An Analysis of Fairies as a Literary Device In Medieval Folklore Essay

An Analysis of Fairies as a Literary Device In Medieval Folklore - Essay Example A number of saints holidays (that happened to coincide with older holidays) help to ease the layperson's transition from pagan beliefs into a more Christian view of the world. These beliefs in the old magic evolved into literary devices when incorporated into folk tales, frequently used to either juxtapose the new and old beliefs, to distinguish between the two, to either reconcile them or to show the superiority of the new religion, as Christianity soon became omnipresent in medieval life. These Christian elements came to be exhibited retroactively through romantic tales of chivalry, for what was once an ethos of "might makes right" soon were thought to exemplify such Christian ethics as the mighty defending the weak, or the application of mercy. The reverence of the Virgin Mary developed into a reverence of all women and the notion of courtly love. However, these patterns spread slowly. To examine these elements in an evolutionary, if not exactly chronological, orderone can focus o n such examples as the lais "Bisclavret" and "Yonic" by Marie de France and the J. R. R. Tolkien translations of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "Sir Orfeo." Marie de France's lais "Bisclavret," or "The Werewolf," approaches the notion of magic through the title character's curse of transforming into a werewolf. A brief summary of the plot describes Bisclavaret's curse, his wife discovering it, and then her subsequent betrayal of her husband in favor of another man which results in Bisclavret being trapped in wolf form. As a wolf, he eventually wins the respect of the king, who allows the wolf to stay at the castle. The wolf is well behaved until he meets is betrayers, at which point his animosity is so great that the court recalls the woman's lost husband. She confesses, Bisclavret is restored and the couple are exiled. In the context of this story, the author holds no implicit distrust of magic: it is viewed as a condition pre-dating the arrival of Christianity (paralleling evils of human nature), and while it proves a cursed inconvenience, it in no way prohibits Bisclavret from acting nobly while in wolf form: "He's never touched anyo ne, / or shown any wickedness, / except to this woman."1 The plot instead focuses on Christian moralizing, i.e. the evils of the wife and knight's betrayal of their lord (thereby breaking the holy covenant of marriage, as wel as the knight's forswearing of fealty to his lord) , and their subsequent punishment. The loophole provided by magic actually provides a more satisfactory retribution than mere Christian conscience would allow, for the Church would undoubtedly promote the notion of mercy, forgiveness and leniency. The couple are allowed this to an extent, as they are merely exiled with no other pronouncement of punishment. But magic allows a more telling retribution: when the wolf attacked the woman, he bit off her nose. Not only is she nose-less for the rest of her life, but several of her daughters were also born without noses, thus continuing the medieval tradition of a flawed character revealing itself in physical defect. While Bisclavret's condition proves the means of his eventual revenge, the father of the title character "Yonec" uses magical transformation for different reasons and with different results. This

Sorry But Your Soul Just Died Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sorry But Your Soul Just Died - Assignment Example This would mean leaving the human like a mass of rock or soil – which can only be manipulated or moved. Another expectation was an account of the loss of the human spirit, to leave the human entity as good as the animals, which are on the basis of certain traditions considered not to possess a spirit – which links humans to the divine. The results here would include the depiction of animosity or the absence of a higher authority guiding humans (Wolfe). Wolfe’s bias is greatly based on unfounded fear, that the discoveries drawn from the field of neuroscience will drive humans from the personal control maintained in their natural state, where justice, morals, and values are a value drawn from each and every person’s soul endowment, to a force beyond their control. According to him, the control of humans by the genes, which is outside their control is absurd – as they will be obligated to find morals and values outside of their choice, to control their relations and all other aspects of life. An example here is Dean Hamer’s account of the gay gene, which he argues – just like the left-handedness gene is a natural inclination. The issue is that gays do not choose to become so, as they are naturally made in such a way (Wolfe). Wolfe through writing the essay is trying to offer information to the reader, on the importance of the personal choice and responsibility lines taken by each individual – when choosing values, justice and morals. He further, argues that the perceived assumption that the soul is not important is based on the gross belief that God is dead, from whom all values and identity are drawn. He further seeks to impart into the reader, the idea that the assumption of the death of the soul will result in gross immorality, where humans do not give consideration for one another – which is grounded on the identity of the moral obligation – grounded on the soul (Wolfe). The account is prese nted in a witty manner, showing that the author intended to engage the thinking process and the imagination of the reader, by raising their curiosity in predicting and finding out what the issue would lead to, through the mind of the reader. An example here is the account that trying to realize equality among different people goes against the very nature present in every single individual. The author further seeks to arouse the fear of the ultimate societal decay he talks of, these being the cause of the case, due to the fact humans will not be in a position to choose values – but will be genetically oriented to live as they are genetically endowed. An example here is the case of the gay gene, which obligates gay people to become gay – which has been a vice fought by many governments and authorities. The author uses such an example to raise curiosity and fear of further exploration of the new science, as it will serve in pushing humans into a stage where they are contr olled by their genetic inclinations. An example here would be genetic inclination into crime – which would mean that such a person becomes a criminal automatically, and that they would commit crime without any care, as it is in their nature. The emotional effect intended by Wolfe furthers his point, as it portrays an unavoidable negative side of the new science, whose further exploration would create more crisis than advantages. The emotion he is passing is clear, in that he even expresses optimism that those developing the new science

Measurement of Anti-proliferative Activity Experiment

Measurement of Anti-proliferative Activity Experiment Human cancer cell lines A549 (Lung carcinoma), MCF-7 (Breast adenocarcinoma), DU 145 (Prostate carcinoma), DLD-1 (Colorectal adenocarcinoma), FaDu (squamous cell carcinoma of pharynx) were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), USA. These cells were cultured in DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS and antibiotic combinations in 5% CO2 humidified atmosphere at 37 0C. A colorimetric sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay was used for the measurement of anti-proliferative activity as described before (Adaramoye et al., 2011; Fricker and Buckley, 1995; Keepers et al., 1991; Skehan et al., 1990). It is the second major technique for testing and is the more preferred. This basically depends on the incur of the negatively charged pink amino xanthine dye, sulphorhodamine B (SRB) through basic amino acids in the cells. The released dye will give a more intense colour and more absorbance, when the number of cells and amount of dye is taken up is greater, after fixing, when the cells are lysed, (Skehan et al., 1990). The SRB assay is sensitive, simple, reproducible and more rapid than the formazan-based assays and gives better linearity, a good signal-to-noise ratio and has a stable end-point that does not require a time-sensitive measurement, as do the MTT or XTT assays (Fricker and Buckley, 1995; Keepers et al., 1991). Ten thousand cells were seeded to each well of 96-well plate, grown overnight and exposed to test samples at 100  µg/ml concentration for 48 h. Cells were then fixed with ice-cold tri-chloro acetic acid (50% w/v, 50 µl/well), stained with SRB (0.4% w/v in 1% acetic acid, 50 µl/well), washed and air dried. Bound dye was dissolved in 150 ÃŽ ¼L of 10mM Tris base and plates were read at 510 nm absorbance (Epoch Microplate Reader, Biotek, USA). Anti-proliferative activity of test samples was calculated as: % inhibition in cell growth = [100-(Absorbance of compound treated cells/ Absorbance of untreated cells)] x100. Principal component analysis PCA was carried out based on the contents of eighteen bioactive compounds in fruits and leaves of five Cassia species, using STATISTICA 7.0 software. When the contents of investigated compounds were below the quantitation limit or not detected in the samples, the values of such elements were considered to be zero. Results and discussion Optimization of chromatographic and MS/MS conditions Complete separation of proximate analytes is certainly not required for MS/MS detection. In this study, chrysophanic acid and emodin are having same product ion, while catechin and epicatechin are having same precursor and product ion. Therefore, mobile phase was optimized using different compositions of solvents and adjusting their gradient elution for separation of all the compounds. Acetonitrile possesses stronger elution ability in comparison to methanol, which shortens the elution time and thus selected for this method. On the basis of the polarity of anthraquinones, phenolics, flavonoids and terpenoids in the extracts of Cassia species samples, an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 (2.1 mm Ãâ€" 50 mm, 1.7 µm; Waters, Milford, MA) column was selected for their separation, which was more suitable for acidic mobile phase with smoother baseline in the separation as compared to other tested columns. Compared with acetic acid, formic acid was found more effective for ionization of compounds det ected in the negative ESI mode. Thus, different concentration strengths (0.05%, 0.1% and 0.2%) of formic acid were investigated, and finally 0.1% formic acid concentration was selected for analysis. Therefore, optimized gradient elution with 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min with the column temperature of 30 °C resulted in separation of the 18 compounds in less than 8 min chromatographic run time. All the compound dependent MS parameters (precursor ion, product ion, declustering potential (DP) and collision energy (CE) were carefully optimized for each targeted compound in negative ESI mode, which was performed by flow injection analysis (FIA). The chemical structures of 18 components were characterized based on their retention behaviour and MS information such as quasimolecular ions [M-H], fragment ions [M-H-COO], [M-H-COO-CH3], [M- CO-H2O] compared to related standards and literatures (Pandey et al., 2014; Wei et al., 2013; Xia et al., 2011; Yu et al., 2009). MRM parameters: DP, EP, CE and CXP were optimized to achieve the most abundant, specific and stable MRM transition for each compound as shown in Table 1. MRM extracted ion chromatogram of analytes are shown in Fig. 1. Analytical Method Validation The proposed UPLC-MRM method for quantitative analysis was validated according to the guidelines of international conference on harmonization (ICH, Q2R1) by linearity, LOQs and LODs, precision, solution stability, and recovery. Linearity, LOD and LOQ The internal standard method was employed to calculate the contents of eighteen analytes in Cassia species. The stock solution was diluted with methanol to different working concentrations for the construction of calibration curves. The linearity of calibration was performed by the analytes-to-IS peak area ratios versus the nominal concentration and the calibration curves were constructed with a weight (1/x2) factor by least-squares linear regression. The applied calibration model for all curves was y = a x + b, where y = peak area ratio (analyte/IS), x = concentration of the analyte, a = slope of the curve and b = intercept. The LODs and LOQs were measured with S/N of 3 and 10, respectively as criteria. The results were listed in Table 1. All the calibration curves indicated good linearity with correlation coefficients (r2) from 0.9990 to 0.9999 within the test ranges. The LODs for each analyte varied from 0.02-1.34 ng/mL and LOQs from 0.06-3.88 ng/ml and were much lower than those obtained with previous HPLC methods (Chewchinda et al., 2012; Chewchinda et al., 2014; Chewchinda et al., 2013; Ni et al., 2009; Prakash et al., 2007). Precision, Stability and Recovery The intra-day and inter-day variations, for the determination of precision of the developed method, were evaluated by determining the eighteen analytes in six replicates on a single day and by duplicating the experiments over three successive days. The overall intra-day and inter-day precision were not more than 3.37 %. Stability of sample solutions stored at room temperature was evaluated by replicate injections at 0, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h. The RSDs value of stability of the eighteen analytes ≠¤ 3.19 %. A recovery test was applied to evaluate the accuracy of this method. Three different concentration levels (high, middle and low) of the analytical standards were added into the samples. Three replicates were performed at each level. The percentage recoveries were calculated according to the following equation: (detected amount–original amount) Ãâ€" 100% / added amount. The analytical method developed had good accuracy with overall recovery in the range from 97.75-105.09 % (RSD ≠¤ 2.42 %) for all analytes (Table 1).

