Compare Widow Douglas and Mrs. Watson - 785 Words

Compare Widow Douglas and Miss Watson In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain satirizes Pre-Civil War society through Widow Douglas and Miss Watson over their treatment of Huck. They are hypocritical, single, old women who attempt to educate Huck in the ways of the sivilized society and show him the benefits of religion. Ironically they are racist even though it contradicts their religious beliefs. Twain emphasizes these satirical points in his descriptions on there treatment of Huck and through their own habits. He illustrates there hypocritical views further through there behaviors and teachings toward Huck. While these characters are similar in many ways, their subtle differences reveal variations on Twains satire of a†¦show more content†¦Twain represents the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson as being hypocritical in their teachings toward Huck. When Widow Douglas tells Huck that smoking was a mean practice and wasnt clean, and [he] must try not to do it any more she emphasizes that smoking tobacco is not good for you (2). Ironically she takes snuff, which is much worse, but Huck says that it was all right, because she done it herself (2). In the same way Miss Watson isShow MoreRelatedHuckleberry Finn Packet Essay2627 Words   |  11 PagesHReview Question Chapters 1-20 Huckleberry Finn Chapters 1-3 1. What doesn’t Huck like about the Widow Douglas? The fact that she makes him wear new clothes that are tight and she wont let him smoke and he had to pray before he ate his food. 2. What does Jim think has happened to him as a result of the trick that Tom plays on him? Jim was sleeping when they snuck out, so Tom played a trick by placing his hat on the branch above his head; when Jim woke up, he told everyone that a witchRead MoreMark Twain s The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn1939 Words   |  8 Pagesnovel through the eyes of Huck. In the novel, Huckleberry Finn is introduced to Christianity by his guardians Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. Huck states, â€Å"she told me to pray everyday, and whatever I asked for I would get† (18). To the mind of an educationally limited boy he developed the belief that he would receive anything he wanted if he would pray for it. The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to explain prayer to young Huck, but only to confuse him. This leads to Twain’s perspective on religionRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain2409 Words   |  10 Pagesthe pre-Civil War people in the novel. One of the clearest examples of ethnology in the novel is Huck and Jim’s argument about the Frenchman. The two argue over whether or not a Frenchman is the same as a cat or a cow. In their conversation, Huck compares Frenchmen to animals by saying that it is â€Å"natural and right for a cat and a cow to talk different from man† (60). Jim seems to be taken aback by this argument and asks Huck if these two animals are the same as man. Of course, Huck answers that theyRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain2475 Words   |  10 Pageshas many varied themes, one of which is about the fundamental rules of conventional society and the hypocrisy of that society. At this level, the novel is satirical in nature because Twain is mocking traditional society. Throughout the novel, Twain compares how people are willing to unquestioningly follow the mores and norms of traditional society even though they have inherent contradictions; having their own ethical and mo ral code by which they abide. The institution of slavery made possible conventionalRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Morality Literacy Analysis2556 Words   |  11 PagesDaniel Fu Mrs. Wheat American Literature | Period 3 March 2016 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Morality Literacy Analysis â€Å"The most permanent lessons in morals are those which come, not of book teaching, but of experience.† This quote from Mark Twain best describes the role of morality in his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in that morality/morals does not come from education/books/society or what people say but from experience/life and their own consciousness. Huckleberry Finn’s journeyRead MoreHuckleberry Finn2439 Words   |  10 Pagesthrough Arkansas as the story continues. The main character is young delinquent boy named Huckleberry Finn. He doesn’t have a mother and his father is a drunk who is very rarely involved with Huck’s life. Huck is currently living with Widow Douglas and Miss Watson who attempt to make the boy a more civilized and representable citizen. Later Huck runs away and meets this runaway slave named Jim and they become good friends. As Jim and Huck travel down river in their raft they experience many conflictsRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pageskey aspects of this revision. The authors would also like to extend their sincerest thanks to the following instructors: Lee Boam, University of Utah Andres Johnson, Santa Clara University Edward Lisoski, Northeastern University Douglas Mahony, Lehigh University Douglas McCabe, Georgetown University Bradley Norris, Baylor University Jonelle Roth, Michigan State University Philip Roth, Clemson University Dale Rude, University of Houston Holly Schroth, University of California at Berkeley Jody TolanRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagespublished in The Times 12th January 2005; The Washington Post Writers Group for an extract from ‘McDonald’s Goes for Gold With Olympic Sponsorships’ published in The Washington Post 14th August 2004  © 2004, The Washington Post. Reprinted with Permission; Mr. Andrew Bibby for an extract from his article ‘Home Start’ published in People Management 10th January 2002; SAGE Publications Inc. for an extract from The Post Bureaucratic Organisation: New Perspectives on Organisational Change by C. Hecksher and

Reward Impacts on Job Satisfaction Free Essays

Reward means giving or receiving something for a desirable effort or behavior. In this essay, impacts of external rewards will be discussed, such as privileges, money and other incentive. Using reward policy could be beneficial to organizations as well as employees. We will write a custom essay sample on Reward Impacts on Job Satisfaction or any similar topic only for you Order Now As a matter of fact there are a lot of evidence that have been provided by researchers, which show the direct relation between reward, performance and job satisfaction. In contrast, punishment is found necessary to apply in order to balance the strategy. This essay will compare the use of reward and punishment as well as ageing how incentive is to apply reward strategy within the organization. The essay is divided into two parts: first it will show the impact of reward on the employee’s job satisfaction as well as performance. Secondly, how reward will fortify the sense of competition and productivity among the employees. Ultimately, the essay concludes that the reward has positive effect on the employee’s performance within an organization. Every organization’s success is so dependent on its staff performance and therefore, keeping those employees motivated should be in the organization priority’s list. Much research has been conducted to explore the relationship between reward and performance. kilman(1989) found positive relation is so perceivable between reward and performance, however it was more specific in management . † More specifically, the reward system should be aligned to motivate employee performance that is consistent with the firm’s strategy†, (Galbraith, 1973 Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 4 No. 2, 2001, p. 114). Lazear (2000) shows significant positive effects of incentive pay on productivity (in the range of a 44-percent gain) in his unique dataset of a firm. These finding are all practical, reliable and applicable for organizations, hence employee’s level of performance can be increased by applying contingent reward in the organization’s strategy. Performance by employees is crucial to organization, so as employee job satisfaction, which is one of the incentive that helps to increase the employees to performance as well as encouraging them to focus more on their job. Like performance, employee’s job satisfaction can be increased by applying rewards. (Ritz,scott and cherrington, 1971). The reward can not increase the performance all the time but it always will increase the job satisfaction, therefore, based on the researches we could assume that the reward will fortify the employee’s satisfaction and since it benefits the organization by making its employee more committed and focus on their job, ultimately the organization’s yield will increase. How to cite Reward Impacts on Job Satisfaction, Essay examples

