data analysis, created with the aim to find out specific dependence, relations and rules related to data and making them out in the new, higher-level quality information. As distinguished from the data warehouse, which has unique data approach, DM gives results that show relations and interdependence of data. Mentioned dependences are mostly based on various mathematical and statistic relations . Figure 3: Process of knowledge data discovery EMERGING TRENDS IN DATA MINING Web mining – is the application of data mining techniques to discover patterns from the Web. According to analysis targets, web mining can be divided into three different types, which are Web usage mining, Web content mining and Web structure mining. | Web usage mining Web usage mining is the process of extracting useful information from server logs i.e. users history. Web usage mining is the process of finding out what users are looking for on Internet. Some users might be looking at only textual data, whereas some others might be interested in multimedia data. Web structure mining Web structure mining is the process of using graph theory to analyze the node and connection structure of a web site. According to the type of web structural data, web structure mining can be divided into two kinds: 1. Extracting patterns from hyperlinks in the web: a hyperlink is a structural component that connects the web page to a different location. 2. Mining the document structure: analysis of the tree-like structure of page structures to describe HTML or XML tag usage. Web content mining Web content mining is the mining, extraction and integration of useful data, information and knowledge from Web page contents. Data Stream Mining is the process of extracting knowledge structures from continuous, rapid data records. A data stream is an ordered sequence of instances that in many applications of data stream mining can be read only once or a small number of times using limited computing and storage capabilities. Examples of data streams include computer network traffic, phone conversations, ATM transactions, web searches, and sensor data.

