d Only Known

If I’d Only Known As the song â€Å"Somewhere Over the Rainbow† echoed through my head, I walked with my brother one last time. The only thing was, he was in the casket in front and my parents and I had to follow tearfully behind. As I looked around, I saw through tear-stained eyes all the hundred of lives my brother had touched. He filled our days with happiness and laughter and left behind so many wonderful stories and memories that will be cherished in my heart forever. At the young ages of just 19 years old, my brother Todd Harris and his friend Ryan Stephenson, had their dreams and aspirations vanish before them on an empty highway just a half an hour away from their home. At the age of 17, my life changed forever as I began to see life through different eyes. As I walked down that aisle, memories flooded my mind on how this awful day arrived. It was September 12th and my brother and I were just sitting in his room talking about our plans for our weekend. We were always pretty close, but after our parents got a divorce, we became incredibly close. He became not just my brother, but my best friend. We did everything together. The problem was our idea of fun was not the safest way of fun. Our lifestyle consisted of parties, drugs, and alcohol. We saw nothing wrong with it. Everyone was doing it and we could handle it, especially my big brother. So there we were, sitting at home making our regular plans to Mizzou. I normally would just drive with him, but for some reason I wanted to drive my own car. We decided to meet up after the game. However, once again the plans changed. I was tired and although I knew he would pay for my drinks, I decided to just go back to my friend’s house. If I’d only known that would have been the last night I would have seen my brother’s smiling face. If I would have only known that would have been the last time I would have been able to wrap my arms around him and say I... 'd Only Known Free Essays on If I\'d Only Known If I’d Only Known As the song â€Å"Somewhere Over the Rainbow† echoed through my head, I walked with my brother one last time. The only thing was, he was in the casket in front and my parents and I had to follow tearfully behind. As I looked around, I saw through tear-stained eyes all the hundred of lives my brother had touched. He filled our days with happiness and laughter and left behind so many wonderful stories and memories that will be cherished in my heart forever. At the young ages of just 19 years old, my brother Todd Harris and his friend Ryan Stephenson, had their dreams and aspirations vanish before them on an empty highway just a half an hour away from their home. At the age of 17, my life changed forever as I began to see life through different eyes. As I walked down that aisle, memories flooded my mind on how this awful day arrived. It was September 12th and my brother and I were just sitting in his room talking about our plans for our weekend. We were always pretty close, but after our parents got a divorce, we became incredibly close. He became not just my brother, but my best friend. We did everything together. The problem was our idea of fun was not the safest way of fun. Our lifestyle consisted of parties, drugs, and alcohol. We saw nothing wrong with it. Everyone was doing it and we could handle it, especially my big brother. So there we were, sitting at home making our regular plans to Mizzou. I normally would just drive with him, but for some reason I wanted to drive my own car. We decided to meet up after the game. However, once again the plans changed. I was tired and although I knew he would pay for my drinks, I decided to just go back to my friend’s house. If I’d only known that would have been the last night I would have seen my brother’s smiling face. If I would have only known that would have been the last time I would have been able to wrap my arms around him and say I...

A Rat in A Trap essays

A Rat in A Trap essays A small two-room mud hut, squatting in between two farmhouses with sheep penned nearby, was shrouded in darkness. A darkness brought forth by an unexpected power outage. A darkness enhanced even more so by the moonless night that enshrouded the small dwelling. A sheeps call broke the silence as soldiers equipped with night vision goggles converged on the hut. One room, which appeared to have served as a bedroom, held two beds, some books, a heater, a refrigerator, and some clothes. The bed was crumpled, and there was a fresh, clean pair of boxer shorts, unused and still new. The other room was a crude kitchen with a sink, medicine, Mars bars, a flashlight, a cup, and some rotting bananas. The place looked a mess, not the conditions one would expect to find the Iraqi leader to be living in. Yet, outside the rooms, the soldiers searched the miniature courtyard. Pulling back a rug they found an eight-inch thick piece of Styrofoam with rope handles plugging a hole. It was the d iscovery of the contents of this hole that led to celebration around the world. At six feet long, two feet across, and three feet high, the hole was barely big enough for Saddam Hussein to lie in. He was armed with a pistol, but showed no resistance during his capture. Caught like a rat in a trap, Saddam came out with hands up. Soldiers found two AK 47 rifles, $750,000 in $100 denominations, and a white and orange taxi during the raid. The raid would be the turning point of the war, which had sparked much debate amongst politicians, the press, and people around the world. In Just War or a Just War? by former President Jimmy Carter, he discusses whether the war with Iraq meets with the principles of a just war (259). Elie Wiesels Peace Isnt Possible in Evils Face talks about how he is in favor of intervention when, as in this case because of Husseins equivocations and procrastinations, no ot...