Nike, Child Labor free essay sample

In 1994, exports from Sialkot brought income of almost US$ 385 million into the Pakistan economy. Sialkot is thus one of the world’s most important centres for production of sporting goods. Child labor exists in Sialkot both in the export sector and the domestic sector. This fact has been well documented and reported by the international media for several years but nothing has been done about it. In Pakistan it is clearly documented that child labor is against the law, but the government carries lack of willingness to do anything about it. Provision for education is very limited, due to the fact that very low priority is given to education in the national budgets. Education receives around 3% of the total gross domestic product when compared to over ten times of this amount spent on military. Gender and other forms of discrmination plus adding to the lack of political will, gives the clear picture of the existence of child labor in Pakistan. Nike as a helper or exploiter to IIIrd World Recently if you go to a shop to buy your child a new soccer ball.There is a good possibility that the ball has been made by someone your childs age or even younger. About half of the worlds soccer ball are made in Pakistan, and each one of them passes through a process of production where child labor is involved. This problem not only pertains to Pakistan but is worldwide. More than 200 children, some as young as 4 and 5 years of age, are involved in the production line. Majority of these children work in Asia, e. g in the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Nike is characterized of making its equipments in countries which are in he developing phase, having very cheap labor, authoritarian government and lack of human rights appeal and union movement. In doing this it has made greater margins on the cost of mere cents to its workers. So Nike success story is not based on good name and advertising alone but also attached to it is the tears of tortured workers and child labor. A columnist Stephen Chapman from Libertarian newspaper argues that But why is it unconscionable for a poor country to allow child labor? Pakistan has a per-capita income of $1,900 per year meaning that the typical person subsists on barely $5 per day. Is it a a revelation or a crime that some parents willingly send their children off to work in a factory to survive? Is it cruel for Nike to give them the chance? (source: http://www. raincity. com/~williamf/words96. html) Stephen argues that the best way to end child-labor is to buy more of the products that children produce. This would increase their demand, and as they will produce more, they will earn more, hence giving themselves chane to rise above poverty level and thus also benefiting the families of the children and as well as the nation. However, the issue is not that simple.Increasing the demand of the products produced by child labor means encouraging more child labor, encouraging more birth rates, more slavery, increasing sweatshops and discouraging education as parents of the children working in factories would want them to work more and earn more. If this happened to be the case, then more and more children will be bought and sold on the black market, leading no end to this problem. By encouraging more child labor, you are not only taking away those innocent years from them but also the right to be educated and the right to be free.Nike a good chess player As a good chess player Nike always thinks ahead of its movement. It does not launch its production directly in to the developing country, such as Pakistan, but instead it subcontracts it to them by selecting a local firm. When doing this, the local firm, in this case SAGA sports, has to abide by the Nikes international rules and regulations when producing its goods. And it is the duty of the international firm (NIKE) to monitor its subcontracted production units and hold it to tight scrutuny.But this is not what really happens. Both Nike and the local production company aims to minimize cost and earn the highest amounts of profit thus involving themselves in illegal practices, such as child labor, a practice which is not so highlighted by the government of the host developing country. So what happens when you question Nike about its labor practices? An answer comes that it is not they who are involved in this illegal labor practices but it is the local subcontracter who is doing so.This is wrong to say as Nike and SAGA sports both benefits with access to cheap child labor in Pakistan. And if Nike cannot control its subcontracted plants, it means they have not implemented their rules and regulations effectively and is not abiding by the international standards which they have set for themselves. Nikes entrance in to the Pakistani markets was the part of its long term strategic planning. It is false to explain that Nike didnt knew that child labor is an ages-old practice in Pakistan.Nike went into Pakistan, having full knowledge of the favorable conditions prevailing in terms of child labor and has taken no precautions whatsoever to prevent the use of child labor in the production of its soccer balls. Instead Nike has made a profit from its Pakistani contractors who inturn has used bonded child labor in the production process. Critically analyzing the situation, Why Nike always land up in places having cheap or bonded labors or in places where it can easily get away with illegal labor practices? Examples incude: Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.Nike simply bases its operations on finding the lowest-cost labor to make its products. Twelve-year-old girls work in Indonesian sweatshops 70 hours a week making Nike shoes in unhealthy plants. According to a Foulball campaign report, Nike has refused twice to have a check in their Saga-managed center in Pakistan while on the other hand Nikes rival Reebok readily granted access to its Moltex-managed center in Pakistan. Nike has the habit of hiding behind its good public image and its effective means of promotions and advertising.Nike attempts to create a good public image by offering charity, donating equipments and never passing an opportunity to remind the public that it has set up stitching centers in places such as Sialkot, Pakistan. How it all started Consumer awareness 1996 When the June, 1996 issue of Life magazine carried an article about child labor in Pakistan, Nike knew that it was in trouble. The articles lead photograph showed 12-year-old Tariq surrounded by the pieces of a Nike soccer ball which he would spend most of a day stitching together for the grand sum of 60 cents.In a matter of weeks, activists all across Canada and the United States were standing in front of Nike outlets, holding up Tariqs photo. And yet, Nike has not done an especially good job of scrutinizing the subcontractors with which its working. Nor has it been open about its labor practices in the way public companies should be expected to be. Cameramen have been pushed out of factory floors. Supervisors at a plant in Vietnam apparently beat workers being paid 20 cents an hour and refused to allow them to leave their work posts. Indonesian labor organizers has been put behind bars.And, most troubling, nearly all the soccer balls made in Pakistan have been revealed to be made by young children getting paid just cents a day. Nike chairman Phil Knight also acknowledged that a shipment of soccer balls Nike purchased in Pakistan in the year 1996 was made by a subcontractor using child labor in horrible conditions. Although 1996 was the first year in which real public attention was focused on Nikes labor practices abroad, its important to recognize that manufacturing shoes in low-wage countries was, from the start, a crucial part of Phil Knights plan for his company.In other words, American jobs have not been shipped abroad. On the contrary, Nike has never made shoes in the United States. Its first factories, built in the 1960s, were in Japan, when that country was still a part of the Third World. And since thirty years Nike have migrating from nation to nation, arriving as countries install the necessary mechanisms for orderly business operations and leaving as living standards become too high to make manufacturing profitable.

Memory Is a Three Part System free essay sample

I cannot recall things happening during one of the more serious episodes, so I feel this could be classified as a memory loss and an inability to learn. These episodes usually last about 5-60 minutes, but can last days in some cases. This episodic of migraine is so rare, there has been less research done specifically on them Reflecting on previous critical thinking experiences, which allow you to improve upon past experiences. 2. By learned processes, skills, and experiences depending on the reminder, only some of the total memory can be reactivated (http://cognipro. com/critical-thinking/how-does-information-stored-in-your-long-term-memory-affect-your-critical-thinking-skills) Through our short term memory we rehearse enough times the memory is able to be remembered and stored into our long term memory. In long term memory we are talking about the continuous storing of information. Our long term memory has unlimited amount of space to store a lot of information. All of our long term memory is placed somewhere outside of our knowledge of it being there. We will write a custom essay sample on Memory Is a Three Part System or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Yet when we require certain information we have our working memory retrieves most of the information. Some information is easy to remember while some memories are harder to locate or remember.

Death of a Salesman Essays

Death of a Salesman Essays Death of a Salesman Essay Death of a Salesman Essay was therefore quite a radical challenge to make at the time, as unlike nowadays, people did not constantly self-analyse on a national and individual level. The dream is the villain of the play. Willys desperate nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables in the garden further compounds to this idea, as it signifies not only his shame at not being able to provide for his family, but also symbolises the concept that pursuing the dream is a fruitless affair altogether. Consequently, if the American Dream is the villain, Willy Loman cannot be deemed a typical tragic hero because it is the society he lives in that predetermines his downfall from the very beginning. Some critics have even gone as far as saying that Death of a Salesman cannot be deemed a true tragedy because of this, but rather a social drama 8 according to Brenda Murphy. This is because it is questionable as to whether Willy Loman has any control over his destiny at all, as although he is in command of his body and actions, the American Dream has polluted his mind to such an extent that he can barely grasp reality. Indeed, his frequent hallucinations at inappropriate moments emphasise this: Pull myself together! What the hell did I say to him? My God, I was yelling at him! Also, Miller often uses language through out the play to foreshadow Willys death: these arch supports are killing me , tired to death etc. It is almost as if Willy is predicting his own ends; he is precariously ready to drop or give up on life throughout many sections of the play. This self-pity is not an admirable quality and is therefore more befitting to a victim than a tragic hero. Interestingly, another interpretation of Willys character is that he is a tragic villain. This is because he selfishly disregards the dreams of his family in order to fulfil his own. Biff, for example, is not a businessman at heart and is content with the simple necessities of life (Why am I trying to become what I dont want to be? ). However, his father constantly makes him feel guilty about this and frequently refers to him as a lazy bum. Also, in declining Charleys job offer Willy Loman casts his familys needs aside because it does not live up to his ideal job. Although the term villain may be a bit harsh, it is certainly true that the shortcomings of his personality make Willy a harder character to sympathise with than Sophocless Oedipus for example. In this way he could be considered neither a hero nor a victim, because a tragic victim generally needs to arouse high compassion amongst audiences. To conclude, it seems as if the character of Willy Loman is most accurately described as an anti-hero. This is because, although he is the protagonist of the play, he lacks many of the traditional qualities of a true tragic hero; Miller has subverted this stereotype in creating Willy Loman. More importantly however, audiences would certainly not wish t to be like him in any way, although there are undoubtedly aspects of Willys personality that we can relate to. As Joyce Carol Oates suggests: For all his delusions and intellectual limitations Willy Loman is all of us. Or, rather, we are Willy Loman, particularly those of us who are writers, poets, dreamers; the yearning soul way out there in the blue. 1 Nevertheless, Willy does still possess some of the attributes of Aristotles typical tragic hero as previously mentioned, which means he cannot be considered a total victim either. The only certainty is that critics will continue to ponder over Willy Lomans character for years to come. Bibliography: 1. ) Oates, Joyce Carol. Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, Michigan Quarterly Review, Fall 1998. 2. ) Moss, Leonard. Arthur Miller, 1967. 3. ) Salitt, D. The Character of Willy Loman, 2000. 4. ) Swietek, F. Death of a Salesman: Tragedy? , 2003. 5. ) Carson, Neil. Arthur Miller, New York Grove Press,1982. 6. ) Miller, Arthur. Tragedy and the Common Man, 1949. 7. ) Adams, James Truslow. Epic of America, 1931. 8. ) Murphy, Brenda. The Tradition of Social Drama,1997.