Networks And Connectivity :: essays research papers

Networks and Connectivity Trying to give a definition to the term COMMUNICATIONS we can say that “Communications is the dispatch of a message from one point to another and the confirmation of the complete , right and conceivable receiving of the message by the authorized addressee'; . As we can see from the history there was a huge try to achieve the communication between people . The signals of smoke , the sounds of the drum , the fire were some of the basic ways for the transfer of a message in a era years ago . But these ways of communication was neither accurate nor has the certainty of the success . Also the transfer speed of the information was small , the size of the information tiny and the security of the communication was almost absence . The need for networks appears for the first time when Graham Bell set in use the telephone . He was talking with a friend of his with a single line , but later when he wanted to talk to another friend of his he needed to use another line to connect his phone and the phone of his friend . So imagine that he has X friends , he would need X(X-1)/2 lines and X-1 phones , that was impossible so the need of networks come up . The network first developed for the need of the voice communication but after the appearance of data communications need the same network was used . From the time that electricity and electronics had developed there was rapidly changes at the section of the communications . After the decade of the 1950 the computers started developing , and the communications started playing an important role in peoples life . Also the evolution of the voice communication has created an extensive telephone network which today covers a very large part of the planet , and computers have taken advantage of that network in a great rate so as to satisfy their needs for data communication . Terms Talking about our days , when we are referring to the term computer connectivity we have a complex of hardware , software and physical appliance, and we mean the way and how computers can communicate and share common sources with the use of an intelligent or common network . With the term Data Communication we mean the exchange of information under the form of data between Data Terminal Equipment .

Effect of Unethical Behavior Essay

The Securities and Exchange Commission was created in 1934 to police the U. S. financial markets. Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to create legislation tightening reporting standards and providing more transparency. Unfortunately, increasing standards often comes after a failure of the system. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a primary example of legislation following financial market failure. Sarbanes-Oxley influenced public businesses through transformation of the financial system. The July 2002 enactment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, co-authored by U. S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and U.  S. Rep. Michael Oxley of Ohio, followed a series of large public company failures that included Enron, Tyco and WorldCom. Sarbanes-Oxley addressed investor confidence and fraud through reform of the public company reporting standards. However, much damage in the market occurred with the collapse of several major companies between 2002 and 2004. (smallbusiness. chron. com). The impact of unethical behavior is known by many companies, and have done damage to individuals, and businesses as well. The results of unethical behavior on a large scale would be the Enron, Tyco, and Global Crossing, or WorldCom. Greediness led to accounting unethical promises, and with that certain individuals became the ones who had told on their companies. Falsifying financial reports is dishonest and unethical because the financial records are supposed to show financial results of a business, and how it is growing. When accountants or managers lie about the revenue and cash flow it misleads prospective investors, stockholders, employees, and the U. S. government. So many billions of dollars have been hidden in the paperwork, and financial statements. If I had found inconsistencies in the financial statements where I worked I would have to go through the chain of command to let them know of what I have found and if there was nothing done then I would then think about going outside to tell someone so I could cover myself. Unethical behavior led to the end of Enron, and the other companies, and to financial issues for many individuals all over the United States. As a result of the unethical behavior of several companies there is now the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. All companies, must comply with the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act set guidelines for ethical accounting practices.

Analyzing the legalization of drugs

Introduction The increase in the drug cases during the years has lead several propositions from various individuals, one of which is the legalization of drugs. Since the widespread use of illegal drugs has eventually persisted throughout the expanse of time, and with the failure to contain the issue of illegal drug use, one suggested solution is to amend the law by legalizing the use of drugs or by putting it finally under the control and mandate of the law. However, the judicial system has had to cope with the situation. The need to reexamine the existing methods of managing and handling these drug cases proportionally rose with the persistence of illegal drugs amidst existing legal sanctions. This had led to the processing of drug cases not only in court but even outside the court. This is to cope with the great number of drug offenders of varying levels getting apprehended everyday. There were several judicial strategies conceived in order to deal with the massive amount of drug cases. These judicial strategies include the creation of specialized divisions of a drug court in some trial courts, sped-up case processing procedures, deferred prosecution programs requiring court-supervised treatment and counseling and more. There are also combinations of these strategies, all to speed-up the processing of these cases. These cases are screened beforehand in order to know what degree and what level of judicial supervisions would be applicable for the case. This is also essential for early treatment intervention and rehabilitation of the offenders, so as to stop the continued drug abuse and the likelihood of crimes. On the other hand, arguments for the legalization of drugs are constantly being hurled forward in order to finally resolve the existing contentions against the ill-effects of drugs as well as for the perceived benefits both the government and the individuals can actually obtain from legalizing these substances. Arguments for the legalization of drugs One of the most common drugs in the society today is Marijuana. It is known scientifically as the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, where the leaves are being dried up, rolled into sheets of paper and be smoked just like cigarette or tobacco. It is the most often used illegal drug in the world, known in various names all over, like â€Å"pot,† â€Å"herb,† and â€Å"Mary Jane.† Some users can make use of marijuana by mixing it into food substances or drink it by brewing it with tea. The addictive element of marijuana is its Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC content. The effect of marijuana would depend on how strong or how potent is its Tetrahydrocannabinol content, thus also giving various effects on the marijuana users (Dell and Snyder 630). One of the reasons for finally legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is founded on the historical context of the â€Å"illegal† substance. In America, for instance, those who lived in the area of Jamestown back in 1611 raised marijuana under the order of King James I for the purpose of crafting rope for the naval force of the British. The â€Å"herb†, as it has been called, also served as a medicinal substance specifically for George Washington who planted marijuana within the premises of Mount Vernon and that the plant was categorized as a prescription medicine until 1937 (Smith 101). Marijuana also has positive sides which can be used as an argument for its eventual legalization. One of the beneficial effects of the use of marijuana rests on its utility for the control of symptoms, especially in chemotherapy procedures, as an â€Å"effective antiemetic† among patients with health profiles such as cancer and â€Å"AIDS patients with wasting syndrome† which led to â€Å"a greater ability to cope emotionally with disabling or life-threatening illness (Gorman 23). Moreover, under the rule of Emperor Chen Nung of ancient China five centuries ago, marijuana has been declared as well as a plant that has medicinal value in terms of curing malaria, rheumatism, constipation, â€Å"absentmindedness† as well as the claims for mental and bodily disorders suffered by women (Grinspoon and Bakalar 3). There is also the contention for the prospect of establishing a regulated drug market which can be a profitable source of government tax. This idea illustrates the observation that the widespread use of illegal drugs and its potential to be a market commodity can overcome the legal restrictions ascribed unto it.   A controlled degree of the regulation of marijuana, for example, creates, instead, an increase in government revenues that may outweigh or, at least, come close to the actual government payments on law enforcement against the production, distribution and consumption of marijuana (Caputo and Ostrom 475). Refutations Drug Abuse is one of the most common criminal cases in the society today. It is a form of substance abuse, just like alcoholism, since these illicit drugs are actually addictive in nature. Because of this, many people who are hooked on drugs cannot easily let go of the addiction, and would often lead to drug-related crimes like robbery, physical assault, or even murder. Not only does these drugs dangerous to others, but it is also harmful in the drug users’ body, causing the body to take into negative turns, like deterioration and organ failures. When a person smokes or inhales marijuana smoke, he would usually feel rapid heart beats, loss of coordination and decreased sense of balance, slow reaction rate and a dry mouth. These are already signs of marijuana intoxication, along with the expansion of blood vessels in the eye, that’s why marijuana users usually have red eyes. The effects of marijuana would usually last two to three hours, where the marijuana user would usually tend to be sleepy. The negative effects of using marijuana would be hindering the user’s short term memory, wherein it would be difficult for him to remember recent events. This would usually lead to car crashes and other accidents, since their sense of coordination is greatly affected. Another dangerous drug would be cocaine. This drug’s effect on the body is really damaging, where addiction to cocaine could bring about permanent damages in one’s body or even death. Cocaine has both short term and long term effects. The short term effects are immediately noticeable, but not that damaging as compared to the long term ones. The common short term effects are a feeling of boosted energy, a decrease in a person’s appetite, and a rather hyped heart rate and blood pressure. There are still many other types of illegal drugs and similar forms of substances that create ill-effects to the overall health of individuals, oftentimes resulting for them to commit crimes that they could not have possibly committed had they not taken these illegal substances. Conclusion Although several illegal substances can actually bring forth benefits for individuals, the negative consequences outweigh these positive sides. Further, not all of these substances have positive effects when used, and that the negative consequences of illegal drug use oftentimes lead to crimes and violence. For these reasons along with the refutations against the legalization of drugs, it can be asserted that the legalization of drugs should not be taken as the ultimate measure for solving illegal drug issues. Rather, the reasons behind the legalization of drugs should be taken as a means in finding the deeper refutations against it. References Caputo, M. R., and B. J. Ostrom. â€Å"Potential Tax Revenue from a Regulated Marijuana Market: A Meaningful Revenue Source.† American Journal of Economics and Sociology 53.4 (1994): 475-90. Cocaine-Effects.com. â€Å"Cocaine Effects.† 2001. Dell, D. D., and J. A. Snyder. â€Å"Marijuana: Pro and Con.† The American Journal of Nursing 77.4 (1977): 630. Gorman, M. â€Å"Substance Abuse.† The American Journal of Nursing 97.11 (1997): 23. Grinspoon, L., and J. B. Bakalar. â€Å"The History of Cannabis.†Ã‚   Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine. London: Yale University Press, 1997. 3. Smith, G. R. W. â€Å"Possession of Marijuana in San Mateo County: Some Social Costs of Criminalization.† Stanford Law Review 22.1 (1969): 101.   

Cesar E. Chavez essays

Cesar E. Chavez essays When a person hears the name Cesar Chavez, a person thinks of a mans fight for his people. As a fellow human being I am proud that he was Hispanic just like me. Well for me he wasnt a regular Jose but someone with the power and strength to say I had it with what was going on, for that I call him a wonderful and brave man. The story of Cesar Chavez begins in Yuma, Arizona. He was born March 31,1927. Cesar Estrada Chavez was names after his grandfather Cesario Chavez. As a small child Cesar learned many things. As a child Cesar learned first hand how hard it was to be a brown man in a white mans land. Cesars family, The Chavez family, was swindled from their house and farm by dishonest whites. Cesar learned a lesson about injustice that he would later in counter. Cesar said the love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being but it also the most true to our nature. Like I said this man had the mentality of someone you read in LA OPINION. In my dark eyes Cesar was the Mexican, white people feared him left and right and prayed that Cesar would look the other way or they would loose their fortune. To me that is an accomplishment beyond a lot of peoples reach. As a young child Cesar did not like school that much, I mean I dont either, but his reasons were much better that mine becau se all of the teachers were Anglos and only spoke English, and that wasnt it, if the school staff caught u speaking Spanish they would hit you with a size 12 inch ruler. Cesar and his brother attended from 38 schools to 70 schools. Cesar only graduated from the 8th grade and could not attend high school because his father, Librado, had an accident and could not work because of it. So as the oldest child of the family Cesar put away his plans for the future to support his family both mentally and physically. As Chavez grew older he started back his journey in aca...

The Best Free Book Cover Makers (and a Few Paid Ones)

The Best Free Book Cover Makers (and a Few Paid Ones) The Best Free Book Cover Makers (and a Few Paid Ones) If you're on the hunt for a free book cover maker, then you might be looking to DIY the cover design for your book.  But before we get to our recommendations, we should start with a caveat: if you’re not a professional designer and you can avoid it, don’t design your own book cover. And we all know the reason why: the cover is your book’s #1 marketing asset.Cover designer Ninai Freitas urges authors to think of book covers as a long-term investment: â€Å"It is better to have a well-designed cover that can help increase sales. You can have the best tools - such as Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign - but these programs don’t automatically make a book cover. What counts is the person using them.†Budget naturally plays a role in an indie author’s publishing decision. On our marketplace, professional designers charge on average $650 to design a cover - however, 16% of the designers polled will often charge under $400.  But we get it: $400 is still a pretty penny. So if you’re set on designing your own cover, you know where to look for inspiration, and are willing to put in the legwork to learning a new skill, here are some resources you might consider.Let's start with a few free book cover makers: 25 Beautiful Examples of Book Illustration Read post Hot tip: To learn more about typography and book design, check out our monthly Cover Critiques on Reedsy Live.Have you used another book cover maker that you'd recommend? Leave us any thoughts or questions about book design in the comments below.