Work Place Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Work Place Analysis - Essay Example Work Place Analysis Business organizations have been established to serve varied purposes. Financial enterprises, of which one belongs and works for, served the needs of diverse clientele and stakeholders. Since more organizations have opted to become global, competition becomes fiercer and stiffer. Clients are able to differentiate on various financial institutions that apparently offer similar services in terms of three relevant factors: organizational culture, management and leadership style, and ethical considerations. In this regard, the current paper aims to present a more in-depth analysis of one’s work place in terms of these three factors and how the presence or absence of these crucial ingredients affect the attainment of organizational goals. An organization’s culture was learned to comprise of a set of symbols and components which include the company’s observable atmosphere, shared values, common assumptions, stories-rites-rituals-symbols, and cultural roles. As a financial organization, one’s work place defined in mission and vision statements as follows: ‘to become a consistently excellent leader in providing varied financial services to a wide array of clients and that which caters to their distinct and specific needs’. Given this statement, the financial organization had developed a recognizable behavior that exudes focusing on providing customer satisfaction through the training and development of its human resources. Thus, the organization has been noted by customers to provide excellent customer service through the exemplary behavior and conduct of all personnel they get to interact with. The behavior that exhibited conformity to ideals of providing excellent customer service incl udes sharing the following corporate philosophy: Values for Customer Service: Being attentive to customers’ needs and demands; Exuding a happy and optimistic disposition while attending to customers’ needs; Offering personalized service; Finding out other products and services which could be extended beyond what is being asked for; and Surpassing the customers’ expectations for services rendered. Likewise, the organization has also recognized that a fully motivated staff and personnel would be able to deliver the expected values for customer service if and when they are duly trained and develop to respond to the customers’ varied needs and demands. As such, the values for employees are hereby part of the corporate philosophy: Values for Employees The organization recognizes the crucial role and importance of human resources towards delighting the customers and achieving organizational goals; Regular training and development programs that focus on customer service, performance of responsibilities; and preparing for advancement are frequently scheduled and conducted; and Employees are to be provided with incentives and benefits with include promotions, bonuses, as well as acknowledgements to reward exemplary performance in providing excellent customer service, as well as in contributing to the achievement of organizational goals. Given the shares values, it is therefore part of the organization’s culture that the following common assumptions are adhered to: integrity, honesty, commitment in one’s performance of duties and responsibilities, professionalism, respect for authority, and conformity to the code of discipline and work ethics as stipulated in the organization’s policies and procedures. It is therefore a familiar practice to encourage customer feedback through brief customer survey forms that are provided by the bank tellers and front desk personnel to encourage solicitation of information from the

The Women's Kingdom - Mosuo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

The Women's Kingdom - Mosuo - Essay Example tradition are highly controversial, including the ‘walking marriage’ or Axia marriage, the matriarchal family structure, the religion, and the interaction of the minority group with the outside world (PR China). This article seeks to address the controversial issues concerning the minority group, with verification of the facts from five interviewees from the community (appendix 1). A typical Mosuo family consists of ten family members, though the size varies and some may consist of between 20 and 30 members. Nonetheless, a female leads each family. In essence, the family head is the most proficient female in the house and all other members of the family respect her. She has important responsibilities and honorary status because all other members of the family depend on her decisions on family matters. Lugu Lake is the home for the Mosou community, which has about 35,000 to 50,000 members. The community enjoys plenty of space and building material for building, thus each family poses its own courtyard, with the number of rooms in each courtyard dependent on the size of the family. However, one room stands out: the grandmother’s quarters. The Mosuo family uses this room to offer sacrifices to ancestors, receptions, dining, and discuss family matters. However, the room has a dark atmosphere and low ceiling, creating a sense of intimacy with the only source of light coming from the flames in the coal-stove chambers. Here rests a stone representing the entire ancestry of the family (Vogt). Mosuo tradition holds that the stone carries the souls of the past generations, and thus the fire must remain lit throughout the year to keep the ancestor warm. In some families, the grandmother’s room may contain a big chink of meat that symbolizes the wealth of the family. The Mosou preserve the meat of slaughtered animals using salt and ash, then stitch up the skin and keep it dry in a shady and clean place. Such preserved meat usually lasts for over three years before