Writing For Magazines

Writing For Magazines Writing For Magazines Writing For Magazines By Sharon Theres more to writing for magazines than getting your name into Cosmopolitan. Thousands of new magazines are launched every year and its a big market for freelance writers. In fact, its even bigger now that so many magazines have an online presence. So, how do you go about writing a magazine article that will sell? What Magazine Articles Do I admit, I didnt know this when I wrote my first magazine article, but most magazine articles do one of four things. They inform, adding to your knowledge about a subject. They help you to solve a problem. They persuade you about a particular viewpoint. They entertain you. Some articles do more than one of those things at the same time. How To Structure A Magazine Article When youre ready to write then you need to think about structure. With magazine articles, you can move beyond the inverted pyramid of news. Instead, you can build to an important point or scatter important points throughout the article. Tell A Story The key thing to remember is that youre telling a story to your readers. That means you need a beginning, a middle and an end. It also means you need to think about where youre taking your reader and create a logical path to that end point. Beginning Your Magazine Article The first thing you need to do is get people to read your article, so you need to find a way to grab them. When I interview people, I often start the resulting article with a quote or an anecdote from their life. However, you can also set the scene or use anything that will get attention. The Middle With most magazine articles, you talk to a person or people. People like reading about other people, so if your interviewee says something good, use a quote rather than reported speech. This makes your magazine article more interesting. Ending Your Magazine Article Finally, end with a bang. This could be an important point, a revelation, or another anecdote or quote. The idea is to satisfy your reader and to get that reader interested in your other writing. Extra Credit When you research an article, you often have information left over that didnt make it into the main piece. Dont get rid of this. Use it to create a sidebar or table (editors will love this), or as the starting point for another article. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:Loan, Lend, Loaned, Lent10 Tips About How to Write a Caption

General Concept and Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business Essay - 3

General Concept and Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business - Essay Example A asks B, â€Å"Are you interested in buying this house?† A has not made an offer but is merely asking B if he is interested in making an offer. B replies, â€Å"I’ll pay you  £50000† for this house.† B has made an offer to A and A is at liberty to accept or reject it. In a market where various articles are marked for prices, the marking of price does not mean that the sellers have made offers to sell these items. These are merely invitations to offer. The sellers can refuse to sell these items despite the goods being marked for the price. Communication of offer means that it should be made known to the offeree. The mere desire of entering into an agreement, which is never mentioned to the offeree and remains hidden in the recesses of one’s mind, can never be regarded as an offer. Similarly, when an offer is made through a letter, it is not regarded as an offer until the letter is posted and it reaches the offeree. Also, the offer must reach the offeree through the offeror or his duly authorized agent. If the offeree comes to know of the offer through some outside source, the offer is not valid. An offer can be made generally to the public through the newspaper. But if it is intended for a particular individual, it should be made directly to that individual. Once the offer is made, it needs to be accepted by the offeree for the formation of an agreement. It must be absolute and unqualified. There must be consensus ad idem i.e. both parties must agree to the same thing in the same sense. This means that the offeree should agree to all the terms of the offer. A qualified acceptance is not a valid acceptance. It is regarded as a counter-offer and it terminates the original offer as soon as it is made. If the original offeror agrees to the terms of the counter-offer, an agreement is created. Acceptance should be communicated to the offeror.

Capital in the 21 Centurey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Capital in the 21 Centurey - Essay Example Bonds were, in essence, one population’s claim over the rest who paid they’re taxes. However, to find out the wealth’s ownership has been much complex as it is today in a world characterized by what Piketty refers to as â€Å"financial intermediation†. The existing financial system with the banks makes it complex to realize the ownership of wealth which is deposited by the common man and invested by the bank. Businesses then operated in similar ways as the present times with entrepreneurs founding startups and then offering stock options, earning capital gains, and investing some of it back into the business. The bottom line is that capital was an essential part of the society, beyond narrative stories, some of which operated as dynamic assets. By comparing the early businessman with the present system, the author has drawn many parallels in both the systems of capital and investment. With this Piketty (83) points out the risky nature of capital that has always been so at least in its early stages when it is also entrepreneurial in nature. The modern perception has it that capital has become more dynamic ever since the eighteenth century. The recorded literature from Britain and France provide the most information. It is observed that the capital-income ratio has remained stable between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for both Britain and France following a similar trend. This was followed by a sudden surge in the twentieth century which then returned to similar levels during the World War I (Picketty, 86). Hence, national capital which is the sum of private and public capital was defined as the sum of farmland, housing, other domestic capital, and net foreign capital (Piketty, 87). Foreign capital was extensively shaped by regional colonial powers and the variable played an important role in determining national capital. The most prominent changes have been the replacement of farmland while total capital

National origins Essay Example for Free

National origins Essay As a playwright Euripides always had a tendency to explore less popular tragic myths, or to look at uncommon versions of popular tragic tales, such as he did with Helen. In Ion however, Euripides takes this idea even further and totally rewrites the myth of Ion. According to Athenian Myth, Hellen was the eldest son of Deucalion and Pyrrha and he married the nymph Orseis, by whom he had three sons, Dorus, Aeolus and Xouthos. Dorus and Aeolus gave their names to the Dorian and Aeolians respectively, whilst Xouthos married the Athenian princess Kreousa, having two children with her before dying in exile in the northern Peloponnese. The first of these sons, Achaeus, returned to Thessaly, his fathers homeland, whilst the second son, Ion, was recalled to Athens where he died leading the Athenian forces against the Eleusians. His people were later driven from the Peloponnese and founded the Ionian colonies in the East. This is probably all the Athenians knew about the man named Ion, not much more than a name in their histories. Euripides however, presents a completely different story. Kreousa is the son of Erectheus, who sacrificed his other daughter to the gods on order to ensure a victory over King Eumolpus of Eleusis. Xouthos is a Thessalian, a son of Aeolus, and allied to Athens in a war against Chalcis, a town on the island of Euboea, and is married to Kreousa as a reward for his services to Athens. He then invents the story that Kreousa was raped by the God Apollo before she was married to Xouthos and gave birth to a child whom she abandoned in a cradle in a cave in the Long Rocks where Apollo had raped her. Apollo however, sent Hermes to rescue the child and take him to Delphi where he was raised by Apollos priestess and worked in the temple. This is all explained to the audience by Hermes, who also says that later the boy will be renamed Ion, so the audience know exactly who the boy is. Xouthos and Kreousa however, arriving at Delphi to ask Apollo for an oracle on why they can not have children, have no idea who the boy is. Xouthos is told by Apollo that when he leaves the temple the first person he meets will be his child. The first person he meets is the, as yet not renamed, Ion and Xouthos immediately explains to him what has happened and renames him Ion because he is the first person Xouthos met. Kreousa, unfortunately receives news of this from another source and reasons that Ion must be his son by another woman and the two of them are plotting to oust her and seize control of Athens. Therefore she concocts a plan to kill Ion and sends one of her slaves to poison him at the feast Xouthos is planning. Ion is saved, fortunately, due to Apollos intervention and he learns that it was Kreousa trying to kill him. He chased her to Apollos altar where she took sanctuary. Ion shouted that he would kill her and, hearing this, Apollo sends the Pythia out to show Ion the c radle he was brought to Delphi in. Kreousa recognises the cradle and realises that Ion is her son, then proves this by telling Ion correctly what is still in the cradle. Ion, Kreousa and Xouthos then return to Athens. This story is not created entirely by Euripides, it is a familiar story of a child of a royal family, raised abroad for whatever reason, and meeting his parents without recognising them. This is very similar to the stories of Oedipus Rex, in Sophocles play, Cyrus, and several other mythological Greek figures. The plot development is also very similar to his other plays, especially Electra and Helen. The plays involve lost siblings, mother / son, father / daughter, husband / wife etc who meet after a separation of many years and fail to recognise each other. Usually after they recognise each other but sometimes before there is usually a plot to kill those who they feel are in the wrong or to escape to some safe place. Ion is unusual in this since the Kreousa is plotting to kill Ion, whom she has not yet recognised, but abandons her plot when she realises who he is. The story Hermes tells at the beginning of the play about the rape of Kreousa by Apollo, and the life of the young Ion is told in such a manner that it recalls many of the foundation myths of Athens. The first of these is the myth of Cecrops, first King of Athens. He was said to be, autochthonus (which translates literally as born of the very earth), and half man half snake. Secondly, the myth of Ericthonius who was also believed to be autochthonus and given, in a chest, to the daughters of Cecrops to guard by Athene with strict instruction not to look inside. The daughters did and were driven insane by what they saw, reputedly either half man half snake like Cecrops or possibly even fully snake. Thirdly Erectheus was the son of Pandion, the son of Ericthonius and the nymph Praxithea.

Morpheus Preview Edition :: essays research papers

Morpheus Preview Edition (421) Now....more than music: * Search for all types of media - almost anything you can imagine - music, photos, reference files, reports, documents, home movies, videos and more * Communicate via chat rooms and message boards * Share your favorite files (please ... authorized material only, as stated in our Policy Section) * Purchase MP3 audio gear and more * Find the latest news on digital media in "What's New" The Morpheus(tm) Peer-to-Peer Application: faster, better, smarter * Faster searches * Pure peer-to-peer network * Always Open connections to the Network * More simultaneous users for better search results * Self-organizing - any outages at MusicCity will have no effect on the rest of the Network * Fully encrypted to protect privacy, transmissions and unauthorized intrusions * SmartStream(tm) automatically resumes broken content streams by finding another source for the same content and monitoring the network until the requested content stream becomes available * FastStream(tm) increases the download speed of large files through the simultaneous transfer of content from multiple sources * Digital Rights Management - the Morpheus application allows content providers to deploy any legitimate third-party digital rights management technology to protect the copyrights of their digital content distributed through the MusicCity network. What is Morpheus? * A full-featured peer-to-peer file sharing application that allows users to search for all types of digital media. * A direct distribution tool that allows content developers unfettered access to consumers and customers. * A powerful search engine where you can search on metadata such as media type, category, performer, product name and more. Search results are grouped together so the same file will only be displayed once. * Embedded Microsoft media player functionality for audio and video playback.