Causes of binge drinking

Causes of binge drinking Essay Child AbuseWhat is Child Abuse? By definition, child abuse is the deliberate and willful injury of a child by a caretaker hitting, beating with an object, slamming against a wall, even killing. It involves active, hostile, aggressive treatment. The key word in the definition of child abuse is deliberate. Why would anyone physically harm a child? The physical destruction of a child is the extreme reaction of parents to the stress of having children. Most people are not aware of the fact that deliberately hitting a child is considered a felony in all fifty states. Abuse of children is more common than most people realize. At least one out of five adult women and one out of every ten adult men report having been abused in childhood. Recognizing child abuse in its several forms is a twentieth century phenomenon. Child abuse is also more likely to be recognized in economically developed countries than in other parts of the world. Children have been beaten and abandoned for centuries, base d primarily on the belief that children are the property of their parents. By educating yourself and your children about abuse, you can help prevent it from happening to your children and better cope with it if it does. (Child 6) There are four different forms of child abuse. They are physical abuse (child beating and neglect), sexual abuse, incest, and exploitation (such as child pornography). Physical abuse occurs when a caretaker deliberately beats the child. Some examples of 2 physical abuse include burning with a cigarette, striking a child, and scalding with hot water. According to social agencies, beatings of children have been multiplying over the past twenty-five years or so. The increasing number of reports could mean that in recent years, social workers, health professionals, and other experts have become better able to recognize cases of mistreatment. Some 60,000 cases of abuse are reported annually. (Sargo 12) Many battered children must endure a second terrible problem neglect. Neglect, which occurs when parents or others who are responsible for a childs welfare fail to provide for the childs basic needs in any number of ways. Physical neglect occurs when the caretaker fails to provide adequate food, clothing, or shelter. Physical neglect also occurs when the person caring for a child refuses to seek health care or delays in doing so. Other examples are abandoning a child, either permanently or temporarily, and when a child is kicked out of home or refused to be let back in. There is also educational neglect when parents do not force their children to attend school. Early civilization regularly abandoned deformed or surplus children, and ritual sacrifice of the children to appease the gods took place in Egyptian, Carthaginian, Roman, Greek, and Aztec societies. (Child 2) Either they do not enroll the child in school at the age required by law, or they allow their children to be chronically truant from classes. (Gelles 21). 3 Another form of negl ect is emotional neglect, which occurs when parents or guardians behave in a way that deeply disturbs a young child. (Sargo 15) Some examples of emotional abuse occur when parents fight or beat each other in front of a child, when they give a child permission to use drugs or alcohol or when the parents themselves are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Then there is moral neglect, when parents let their children run loose in the streets at all hours so he or she risks getting in trouble with the law. Moral neglect also occurs when the parents allow or encourage the child to perform criminal acts. Of the various types of neglect, physical is said to be the most common. The DHHS study reports that some 571,600 American children suffer from physical neglect . Educational neglect is next at just over 292,000 children. Emotional neglect is third with 223,000 victims. (Child 11) Sexual abuse, which is also known as sexual molestation, is defined as the exploitation of a minor for the sexual gratification of an adult. Sexual abuse involves forcing, tricking, bribing, threatening or pressuring a child into sexual awareness or activity. Sexual abuse is an abuse of power over a child and READ: Why I Chose Accounting Essay

LandScape of Kuwait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

LandScape of Kuwait - Essay Example With these features in mind, it is helpful to consider the various components of the physical and cultural landscape of Kuwait that has made the country into the powerful regional force that it is today. Origin of the Landscape On its surface, Kuwait would appear to possess a landscape with quite a few possibilities. This is far from reality, however, as the small area of land, coupled with its lack of fresh water and inability to grow crops have made it is a harsh environment to thrive under for centuries. While it is in the Arabian Gulf, the climate is extremely dry. The landscape of the region has not developed much at all over the years. It is still the flat and barren desert that it was long ago. In fact, it appears that there are only slight elevations of landscape present throughout the relatively small country. The summer is particularly harsh on the landscape, as temperatures can get above 120 degrees F, or 49 degrees C, with relatively little rain to speak of. In addition, because of the barren desert landscape, there are frequent and severe sandstorms that add to the uniqueness of the country and contribute to the difficulty that the land affords daily Kuwaiti life. Ethnic Makeup of the Kuwaiti People It appears that Kuwait has been settled for several thousand years. The early inhabitants of the region actually traded with other Mesopotamian cities. Today, most of the population surrounds itself around Kuwait City. Nearly all Kuwaiti people are Arabs. There is a unique distinction among ethnic Kuwaiti’s, however, in that they are one of the few countries in the world where there own citizens actually form the minority. Only about 45% of the population today is actually Kuwaiti, with the rest being comprised of expatriate workers from around the globe. This certainly creates a unique cultural landscape. It is also important to note that Kuwait is home to numerous Bedoun and Bedoiun tribes. As opposed to the Bedoiun in other countries, however, even the ethnic tribe in Kuwait tend to live in city centers, while still maintaining there conservative and traditional ways of life (Osborn, 1977). They do tend to live in harmony with the ethnic Kuwaitis, yet they maintain their own way of life and cultural traditions. Role of Religion in Forming the Landscape Like many other countries in the Middle East, religion has played an integral part in the development of Kuwait. More than 85% of the population if Muslim. Of this number, nearly all Kuwaiti’s themselves identify with the Islamic faith. One of the primary tenants of this faith is that it impacts nearly aspect of the development of the country, and Kuwait is certainly no exception. The heritage and traditions of the Kuwaiti people, owed to their Islamic roots, remain relatively in tact today. It is interesting to note that Kuwait does guarantee the freedom of religion to all inhabitants, and this is largely honored without question. Remember, however, that most Kuwai ti’s are Muslim, so it definitely forms the foundation for government and social institutions. While this freedom of religion is guaranteed, the constitution of the country also designates Islam as the official religion of the state, and Islamic does largely form the basis for civil law in existence today. These are traditions that

REIT Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

REIT Project - Essay Example RECOMMENDATION: HOLD PRICE: 378 Gp AS OF July2, 2009 Volume 4,063,468 Days High 379.25p Days Low 371.50p Avg. Vol 5,343,894 Company description: The British Land Company PLC operates in the fields of property development, finance and investment in London. The Company’s retail warehouse park investments include Teesside Shopping Park, Giltbrook Retail Park, The Kingston Centre, New Mersey Shopping Park, Glasgow Fort, Parkgate Shopping. Significant financial developments have occurred in the past two years that led to decrease of revenues to 16 percent to  £554M and a net loss of  £63l 93B up from  £1.61B as of March 2009 according to report of Reuters. Based on Reuters report, BLC posted negative performance for the year ended as it has negative operating margin of -65.16 B and a negative net profit margin of -700.54bn. Percentage of management effectiveness are nestled on high negative ratios.. It has low cash availability and zero cash flow which shows company relies heavily on debt borrowings. It has a total debt equity ratio of 117.76% that is a risky investment because of high cost of mo ney. The company has no dividend yield and zero growth rates for the past two years There is no available property map that depicts location of properties of BLC. Based on Yahoo Finance, BLC is the biggest real estate management company in London. One of their properties is over 12 hectares property in Broadgate

Equal Opportunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Equal Opportunity - Essay Example However, an efficient system is nearly impossible to attain due to factors beyond education management control (Cogan, McKnight, and Schmidt, 2010). The income level of the parents determines the level of resources that the students access both at school and at home for personal studies. Whereas financially stable parents can easily provide extra resources to their children based on the amount of disposable income at the household level, lower income classes may find it difficult to offer competitive learning resources to their children. Outcomes of national analysis across survey districts conducted in 2010 reveal characteristic performance in mathematics standards among students (Cogan, McKnight, and Schmidt, 2010). Brown (2012) makes similar observations, with projections of how the impacts of relatively lower development affect learning and spread of information. In view of access to internet services for learning purposes, future policies will require recognition of connectivity as a basic right for all Americans. Brown, J. (2012). â€Å"Equality? All Kids have a Right to Internet Access!† Retrieved from

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE B PLAYERS - ARTICLE REVIEW

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE B PLAYERS - REVIEW - Article Example This group does not outshine everyone in the company’s line of duty but packs tremendous knowledge, experience, and ability for saving a company’s future from crises and other performance-based issues. The B Players are not made and neither can they be destroyed. These Players exist in three levels: former A Players, Truth Tellers, and Go-to-Managers. As former A Players, these have the experience and toughness to outshine all the players within the company but they choose to move from the spotlight. As truth tellers, they identify the number of issues that face the company and project it to the authorities capable of strategizing factors to pull the company from financial or performance deficits. As Go-to-Manages, B Players are faced with consultation duties related to the company’s operations and norms. When a company finds itself in performance or financial turmoil, the B Players structure the entity for consultation as their knowledge and experience with comp any process makes them an asset to the company. Managers are provided with a manual-style approach on how to nurture B Players. In a company, most employees are faced with the urge to become top players but their ambitions may pay off or fail, therefore, breaking their morale. However, for B Players, management is urged to accept differences, give the gift of time, hand out the prizes, and give choices. Data Analysis and Opinion: Different players within a company have different goals and mission about their careers and purposes at the company. The business world functions on a 24/7 basis and incorporates players with varying ambitions. A Players are more concerned on how to work their way to the top – their mission is to find out what is good for ‘brand me’. B Players on the other hand, focus their potential for what is good for the company. With this variance, it has been noted that, companies do not, in most cases recognize the efforts or the role of B Players . For example, a company will always give incentives and bonuses to those employees that perform beyond the expectations of many. This is the reason some companies have the employee-of-the-year awards. This awarding system is a way of recognizing talent or skill but also a way of isolating other important players within the company. In this case, if it were the will of every employee to work towards nourishing individual talent and skills, companies would have no one concerned about their long term performances. Various people work for varying reasons; some work to be promoted, some need good pay, and others need to be managers. However, when it comes to the myth that everyone is equal or similar to the other, a line is drawn. Leaders within a company always assume that all people want the same things – money, power, and status – out of their organizations. However, evidence shows that some people are more focused on influencing others in their jobs. For those not worr ied about individual performance or excellence are considered B players – their duty is to influence change on a company-wide scope. However, while this is the fact, management in different companies tends to overlook the importance and purpose of being a B Player. B Players are not different from A Players because they possess the same or even higher level of intelligence. Achievement has been identified as a blend of personality, intelligence, and

Media Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media Relations - Essay Example Banks have to target the young generation via such social sites. The success of any business lies under one core fundamental factor: being available where the target clients are. It has not been different for Barclays, which boasts of its great success and a huge number of clients in United Kingdom. The bank has been at the forefront in close relation with media, ensuring that it utilizes social media to reach out to its loyal customer base and tap its potential. Depending on its diverse departments, Barclays has a number of Twitter accounts all branded differently. They are quite active, with the most active being @ BarclaysFooty, an account linked to the sponsored Barclays Premier League. The site has over 159, 000 followers, which is a huge number for a bank twitter account. Most of the times, the posts are often related to football updates and other competitions with the intentions of targeting the football fans. Barclay’s wealth and investment team also have a twitter account labelled @Barclayswealth, which has over 73,000 followers. It does posts financial investment updates and other banking services offered. The customers’ service twitter account is nabbed @BarclaysOnline, having over 48,000 users. It does receive the highest number of interaction with its clients. Its website does grant its clients the link to accessing twitter. During its working hours, the twitter services and responses are quite fast and timely. All potential queries responses are dealt with from Monday to Friday, between 8am to 8pm. The clients have reported satisfaction with the social systems, with the support team responding to a good number of queries, an element that does improve their customer care and public relations with the clients (barclays.co.uk). With over half a million likes, Barclays Facebook wall has maintained a constant service to its clients, similarly to its Twitter account. It does engage its clients all through the whole day, answering all