Apple Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Apple - Essay Example These software and hardware systems have long provided success with regard to the company’s profitability. Moreover, while the company’s programmers, engineers, designers, and other personnel represent key resources, Apple Inc.’s capability to exploit these personnel’s abilities to develop hardware and software ecosystems encompasses the firm’s key ability. On an individual level, the resources represent only a temporary fraction of the firm’s competitive advantage. However, the combination of all the personnel’s abilities creates the firm’s sustainable competitive advantage. The establishment of Apple stores also provided the company with significant resources for physical presence since the stores act as sales locations, as well as means of advertisement. The stores allow the company to monitor and control brand image within the market. In order to maintain its current, strategic position, and enhance its success in the coming years, Apple Inc. should establish highly innovative software and hardware to augment its current resources. In addition, the company should also endeavor to employ personnel with Jobs’ passion for excellence (Lashinsky 58). Such personnel should not only form the company’s strategic planning department, but all departments in the entire company. Situational Analysis The company has a rather intriguing mission statement that not only provides focus to the company in terms of its business operations and processes. The company’s website provides a list of its products rather than a conventional mission statement. The company’s official mission statement states that it designs Macs, the best personal computers globally, alongside OS X, iLife, iWork, and other professional software. Apple directs the digital music revolution through its iTunes online store and iPods. However, popular beliefs hold that Apple Inc. got its conventional mission statement from on e of Steve Jobs’ quotes during the 1980s. Jobs’ quote can be summarized as follows: â€Å"Man is the developer of change in the world. As such, man should be above all systems and structures, and not secondary to them† (Lutchen 72). While various sources consider all these statements as the true mission statement, the company ends most of its press releases through a statement that bears a resemblance to traditional mission statements. The company ends its press releases with the statement, â€Å"Apple commits to the provision of the best personal computing experience to educators, students, customers, and creative professional across the globe through its innovative software, hardware, and Internet offerings.† The company’s mission statement provides a sense of direction, which is sufficiently flexible to the changing market situations. The company’s motivation to continue providing the best hardware, software and Internet offerings, means that it will develop technologies to adapt according to market situations. The industry has many successful competitors that pose a challenge to Apple Inc. However, the company’s strategy allows the firm to remain successful. Apple’s main competitive advantage lies in its broad array of products, especially its software, hardware, and Internet solutions (Cruikshank 81). The company’s immense resources such as personnel provide the backing for the company’s policies and strategies. This means that the company requires dedicated personnel to help it put