Managing Your Boss – Review

Human Resource Management – Book Review â€Å"Managing Your Boss† by John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter Harvard Business Review, 2005 Introduction People sometimes do not realize how much their bosses depend on them and many people also do not realize how much they depend on their boss. For example bosses need honesty from manager’s direct reports. People can managing their bosses for very good reasons: to get resources to do the best job, not only for their-selves but also for their bosses and their companies as well. Effective managers take time and effort to manage not only relationship with subordinates but also those with their bosses.This essential aspect of management is sometimes ignored by otherwise talented and aggressive managers. And there are some managers who actively and effectively supervise subordinates, markets, etc assume an almost passively reactive stance when they meet their bosses. With this mutual dependence, effective managers seek out in formation about boss’s concerns and are sensitive to his work style. Whether see the boss as the enemy or viewing the boss as an all-wise parent. Summary The book is divided into four big parts. First part is Misreading The Boss-Subordinate Relationship.This part provide about how two people can on occasional be psychological or temperamentally incapable of working together, where a personality conflict sometimes only a very small part of the problems. Sometimes people did not realize that their relation with their subordinates involved mutual dependence between two unperfected human being. Some people behave base on their thought, that their bosses were not really rely on them. And some people behave as they not really rely on their bosses. To manage situation like this we need a good understanding of the other person and ourselves, and use that information to develop and anage a compatible working atmosphere that compatible with both people’s work style and assets. S econd part is about Understanding The Boss where we need to appreciate our boss’s goals and pressures, strengths and weakness, their organizational and personal objectives, their long suits and blind spot. And also the detail of their style of working like how they like to get information through memos, formal meeting or phone calls? Managers cannot avoid unnecessary conflicts, and problems without that information. Sensitive to a boss’s style can be crucial especially when the boss is new.Third part is about Understanding Yourself where we need to develop an effective working relationship requires, and then knows our own needs. We not going to change our basic personality but we can be more aware about what impedes us and we can facilitates working with our bosses. With that, relationship became more effective. Gaining self-awareness and acting on it are difficult but not impossible. There are two types of managers, counter dependence and overdependence. Both lead man agers to hold unrealistic view of what a boss is, and ignore that most bosses, are imperfect and fallible.Forth part is Developing and Managing The Relationship. With a clear understanding about ourselves and our boss, we can usually create a way of working together that fits both of us. That can help ourselves and our boss be more productive and effectively. Find a compatible work style. Peter Drucker divides bosses into listener and reader. Some like to get information in report so they can read and study about it, other better with information presented in person so they can ask question. Discover mutual expectation from both sides. Some bosses will spell out their expectations very explicit and detail, but must do not.Effective managers will find ways to get that information. Mutual expectation requires us to communicate our own expectation to the boss. Effective managers recognize that they probably under estimate what their bosses need to know, and make sure they find ways to keep them informed through processes that fit their styles. It is almost impossible for bosses to work effectively if they cannot rely on a fairly accurate reading from their subordinate. Managers need to use their boss’s time effectively. Critique In this book, managing your boos doesn’t mean tricking or leading your boss.But it is more likely to make a supportive working atmosphere with your boss. In order for you to gave the best, not only for company and your boss benefits but also for yourself. The most important is for you. Managing your boss need to understand what are boss needs, working style, his or her strengths, and weaknesses. Act like a detective. It just likes mutual dependence between two fallible human beings. A good understanding of other person and yourself especially regarding strengths, weaknesses, work styles and needs is a must. And then use that information to develop and manage a healthy working relationship.It’s a right way to effective ly managing your boss. Smart way to avoiding conflict and make mistake. According to boss’s opinion, employees sometimes did too many wrong things that spending their time. But it not always because of employees really did a wrong thing, but sometimes also because of the boss being vague about what he need and his expectation. It’s hard to find out because some bosses are unclear and lazy to explaining the details because it will consume much time to explain it. But in other hand employees sometimes become a victim of bad bosses.It just likes two different perspectives about boss-subordinate relationship. To understand your boss, the article says, we need to appreciate his goals and pressure, strengths and weakness, his long suit and blinds spot and even his preferable to get information through. To understanding yourself, there are two behaviors, counter dependent and over dependent. One see boss as an enemy, other see boss as an all-wise parent. Both behaviors failed to understand boss as a fallible human. Boss also have their own pressures and concerns, they also have limited time, don’t have encyclopedic knowledge or extrasensory perception.If you aware enough of these issues, and understand about the different, you can estimate in which area we fall, that might affect relationship between you and your boss. Finding his hot buttons, little things that people do will annoy them. Hot buttons are hard to anticipate but employee need to watch their boss closely to see what kind of things can pushes that hot buttons. Next step is to find a way of working that suits employee and boss. Work style can be customized and adapted so that you communicate become more effectively. How much information does your boss want?Peter Drucker categorizing bosses as â€Å"listeners† or â€Å"readers. † We need to brief â€Å"listener† in person, then follow it up with a memo. Some want a really detail about everything that employees are doing, including background information. Other just wants a quick short brief overview and become impatient when employee describes explanations. Finding out whether your boss is a 5 minute boss or a 30 minute boss or not at all, will make relationship between employee and boss flow more smoothly. Cover important items on proposal, in a memo or report for a â€Å"reader† then discuss it with them.Building mutual expectations is important. Specify a boss's expectations can be tricky, employee need to think creatively, perhaps sending boss memos outlining expectations and scheduling follow-up meetings to cover the memos. Employees should keep their boss as informed as possible, in ways that suit their boss style. Meeting deadlines is critical, and honesty is still the best policy, particularly where your boss is concerned. Conclusion In my opinion, it is just about two fallible, that really a human thing. Every employee need to read this book, to open their eyes about unseen th ings in their everyday working.Although it not as easy as turning our hands, we need to have a really good understanding, not only our bosses, bur also ourselves. Beside we need to be a detective, we also need to care about every detail things about our bosses. It is easy to read, but maybe a little bit hard to do it, it requires a lot of mutual understanding. Just like building, managing and taking care of our own relationship with our boyfriend or girlfriend. This is a really interesting and very useful book for my career. It told me everything that I didn’t realize all this time.