Equal Opportunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Equal Opportunity - Essay Example However, an efficient system is nearly impossible to attain due to factors beyond education management control (Cogan, McKnight, and Schmidt, 2010). The income level of the parents determines the level of resources that the students access both at school and at home for personal studies. Whereas financially stable parents can easily provide extra resources to their children based on the amount of disposable income at the household level, lower income classes may find it difficult to offer competitive learning resources to their children. Outcomes of national analysis across survey districts conducted in 2010 reveal characteristic performance in mathematics standards among students (Cogan, McKnight, and Schmidt, 2010). Brown (2012) makes similar observations, with projections of how the impacts of relatively lower development affect learning and spread of information. In view of access to internet services for learning purposes, future policies will require recognition of connectivity as a basic right for all Americans. Brown, J. (2012). â€Å"Equality? All Kids have a Right to Internet Access!† Retrieved from

Media Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media Relations - Essay Example Banks have to target the young generation via such social sites. The success of any business lies under one core fundamental factor: being available where the target clients are. It has not been different for Barclays, which boasts of its great success and a huge number of clients in United Kingdom. The bank has been at the forefront in close relation with media, ensuring that it utilizes social media to reach out to its loyal customer base and tap its potential. Depending on its diverse departments, Barclays has a number of Twitter accounts all branded differently. They are quite active, with the most active being @ BarclaysFooty, an account linked to the sponsored Barclays Premier League. The site has over 159, 000 followers, which is a huge number for a bank twitter account. Most of the times, the posts are often related to football updates and other competitions with the intentions of targeting the football fans. Barclay’s wealth and investment team also have a twitter account labelled @Barclayswealth, which has over 73,000 followers. It does posts financial investment updates and other banking services offered. The customers’ service twitter account is nabbed @BarclaysOnline, having over 48,000 users. It does receive the highest number of interaction with its clients. Its website does grant its clients the link to accessing twitter. During its working hours, the twitter services and responses are quite fast and timely. All potential queries responses are dealt with from Monday to Friday, between 8am to 8pm. The clients have reported satisfaction with the social systems, with the support team responding to a good number of queries, an element that does improve their customer care and public relations with the clients (barclays.co.uk). With over half a million likes, Barclays Facebook wall has maintained a constant service to its clients, similarly to its Twitter account. It does engage its clients all through the whole day, answering all

American History Essay Example for Free

American History Essay The mercantilist system will eventually be cited as a reason for the American Revolution. However, this was not always the case. Define the mercantilist system and its effects on the colonies prior to 1760. Also, explain the initial colonial reaction to this system.| | The mercantilist system was basically a system acquired to have political control over the economy, to minimize imports that cost the nation money, and maximize exports that made the nation money. The British and Parliament wanted and created regulations on everything in the new colonies. They regulated everything from wages and agriculture subsides. They were forbidden to established tariff barriers in order to protect themselves from colonial industries. The mercantilist system was a regulatory system put into place to keep control and profits of the new colonies for the mother countries benefit. The mercantilist system on the colonies was to make sure that certain goods could only be transport to England, and to forbid other nations from doing business in the English colonies. This resulted in a list of enumerated commodities that were only allowed to be transported to England. The list consisted of products of the southern slave colonies, the northern Indian trade, and essential products for supplying the shipping industry. The products were: sugar, molasses, rum, tobacco, rice, indigo, furs, pelt, skins, pine masts, tar, pitch, resin, and turpentine. These items were to be transported only by English vessel to England. The English also tried to enforce other limitations, which resulted in a series of enactments-including the Wool Act of 1699, the Hat Act of 1732, and the Iron Act of 1750. The prime minister encouraged lax enforcement of the manufacturing rules in the colonies, in part because they had their own effective systems, and as a result, colonists and British traders enjoyed wealth produced by slave labor, a new prosperity and feeling of goodwill that would last until the 1760s (Faragher, 2009).

Competencies of the Effective Healthcare Leader

Competencies of the Effective Healthcare Leader The analysis of a top down change process in my organisation has led me to a critical understanding of processes, my own place within these organisational processes and the effects my role and competence can have on the professional experiences of others. (Please see appendix for summary of scenario). Kerfoot (2004) suggests that one role of leaders is to synthesise information and then channel it to improve aspects of the organisation, placing interpersonal communication at the forefront of leadership activity (Chambers, 2002). In this instance, information is power, and one fault of the process describe below is that information was not shared in a timely or inclusive fashion. Kerfoot (2004) describes information as leaders’ primary resource, but I would argue that the primary power of bad leaders lies in their ability to control that information. Grossman (2007) describes communication as one of the key competencies of the effective leader, but there are a number of other dimensions of leadership which are equally as important. This scenario highlights communication as a major negative factor in the implementation of change. However, there are other aspects of leadership which could be employed to ameliorate the situation: conflict management; collaboration and networking; teamworking; decision-making and troubleshooting; the ability to understand and so work with (or manipulate) the organisational culture (Grossman, 2007). They should also be proactive, manage negative situations and emotions cognitively and have a degree of emotional intelligence (Jooste, 2004). It is obvious of that the employment of these competencies might have prevented the challenges which arose from the process described below. Transformational leadership (Thyer, 2003) would allow for improved multi-way communication, by allowing the leader to establi sh new and different lines of communication with and between staff at different levels (McCarthy, 2006). Transformational leadership may also address the staffing issues associated with this challenging scenario (Thyer, 2003). Healthcare professionals, particularly nursing staff, engage with, develop and reinforce such behaviours constantly as fundamental competencies for effective patient care. Grossman (2007) argues that good leaders must have demonstrated efficacy in patient communication, which suggests that all nurses have such abilities. Nurses also have unique insider knowledge, which should have informed a full system analysis (McCarthy, 2006) prior to the implementation of the change. Including the staff in this process might also facilitate both the change the process by engaging the staff in meaningful, change-related communication and activity from the outset (McCarthy, 2006). Chambers (2002) suggests that the mark of a true leader might be someone who can se the vision, share it with others and lead them on the journey that makes it happen. The lack of such a guide, a true leader is both evident in this scenario and indicative of an area of future need, where the existing resources of those who already translate organisational conceptualisation of service delivery in to the pragmatic and practical aspects of quality patient care should be utilised rather than wasted. Senior nurses, such as myself, possess these qualities and should be enabled to express them. References Chambers, N. (2002) Nursing leadership: the time has come to just do it. Journal of Nursing Management. 10 127-128. Grossman, S. (2007) Assisting Critical Care Nurses in Acquiring Leadership Skills. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing 26 (2) 57-65. Jooste, K. (2004). Leadership: a new perspective. Journal of Nursing Management 12 27-223. Kerfoot, K. (2004) Leaders and windshields: the art of deflecting essential information. Dermatology Nursing 16 (6) 545-546, 568. McCarthy, J. (2006) Five more concepts for creating change. Nursing Management September 2005 Available from: www.nursingmanagement.com. Accessed 17-7-07. Thyer, G.L. (2003) Dare to be different: transformational leadership may hold the key to the nursing shortage. Journal of Nursing Management 11 73-79.

The U.S. Automobile Industry Essay -- Economy, Recession

The United States recession (which lead to a world recession), began in 1997 and significantly impacted the United States automobile industry during the recession period. The United States automobile industry is still reeling from the effects of the recession throughout the period of economic recovery that continues today. According to Chu and Su, â€Å"In this credit-driven recession, one of the hardest hit sectors was the automotive industry, along with the housing and financial markets. Chrysler and General Motors were pushed into bankruptcy; and 276,000 jobs in the automobile and parts industry were destroyed, a whopping 36 percent of the total employment in the sector†. This paper will focus on the future of the U.S. Automobile industry as the United States recovers from the worst recession we have experienced in the past 75 years. I will provide information on the following topics pertaining to the U.S. automobile industry: 1. Externalities that may shift the supply and demand curve over the next five years. 2. Factors creating value in the industry and factors that will most likely input demand in the future. 3. Cost and supply analysis. 4. Industry trends and factors changing the industry. 5. Potential of supply and demand curve movement over the next 5 years. 6. Market Structure. 7. Porter Analysis on the industry. 8. General Motors strategic considerations using the game theory concept. Market Externalities To properly illustrate externalities that may shift the supply and demand curve in the U.S. auto market over the next five years, it is necessary to look at the recent events having affected the U.S. auto industry during the recession and the strides U.S. auto makers have made to recover from near devast... ... If U.S. auto manufacturing takes a down-turn, the U.S. economy will be negatively impacted and the demand for automobiles in the U.S will suffer. If GM or other U.S. auto manufacturers fail, there will be greater opportunity for new entrants into the U.S. automotive sales industry. For these reasons, all manufacturers including GM that sell autos in the U.S. should continue to use a cooperative game theory strategy to ensure the industry recovers. GM should continue to use its technological advantages to create innovative automobiles, but do so cautiously. GM should follow the direction of today’s environmentally conscious consumers who want less expensive, economical automobiles. GM should primarily utilize a cooperative game-theory approach in its sales and marketing strategies in order to stay in sync with the current automotive industry needs.

The Power of Music :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Power of Music When talking about human beings developing and music, music is one of the areas of organization arranging stimulli in patterns of deep meaning and influence, that stands at or very near the apex of humanness. Music is an evolutionary contributer to human beings. For example, crude tools have been found and evidence indicates that the Zinjanthropus ( an early progenitor of man) used them in Eastern Africa about 1.7 million years ago. Part of any human being's culture is music. Music has a biological basis as well as a cultural basis. Einstein stated, " The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible." In other words, without the comprehensibily of the outside world there would be no music. The full fruit on our potential for humaness can never be attained unless we grow and develop within a rich musical environment. Music is simply innate, humans cannot escape the formation of esthetic constructs. Music is a need for expression and communication. Now a days more and more thrapy clinics, be it for psychlogical or physiological purposes, are using music as therapy. As music, being a form of human behavior itself, has its own unique and powerful influence. Understanding of human behavior and specifically music therapy will profit most from a multidisciplinary approach. Music is known to benefit handicapped and ill persons by helping them change their behavior. Music Itself elicits these behavioral changes. By using music and persuation, then , the ultimate goal--to bring about desirable changes in behavior --is attempted. again psychologically speaking, in depressed older adults, music therapy has been a positive contributer. Discriptive and experimental studies have documented effects of music on quality of life, involvement with the environment, expression of feeling, awareness and responsiveness, positive associations, and socialization. Music therapy and listening is able of providing a relaxing, positive stimullis for mood change and stress reduction. Further more, it may provide palliative coping strageties for the relief of pain and anxiety. An experiment was done where music listening techniques as a part a therapy were administered in the home setting with great ease and comfort. Participants enjoyed this form of therapy. The experimant sh owed how music listening stragaties may be useful to distressed individuals. Music just doesn't have positive affects on adults only. According to research, tunes in music may help babies breath better. According to a Prevention Magazine, in a recent 3-day study researcher used baby-sized walk-mans to play lullbies into the ears of 10 premature babies in the Intensive Care Unit.