Malaysia Is A Multicultural Society Media Essay

Malaysia Is A Multicultural Society Media Essay Introduction Malaysia is a multicultural society of which the population is made up by different types of ethnic groups includes Malays, Chinese, Indian and the Native. In fact, different ethnic groups have their own history, culture, belief system, value and language, there is thus unity among different ethnics is important in Malaysia (Economic Planning Unit, 2011). However, Malaysia has faced racial and ethnic tension due to the socio-economic and cultural differences after the independence of Malaysia in 1957. This racial conflict has lead to the development of several government policies such as the New Economic Policy and National Development Policy. Having realised the importance to maintain and enhance the unity among people of different ethnics, the 1 Malaysian concept was introduced in 2009. Under the notion of 1 Malaysia concept of People First, Performance Now, the government is trying to promote unity in the society by considering fair distribution and access in economic in the country (1Malaysia, 2012). It is therefore very important to promote the 1 Malaysia Concept and encourage the acceptance of the citizens of Malaysia. One way promoting the concept to the public is by means of the mass media. In the past, mainstream media like television, newspaper and radio has played an important role in promoting governments ideology and policies (Hashim, 2011). This thus suggested that media is able to play an important role in promoting the 1 Malaysia concept. It has the capabilities to educate the public on the importance of unity by promoting the understanding and the acceptance of other ethnic culture. . Regardless, the mainstream media in Malaysia always been known as a great contribution on nation-building and social cohesion, rather than on freedom of information (Kenyon Marjoribanks, 2007). It focuses primarily on positive stories reporting that is biased to the political elite (Anuar, 2000). This because most of the mainstream media outlets are basically owned by the government of Malaysia or privately owned by the parties that have close relationship to the Prime Minister or the members of component parties of the Barisan Nasional coalition government (Hassan, 2012). Therefore, the aim of this study is to discuss about the ways of the mainstream media are used to encourage the acceptance of the 1 Malaysia Concept the citizens of Malaysia and whether this approaches will generate the desired outcome. Discussion The mainstream media in Malaysia plays a critical important role in realising 1 Malaysia Concept. The first approach of the mainstream media is used by government as the channel to educate the ideas of 1 Malaysia to the large public. The traditional media such as the television, radio and newspaper have always been the core media of information dissemination (Hashim, 2011). For instances, the largest conglomerate Media Prima as well as a number of television radio channels and Malay, Chinese, English-language newspapers such as Utusan Melayu, The Stars and Sinchew are owned and controlled by the government (Weiss, 2012). As such, the government policies are easily to get any publicity and free space in these mainstream media. The messages of 1 Malaysia Concept from these mainstream media often portrayed the desired images of 1 Malaysia, of which the people of different races live together in harmony (Hassan, 2008). Other than that, mainstream media always has been the supportive bac kbone to the 1 Malaysia Concept as the effort with the government to strengthen peace and harmony in the country. As a supportive argument to the previous discussion, the agenda setting theory explains the powerful influence in the media that able to create public awareness on important issues (Mccombs, 2002). The media cannot tell what the people to think but has the ability to inform the people what to think about (Cohen, 1963). In other words, mainstream media raise the importance of an issue such as 1 Malaysia through the repetition of news (Hashim, 2011). The racial riot that happened in the past has caused Malaysians sensitivity to the issue that is related to ethnicity and races. Thus, national unity has become the top agenda to the public and thus it has become a political discourse in Malaysia. By taking this opportunity, the Malaysia Government has utilised the mainstream media in disseminates the messages and information regarding the 1 Malaysia Concept. Likewise, the government are telling the public the ideas that they wish the public to accept and support. Eventually, 1 Malaysia Co ncept is aims to strengthen the unity and harmony of people from different ethnics. Therefore, the mainstream media has successfully created the perception of the public that unity among differences ethnics as the important agenda in Malaysia which then attract their attention toward the 1 Malaysia Concept. Example in each occasion of the important festival such as Merdeka Day celebration, Hari Raya Festivals, Chinese New Year celebrations and Deepavali, the Prime Minister would deliver the speech with the association with the spirit of 1Malaysia. By that time, every mainstream television channel in Malaysia such as TV1, TV2, TV3, NTV7, 8TV and TV9 will have to broadcast his speech. In another example, we always can see the mainstream newspaper published a full page of advertisement that is related to the 1 Malaysia policies along with the tagline people first, performance now. In addition, mainstream media is being used by government to remind or reinforce 1 Malaysia concept to the public. As we can see, everyday Malaysian citizen and also foreigner have been bombarded by with the messages of 1 Malaysian Concept by the mainstream media. The 1 Malaysia logo is ubiquitous due to mass advertising and commercials in mainstream media (Hashim, 2011). Along with the logo, the tagline people first, performance now has become the identification of 1 Malaysia Concept to the public through the repetition in mainstream media. In fact, mainstream media has help to promote 1 Malaysia by keep emphasise on the tagline since People First, Performance Now in 2009 and the only move on to Generating Transformation in 2010, Transformation Successful People Prosperous in 2010 and till the recent theme Promises Fulfilled in 2012 (1Malaysia, 2012). The purpose is to reinforce perception and behaviours of the public. The repetition of showing the logo and tagline of 1 Malaysia hav e indirectly effect on informing the public what the government is focusing on this concept. The same example can be seen when the public service announcements related to 1 Malaysia are often been aired and published on government and privately owned television, radio and newspaper. The PSA usually related to various ethnic festivals that celebrated in Malaysia and thus signify the meaning that freedom of festival celebration. Nevertheless, mainstream main media has portrayed these different ethnic celebrations the public by showing the Malaysian are celebrating with each other in the festival regardless of race and religion (Hashim, 2011). In addition, we often can see the ministries or any government agencies tied up 1 Malaysia tagline in every program such like 1 Belia, 1 Malaysia by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and other programs such Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia. Thus, the government programs usually connotes with the 1 Malaysia identity by mainstream media. The role of the mainstream media is not just to disseminate the 1 Malaysia Concept but also to advocate and shape the attitudes of the public. In fact, the mainstream media has effectively created bandwagon effect in mass business advertising by using 1 Malaysia Concept. 1 Malaysia has eventually received support from various organisation including profit and non-profit organisation. These organisations usually associate their brands product or service with 1 Malaysia Concept (Hashim, 2011). Television and radio commercials created by businesses organisation would likely to include the message of unity with the presence and the voice of different races and ethnics. The first example of organisation association with the promotion of 1 Malaysia is Petronas Corporation. In fact, Petronas has been famous with their social corporate advertisements with the purpose of promoting national unity. Since 1 Malaysia Concept has been introduced in 2009, Petronas has created the advertisements tha t associate with the 1 Malaysia Concept every year in the major Malaysias festival such as Merdeka Day celebration, Hari Raya Festivals, Chinese New Year celebrations and Deepavali. The messages in the advertisement usually consist of implied meaning and also able to arouse audiences emotion. Furthermore, large national corporations such as Media Prima, Astro, Tenaga Basional Berhad and Telco such as Telekom, Maxis and Celcom have also come up with the commercial that are related to 1 Malaysia Concept. The commercial often tied up with the concept of 1 Malaysia where the messages of unity has been delivered. The commercials are basically known as issue advocacy advertisement which the advertisement is not intended to sell the product or services, but rather to change the publics perception and behaviour through political branding (Barrons Dictionary, n,d). In fact, the commercial by in the mainstream media usually showing Malaysia different races particular Malay, Chinese and Indian interact or either get along with each other. Would it generate the desired outcome? In my opinion, the usage of mainstream media may not able to generate the desired outcome of the 1 Malaysia Concept. By highlighting the mainstream media are used by government to encourage the acceptance of 1 Malaysia Concept, several social science theories have been selected to support on my opinion. According to limited-effect theory, the media rarely have direct influence on the individuals. The theory also explains that an individuals behaviour and attitudes are not easily changed by their reception and people usually tend to ignore political media content. Although mainstream media are used by government to promote 1 Malaysia Concept, it is still not sufficient enough to encourage the acceptance of the citizen of Malaysia. The definition gives an insight that the people in nowadays is no longer passive and vulnerable only to media content. People are able judge the media content according to their own interpretation from what they have perceived. Individual may exposed themselves to mainstream media in their daily routine, but they might not been influence by the 1 Malaysia Concept by merely just looking at it. As indicated in the previous point, the limited-effect theory also explains two-step flow of media influence. Media does not have direct influences to the population which from the mainstream media, the 1 Malaysia Concept are usually affect to the mass population through the dissemination by the opinion leaders. The opinion leaders must be someone that is credible and usually an active media user. People constantly turn to opinion leader for advice particular when come to something that is new in the society like 1 Malaysia Concept instead of getting the source of information from the media. Therefore, mainstream media is less influential compare to the human communication. Moreover, human behaviour attitudes and belief is hard to predict and influences because it may change from time to time. The main factor that determines a person attitude is positive, negative or maybe neutral. A person attitude towards 1 Malaysia Concept might be changed based on the personal experiences, environment and etc. Therefore, the selective exposure explains that people tend to expose themselves to messages that are consistent with their pre-existing attitudes and belief. The mainstream media might be able to influence those who are supportive and have positive perception toward the government policies. However, for those people that tend to have negative attitudes and belief towards the government such as the citizen that support to the opposition political parties, the outcome may be different. If the opinion leader that has been encountered consists of positive or negative beliefs and value towards the government policies, the followers might been influenced by him. Besides, 1 Malaysia Concept has faced up with various challenges including the new media technologies. The uses and gratification theory argued that different people use the media for different purposes (Sheldon, 2007). One of the assumptions of this theory explains that the audiences have the choice to select different kind of media. Thus, the audiences use the media more own their own benefits than the media can manipulate them. The audiences have the right or control to received any information from the media rather than been influenced by it. In fact, people now have much choice of media compare to the past, Mainstream media such television, radio and newspaper has compete with the new media. The internet technologies allow freedom of expression where everyone can write, criticize and comment anything on the internet. The alternative online news organization like Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today who always stand to challenge of the governments effort, aims primarily to present new s, especially from the different perspectives that not already covered by mainstream media (George, 2006). Thus, it has become one of the challenges for 1 Malaysia Concept to be full accepted by public. This is due to the development of internet technologies allow the users closer to the reliable information compare to the other media (Hashim, 2011). Therefore, because of internet, human behaviours changed and mainstream media has been view as a medium to brainwash the audience for the government interest. When 1 Malaysia concept has been shown in the mainstream media, the audiences will tend to doubt about motives behind it. Therefore, the internet has affect the people perception and thus becoming active and sensible media users who do not simply accept and agree with government policies particular has been shown in mainstream media. In addition, most the younger generations are seldom exposed themselves to the mainstream media. On the other hand, mainstream media has become alternative medium for information to some group of people. Internet served as a new inspirational medium of information without barriers. According to Ramasubramaniam (2011) explained people that with minimal interracial direct contact or which their source for information is only the mainstream media are more easily been manipulated by the government policies. The audience that only exposed themselves to only one source of information which had been controlled by the government are more vulnerable to accepting the information from the mainstream media. Conclusion As a conclusion, mainstream media in Malaysia has perceived as an important role in the government policies like 1 Malaysia Concept. This is because most of the mainstream media ownerships are closely tied to the government and ruling political party. Therefore, 1 Malaysia Concept being one of the government policies has the advantage being spread through the mainstream media in the country. The three main approaches of the mainstream media in Malaysia are used by the government are to educate the meaning of 1 Malaysia Concept and thus to reinforce and advocate the acceptance of the concept by citizen of Malaysia. However, these approaches would not bring the desired outcome of 1 Malaysia Concept because only the mean of mainstream media is not sufficient enough to influences the attitudes and beliefs of an individual. Besides, human communication is more effective than mainstream media when particular related to something that is new. The emerging of the new media like internet technologies has also bring a significant impact to the mainstream media, thus it has become one of the greatest challenges for the 1 Malaysia Concept. Therefore, mainstream media is important to educate about 1 Malaysia concept but not to encourage the acceptance of the citizen of Malaysia.