Pro Gaming Essay

Gaming for a living always seemed like some sort of adolescent dream growing up. Being paid to play your favorite game was something most kids only fantasized about, but now in 2013, it actually can be a reality for the truly hard working and talented. Electronic sports, also known as eSports has exploded worldwide, and with it, there is an entire class of 15 to 30 year olds who now play games for a living. Out of the millions that play titles like Starcraft, Defense of the Ancients or League of Legends, these players have gotten so good that many can make a full-time living out of gaming. The top few players in the world even pull in six figure salaries between sponsorships, team salaries and tournament winnings. So, how can you follow their lead? One thing should be clear from the start; pro-gaming involves a lot of hard work and determination to emerge as the top player. Firstly, gaming can be started at any age! As for me, I was heavily influenced by my elder brother in gaming since young, as I would often watch him play computer games because there was only one computer at home. It all started from a popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game which is the Defense of the Ancients, also known as DotA for short. I played it for 5 long years before deciding to move onto another similar game but with a much different mechanics, League of Legends or otherwise known as LoL. After playing casually for years, one might want to start venturing into competitive gaming, which also applies for me since I enjoy gaming very much. You will definitely need to find a gaming team of your own. But to do so, you have to practice and play the game a lot to get better at it. And if you play often enough, it will allow you to meet other better players out there too. From there, you can make friends with the people and plan to form a team together to take part in local gaming competitions and compete against other fellow local competitive gamers. Never take these chances of entering a competition lightly though, give it your best when competing whether in team play or individual skills. Because you will get scouted if your skills are recognized by professionals who plan to set up a pro-gaming team consisting of various best players from the different teams he or she have observed during the game play. Congratulations, you are now a part of a professional gaming team! You finally get to do something you like, which is gaming for a living. What now you say? This involves a lot of commitment on your part, be very hardworking, start practicing and training really hard, especially as a team. It is important that you get used to playing with four other strangers, or better yet bond with them as much as you can. Teamwork is crucial in MOBA games. Be part of a community, whether it is participating in forum discussions or keeping yourself updated with the game, it is important that you are not practicing in a vacuum. Outside input and strategy discussions with friends who also play is important when you are going pro. Needless to say, you will have to work like any other working adult, just that your two off days might be on weekdays instead of weekends as many teams are often more free to train during weekends. Next is to start streaming your games regularly and grow a following of viewers. Make updates of your games as they progress and interact with your viewers. Remember the more of a following you have, the bigger your advantage is. This will push you to become better and represent your viewers in all tournaments. Lastly, always watch previous tournaments game replays, especially the more successful ones, to study other teams’ strategies and understand their game play. This will help in the future to use these strategies to defeat teams or to counter their strategies. Another way to do so is to scrim often against better opponents to constantly improve and learn from mistakes. Being a professional gamer has its perks; not just one or two that I have no idea where to even start from. Well what else could be better than earning your money with your passion? And you get paid to play, enough said. Moving on to be a professional gamer, you need to enter and win tournaments. Games like Starcraft 2 and League of Legends has crossed the five million dollars mark in prize money. Seriously, this is easy money and all you have to do is commit your time to training everyday spending almost ten to twelve hours in front of your computer. If your team is doing very well, sponsorship opportunities from various huge names for gaming gears like Razer or Steelseries will come knocking at your door. Excellent gaming equipments were never cheap to begin with anyway, so sponsorships like this help you hone your skills better to perform well during tournaments. Often these companies will also sponsor your travelling and accommodation when your team is required to head overseas for certain tournaments. So basically, all your expenses are sponsored except for your shopping! I am sure this will benefit more for female gamers than to males. While travelling around the world to compete, you get to go to places and meet people; you might even be urprised that you have fans from overseas even if your team is not famous to begin with. It’s always experiences like these which are hard to come by that make your trip an unforgettable one, a once in a lifetime experience. It is also advisable to make your team marketable to fetch in commercial deals from your sponsors so the income will not be stagnant. Lastly, you gain fame and respect from it, learn to keep your cool in games and the fulfillment and satisfaction rewards as you reap the fruits of your labor. Benefits come with disadvantages too. Your life is pretty much repetitive, which means long hours of constant, epic combat with people across regions every day. Missing on family engagements as much of your time is dedicated to gaming, so you will have to find a balance for it. Male gamers might have trouble finding their other half due to the stereotype that gamers are mostly nerds, while female gamers get stereotyped that we cannot excel in gaming and get flamed all the time because male gamers will just ask us to â€Å"Go to the kitchen and make me a sandwich†, a popular phrases that I’m tired of seeing. Gaming is also a sport, electronic sports. It is not difficult to become a professional gamer as long as you put in the effort and hard work during trainings. If pro-gaming is your passion, never give up and strive to get better, because you can never be the best as people are constantly getting better and overtaking you. It is after all, a legitimate job.

Informal Logic

Have you ever thought to wonder what will happen to you after death? Where will your soul go? Will you still have some form of existence to continue through a mental capacity? Most every person has sat to ponder this lifelong question at one time or another. In many peoples mind this can be a devastating thought, serious enough that they begin to contemplate believing what they know is true and what they would like to believe.Over the existence of man many people have followed different ideals ND practices to help cope with this daunting question. Religion is the basis for the preservation of a person's soul and gives comfort In a belief of a higher power that Is responsible for creation. Most religions such as Charlatanry believe that our soul Is sent to a higher place after death and gives mental relief from the life after death question. But ask yourself this, is religion real, or merely an ideal used to comfort the wandering human mind?Science is the theory of truth thru knowledg e, and many people only believe what they know is true thru factual evidence. According to Webster New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of science is â€Å"knowledge attained through study or practice,† or â€Å"knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, as obtained and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world. â€Å"(Science) So what's the answer? What concept is truth? Should you trust your soul in the concept of religion or science? More importantly are these two ideals In conflict?I would argue that both of these concepts are far beyond our humble minds to comprehend. We simply don't have enough knowledge regarding owe religious facts and scientific facts relate to each other regarding the creation of the universe. Because we have yet to fully understand the creation of the known universe and its relation to religious ideals they are not in conflict, and God could Just be the creator of science. The universe is a void of space filled with galaxies, stars, planets and vast amounts of never ending empty space; but how did the space we live in get there to begin with?How did all the star dust we are made up of come to being? These questions have been plaguing mankind for generations, and we have spent millions of dollars trying o find the answer. There are many theories such as the Big Bang that mathematically quantifies the expansion and creation of the known universe. This theory puts Into perspective how the universe dispersed Its matter to form the universe we know today. (Lieberman, 2013) These theories no matter how mathematically correct cannot explain how space and matter itself came into created from nothing or destroyed only converted in to energy.Because the known fact that matter cannot be created from nothing it would allude to the fact that all matter that is in the universe had to come from somewhere. Sahara, 2004) Even more mind boggling is the thought of where space and ti me exists itself, how was the big empty vacuum called space made and where does it go? So for arguments sake if science can only explain the expansion of the universe thru mathematical equations and experiments, that would mean that the ideal of god being the creator of the heavens is still sound.The theory of the Big Bang could in fact be an accurate mathematical equation of how god distributed matter he created throughout the universe. Until we have scientifically proven how matter came into existence in the iris place we can't logically prove how we came into existence one way or the other. This would lead us to the conclusion that the two ideas are not really in conflict per say, because we simply Just don't know yet. There is still a chance that science is merely a tool used by a higher power to create and distribute matter thought the universe.With that being said lets debate the so called â€Å"controversy' most people have heard about or even debated themselves. The relatio nship between science and the Catholic Church has been very intertwined for ages and is a controversial epic to many. The Catholic Church have vested time and money into many things scientific like hospitals and universities. It's a known fact that the Catholic Church remains the single greatest private provider of medical care and research facilities in the world.But in the beginning of the relationship between the Catholic Church and science there were many problems. While being funded by the church religious scientists began looking to the stars and developing theories to our existence. In fact a priest named Monsieur Georges Henry Joseph ?dotard Limiter proposed the Big Bang theory that explained the expansion of the universe. (Georges Limiter) Like Limiter, many other scientists made advancements in science in areas of astronomy and genetics, all while working under the close supervision of the Catholic Church.Another religious scientists working under the Catholic Church was a man named Friar Gregory Mendel who is known as the â€Å"father of modern genetics†, pioneered many fundamental principles in genetic research in plants. (Basic Principles of Genetics) Obviously the manipulation of a Gods creations in nature truck a harsh cord in the way of scientific research in the churches eyes. The Catholic Church then drafted an actual conflict thesis that proposes an intellectual conflict between the Church and science asserting that the Church has been in stated lifelong opposition to science.The public and well known thesis interprets the relationship between the Church and science as inevitably leading to public hostility, when religion aggressively challenges new scientific ideas in relation to creation and the evolution of mankind. What concept is truth? Should you trust your soul in the concept of religion or science? More importantly are these two ideals in conflict? Because the Catholic Church funded the research that developed facts that put t he concept of religious faith in God to question, an eternal conflict was struck in mankind in a battle of truth versus faith.Religion greatly outdoes early and modern science, but in the beginning of science as we now it, the two ideals were actually intertwined. Controversy between religion and science struck and became two arguments is a bit irrational due to the fact that one side of the argument is based on faith, and the other truth by what can be proven by science. McCall, 2011). Religious documents like the bible are one of the most historic documents of the known world. They give premise to the early beginning of man and woman, and by most accounts are the most circulated historical documents of mankind.While they do have a many revisions mostly due to the evolution of human language their stories have changed little over the last few thousands of years. (The Holy Bible) Religious documents like the bible are seen as factual documents to the religious community, and so brin g controversy with non-believers. Many teachings in the bible such as the age of the earth directly contradict what factual science has discovered over the last few hundred years (Hodge, 2007). This idea of conflict simply comes down to the interpretation of valid sources.The bible and other religious documents have claimed to be inaccurate by scientists due to the lack of control and validation when they were written. Many faulting factors like how many people had a hand in writing religious documents like the bible make it difficult for people to instill their faith in such a concept but in hindsight scientific documents have known o be Just as flawed. (McCall, 2011) Advancements in science have explained many things about the universe around us in a tangible way people can see and feel.Therefore until we are able to reach advancements in science that prove religion wrong there will always be some kind of hostile conflict between the religion and science. Let's face it the idea of where a person's soul will reside after death is a huge deal to most people. Most every person has had to of contemplated where they would go after they die and there is question it can make people seriously emotional. These emotions lead to public controversy that bleeds in to religious debates in almost every type of religion.Over the years the religious community has had my conflicts with concepts like Naturalism and Evolution because they offer a logical scientific explanation to how things have come to be on earth. But these conflicts can still go back to the main point that we truly don't know what or how started the creation of matter God in fact could have used science as a tool for creation. Over the last few hundred years we have made vast advancements in the way of science.We can now fly, split atoms, and actually live in space for an extended period of time. Such advancements have enabled us to peer into the very beginning of the universe almost to the very beginning of the Big Bang itself. Scientists have even been able to replicate a small scale Big Bang like scenario by smashing atoms together in hopes to create a small big bang of our own. (CERN, 2013) But with all of these amazing discoveries we have failed to answer the most important question of them all.Is god the real creator of the universe or can science explain it with mathematical facts or experiments? The argument of whether religion and science are in a conflict is realistically a moot point in today's day and age. The concept of science being the search of the truth and religion being a fundamental belief system is like comparing apples and oranges. Most religions are centered on the basis of faith that causes a false sense controversy with the hunt for the truth in science.One really doesn't have much to do with the other unless people want to stir up controversy by comparing the facts of science to the plausibility of religion, in fact they might Just be comments like the bible d o not give specific reference to how the heavens were created, you could deduct that we are only now learning the process of how god created matter, and spread it thru the universe. Scientific facts like the evolution of man and animals overtime can appear to create controversy but all take us back to the basis of the truth and our humble understanding of how matter was created and that we simply don't know.While there might be a perceived conflict between religion and science, this is merely a false comparison of the two. The two ideals do have mom independent characteristics that strike the human mind for comparison but not in a way that makes them competitive. Religions that are based on faith in a higher power, concede that they no longer search for the answer of our beginnings in space and time. In comparison scientific studies search to further our understanding of matter and how it was created thru facts that can be proved.Unlike belief systems science has no agenda, nothing to gain or lose, only the truth. How far that truth can be proved in a conclusion of the existence of matter itself Just might prove and endless Journey playing to the tune of faith in its own right. Unfortunately our own human nature has clouded our view of these daunting principles. Because of the importance and nature of the subject this topic will be evaluated until god comes or science finds him. I would argue that both of these concepts are far beyond our humble minds to understand to completion.Because we have yet to fully understand the creation of the known universe and its relation to religious ideals they are not in conflict, god could Just be the creator of science making them one in the same. The idea that these to giants are in conflict is more or less a confusion between the imperfections in man and not the truth itself.