Souht American Celebs essays

Souht American Celebs essays South America. One simple word, and dozens of ideas, thoughts, pictures, people and places swarm into your head. A continent full of exotic and eccentric customs, but so many similarities to our own country, the United States. One things for sure, they certainly dont skimp on their celebrities. Celebrities have a fascinating history that greatly influences South American citizens. The United States plays an integral part in their fame, helping them to become the extraordinary people that they are today. Models, sports players, actors, actresss, and musicians are a critical element of the amazing culture of South America. Nearly all of the celebrities of South America are found in, or originate from, the country of Brazil. Brazil is South Americas leading country when it comes to celebrities. It contains over 350 celebrities that are recognized worldwide for the things that they have achieved during their life. Statistics show that 37% of Brazils working citizens work at jobs in the fine arts. Approximately one third of those people are locally recognized, one seventh are nationally recognized, and more are accumulating each year. In an interview with a school board in Brazil, we were told that more than  ¾ of the high school students are striving to become artists, actors/actresses, models, or professional sports players. Statistics for other South American countries say that less then one third of the students say that they would choose these occupations. Statistics also show that 97% of Brazilians have attended a soccer game, concert, dance performance, or recital at least once in their lifetime. Just like South America, the United States revolves around current, and sometimes former, celebrities. We seem so close to our southern neighbors, we even share a few of our stars, but it seems like we dont really have ...

Lesson Learned Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lesson Learned - Coursework Example The company also focused on expanding its market share, increasing the net revenue, shareholder's earning per share, return on equity and stock price. Furthermore, we put our effort forth in ensuring that our credit rating is maintained at "A," a rating above the expectations of investors, and a product rating quality of 3.5 stars. Global best strategy, also referred to as the "more value for money" approach, was been used by Alpha DigiCam in search for competitive advantage. This would see its products have appealing attributes to the customer and at the same time retain affordable pricing. PRODUCT DESIGN The managers had an eight-year plan to achieve the 3.5 stars rating on image quality. As such, the managers embarked on improving the quality and attributes of products for both the multi-featured and entry-level models of cameras every year. By the end of the eight years, our image rating had surpassed the expectations of the investors. In the ninth and tenth years, our image rati ng incrementally improved to reach the 3.5 rating. Below is a table showing our rating with regards to overall investor expectation, I.E., best-in-industry, B-I-I, and a combination of I.E. and B-I-I scores against that of our rival companies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MARKETS AND DISTRIBUTIONS Varied direct and indirect channels of distribution have been used in Alpha DigiCam including local camera shops, online retailers and multi-store chains. The markets covered included Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe-Africa and North America. The simulation reveals that we achieved competitive advantage in North America over the eight years, specifically with regard to the entry-level cameras distributed through local camera shops, online retailers and multi-store chains and additionally due to multi-featured warranty period, budgeting for advertisi ng and multi-featured P/Q rating. However, in the ninth year, we lost 2.4% of the market share in the region for entry-level camera models but managed to maintain an industry average with the multi-featured models. In the Europe-Africa market, we achieved 18.1% market share within the eight years for entry-level camera models. However, this was not sustained through to the tenth year. On the other hand, the Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions frequently reported market share loss with regard to both the multi-featured and entry-level camera models. The managers observed the autonomous action in each region that saw each of them adjust prices aggressively according to the specific region. Furthermore, managers increased warranty periods and promotions to enable them gain market share in their respective regions. COMPETITION The camera products market in the regions where Alpha DigiCam operates is extremely competitive. Alpha DigiCam faces stiff competition from rivals in this mark et who have vast experience in the industry. Thus, the company resorted to competing in pricing of products. The participant's guide clearly states that the competitiveness of the company largely depends on the prices with which it sells the cameras to its retail dealers. Additionally, a myriad of other factors play a major role in determining the competitiveness of this company: the number and duration of quarterly promotions, advertising expenditure, the amount of price discounts given to retailers during promotions, the