Pearls Contribution to The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Pearl's Contribution to The Scarlet Letter In Hawthorne's epic novel, The Scarlet Letter he discusses Pearl, a main character, and her contribution in making the novel a romantic one. Hawthorne uses three types of romantic topics relating to Pearl. Stereotypical characters, supernaturalness of characters, and the imaginary aspect of characters are all qualities of romantic language Hawthorne uses to better develop Pearl's character. Over the course of the novel Hawthorne uses all of the aspects of romantic language to unfold the life of Pearl and how she acts having these qualities. Pearl's quality of being a stereotypical character makes her blend into some situations and not into others. Pearl was portrayed as a stereotypical "victim of Hester's sin", adultery, because as she walks through town with her mother the other kids shout and curse at her. Pearl takes it in stride and defends her mother and fends off the evil children. The adults of Boston, mostly Puritans, talk behind Hester's back about the child being one of a sinner. Another common stereotype filled by Pearl is whenever an adult is occupied with something then the child finds something to do. When Hester went to the woods to meet with Dimmesdale, Pearl went off to play in the brook while the two adults talked and then she stopped when her mother called. A second example is when Pearl accompanied her mother to the seashore where they met Chillingworth, Pearl wandered off by herself and occupied her time by playing with seaweed and the various animal life that happened to be around. Children can also notice small differences in their surroundings that are normally familiar to them. When Hester and Dimmesdale where in the woods and decided to flee Boston and travel to Europe, Hester removed her scarlet letter happily and threw it into the brook. When she called to Pearl to tell her the news of them leaving Boston, Pearl went into fits of rage and temper tantrums and would not come to her mother. This was because she was so used to seeing the scarlet letter on her mother's bosom. Pearl's quality of being stereotypical, compared to all children and characters in general, is highly unlikely and only adds to the amount of romanticism in the novel.