Modern Gadgets: A Boon or Bondage? Essay

Modern gadgets: really a boon for us? Brain-the biggest weapon, the mammoth power human has. Testimony of above statement is the present scenario. Just open the sea of imagination and imagine what old time was, now open your eyes and find yourself in this modern world. It is impossible to swallow this immense gap at one go, but if we ta Premium726 Words3 Pages Modern gadgets have made us slaves Since the beginning of civilization man has been making things for his use, like tools etc. As the civilization progressed, man’s effort also increased to make various gadgets. How ever, the speed of making various gadgets got increased The fastest in 20 century in European countries. The prese Premium1182 Words5 Pages see more:life without modern gadgets Modern gadgets Modern gadgets have made us complete slaves to machines. There is no work which cannot be done without the assistance of machines and there is not a single area of human activity where machines don’t have to be used. No one can deny the fact that gadgets have not only simplified our lives but also Premium389 Words2 Pages Modern gadgets: really a boon for us? Brain-the biggest weapon, the mammoth power human has. Testimony of above statement is the present scenario. Just open the sea of imagination and imagine what old time was, now open your eyes and find yourself in this modern world. It is impossible to swallow this immense gap at one go, but if we ta Premium346 Words2 Pages Modern gadgets There is no work which cannot be done without the assistance of machines and there is not a single area of human activity where machines don’t have to be used. No one can deny the fact that gadgets have not only simplified our lives but also made them more comfortable and luxurious. But on the con Premium404 Words2 Pages Man a slave to modern gadgets BlackBerry BlackBerry is a line of mobile e-mail and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) since 1999. BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming Premium646 Words3 Pages The church serving the ecumenical community through the use of information and communication technology and modern customer care principles. | The Church serving the ecumenical community through the use of information and communication technology and modern customer care principles | | by Clifford Stanley Ferguson MBA (Management) SRU (Recognition for Prior Learning); BTH (Theology) UNISA BCS (Computer Science) SRU (Recognition Premium89719 Words359 Pages Man – a slave of gadgets There was a time when man used to be self-dependent for all activities of his daily living. A pair of arms and legs used to be his assistants to perform his errands. 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As to the public, these companies have banished all our gold and silver medi Premium5206 Words21 Pages Gadgets TABLE OF CONTENT |NO |TITLE |PAGE | | |Abstract | Premium2022 Words9 Pages Effect of electronic gadgets to students studying habits ELECTRONIC GADGET TO STUDENTS STUDYING HABITS Introduction In the year where electronic gadgets are not yet invented like computers, students are not yet engage in activities using technologies. Students rely on books and visit library facilities to study, read their notes and review their scho Premium838 Words4 Pages Elements in the modern world ELEMENTS IN THE MODERN WORLD This article is about the discovery of rare-earth elements and their important use in today’s modern world. These elements were first discovered in Ytterby, a village close to Stockholm. In 1787, Carl Arrhenius, a geologist, found a heavy black rock and decided to Premium564 Words3 Pages Effects of electronic gadgets to students studying habits Effects of electronic gadgets 1 EFFECTS OF ELECTRONIC GADGETS TO STUDENTS STUDYING HABITS Effects of electronic gadgets to students studying habits Jea Bianca L. Conge Pateros Catholic School Gadgets are destruction 2 Abstract Almost all of the students especially high schoo Premium1197 Words5 Pages Gadgets There is no longer any argument that the universally ubiquitous cell phone has become as indispensible to our daily lives as clothes and pizza. Indeed, the cellhas virtually acquired the dimensions of an extra limb, impossible to discard even if one wanted to. Isn’t technology wonderful? Well, not Premium1973 Words8 Pages Modern technology Modern Technology Improves People’s Lives We are living in a decade that alters every minute. People’s lives nowadays have changed so much because of the advance of modern technology on which people have a lot of different perspectives. Some people believe that modern technology has brought us Premium5456 Words22 Pages Gadgets Disadvantages of Ipad in Education Although the iPad has many advantages in the classroom, it also has disadvantages. The following disadvantages were noted by students and education professionals alike. * While Apple claims that it’s price tag of $499 to $799 is affordable and modest, to t Premium4332 Words18 Pages Changes in the working patters in the modern world Changes in the working patterns in the modern world In recent years, there have been tremendous changes in working patterns. The extensive use of modern technology due to increased availability and affordability of computers and fax machines has allowed for greater flexibility in people’s work Premium351 Words2 Pages Modern living has made the people weak Modern living has made people of India weak, unhealthy and disease prone†¦Modern living means adopting the western culture, smoking, drinking, eating pizzas and burgers, etc.Also working at night times in a BPO or a Call Centre is now a days modern living†¦..But this makes u obese and also mentall Premium2025 Words9 Pages Eu yan sang- marketing to modern asian consumer ational University of Singapore Business School Master of Business Administration Marketing Management (BMA 5009) Group Final Project: Marketing Eu Yan Sang to the Young, Modern Singapore Consumer 8 November 2010 TABLE OF CO TE TS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Transcript of A Moonlight Fable by H.G. Wells Essay

A Moonlight Fable H.G.Wells Background Beginning Middle Ending Ending Cont. Middle Cont. Symbols H.G. Wells was an English author in the science fiction genre. He is known as the â€Å"Father of Science Fiction.† He began studying in biology and soon wrote novels on the Darwinian theory. Wells is known for his haunting and unpredictable stories. A mother sews a suit for her son and he loves it so much he wants to wear it all the time. His mother insists that he keeps it safely locked away until a special day. He adored it so much that he dreamt about it, but would only wear it once a week. His mother let him wear the suit as long as the buttons were covered in tissue so they wouldn’t tarnish.The boy was attentive to the buttons and saw them getting duller, which caused him anxiety. On night, when the moonlight shined through the window, the boy finds the urge to put the suit on. He tears all of the tissues and protective items off. He hurries out of his house and into his mother’s garden in the suit. He runs carelessly through the garden letting the thorns rip the jacket. He then runs into the duck pond and swims around. After swimming in the pond, he sees a moth and lets it fly around his head. He chases it and falls into a pit without noticing. The next morning, he is found dead at the bottom of the pit. Moonlight-Opportunity to change When the moonlight the story, the man begins to venture into wearing his suit The moonlight in the garden drives him to run through the thorns Buttons-Hopes and happiness Throughout the story, his happiness is suppressed and hidden like the buttons When he takes of the tissue, he is liberated and can finally be happy Garden- freedom In the garden, the boy is happiest and can be free When he dies in the lake, he is smiling showing that he was finally free and happy Symbols Cont. Setting & Characters Characters: the young boy and his mom Setting: In their home and church, not time is specified, most significant occurrences are during the night Important Quotations â€Å"It seemed to him the moonlight was not common moonlight, nor the night a common night, and for a while he lay quite drowsily with this odd persuasion in his mind.† â€Å"He did not care, for he knew it was all part of the wearing for which he had longed.† â€Å"‘Do you think my clothes are beautiful, dear moth? As  beautiful as your scales and all this silver vesture of the earth and sky?'† A Moonlight Fable By AYESHANUML90 | May 2013 Page 1 of 2 Summary and analysis of A Moonlight Fable by HGWells? Literature and Language Questions Answers.com > Wiki Answers > Categories > Literature & Language * Coke KahaniA story of our lives, happiness & togetherness, on your TV Screens.www.facebook.com/cocacola * FablesFind, Create, Share Infos With Attrakt Custom Searchwww.attrakt.com/ Ads Best Answer In this short story by H.G. Wells, a young man loves a suit that his mother sews for him. He loves this suit so much, he wants to wear it all the time. His mother however insists he keep the suit safely packed away until his wedding day. It was green and gold and woven so that I cannot describe how delicate and fine it was, and there was a tie of orange fluffiness that tied up under his chin. And the buttons in their newness shone like stars. He was proud and pleased by his suit beyond measure, and stood before the long looking-glass when first he put it on, so astonished and delighted with it that he could hardly turn himself away. The boy loved his suit so much that he dreamt about it. He would often take the suit out of it’s storage and admire it. His mother allowed him to wear the suit on Sundays to church, but with tissue covering the buttons so they wouldn’t tarnish and tacked on protective guards on the elbows and cuffs so they wouldn’t tear. Whenever the boy would peek at the buttons under the tissue wrap, he would notice they were becoming duller and duller, and this would cause him anxiety. One night he sees the moonlight shining into his bedroom and he gets out of bed with an urge to put the suit on. He makes up his mind to tear off the protective tissue and guards off the suit. Thought joined on to thought like things that whisper warmly in the shadows. Then he sat up in his little bed suddenly, very alert, with his heart beating very fast and a quiver in his body from top to toe. He had made up his mind. He knew now that he was going to wear his suit as it should be†¦

Carl Sandburg Biography Essay

Carl Sandburg Biography Essay Carl Sandburg was unique compare to many other poets. All of the poems that he wrote were short and straight to the point. You would not find any poems that he had written that are over a page, yet still; his poems are very easy to understand. Sandburg lived through a lot of historic events, so all of his poems were about those historic events. As you know, history isnt always exciting or easy to learn. Yet, Sandburg was able to write about those times in a way that an average high school student can understand, unlike other poets like Emily Dickinson or Edgar Allen Poe. Carl Sandburg should be included in an anthology of American poetry because of his writing technique and experience. Sandburg used a lot of the generalization methods to make his poems simpler to understand. Even though we know that sometimes-generalizing things are not good, Sandburg did a great job of it and was still able to write out everything he wanted to. Like I said, Carl Sandburg lived through some of the most famous historic events in the United States of all time. He had seen events like World War I, the roaring 1920s, the Depression, World War II, the New Deal, and the Cold War. The anthology of American poetry needs more poets with his kind of experience. Ill bet you that he never had trouble trying to figure out what to write about. The poem I chose by Carl Sandburg was a poem called JAWS. Its a poem about World War I, and it talks about how the countries that were involved in the war had a chance to prevent war, but they ignored it. This poem should be included as an example of the poets work because its saying what we think and feel. When we learn about how World War I was started, we would be thinking dont these countries realize what theyre getting themselves into and dont they have consciences. The poem JAWS talks about all these things so we can relate to it. Another reason why I think this poem should be included as an example of the poets work is because its short and straight to the point. If you were to give a high school student a choice of either reading a page long poem or a paragraph long poem, most chances are that student will pick the paragraph long one. And just because the poem JAWS is short doesnt mean its not well written or incomplete with information. It has enough information for that certain type of poem and probably even an elementary student can understand it. This poem can be included in the canon because its about history and history is being taught on for all generations. It also should be included in the canon because not many poems in the canon are as short yet still contains so much information.

Aids and it is obstacle to African development Essay - 1

Aids and it is obstacle to African development - Essay Example It can be noted that the effects of HIV/AIDS pandemic have a direct bearing on the development of the African countries. As such, this essay seeks to critically discuss the obstacles caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic to African development by analysing the situation in South Africa, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone. The paper seeks to outline the direct effects of HIV/AIDS on development in these three countries as well as the measures that have been put by the respective governments to deal with the situation. Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) is contracted through birth, sex, sharing sharp objects such as a razor blade and over time the virus will spread over the body and weaken its cells. The weakening of cells causes AIDS- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome which leads to illness and eventually death from related diseases such as tuberculosis or pneumonia and many others (Greyling, 2). HIV/AIDS is one of the most difficult catastrophes to deal with during the contemporary period given that a cure for this deadly pandemic is not yet available and may not be near in sight for quite some time hence the only option that is available at the moment is to strengthen the mechanisms to prevent, reduce the spread and minimise the impact of HIV/AIDS (Benjamin & Barry, 28). In the Sub Saharan Africa in particular, death rates have continued to rise because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic causing life expectancy to fall from an average of 50 years in 1990 to 46 years in 2002 (ADI, 14). AIDS related deaths were 2.2 million in Africa in 2001 and there were more than 30 million infected people. Both Ethiopia and Sierra Leone also have high HIV infection rates according to the report. In the same vein, South Africa is one of the countries with highest HIV infections in the Sub Sahara region regardless of its strong economic performance.