The Science of Star Trek

The Science of Star Trek Star Trek is one of the most popular science fiction series of all time and loved by people around the world. In its TV shows, movies, novels, comics, and podcasts,  future inhabitants of Earth go on quests to the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy. They travel across space using advanced technologies like warp drive propulsion systems and artificial gravity. Along the way, the Star Trek denizens explore strange new worlds. The science and technology in Star Trek are dazzling and lead many fans  to ask: could such propulsion systems and other technological advances exist now or in the future?   The starship Enterprise came into public view with the first Star Trek show in the 1960s. Getty Images/ In a few cases, the science is actually quite sound and we either have the technology now (such as the first rudimentary medical tricorders and communications devices) or someone will be developing it sometime in the near future. Other technologies in the Star Trek universe are sometimes  in agreement with our understanding of physics- such as the warp drive- but are highly improbable to ever exist. For those, we might have to wait until our technology abilities catch up to theory. Still Trek ideas are more in the realm of imagination and dont stand a chance of ever becoming a reality. What Exists Today or Will Sometime in the Near Future Impulse Drive: The impulse drive is not unlike our chemical rockets of today, only more advanced. With advances taking place today, it is not unreasonable to think that we will one day have propulsion systems similar to the impulse drive on the starship Enterprise. Cloaking Devices: The irony here, of course, is that this is a technology that humans have yet to grasp in the early  Star Trek series (although the Klingon Empire has it). Yet this is one of the technologies that is closest to becoming a reality today. There are devices that cloak small objects up to the size of people, but making an entire spaceship disappear is still quite a ways away. Communication Devices: In Star Trek, no one goes anywhere without one. All members of Starfleet carried with them a device that allowed them to communicate with other members of the crew. In reality, many people dont go anywhere without their smartphones, and there are even working comm badges. Tricorder-like Devices: In Star Trek, portable sensors are used in the field for everything from medical diagnoses to rock and atmospheric sampling. Todays spacecraft on Mars and beyond use such sensors, although not quite yet portable. In recent years, teams of inventors have created working medical tricorder-like machines that are already making their way into the market.   The Star Trek-style tricorder medical devised may come to us as part of apps for smartphones, as shown in this cell phone-like device that records health data. Getty Images Possible, but Highly Improbable Time Travel: Time travel into the past or the future is not in strict violation of the laws of physics. However, the amount of energy needed to accomplish such a feat takes the practicality of it out of reach. Wormholes: A wormhole is a theoretical construct of general relativity that, under certain circumstances can be created in places like black holes. The main problem is that passing through (or even approaching) a wormhole created by such objects would be potentially deadly. The alternative is to create a wormhole in a location of your choosing, but this would require the presence of exotic matter that isnt known to exist in large quantities and would require so much energy that it is not likely we could ever achieve it. So while wormholes may very well exist, it seems highly improbable that we would ever be able to travel through one. A science-fiction look at a spacecraft traveling through a wormhole to another galaxy. So far, scientists have not found a way to make such technology possible. NASA Warp Drive: Like wormholes, warp drive does not violate any laws of physics. However, it too would require such immense amounts of energy and exotic matter that it seems improbable that developing such technology will ever be possible. Energy Shields and Tractor Beams: These technologies are linchpins to the Star Trek series. We could someday have technologies that have a similar effect as those used in the films. However, they will likely work in a much different manner. Matter-antimatter Power: The starship Enterprise famously uses a matter-antimatter reaction chamber to create the energy used to power the ship. While the principle behind this power plant is sound, the problem is creating enough antimatter to make it practical. As of today, it is extremely unlikely that we will ever obtain enough antimatter to justify making such a device. Most Likely Impossible Artificial Gravity: Of course, we actually have artificial gravity technology in use today. For these applications, we use rotating centrifuges to produce a similar effect to gravity, and such devices may make their way onto spacecraft of the future. However, this is quite different from what is used in Star Trek. There, an anti-gravitational field is somehow created on board the starship. While this may be possible someday, our current understanding of physics is at a loss as to how this might actually work. This is mostly because we dont actually understand gravity that well. So it is possible that this technology might move up the list as our scientific understanding grows.Instantaneous Matter Transport: Beam me up, Scotty! Its one of the most famous lines in all of science fiction. And while it allows the plot of the Star Trek films to move along at a more rapid pace, the science behind the technology is sketchy at best. It seems highly unlikely that such technology will ever exi st. Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Secure and Sure

Secure and Sure Secure and Sure Secure and Sure By Mark Nichol Secure and sure, along with a handful of other words originating from those terms, share an etymology. These words are listed and defined in this post. The parent word is the Latin adjective securus, meaning â€Å"free from care or danger.† (The first element, se, means â€Å"free from† and is seen in secret, and the second is a form of cura, which means â€Å"care† and is the source of cure.) Secure is both an adjective meaning â€Å"safe† or â€Å"fixed in position† and a verb meaning â€Å"to make safe or fixed.† The noun form is security, extending in meaning to refer to a financial asset or document. The antonymic forms are insecure and insecurity, which also pertain to self-doubt; secure and security are also used in psychological contexts. Sure, from securus by way of Old French, means â€Å"confident,† â€Å"firm,† or â€Å"reliable† or, informally, is a substitute for certainly or â€Å"don’t mention it† in response to a request or an expression of gratitude; the antonym, in the more formal senses, is unsure. Idioms with sure as a foundation include â€Å"for sure† (â€Å"certainly† or â€Å"without a doubt†) â€Å"sure enough† (â€Å"certainly†), â€Å"sure-footed† (â€Å"confident in movement†), â€Å"sure thing† (â€Å"certainly†), and â€Å"to be sure† (â€Å"admittedly†). â€Å"Sure thing† is also an idiomatic noun phrase pertaining to someone or something that is certain to succeed; the phrase â€Å"sure bet† is synonymous. A surety is a guarantee, and insurance refers to a guarantee of protection or safety. Assurance can also refer to a guarantee (including, in British English, what is referred to in American English as insurance in the sense of a contract guaranteeing protection against loss), but it also pertains to security or to confidence (as well as overconfidence). The noun ensurance is obsolete. Although there is some overlap in the meanings of these words’ verb forms, most writers observe the following distinctions: to assure is to convince, to ensure is to guarantee, and to insure is to make certain or safe. Meanwhile, reassure means â€Å"assure again† or â€Å"restore confidence,† while reinsure means â€Å"insure again†; there is no equivalent prefixed form of ensure. Similarly, one can be (better yet, remain) unassured and can be or remain uninsured, but unensured is rare. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:5 Uses of InfinitivesUse a Dash for Number RangesHonorary vs. Honourary