Forecasting the Adoption of E-Books Essay

The size of the market for e-books in the long-run: 293.7 million x 46.7% x 8% = 10.973 million (Total US population x percentage of US population reading literature x Percentage of traditional paper books purchased online in 2003) It will take 10 years to reach 95% penetration of the potential market. Question 2 I predict that the sale of the e-book when it first became available is 0.751milion (pm) (Assumption: each innovator buy one book.) Question 3 The long-run total adoption of e-books would be 10.973 million. (Total US population x percentage of US population reading literature x Percentage of traditional paper books purchased online in 2003) Question 4 I do expect the market for e-books tend to be guided by imitators rather than innovators. According to the table above, I found that the weighted average for e-book of q (0.0684) is larger than p (0.2990). In addition, the word of mouth takes an important role in the adoption of e-books. The information about the e-book from the innovators contribute much to the adoption of e-books since people tend to hesitate to change their old reading habit. Question 5 S(t)=[p+(q/m)N(t-1)][m-N(t-1)] Year 1: [0.0684+(0.2990/10.973) X (0)][10.973-0] = 0.751 million Year 2: [0.0684+(0.2990/10.973) X (0.751)][10.973-0.751] = 0.908 million Year 3: [0.0684+(0.2990/10.973) X (1.659)][10.973-1.659] = 1.059 million Year 4: [0.0684+(0.2990/10.973) X (2.717)][10.973-2.717] = 1.176 million Year 5: [0.0684+(0.2990/10.973) X (3.893)][10.973-3.893] = 1.235 million Question 6 The adoption of e-book will be very different from digital music obtained online. The adoption of e-books face more challenges when comparing to the adoption of digital music. To most of the listeners, there is not much difference in experience between listening to a song from an iPod and a CD player. Therefore, they have a relatively low switching cost and more willing to change their habits. On the contrary, to most of the readers, it is definitely very different from reading an e-book to reading a printed book. The feelings of holding a printed book and flipping over a physical book are irreplaceable. So readers are loyal to printed book and hesitate to switch from traditional books to e-books. Hence, it is reasonable to predict that the pace of adopting digital music is faster than the pace of adopting e-books. Question 7 I think both of the attitudes about reading and purchasing e-content have changed a lot in recent years. In the old time, people could read e-content via PC only. Nowadays, people are able to read e-content through various mobile devices. Therefore, they spend more time on reading e-content especially during leisure time and even commuting time. However, the quality of the reading effort is diminishing as the overload of e-content available on Internet. In addition, people tend to rely more on the e-content since it is very convenient, environmentally friendly, high mobility and high accessibility. For the attitude about purchasing e-content, more people are willing to pay for the e-content in recent years. The advanced online payment system plays an important role. People feel more secure and also convenient when dealing online ever than before. Moreover, more well-known and large-scale publishers offer more choices of e-content for readers. Besides, in the light of the prevalent of mobile device, people have more time and chances to read the e-content regardless of the time and places. Thus, people are more willing to spend on e-content than before. Question 8 The hardware plays a paramount important role in the adoption of e-books. No matter how amazing the e-content is, the e-books would not be popularized if the hardware were not user-friendly. However, a good hardware is very likely to boost sales of the e-books. It is because the hardware is a fixed cost while the e-books are the variable cost to the readers. A portable hardware with proper size of monitor and high capacity is very attractive to the readers. They no longer need to neither carry the bulky printed books nor spare some places for storage. Moreover, the hardware enables readers to read comfortably when comparing to read via PC or smart phone. It is good for the readers’ eyes. Last but not least, the hardware contributed to protecting the environment as it saves much paper. Only when the hardware preforms better than the tradition printed books, the adoption of e-books will be success. Question 9 I do expect the size and also the pattern of diffusion are quite different globally as compared to the United States. The size and the pattern of diffusion depend on many factors. Population, culture, attitude to new products, technology and even literacy could be one of the variables of the size and pattern of diffusion. Take Africa as an example; though the population size of Africa is much larger than The United States, the potential size of the market for e-books must be obviously different from the United States. So it is not difficult to understand that the size and pattern of diffusion of various places will not be similar to the United States.