Individual Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Individual Paper - Essay Example s legislation and decline of social inequalities, more and more people are migrating to different places and opting for jobs at various levels depending upon their education and caliber. Vast numbers of mixed populations from different communities, groups, races, ethnicity and nationalities can be seen in large corporate organizations and in multinational organizations. News regarding law suits against some of the large corporations has spanned news papers, magazines and the websites, largely due to the huge settlements involved. For example, the largest known settlement for a racial discrimination lawsuit was paid by Coca-Cola in 1999. The company was sued by African-American former and current employees for racial discrimination under the US Civil Rights Act. The charges included unequal wages for African-Americans compared to the Whites; very few positions at top given to African-Americans; and certain policies that inhibited African-Americans from trying for promotions (Winter). Coca Cola had to face such charges due to the inappropriate diversity management policies and practices. In addition to the large sum, these charges resulted in reputational loss, which can further impact their competitiveness and sustainability in the market. Searches for current issues in management practice and organizations were conducted on the web, with maximum results obtained in the field of diversity management. A variety of issues were found, most of which included unequal opportunities at workplaces causing employees to revolt against management. Some of these include racial discrimination (as in the case of Coca Cola); minimal opportunities for women at top positions (Winter); unequal pay for women and men; and issues related to sexual harassment. Hence, a study of management policies at different corporations was conducted in order to learn how they prevented and handled issues related to diversity management. In addition, reasons for diversity management

Intellectual property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Intellectual property - Essay Example Every corporation depends on its intellectual property for proper functioning. Intellectual property often include valuable knowledge on the manner in which an organisation conducts its business, make decisions, manufacture its products or knowledge about the customers of the firm among others. Can you imagine how it would be if your competitors in the make had free access to crucial information on how you do your business, which is the source of your competitive advantage? This paper explores how the Coca-Cola Company has managed its intellectual property in the past and also gives recommendations for improvement. The Coca-Cola Company Ltd. is an American transnational company that manufactures and distributes non-alcoholic beverages all over the world. The company has maintained full control of its beverage concentrates and syrup for many years. The corporation is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company’s brand name is synonymous with its popular product-Coca-Cola, invented by John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist in the year 1886. The company’s beverage formula as well as the Coca-Cola brand was purchased in 1889 by Asa Candler, who proceeded to register the company in 1892. On top of the popular Coca-Cola brand, the company now offers more than five hundred brands in the global market. The company runs a distribution system where it focuses on the production of syrup concentrate, which it distributes to authorized bottlers across the world. The company owns the trademark under which the bottlers operate and retains full control of the production process. As a worldwide producer and distributer of non-alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, the Coca-Cola Company possesses numerous resources that make it possible to execute its production process through to distribution to the final consumers. The corporation owns both tangible and intangible assets, which facilitates its production process and distribution to the final

China Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8250 words

China - Dissertation Example The existing business firms also face certain legal, financial, socio economic, political, and technological obstacles due to increased globalization. Despite of these drawbacks Globalization has helped the developing countries of the world through increased opportunities of foreign investments and opening the domestic markets to the global environment. The fourth largest country of the world after USA, Russia, and Canada with a population of 1.3 billion is China in the year 2010. By the year 2015 the population of the country has been expected to reach a value of 1.375 billion on an approximate basis. The unemployment rate of the country has also been in a trend of decreasing with increasing participation of the country in the international market. The unemployment rate decreased from 4.65 percent in the year 2009 to 4.1 percent in the year 2010 with the expected value for 2011 to further decrease to a value of 4 percent and also expected to remain at that level till the year 2015 a s per the predictions of the economists of the country. The country has boundaries with 34 other countries of the continent. Russia, India, Pakistan, and six central Asian countries are the close neighboring countries. China remains a leading civilization outstanding the other countries in Arts, Science, culture etc for the recent years. The single party controlled political state of China with a central planned system of administration experienced a market-oriented approach of development after 1978 and since then output and the pace of the country’s development quadrupled. The economy of the People’s Republic of China has been expanding rapidly making the economy of the country a huge one. There has been a miraculous growth of the country’s economy for over the last 30 years with an average growth of above 8 percent of the gross domestic product of the country each year. Participation of the country in the international organizations of the world drastically i mproved the living standards of the countrymen however many families are still below the standards with the increasing reach of the country to the global market. During this period of 8 percent growth of the country’s GDP the economy of the country experienced more than ten times growth. In the year 2007 the value of the total Gross Domestic Product of the country reached a level of about 3.42 trillion in US dollars. China has been famous in the international community with the increasing contribution in the international trade and with the phenomenal economic growth of the country. In the year, 2010 China has been the largest exporter in the world trade. The double-digit growth rate of the economy in the last 10 years has made it the second largest in terms of the Gross Domestic Product of the country just after the United States of America. The country went ahead of Japan in the year 2001 with its economic development. The economic downturn of 2009 for the first time reduce d the demand for the country’s exports in many years but the country again hold back the economy rebounding quickly with a GDP growth rate of 10% in 2010 exceeding all countries. (The world fact book, 2010; Huang, 2002; The Chinese economy, n.d) Research Hypothesis The economic growth of the country of China has been mainly because of the liberalization of the countr

Inter-Organizational Relationships Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Inter-Organizational Relationships - Assignment Example This proposed dissertation explores the feasible ways by which organizations with the interlocking relationships of the global economy can best respond to the challenges posed by increased business competition and complexity. It will focus on human resource management, which has assumed a new dimension because of the presence of a third party organization that can exercise control over employees of another firm. The paper will propose that in the multi-employer environment of business globalization, the best-fit or best practice objectives of HRM can be achieved by incorporating the inherent advantages of franchising in a company's HR strategies, especially in the matter of pay and reward. The present-day challenge of human resource development is to design HR practices that fit with the new business requirements or, in the words of Mohmann & Lawler (1999), to formulate practices that fit into a "dynamic, unpredictable corporation with a myriad of approaches to getting the work done." In this concern, the franchising sector provides a microcosm of the difficulties being encountered by the human resource department in working out innovative assessment systems that will demonstrate their influence over the company's bottom lines, which are profitability and shareholder value (Becker, et al., 2001). The reason is that franchise holders, especially those engaged in the sale and servicing of cars, have as many third-party partners as the existing number of automotive manufacturers who all demand a voice in deciding the franchisee's HRM practices (Swart, et al., 2002). Franchising in effect typifies the inter-organizational dependency involving human resource management and the attendant dilemma on how the HR department of a franchisee firm can implement a strategic pay-and-reward system that promotes its long-term interest without alienating its network partners. Curran & Stanworth (1983) define franchising as "a business form essentially consisting of an organization with a market-tested product or service maintaining a contractual relationship with another organization to sell the brand." In general, franchisees are self-financed and independently owned and managed small firms operating under the franchiser's brand name to produce or market goods or services according to a format specified by the franchiser. Because of the subsequent growth of this sector, the franchising outlet was later redefined as "a legally separate business entity with its own capital base, set of employees, organizational structure and specific customer relations (Stanworth & Curran, 2003)," which indicate that franchisees have become analytically independent of their franchisers. On franchising as growth sector, Floyd & Fenwick (2003) note that this business sector now accounts for over one-third of retail sales in the US and 29 percent of those in UK, thus claiming a huge proportion of the workforce of either country. The

Medieval Diary Essay Example for Free

Medieval Diary Essay Tomorrow is the day I start out on my journey to King Richard’s court. I will not be bringing much in my wagon, as I only have one horse and it cannot carry a significant amount of weight over that far of a distance. Perhaps I will bring some old wine bottles or blunt daggers for my performance in front of the King, as well as a few scrolls of my most favored jokes and poems. Since this will be my first time appearing before the King, I am quite nervous and wish to make him laugh as much as possible. Not only are the King and his court going to be witness to my act, but a large audience as well. When I was summoned, I was told that this was going to be an ornate fayre. Even though I have always received applause by the Dukes and other Lords I have performed for thus far, I hear that King Richard have proven himself to be quite fierce and ferocious, especially in battle; and I only hope that this does not carry over to his sternness in court next week. I am planning on returning home right after the King’s festivities, as I have greatly missed this humble house by the river. Canterbury is always so pleasant this time of year, and traveling around the country for the entire summer and winter of 1196 was extremely exhausting. To be honest, the thought of a long trek ahead leaves me a bit weary; but since this is the first time the King of England has personally requested the services of me, Henry Walter the Jester, I absolutely could not refuse. 4 April 1197 It is noontime right now, and I am resting after a few hours of travel. I did not feel the need to set out too early, as I have given myself enough travel time so that my horse and I may travel at a moderate pace. This morning was a great treat, as I was visited by Rowan the baker, who gave me half a dozen of his freshest loaves of bread, two large sacks of grain for my horse, a sack of oats, and two of his famous meat pies. He had gotten word that I will be appearing before the King and offered me all of this food as a congratulatory gift. Together, with the wheels of cheese, salted pork slabs, and jugs of ale I have already packed, this will surely be enough rations to last me to the King’s fayre and back; and of course, there are several villages I may stop at along the way. I probably loaded up one too many jugs of ale, but it is the surest thing that will keep me in high spirits during my journey. 5 April 1197 Today, I came across a minstrel named Ulric while resting my horse. He is also headed towards King Richard’s fayre, so we have decided to travel together. I suppose one could say it is safer to travel with a companion, but he is quite an interesting character and makes the trip not so monotonous. He comes from York and travels around the same way as I do, earning wages and receiving ample food and shelter from the nobles for which we perform. We both have similar lives and we are both lucky enough to be experienced enough in our professions as wandering performers to make a sizeable income. He, too, was summoned by the King. After we set up camp for the night, Ulric showed me some of the songs he could play on his lute, along with some of the poems he would recite with his music. I must say, he is a very talented musician. I offered to lend him some of the poetry I have brought; but after I showed him my poetry scrolls, he pointed out that they are much too comical to be paired with the performance he had planned for the King. He prefers more artistic pieces of literature based upon love. Perhaps I have spent too much time as a single man to particularly care about love, but I would rather make jokes about the subject and exercise my unique right of having the complete freedom to say anything I wish, mocking anything I choose. 6 April 1197 Ulric and I had to make a quick stop at a village today. During our lunch break, I was searching in my wagon for a jug of ale when I accidentally knocked my jester hat into a muddy puddle; so we had to make haste and find a well. Luckily while I was laundering my hat, Ulric somehow managed to find a box holding a worn chess board with its pieces intact. We spent nearly two hours tonight playing chess, trying to see who had the superior mind. To anyone who mistakes jesters for being uneducated and foolish, I ask them to come and witness a show of my intellect as it is displayed during this game! It does get tiring when ladies and lords all over England assume that I am nothing more than a dunce, simply because of the way I make a living. Could a fool make up witty jokes and stories? I think not. People are so quick to forget that humor is one of the greatest signs of intelligence. 7 April 1197 As I write tonight, I am huddled by the fire. The night air has been so frigid, that I have developed a sore throat. If my voice is too hoarse, then I will not be able to speak will proper volume or unleash my signature robust laugh in the King’s court. I plan to speak very quietly and sparingly until my performance, and eat lots of hot pottage. Ulric may become bored with the lack of conversation, but at least now we have chess. There is no need for conversation when there is chess. During these hours of quiet, I have come to realize how much I truly love my humble home in Canterbury by the river. It is no grand castle, but my village is welcoming and nurturing, and makes me feel as if I have a great extended family. All of their faces greet me whenever I come back from a long journey of being a jester in courts all over England, and it is comforting to know that they will all greet me again after I return from this fayre. 8 April 1197 I am so tired, I can hardly write in this diary even though it is only noon. I did promise myself I would document every step of my first performance before a King, however, so I cannot go without writing for the day. Ulric and I are hoping to arrive at the palace by nightfall and be able to sleep in comfortable quarters rather than the backs of our cramped wagons. As much as I would like to celebrate the end of our journey by finishing off the last two jugs of ale, I plan on retiring early tonight. My throat is feeling much better and my normal voice has returned, so I refuse to do anything to sabotage my recovery. Our horses are nearly done feeding, so I must get ready to travel the last bit of our trek if we are to arrive tonight. 9 April 1197 After a good night’s rest in a comfortable bed, I feel refreshed and ready to be seen by King Richard the Lionheart. I have decided to perform an exaggerated victory of a battle between two lions as a pun on his nickname. As a jester, after all, nobody is off-limits in terms of mockery—not even the King himself. If I am to gain his favor and make him laugh, I might as well use all of my tricks and wit to do so. I must say, this is the grandest of all fayres I have witnessed. Ulric has been charming the court all afternoon with his lute playing and poetry, there are lines of trumpeters, archery tournaments, and hoards of people enjoying the festivities. I cannot wait until after the King’s royal feast, when it will be my turn to be granted an audience. Although my nerves are a bit on edge, I feel confident. My new red outfit is freshly pressed, the bells on my hat are extra shiny, my marotte is in hand, and I am positive that I have enough energy to evoke laughter from all people of the court. I am certain that today’s performance will be the greatest I have given, and that I will return to Canterbury with only positive stories to tell.