Globalization and Regionalization As The Counteracting Forces Essay

Globalization and Regionalization As The Counteracting Forces - Essay Example Globalization is characterized by economies opening up their local markets for international firms, which then creates a global market ideally open to all countries and firms. On the other hand, through regionalization countries seek to form economic blocks primarily to create preferential treatment for their firms as regards access to each other’s market as well as resources. In essence, globalization and regionalization are forces that act in opposite directions. This paper will demonstrate that the origins and purposes of regionalization are too varied and distinct to be classified as parallel to the process of globalization. Globalization and regionalization: forces in conflict In the contemporary world, various world economies have been pursuing a number of market approaches in an effort to promote their economic growth (for less developed countries) or economic stability (for industrialized countries). Regionalization, or formation of regional trading blocks, has been am ong the major approaches aggressively pursued by countries across the world. The European Union, North Atlantic Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and Association of East Asia Nations (ASEAN) are classic examples of regional trade blocks. As noted earlier, regionalization process gives more focus on certain regions rather than the global economy in general. Regional blocs tend to minimize interactions between different parts of the world, particularly in terms of trade. They in effect tend to threaten the process of globalization. Countries within a regional trade block apply a number of mechanisms to effect preferential treatment of their fellow members, thus giving them a competitive edge over non-members. One of the most used mechanisms is discriminative tariffs. Others are government subsidies, and import quotas, technical assistance (Mucchielli, Buckley and Cordell, 1998). Regional trade blocs are among the most popular the regional integrations developments that have and continue to char acterize the modern world economy. Many countries have joined one or more regional blocks. In furthering their course, members of a regional trade block may go as far as taking such drastic measures as removing both tariff and non-trade barriers between the member states and thus offer complete and unrestricted access to each other’s market and productive resources (Kacowicz, 1998). Since regional blocks are more inclined towards implementation of policies that protects the state members from global competition, it tends to obstruct global trade liberalization. As a result, trade between members of a regional trade block and non-member states suffers significantly. This evidently discourages the process of globalization. Since globalization process is characterized by the move towards free trade and increased interdependence among different economies despite of regional differences, regionalization effectively becomes a powerful force that tend to move opposite to the directi on of globalization (Mucchielli, Buckley and Cordell, 1998). When punitive tariffs are imposed on imports from non-member states, the imported goods automatically become more expensive compared to similar goods from a trade partner within the regional trade block.

Weakness of Will Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Weakness of Will Power - Essay Example Unlike what is expected of a youth like me, I have always had a fear of trying out new things. I like staying with the concept I have and being contented with it. While contentment is sometimes beneficial to the life of an individual, mine was more than contentment; I could not try out any new thing that I did not before. In soccer for instance, my colleagues could learn new moves and develop their skills while I kept to myself. I was brought up in a lifestyle where we never used to go swimming. When we acquired a swimming pool, I was the only member of the family who, even after one year, could still not swim. This is not all, when newer and better versions of Windows Operating system was introduced, many of my friends who loved technology quickly installed it. I never even gave it a chance as I did not want anything new which would complicate my life. As I later came to realize, there were better functionalities in the newer versions of the windows that I would have enjoyed more th an my conventional version. The fear to try out new things has also affected me in class; I have always hesitated before trying out new mathematical concepts and many educational procedures. This has always affected results negatively and made me spend more doing something that I would have done quickly using a new and better concept. In the past, I did try accepting new things being ready to learn whatever it is that came my way. However, without proper assistance and guideline, I went back to becoming the same dull person who fears trying out new things. My fear of trying new things is not going to affect my life anymore. I’m committed to completely abandon this habit and changing the way I take things. No longer will I allow my misconceptions to prevent me from learning new things and enjoying new developments. I have suffered the effects of not accepting new things and trying them out. Previously, I could not embrace the new technology, learn new educational concepts and try out new methods, something which made me perform poor in my results. While people were adopting new ways of solving problems, I was stuck with my cumbersome old ones. Socially, I did not even develop as a youth since I always maintain my old style of doing things. The fear to try out new things comes with some advantages that I have always considered. The first one is that I always stay away from trouble and thus be able to keep my peace. There is no single moment that I have broken a material or destroyed a machine simply because I was trying out a new concept. The fear of losing my interests and ways of doing things have always prevented me from trying out new things. Every time I try to adopt a new style of dressing, talking, solving problems, I always fear for my normal methods, thinking that my usual likes and interests will be overtaken my new methods. It is not that I have never learnt anything new in my life. I have mastered complex mathematical concepts before and even learn a foreign language, something that I once thought I could not do completely. This has shown me the amount of potential that I have and how I can succeed in adopting new methods and learning new things if only I can try. I believe I am able to learn new things and blend in modern environments. I have learnt how readiness to learn new things has helped my classmates and improved their performances. With the right attitude and mentality, I am going to achieve this project and realize my expectations. Change is something that I have longed for and now that I have the chance, I am going to succeed and make it a reality to change my mentality. I have done a lot to venture into self-hypnosis. Being that self-hypnosis is self-induces and self-suggested

My Opinion on Different Issues of Today (From a Democratic Point of Personal Statement

My Opinion on Different Issues of Today (From a Democratic Point of View) - Personal Statement Example Their role is to serve the common citizens, and thus they must readily accept to be taxed so that ordinary citizens do not suffer from the changing economy. Politicians should not pass any law or policy that reduces the status of our country and makes the citizens dig dipper into their savings. Increased taxes make employment stressful as it makes people earn less from their jobs. But this is what the government needs so that it can be able to manipulate the electorate. One would logically think that the money realised from increased taxation would enable the government to employ more people; however, in reality, employees work less and spend less as the government legally keeps small chunks of the employees’ hard earned money. This makes the economy to decline, even though the government gets richer with each cent they get from the citizens. The government is only concerned with the big bucks it gets from large corporations, and when it increases the tax rates, small business es are driven off the markets as every penny they earn is collected by the government. The small businesses entrepreneurs opt to wind up their business instead of giving everything to the government. The super rich individuals would be left to operate the majority of the businesses as they do not have any problem with the government taking a little more of their money through tax. They can also be able to employ many professionals who would ensure that they do not feel the effects of the increased taxation. Despite the increased taxation, everything becomes more expensive, and services and consumable products no longer move from the shelves in shops and supermarkets. The citizens opt to economize their money and they adopt healthy eating lifestyles. They also reduce their standards of living, and business owners and entrepreneurs opt to fire people. This is very good for the economy as the available resources can last longer in the country. The government increasingly invests and sp ends a lot of money in job creation to enable its citizens, especially the young generation, to get jobs after graduation from college. With increased taxation, the government clearly wants people to get unspecialized jobs as it already employed enough citizens. The rest should be contented in being fed and clothed by welfare programs and getting assistance from their relatives and friends. It is funny though that everybody goes to school to get a job, but the government does not see sense in more people working and uses all the resources and machinery to make people idle. Majority of people support the government in all its functions and would readily accept to pay additional taxes as they are patriotic. The revenue collection agencies of the government would have to be abolished as nobody would try to evade paying tax. Instead of increasing tax, the government should introduce tax rebates to the poor and tax the rich people more as poor people do not get to use the country’ s resources equally with the rich people. It is ironical that the rich people get tax cuts instead of getting heavily taxed; they have the money and they mostly control the economy and they have a lot of say in its appreciation and depreciation. The low earners should only enjoy the benefits because they are the ones who do most of the work in