Google Services Privacy and Security Concerns

Google Services Privacy and Security Concerns Insecure Digital World In today’s digital world, the debate surrounding privacy and security cannot be stressed further. Internet users are at a constant risk of privacy and security violations by technology companies. Google Inc. is among the biggest tech companies today with billions of people around the world using its services. Nonetheless, these services have developed numerous concerns surrounding privacy and security. Google services such as Street View does not just take pictures but collects email and WIFI information from unsuspecting users nearby. These warring revelations illustrate an increased concern for privacy and security of users. Numerous Google services continue to violate privacy and security rights of users by not informing them that their information is being collected without their consent. Google Collects Info from People Who May Even not Be Using Their Services Google services violate privacy and security rights by accessing and collecting data from people who may even not be using their services. Rosenfeld states that Google admitted to collecting data and personal information from computers inside homes and buildings using their Google Street View cars that were thought to only take pictures for the service. The type of information collected included private information, emails, and passwords all from unsuspicious users. This tends to be a form of security concern since Google does not seek the consent of users before accessing their information. Moreover, it violates privacy rights as well as acts in an unethical manner by illegally accessing and collecting information from users who are even not using their services. Moreover, Google’s Gmail service was also found to be violating federal wiretap regulations. This is because the email service evaluates the content of all emails on its network using the information to sell it as of fshoots to advertisers. For instance, it is possible if one sends frequent emails about cars they are likely to get advertisements related to cars. Google did not make a point of informing Gmail users that it would collect and create individual profiles and target them with adverts. Again, even people who were sending messages to Gmail addresses did not agree for Google to analyze and use their messages for target advertising. Analyzing each and every message is a clear violation of privacy rights since each person is entitled to his/her privacy. Furthermore, by analyzing all kinds of emails, it is not clear how secure the services are since other people be it Google employees may access sensitive information. The Internet Has Been Overly Commercialized Google is also notorious for illegal tracking of its users who access the Internet. In 2012, Google was exposed for using an illegal code to by-pass anti-tracking abilities of Apple’s Safari browser. The secret and illegal code exposed millions of Safari browser to tracking without their knowledge even if they had turned on the anti-tracking abilities. Eventually, Google was found to have committed a privacy violation and fined $22.5 million by the Federal Trade Commission. The idea of well-respected multinational using secret codes just to track users clearly raises concerns in terms of security and privacy. Google clearly acted unethically in using secret codes without users being aware of tracking their online activities. This means that the company can go to any lengths to pursue its business objectives at the expense of user privacy rights and security. Illegal Collection of WIFI Passwords An additional issue is the illegal collection of WIFI passwords from millions of Android phone users. The company was exposed for collecting WIFI passwords for Android users who backed up their phones and allowed the Google service to restore their new phones. This means that Google knows nearly all WIFI passwords in the world. This is a clear violation of privacy since passwords and other vital information is deemed private and may indeed result in privacy and security concerns when accessed by companies such as Google. In its defense, Google has cited that the company was exploited by top U.S spymasters who illegally collected information without user consent. However, these are mere allegations that have no evidence, but the evidence of privacy and security violations can be proven beyond reasonable doubt. In conclusion, Google services continue to violate privacy and security rights of users by not informing them that their information is being collected without their consent. Some Google services can spy, pry, and secretly track information and user activities online. This tends to create increased concern for privacy and security of users. These issues may be far from resolving as even more advanced Google services are being launched. All stakeholders and mostly users have the obligation to determine where the red line lies to address privacy and security concerns.