Social Networking Relationships

Social Networking Relationships Social Networking Relation 1.0 Introduction â€Å"Social networking is really recommendation between people about the things that they are interested in and they like†¦ this has stimulated people’s attention in terms of the importance of public relation. The people who are going on these sites didn’t want to be monetised, they didn’t want to be advertised to, so again editorial communication is so powerful, they would rather be communities that can exchange views that are untarnished.† Sir Martin Sorrell Social media is a global phenomenon in which old demographics no longer apply. Conversations happen at the click of a button. New communities are born every day and brands need to be involved; in the first instance to listen, and then to participate. Social media is booming. Every day new statistics, white papers and articles appear discussing its continued growth. Independent market analyst Datamonitor (2008) has revealed how quickly the number of people participating in online social networking is growing: the United Kingdom currently leads Europe, in terms of membership, and is expected to reach 27 million users a threefold increase on todays figures by 2012 (www.datamonitor.com). â€Å"Social networking sites are the reality television of the Internet,† said Jon Gibs (Senior Director of Media, Nielsen//NetRatings). â€Å"The content is relatively inexpensive for publishers to produce, and social networking is not a fad that will disappear. If anything, it will become more ingrained in mainstream sites, just as reality TV programming has become ubiquitous in network programming,† Gibs continued (www.acnielsen.com). â€Å"However, again like reality programming, the concept of ‘reality’ alone, or in this case ‘social networking,’ is not enough. In this competitive marketplace, sites also have to provide consumers with distinct content they can identify with.† A new survey reveals that almost 50 percent of attorneys are members of online social networks and over 40 percent of attorneys believe professional networking has the potential to change the business and practice of law over the next five years. â€Å"Online professional networking is a growing area of importance in the legal industry,† said Ralph Calistri, Chief Executive Officer of Martindale Hubbell and senior vice president of Global Client Development at LexisNexis. â€Å"As we develop a global network for the legal community through Martindale-Hubbell, objective research such as this survey by Leader Networks serves as an important way for us to listen to clients and guide our efforts.† Table: United States: Top 10 Social Networking Sites (March 2008) Source: AC Nielsen The Internet has broadened the area of word of mouth influences from interpersonal communication among acquaintances to online communication to general public (e.g. posting reviews). Harrison-Walker (2001) defined word of mouth as â€Å"informal person-to-person communication between a perceived non-commercial communicator and a receiver regarding a brand, a product, an organization, or a service.† Marketing practitioners try to encourage such â€Å"informal† communication in a positive manner, and several approaches such as â€Å"viral marketing† (Wilson 2000) and â€Å"buzz marketing† (Rosen 2000) have been developed. Facebook was created in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University. According to Zuckerberg, â€Å"The idea for the website was motivated by a social need at Harvard to be able to identify people in other residential houses† (Moyle, 2004). Today Facebook has more than 7.5 million registered members at over 2,000 U.S. colleges and is the seventh-most-popular site on the entire Web with respect to total page views (Cassidy, 2006). Social networking sites are online spaces that allow individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or maintain connections with others. These sites can be oriented towards work-related contexts (e.g. LinkedIn.com), romantic relationship initiation, or connecting those with shared interests such as music or politics (e.g. MySpace.com). Users may use the sites’ communication tools to interact with those they know from offline contexts, such as school, or they may use the sites to meet new people. The way in which these sites allow for new connections to be made between individuals has resulted in proposed legislation which would bar libraries and schools to block minors’ access to social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook (McCullagh, 2006). MySpace in particular has generated public concern due to its large member base 78 million registered accounts according to one source (Wright, 2006) many of whom are teenagers. There is little academic work examining online social networks. A 2005 survey of academic community members found that 90% of the undergraduates participated in a social network community, primarily Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster, and that many of them disclosed personal information such as email address (Stutzman, 2006). In her ethnographic work examining self-presentation and social connections among Friendster users, boyd (2004) notes that users have a variety of motivations for using the site, including connecting with old friends, meeting new acquaintances, dating, and furthering professional networks. In one of the few pieces to examine this new breed of online fora, Donath and boyd (2004) point out that one of the chief hallmarks of these sites is that links between individuals are mutual, public, unnuanced and decontextualized. In the sites that Donath and boyd examine, public displays of connections serve to warrant, or signal the reliability of, one’s identity claims. Social networking sites are distinguished from the first wave of virtual community sites in that they allow for both maintenance of existing social ties and formation of new connections. A hallmark of the early research on computer-mediated communication and virtual communities in particular is the assumption that individuals using these systems would be connecting with those outside their pre-existing social group or location, liberating individuals to form communities around shared interests, as opposed to shared geography (Wellman et al., 1996). However, some online community researchers have explored how online communities present opportunities for people in a common offline community to extend their interaction. Such a theme is articulated by Wellman et al. (1996), who note that â€Å"Although CSSNs [computer supported social networks] do transcend time and space, not all ties are either totally on-line or off-line. Much on-line contact is between people who see each other in person and live locally† (p.222). 1.1 Research Question This research studies the importance of social networking sites and aims to identify how motivations for using social networking sites influence the degree of interaction and the generation of word-of-mouth. Next, in order to study use patterns of social networking sites between users in United Kingdom and to explore the relationship between the degree of interaction and the generation of word-of-mouth, the following questions are generated. Why / how often do people use social networking sites? Are social networking sites users generating word-of-mouth? If so, what makes users generate word-of-mouth? Do the motivations of using social networking sites influence on the degree of interaction or on the generation of word-of-mouth? H1 Exploring the relationship between the purpose of using social networking sites and the degree of users’ interaction H2 Exploring the relationship between the purpose of using social networking sites and the generation of word-of-mouth H3 Exploring the relationship between the degree of users’ interaction and the generation of word-of-mouth in social networking sites Main Research Question: How effective are motivations for using social networking sites influencing degree of interaction and word of mouth in United Kingdom? At the same time, the growing importance of word-of-mouth on social networking sites is understood and discussed by both marketing practitioners and academics, and online word-of-mouth communication is considered as a new marketing tool (Kozinets, 1999; Croteau, 2006; Peattie, 2007; McKinsey Quarterly, 2007). Due to the similar characteristics between social networking sites and word-of-mouth communication, namely, relationship and interaction among people, a number of researchers tried to find out the connection between online communities and word-of-mouth, then, came up with various ways to measure word-of-mouth in the virtual world (Kozinets, 2002; Godes et al, 2005; Dwyer, 2007). In addition, after their introduction, social networking sites brought in a new organisational framework for online communities. According to Boyd and Ellison (2008), early online communities were constructed as ‘communities of interest’, but social networking sites these days are constructed as personal. In other words, social networking sites are centred around people rather than topics or ‘topical hierarchies’. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 General Overview The study of personal influence and the idea that there are certain people who are especially influential over others has fascinated researchers, practitioners, and the general public for more than 60 years. Variously named in academic and popular circles, these people have been called opinion leaders (Katz Lazarsfeld, 1955), early adopters (Rogers, 1962/2003), influential (Weimann, 1994), and Influential Americans ® (Keller Berry, 2003), while the process of personal influence has been linked to, or synonymous with, various phenomena such as compliance gaining (strategic attempts to seek compliance from others in interpersonal settings; Wilson, 2002), the diffusion of innovations (how ideas spread in a culture; Rogers, 1962/2003), buzz (contagious word-of-mouth commentary about products, services, brands, and ideas; Walker, 2004), and tipping points (the point at which an idea, behavior, or product â€Å"tips,† crossing a threshold from being a minor phenomenon to a wild epidemic; Gladwell, 2000). Numerous organizations, for-profit and not-for-profit, in an assortment of industries (consumer products, fashion, health care, law, higher education, etc.) have sought to capitalize on a renewed awareness and interest in the influential role that informal conversation and relational networks play internally to an organization (e.g., in terms of sharing knowledge within and across organizational units; Cross Parker, 2004; May Zorn, 2002) and especially to external audiences (e.g., in the case of viral and buzz marketing). Thus, although the power of stimulating word-of-mouth and relational networks has been known for some time (Arndt, 1967; Whyte, 1954), a more recent phenomenon is when certain firms seek to consciously engineer buzz in relational networks (Balter Butman, 2005; Dye, 2000; Godin, 2001; Ozcan, 2004; Rosen, 2000;Walker, 2004). For example, some firms (such as Big Fat Inc.) pay people to go out and talk up a brand, either in face-toface or online settings, where the fact that they are employed by a marketing agency is not disclosed (a form of â€Å"undercover† marketing). Other firms (such as BzzAgent, Inc.) actively recruit volunteers who willingly participate in a campaign by going out and buzzing the product or service (oftentimes in exchange for points that can be redeemed for prizes or the knowledge that they are the first among their peers to have access to a new product) and then report back to the buzz marketing company their own and others’ feedback about the product (the company then compiles and analyzes these various reports from the field and presents them to the client). Still others (e.g., Proctor Gamble’s Tremor program) form an extensive network of carefully selected teenagers to create buzz among peers for their clients’ brands and products (Wells, 2004). These distinct kinds of organizational marketing practices have raised a number of ethical concerns, some more than others. In addition to whether or not the institutional identity of the agent is disclosed, whether or not the person buzzing the brand is doing so for some form of compensation, and whether or not agents involve minors younger than age 13 (Wells, 2004), a significant concern is that through buzz marketing marketers are better able to infiltrate everyday conversations and relationships (Walker, 2004), which might be regarded as further instantiation of corporate colonization of the lifeworld (Deetz, 1992). With traditional forms of marketing and advertising efforts, consumer audiences can â€Å"tune out† or â€Å"turn off† the advertising. However, what happens when the marketing is your friend or family member, in online and offline conversations? Is society increasingly falling prey to the â€Å"commercialization of chit-chat?†(Walker, 2004). Although these concerns are not new— for example, marketing to known others has been well-documented and critiqued in terms of Tupperware parties (Frenzen Davis, 1990; Taylor, 1978) and multilevel marketing companies (Biggart, 1989; Carl, 2004; Fitzpatrick Reynolds, 1997)—the fact that increasing numbers of well-known, mainstream organizations seek to amplify buzz in social networks has elevated the concern (Vranica, 2005). 