Customer Satisfaction in Nokia

Customer Satisfaction in Nokia Marketing is a comprehensive term and it includes all resources and a set of activities necessary to direct and facilitate the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers in the process of distribution. Businessmen refer marketing process as distribution process. Human efforts, finance and management constitute the primary resources in Marketing. Marketing encompasses all activities of exchange conducted by producers and middlemen in commerce for the purpose of satisfying consumer demand. Marketing Management is responsible for organizing, directing and controlling all marketing activities included in the process of marketing. Marketing consist of a set of principles for choosing target markets, identifying consumer needs, developing wants. Satisfying products and services and delivering value to customers and profit to the company. More successful companies owe their success to practicing a thorough customer orientation. They make consumer needs the basis of company opportunities. Definition of Marketing P. Kotler defines marketing as the set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges. The essence of marketing is exchange of products and the transaction is to satisfy human needs and wants. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer ABOUT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Today in the customer driven economy, all firms are engaged in a rat race to attract customers build long term relationships with their customers. The key to customer loyalty is customer satisfaction. A satisfied customer will act as a spokesperson of the companys product and bring in more customers. All the efforts put in by the marketer in the end comes down to satisfying the customers. Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Certain ways in which customer satisfaction can be achieved: Undertaking the needs of the customer. For defter customer satisfaction a firm has to correctly determine the need of its customer. The best way to understand their needs is through collecting the opinion of the customer and finding out what they really want. Fulfilling the needs of customers. To a customer a product represents bundle of expectations. If the performance of the product falls short of expectation, the customers are dissatisfied. So a firm must try to fulfil the needs of the customers. To study the customers demand in the market. Customer demands are continuously changing. It can rise or fall. Therefore the firm should be careful and be able to satisfy the customer demand. Good quality products The firm should always be able to satisfy the customers by providing them with good quality products and be able to maintain the quality of the goods. Good service at purchase point and after sales service. Good quality services are helpful to increase the satisfaction level of the customer. Good after sales service prevents dissatisfaction, frustration and ill will among customers. It can also build up and maintain seller goodwill and better company image. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: To find out if the customers are satisfied with services offered by NOKIA and also to find out if they have any problem with the services. Finally get the customers view on NOKIA services and also how to bring about improvements OBJECTIVES: To track customers attitude towards NOKIA To find out customer satisfaction with respect to the services offered by NOKIA To find, if the services are rendered on time to the customers and to find out if the customers would want any change in NOKIA marketing strategy SCOPE OF THE STUDY: The scope is to study the Customer Satisfaction on the Services provided By NOKIA in UK. It looks at the general satisfaction levels of the customers of NOKIA. It also tries to find out how long the customers has been associated with NOKIA, the research also seeks to provide the company with suggestions for improving the services provided by them and also provides information to the company about the rising competition faced by them. DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE Data collection instrument is an instrument through which data is collected as accurate as possible. It should be easy to use convenient for obtaining data and the researcher should find it easy to gather accurate data using this instruments used in research are- QUESTIONNAIRE: These contents a set of question which are all the people respond back by answering question choice answers. It is the most common method. MAIL SURVEY: This instrument is a questionnaire but it is sent by mail and response is also obtained by Mail, However, the response could be low. Apart from this there are also other mechanical or electronic devices which are also used for getting data. INDUSTRIAL PROFILE About the company Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) is one of the worlds largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers. It has since established a leading brand presence in many local markets, and business has expanded considerably in all areas to support customer needs and the growth of the telecommunications industry. Nokia also produces mobile phone infrastructure and other telecommunications equipment for applications such as traditional voice telephony, ISDN, broadband access, professional mobile radio, voice over IP, wireless LAN and a line of satellite receivers. Nokia provides mobile communication equipment for every major market and protocol, including GSM, CDMA, and WCDMA. SWOT Analysis of the Company: Nokia Strengths: Nokia has largest network of distribution and selling as compared to other mobile phone company in the world. It is backed with the high quality and professional team in the HRD Dept. The financial aspect is very strong in case of Nokia as it has many profitable business. The product being user friendly and have all the accessories one want that is why is in great demand making it No-1 selling mobile phones in the world. Wide range of products for all class. The re-sell value of Nokia phones are high compared to other companys product. Weakness: Nokia has many strengths and some weakness. Some of the weakness includes the price of the product offered by the company. Some of the products are not user friendly. Not concern about the lower class of the society people. Not targeting promotion toward them. The price of the product is the main issue. The service centers in India are very few and scare. So after sales service is not good. Opportunity: Nokia has ample of opportunity to expand its business. With the wide range in products, features and different price range for different people, it has an advantage over the competitors around. With the opportunity like Telecom penetration in India being at the peak time, Nokia has an opportunity to increase its sales as well as the market share. As the standard of living in India has increased the purchasing power of the people as increased as well Threats: Nokia has many threats to tackle to maintain its position as market leader. The threats like emerging of other mobile companies in the market. The companies like Motorola, Sony Eriksson, Cingular (U.S) etc. these companies have come to the stand of tough competition with Nokia in the field of Mobile Phones. Threats can be like providing cheap phones, new features, new style and type, good after sales service etc. So, Nokia has to keep in mind the growing competition around. Nokia has to make strategies to tackle problems in the present and the near future. The growing demand of WLL network can cause drop in sales for Nokia, as Nokia provides many less CDMA phones to the customer.

Power Is Money; Money Is Power :: essays research papers

Power is Money; Money is Power   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power is money and money is power. There are many more examples of this now than anytime in the past.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most obvious examples is politics. Ross Perot was an unkown multimillionaire and his money is the only reason that he made it into the presidential election. If a man who earned a standard salary wanted to run for president, he would have almost no chance at all unless he was backed by people with money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every four years when the U.S. Presidential election is held, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent. The more money a candidate has, the farther he can get. Although the richest competitor doesn't always win, the president is usually a very wealthy man. Wealth paves the road to a good education. If the presidential candidate is rich, he either inherited it or was educated enough to make it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  OJ Simpson's trial is another example of money changing everything. If OJ Simpson had not been a retired professional football player, then the trial would have been completely different. Because OJ was rich, he was able to afford a very good team of lawyers. An average person would have had much less of a chance at being found innocent, especially considering the weight of the evidence. Supported by his money OJ's case became a media event.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When OJ had the trial, there was no way it could be completely fair. It was unlikely that there was not going to be a fan of OJ on the jury. Also, because he was rich, OJ was given better privileges. If OJ had been a poor man with a criminal record, he would have probably been found guilty because of representation by an over-worked public defender.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power and Money also affects the average person with expenses of college. An average â€Å"B† student is going to have a much harder time getting into a good school than a wealthy kid. With money, all the rich student needs to do is maintain an average grade. When a student has money, he/she does not have to work as hard to succeed in life, usually because he/she is given a higher position to start thanks to references from his university's alumnae or from aquaintances of his wealthy relatives. Money and power do not just apply to college. A child who has a wealthy family is going to have an easier job getting good grades. One of the main reasons is that the parents probably got a good education and know how important education is in life.