three types of outpatient cancer treatments

three types of outpatient cancer treatments INTRODUCTIONIn the American society, cancer is the disease most feared by the majority of people within the U.S. Cancer has been known and described throughout history.In the early 1990s nearly 6 million cancer cases and more than 4 million deaths have been reported worldwide, every year. The most fatal cancer in the world is lung cancer, which has grown drastically since the spread of cigarette smoking in growing countries. Stomach cancer is the second leading form of cancer in men, after lung cancer. Another on the increase, for women, is breast cancer, particularly in China and Japan. The fourth on the list is colon and rectum cancer, which occurs mostly in older people.In the United States more than one-fifth of the deaths in the early '90s was caused by cancer, only the cardiovascular diseases accounted at a higher percentage. In 1993 the American Cancer Society predicted that about 33% of Americans will eventually get cancer.English: Gross appearance of the cut surface of a ... In the United States skin cancer is the most dominating in both men and women, followed by prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. Yet lung cancer causes the most deaths in men and women. Leukemia, or cancer of the blood, is the most common type in children. An increasing incidence has been clearly observable over the past few decades, due in part to improved cancer screening programs, and also to the increasing number of older persons in the population, and also to the large number of tabacco smokersparticularly in women. Some researchers have estimated that if Americans stopped smoking, lung cancer deaths could virtually be eliminated within 20 years.The U.S. government and private organizations spent about $1.2 billion annual for cancer research. With the development of new drugs and treatments, the number of deaths among cancer patients under...

Child abuse and neglect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Child abuse and neglect - Essay Example Child abuse can occur at every cultural line and socioeconomic level (Clark 58). Some of the pivotal reasons for the occurrence of child abuse are lack of resources, stress of caring children, marital conflict, deficiency of maturity and isolation from family. Neglect is the form of child abuse which refers to as the failure of parents to provide child. It can also be considered as the failure of caretakers to provide the fundamental needs of a child. Neglect of a child may include concerns of medical care, education, housing, clothing and adequate amount of food. Lack of nurture, love and adequate supply of necessities for the survival of child are experienced by neglected children. The essential role of child protection service is to investigate the report of child abuse and neglect and assess the risk of harm on child.The goal of CPS is to promote the well-being and safety of children by providing safe

Leadership Style and Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership Style and Approach - Essay Example Her type of leadership style is democratic. According to scholars and scientists, democratic leaders have certain attributes that include the senior workers in decision-making processes. Democracy facilitates creativity and brainstorming which provides ideas to the whole management process. This type of leadership enhances productivity and satisfaction of both the junior members of management and customers at large. Increase in productivity increase the rate of profit maximization in an organization. Evelyn in her case included her employees in decision-making processes. She also emphasized on workers using their recommended time with customers on the phones lines to satisfy all questions that a customer would have on their products. This type of leadership style can be explained in detail by leadership theories. There are the situational theories that explain that a leader should choose the type of leadership style that suits his/her situation. In most cases, the democratic style of leadership has been proved to obtain the best results. Team members also feel free to express their feelings in case of any new situations. For example in Evelyn’s case, she could spend time with her team members while performing their chores. In case of any problems such as fatigue or rude customers, she would support the members by team members by telling them that she was at the same situation some time but later made it in life. The functional theory explains that a leader should have contingency plans, which are used by the leaders in certain situations (Igbal 2011). Erik Rasmussen Erik Rasmussen on the other hand, has a different type of leadership style. His style consists of two styles namely people-oriented leadership and autocratic type of leadership (Daenzer 2009). He is young, bright and energetic and a no nonsense person when it comes to his areas of supervision. The people-oriented style deals with leaders who are focused in their positions at work and providin g the irrespective results. However, they may do this to the extent of some team members where decisions made by the leader are final. Erik in this case is a graduate and is expected to deliver the expected results. He does not consider the other team members in making decisions. From the case, it is clear that at some point, he deals with cost cutting strategies without considering ideas from the workers. Alternatively, this leadership style without being monitored may be taken too far by leaders who are so much focused on results rather than the welfare of workers and customers. With the autocratic style of leadership, the leaders possess most power and their decisions could be final. In Erik’s case, he seems to have all the powers and his orders are final. He does not care what the previous leaders had put in place to help boost production and profits. However, this style has some advantages such as fast and effective decision-making processes where leaders can make final decisions. On the other hand, team members do not want this type of leadership since their ideas are not included in the decision-making process (Peggy 2006). Evaluation / Judgment Evelyn Gustafson used the