2.2 Word of mouth Word-of-mouth has grown in popularity over the past several years as a marketing and research medium (BzzAgent, 2005). Marketers seeking to find new methods for reaching customers and communicating with them have wondered if word-of-mouth could provide a potential solution to the dwindling return of traditional marketing platforms. Since the beginning of organized marketing programs, marketers viewed word-of-mouth as an incredibly valuable, yet uncontrollable, result of effective marketing practices. Many marketers have implemented plans to fool word of mouth into occurring, seeding the marketplace with shills (paid actors talking up products and services). They found the results effective but extremely risky, since consumers didn’t like being deceived. In recent years, a number of companies have formed, seeking to harness the power of authentic word of mouth (BzzAgent, 2005). By organizing real consumers, they train them to share their honest opinions more effectively. Defining word of mouth can be tricky, especially in light of the Internet and recent emergence of buzz marketing firms. According to Buttle’s (1998) review of marketing research, Arndt (1967) discussed word of mouth as face-to-face communication about a brand, product, or service between people who are perceived as not having connections to a commercial entity. Bone’s (1992) definition is similar though she noted that word of mouth could be a group phenomenon: â€Å"An exchange of comments, thoughts, and ideas among two or more individuals in which none of the individuals represent a marketing source† (p. 579). Stern (1994) distinguished word of mouth from advertising in that word of mouth is face-to-face, interactive, ephemeral, spontaneous, and does not include such features as clever turns of phrases or jingles. Buttle (1998), however, found these definitions unsatisfactory because (a) Word of mouth can include talk about an organization (in addition to a brand, product, or service), (b) it can be electronically mediated (such as cell phone, chat rooms, e-mail, Web sites, â€Å"tell-a-friend† hyperlinks, etc.), and (c) more and more companies may offer incentives or rewards for consumers to spread word of mouth or make referrals (e.g., to refer friends and family members for a company’s services). Buttle concluded that currently the only distinguishing feature of word of mouth may be that â€Å"word of mouth is uttered by sources that are assumed by receivers to be independent of corporate influence† (p. 243). In contrast to traditional word of mouth marketing research, research on buzz marketing is still in its infancy. Verlegh, Verkerk, Tuk, and Smidts (2004) mentioned, but did not study, buzz marketers in their experimental research on whether or not financial incentives used when stimulating customer referrals alter the meaning of the situation such that consumers would perceive the word of mouth episode to be â€Å"persuasive† rather than just friendly, peer advice. Thomas (2004) represented an early conceptual piece on buzz marketing where it was defined as the â€Å"amplification of initial marketing efforts by third parties through their passive or active influence† (p. 64). An early empirical study that applied insights from existing word of mouth and social network research from a firm’s perspective was conducted by Godes and Mayzlin (2004). Abundant research demonstrates that word of mouth (WOM) is one of the most influential channels of communication in the marketplace. The reasons for WOMs power are evident: word of mouth is seen as more credible than marketer initiated communications because it is perceived as having passed through the unbiased filter of people like me. At a time of declining trust in institutions, research shows that its influence is growing stronger. In a recent national survey (Harris Interactive, 2006a), U.S. consumers were asked which information sources they find useful when deciding which products to buy in four common product categories. WOM and recommendations from friends/family/people at work/school were by far the most influential sources for fast food, cold medicine, and breakfast cereal. For personal computers, a highly technical category, we saw a strong reliance on expert advice in the form of product reviews and websites, followed by WOM as the next most useful. The consumer marketplace in which any enterprise operates is a complex, dynamic system. A study found that disinterested, ill-prepared and unwelcoming salespeople lead to more lost business and bad word-of-mouth than any other management challenge in retailing. There are a variety of different triggers for having a bad shopping experience, including things like parking or how well the store is organized. Some of those things retailers can do something about and some of them they cant. But frankly, a very important part of the retail experience is the interaction with the sales associate, says Wharton marketing professor Stephen J. Hoch, director of the Baker Initiative. In a telephone survey of 1,000 shoppers who were asked about their most recent retail experience, 33% reported they had been unable to find a salesperson to help them. Many of these shoppers were so annoyed by this one problem that they said they would not return to the store. According to the Wharton analysis, sales associates who are missing in action cost American retailers six percent of their customers. Add to that the 25% of consumers reporting they were ignored outright by sales associates no greeting, no smile, not even eye contact (Arndt, 1967; Aaker et al, 1996; Reingen and Kernan, 1986). This lack of engagement turned off three percent of customers to the point where they said they would permanently stay way from the store in which they encountered this behaviour. Hoch remains puzzled by sales associates who retreat from potential customers. You would think that if these sales associates are spending the whole day interacting with people, they would be a lot happier in their own life if they were friendly. Instead, they pull into their shell (Brown and Reingen, 1987). Whats wrong with saying, Hi, how are you doing?' According to Paula Courtney, president of the Verde Group, survey respondents were not frustrated by sales associates who seemed overworked or outmanned by shoppers. Its the conscious ignoring that irritates them, she says. Customers would walk into a store and the store representative would see them and continue to put items on the shelf or watch the cash register or do administrative work absolutely ignoring the fact that an actual person was in the store (Cox, 1963, cited in Brown at el, 2007). In the above example, the degree of interaction was bad with consumers at a particular retail outlet. This provided bad word of mouth and hampered long term sustainability for the retailer. In other words, this forms the central part of the dissertation that degree of interaction and word of mouth are slightly interrelated. 2.3 Motives of Social networking British anthropologist Robin Dunbar estimates that humans can only maintain stable relationships with around 150 people. That number refers to significant relationships like those in a family or tribe and other purposeful groups. Yet in todays over-informed digital business world, where bloated data moves at the speed of thought, its not who you know that really counts, but who knows you (Kozinets, 1999; Boyd and Ellison, 2008). Professional online social networking tools are invaluable in creating personal brand equity and raising awareness about who you are, especially beyond your 150 closest friends (BBC News, 2005). Online social networking software enables you to find quality people who may not be familiar with you, or with your organization, and creates an opportunity to connect with them and sell them on your opportunities (Boyd and Ellison, 2008). They may be unfamiliar with your company or business, or may not have even been looking for something. Because you already know someone who knows them, you can feel more comfortable that they are a quality prospect or at least can do some checking around (Boyd and Ellison, 2008). Also, because of that mutual connection, you can more easily overcome cumbersome barriers and begin a relationship with a little more trust and warmth than with a total stranger. Like Six degrees of Kevin Bacon, social networking sheds light on the contacts you never knew you had. For example, you can contact people in your network to: Rekindle old connections Maximize value in your weak connections Build business relationships with clients or hiring managers Find and meet prospective job-seekers Grow a referral network Heighten your corporate and personal brand Make new connections and grow your sphere of influence Open doors to future career opportunities, increased pay, or promotions Increase visibility, which improves influence and effectiveness internally with your organization as well as externally Social networking also helps you find new leads for networking into companies to: Educate yourself and ask questions about other organizations Conduct competitive intelligence on companies, industries, or individuals Make fewer cold calls and better prepare for them Leverage contacts you already have With the help of existing literature, Ridings and Gefen (2004) categorised four reasons to join online communities: ‘information exchange’, ‘social support exchange’, ‘friendship, and ‘recreation’. Firstly, people choose to use online communities to access and exchange information. By using online communities, people can access a huge amount of information generated by other users since online community providers offer effective systems or technologies in order to make their users easily exchange, create, request and search information (Hagel and Armstrong, 1997). The second reason why users participate in online communities is to obtain the social support. Wellman et al (1996) suggested that online communities give emotional support and sociability to their users by giving ‘a sense of belonging’. For instance, Mickelson (1997) gave examples of online communities which focus on recovering social problems such as alcohol and drug addicts in order to explain why the social support can be the motivation of using online communities. Thirdly, people join online communities to manage relationships. To seek friendship or to generate social capital, which can be defined as the resources gathered through the relationships among people (Coleman, 1988), online community users interact with other users with the aim of establishing and continuing relationships. For example, offline social capital can be generated by means of online tools, especially using social networking sites when people want to expand or keep up their offline relationships. Lastly, recreation is another reason why people experience online communities. In conclusion, how word-of-mouth affects consumer behaviour can be described by those three factors; tie strength, homophily, and source credibility. As mentioned above, Brown et al (2007) and other researchers (Silverman, 1997; Money et al, 1998; Bansal and Voyer, 2000) explored the nature of word-of-mouth in online communities. Finally, the summary of the research above is compared by Brown et al (2007) as the following Table 1. Table 1: A Comparison between offline and online social network constructs Offline Online Tie Strength Definition The intensity of a social relation between pairs of individuals The intensity of an interactive and personalised relationship between an individual and a website Homophily Definition The degree to which pairs of individuals are similar in terms of certain attributes The congruence between a user’s psychological attributes and website content Source Credibility Definition Perceived competence of the individual source providing information Perceived competence of the website and its membership Source: Brown et al, 2007, pp. 10 Table 1 Bottom line: It could be seen that different internet users have diverse motives to enter social networking sites. Fulfilment of motives can enhance positive word of mouth and higher degree of interaction of a particular website. As per previous academic literature there have been negligible cases that internet users have entered social networking with out motivations. This forms the foundation of dissertation. 3.0 Research Model 3.1 Research approach The research strategy we intend to adopt is a combination of multi-methods, of deductive, inductive and exploratory. Quantitative data will be collected throughout the life cycle of the project, from secondary sources: journals, databases, past dissertations, newspapers and magazine articles etc. We propose to use the following secondary databases to conduct quantitative data research: Emerald Full text Emerald Reviews Emerald Abstracts Swet Wise Reuters Business Insight Regional Business News Questia Media Primary research will be conducted, using a closed questionnaire designed to predict average behaviour of children in general (Saunders et al. 2003). The inductive approach takes to account interpretivism or social considerations, which enables to establish the intentions of the respondents more clearly. Saunders et al (2003) says that data collected using open-ended questions allows individuals more flexibility in answering, which may confirm a hypothesis or other wise. The limitation or disadvantage of this approach is that it is subjective and can only be applied to a limited sample of participants (Saunders et el. 2003). Exploratory research will be conducted on a pilot group consisting of young internet users (mainly with Orkut profiles) within the age group 15-20 who will participate in a discussion on the following; the influence of motivations for using social networking sites on degree of interaction and word of mouth in United Kingdom. 3.2 Research Design A research design is a program that guides the investigator in the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting observations. According to Nachmias Nachmias (1987) it is logical model of proof that allows the researcher to draw inferences concerning causal relationships among the variables under investigation. Consequently, the appropriate research design will depend on the problem to be investigated (Churchill, 1991), the purpose of the research, the research questions, and the state of the knowledge existing prior to the research plan (Eisenhardt, 1989). Research methods and data collection, form an elementary part of the research design. Typically, the research methods and the data collection techniques are functions of the purpose of the research design. The purpose of the research may be organized into three groups based on what the researcher is trying to accomplish: explore a new topic, describe social phenomena or explain why something occurs. The three basic types of research designs are: Exploratory (Case Studies), Descriptive and Casual. 3.2.1 Case Study The case study approach is the most widely used in management fraternity. A Case study is the collection and presentation of detailed information about a particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of subjects themselves. It’s a form of qualitative descriptive research and it deals intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions only about that participant or group and only in that specific context. This research design is not used to focus on topics such as discovery of a universal, general