Individual Report (Hrm) Essay

According to the chairman of Woolworths, James Strong, â€Å"One of the most significant factors contributing to the country’s outstanding performance is the quality of its people†. According to him involvement and development of people possessing high quality is very important for an organization to succeed (Stone, 2011). Now a day’s workforce is the main factor of organization’s competitive advantage. The workforce is intangible assets of organizations. To gain a competitive advantage, the part of human resource is the best ever, because it is taken as a wealth success as well as the main component of sustainable competitive advantage (Memon, Mangi, & Rohra, 2009). Human Capital includes the skill, attitudes and knowledge of the employees. Today, all the organization maintains sustainable value in the market, so that they mostly use intangible assets as human capital (Javadein, Estiri, & Ghorbani, 2011). When a human capital is valuable, rare and hardly capable it creates a sustainable competitive advantage. For example given below: Table 1: Human capital and Competitive advantage Performance Type of competitive advantage Hardly capable of imitation Rare Valuable Below average Competitive loss —- — No Average Competitive balance —- No yes Above average Temporary competitive advantage No yes yes Above average Sustainable competitive advantage yes yes yes Source: (Colella & Miller, 2006) All researchers are own vision but of this concept as Wright, et al, 1994 indicates that they meet the criteria for human resource Barney is a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Guest said in 1990 if management trusts employees and give difficult tasks, workers will reply high motivation, commitment and high performance (Jassim, 1987) to respond. This means that in recent years the sources of sustainable competitive advantage technological, financial but now to human. In other words, we can say that achievement now depends on employees’ skills, confidence and capacity obligations. 2Competitive Advantage Competitive advantage is achieved when a business produces extra profits which are greater than its competitors due to making exclusive product pricing or supply advantage (The VisionLink Advisory Group, 2012). And if the company is to create value over time, the policy the same as another potential competitor also done, but other companies are not able to reap the fruits of this policy to duplicate, then you can say that the organization continues to sustainable competitive advantage. For better compete in the market the capable employees of the successful companies make a product unique, use some different activities and they focus on all of energy areas which affect the organization to maintain sustainable competitive advantage. The Competitive Advantage Process   Image2: Competitive Advantage Process Source: (http://www.vladvisors.com/) According to this Michael Porter’s say that: â€Å"At the time a firm gets profits more than industrial average profit, then the firm possesses competitor advantage over its competitors† (The VisionLink Advisory Group, 2012). Employees play vital roles to achieve the targets which set by organization so instead of this organization also know that to achieve the sustainability in the market so the factor is capable employees. 3Significance of the Study â€Å"The human element has become important information that comes has an essential element to obtain a competitive advantage, especially in the new economic environment.† The objective of this work is to define the importance of workforce in organizational performance and some models of the strategic direction of the organization to describe. These models make it for this individual report to explain the capable workforce is the main resource of competitive advantage. In these models shows that how the workforce can help to organization in stay sustained competitive in the market. To use these models finds that which are the capable employees in organizations will achieve competitive advantage in the market. (Bernardin & Russell, 1998). This effort shows that organization understand the importance of human resources in formulating planning and execution to achieve a competitive advantage. 4Capable Workforce can deliver sustainable competitive advantage Fig3: Adapting these things to develop a Sustain Competitive Advantage Source: (http://www.growourregion.ca) In today’s world if an organization needs to have a growth in present economic environment then it should have more and proper focus on its workforce. The ability to reduce costs, productivity and competitive advantage in the management depends upon the employee’s capability. Sustainable competitive advantage means that the employees of the company always focus on the maintenance and improvement in the enterprises, so the organization easily competes in the market. This competitive advantage helps every business to stand against its rivals in a long run. (Kotelnikov, N.D). Some example according to sustain competitive advantage: 4.1Example: IBM With the talent and experience of professional manpower the IBM deployed worldwide, the organization and practice of people is part of IBM Global Business Services. IBM consultants have a proven track record in creating value for customers with our proven assets, methodology, partnerships and research capabilities; we act as business advisors trust for our customers worldwide (Brousseau, N.D.). 4.2Literature Review of Workforce Workforce is supposed to be major part of the organization. In recent years organization ignored workforce strategies, but after see the importance and control organization began to understand that human resources is essential to create and maintain a competitive advantage. Most of theories show that workforce should be included at the time of formulation of any strategy in the organization. According to Stone 1998 shows that whenever organizational need to formulate new strategy that time they requires identifications of resources, analysis the whole structure and balance the externalities coming from outside or inside the organization at that time workforce plays a very important role (Memon et al., 2009). Workforce is major resource of sustainable competitive advantage. Workforce give helps to organization’s to achieve sustainable competitive advantage through cost management and differentiation. 4.2.1Example: Uk Airlines In this example tell about employees of UK airlines give efforts to utilize the image of airlines in the minds of its customers. The most excellent airline are those which always do our promises to their customers and always make significant value for them, but this thing possible when the employees of the company give better results. In this Airlines Company employee’s plays very vital role for spread image of airline in the market and responsible for deliver promises to our customers, so that airlines company easily achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the market (Study-Aids, 2010). 5Workforce and Sustained Competitive Advantage: For achieving goals, firstly represent the review of the resource-based view of the firm. And after this concept tell about function of workforce in sustainable competitive advantage. 5.1The Resource-Based View of the Firm According to resource-based firm organization literature shows that the theories of profit and competition are related with the writing of Ricardo (1817), Schumpeter (1934). And in this they both mainly focus on the workforce of the business success as the main determinants in the competition (WRIGHT & McMcMAHAN, 1993). 5.2Workforce affects the sustainability of the organization It is clear that most of the organizations suggest that workforce is the key point of competitive advantage in the world. Workforce is the key point of sustained competitive advantage in the market because less visible role compared to others. Employees working in the organization can play a very important role in production of product and services because the employees are directly involved in it. All these things displayed by the workforce are capable of a sustainable competitive advantage. 5.3Workforce Role in the Sustained Competitive Advantage First, in a static environment, a high level of workforce must have a number of bodies ‘to have productive advantages over its competitors by developing more efficient methods to meet the requirements of the task (Hunter & Hunter, 1984). On the other hand, the dynamics environments some workers affected by the increased efficiency adapted to the individual capacity of the environment. 5.4Function of Manager to rising workforce While managers were greatest impact on business results. It plays vital function in the development of workforce as a competitive advantage continuously (WRIGHT & McMcMAHAN, 1993). According to resource-based view shows all managers are ability to control the characteristics of their business. 5.4.1Example: Honda Last 40 years the Honda had a manufacturing work plants in the United States. In U.S. economy Honda has large growth and spreading out in terms of dollars and number of employees. But the success of the Honda’s depends upon the company employees (Child, 1972). 6Employees Personal Characteristics under Workforce These are some personal Characteristics for employees by which they achieve goals in the company and other side easily achieves sustain competitive advantage in the organization. Such that including aggressiveness, Confidence, poise, decisiveness, toughness, integrity and quick thinking (Child, 1972). Skills: The most important skills for employees to sustainable competitive advantage in the organization are: 1)Communication Skills: Employees have good communication skills by this they easily do business globally which effect organization preview. 2)Organization skills: This is the vital factor for good management. These skills included in the employees having good planning, analytical and goal-setting abilities by through this they achieve good reputation of organization in the market which makes the sustainable competitive advantage. 3)Coping Skills: Employees have flexible and creative were involved in effectively coping with change, as were patience and persistence. These all good skills in employees affect the organization image in the market. 4)Technical skills: If managers have good background in their field so it achieves the objectives of the organization and done the things more efficiently which affects the sustainability of the organization. 7Conclusions Today, intangible assets play an important role in the competitiveness of enterprises, more durable and less active that can be replicated. Workforce can be considered as one of the most important intangible assets, including the knowledge and skills. As a result, management has the capital necessary to achieve competitiveness. The reason of this analysis is verify the capable labor market is the important factor for the organization. By preparing this individual report using some theoretical concepts, which shows that capable workforce is the source of sustainable competitive advantage. 8Reference Bernardin, H., & Russell. (1998). Human Resource Management. A Experimental Approach. 2 Edition. Singapore: McGraw-Hill. Brousseau, D. (n.d.). Organization & Workforce Transformation. Retrieved from http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/strategy/talent-and-workforce-management.html Colella, A., & Miller, C. C. (2006). Organizational Behavior: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley, New York. Memon, D. M. A., Mangi, R. A., & Rohra, D. C. L. (2009). Human Capital a Source of Competitive Advantage â€Å"Ideas for Strategic Leadership.† Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.ajbasweb.com/ajbas/2009/4182-4189.pdf Javadein, S., Estiri, M., & Ghorbani, H. (2011). The Role of Internal Marketing in Creation of Sustainable Competitive Advantages. Retrieved from http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=tasr.2011.364.374&org=10 Jassim, R. K. (1987). Competitive Advantage Through the Employees. Retrieved from http://www.my-world-guide.com/upload/File/Reports/e/egipt/Competitive%20Advantage%20Through%20the%20Employees.pdf The VisionLink Advisory Group. (2012). Creating and Sustaining a Competitive Advantage – The Role and Impact of Effective Compensation and Rewards Strategies. Retrieved from http://www.vladvisors.com/compensation-information/Role-of-Effective-Compensation-Competitve-Advantage-article.aspx The VisionLink Advisory Group. (2012). How Do I Create a Competitive Advantage with My Compensation Programs? Retrieved from http://www.vladvisors.com/compensation-information/Competitive-Advantage-with-Compensation-article.aspx Kotelnikov, V. (N.E). Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA). Retrieved from http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/sca_main.html WRIGHT, P. M., & McMcMAHAN, G. C. (1993). Human Resources And Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Resource-Based Perspective. Retrieved from http://ceo.usc.edu/pdf/T9319239.pdf Child, J. (1972). Human Resource Management (Competitive advantage). Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/fathima_sy/human-resource-management-competitive-advantage-1928241 Study-Aids. (2010). Employee Branding as a Source of Sustainable Competitive Advantage A Study of Two UK Airlines. Retrieved from http://www.study-aids.co.uk/marketing/market0057.html Hunter, J., & Hunter, R. (1984). Validity and utility of alternative

Technology and education

Introduction: Disability and TechnologyAccording to the U. S. Department of Commerce, more than half of all Americans use the Internet in some way, but â€Å"persons with a disability are only half as likely to have access to the Internet as those without a disability†¦ [a]nd while just under 25% of those without a disability have never used a personal computer, close to 60% of those with a disability fall into that category.† In addition â€Å"[a]mong those with a disability, people who have impaired vision†¦ have even lower rates of Internet access and are less likely to use a computer regularly than people with hearing and mobility problems† (National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 2000, p. xv).Cyndi Rowland, director of the Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM) project at Utah State University's Center for Persons with Disabilities, calls for a â€Å"national solution† to the problem of inaccessibility, especially â€Å"if we are t o abide by civil rights legislation, federal rulings, and common ethics† (Rowland, 2000, p. 10). Understanding the specific needs and concerns of students with disabilities may aid educators, information technology designers, and educational institutions to ensure that students with disabilities, particularly those who are blind or visually impaired, are not left behind in this technological â€Å"revolution.†The Internet and the web have become an integral part of higher education, transforming the educational experiences of all   students. In 1997, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the international body that oversees the protocols and operations of the Internet, created the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). WAI is responsible for promoting web functionality for people with disabilities and establishing accessibility guidelines. In this age of computer technology, many of the tools needed to enable students with disabilities to obtain equity in education and be yond already exist. For those involved in educational institutions, these tools can provide opportunities and independence, eliminating the obstacles and barriers that many of the current systems still enable.A review of the literature related to attitudes and other barriers that people with disabilities must contend with every day at school and at work, the integration of computer technology in postsecondary education, and the needs and concerns of students with disabilities, in particular those who are blind or visually impaired, may provide some insights for future policies and guidelines regarding access and use of computer technologies for students who are blind or visually impaired.Technology: Enhancing Modern EducationExperiences of people with visual impairments in the workplace and their use of computer technology and the Internet was the focus of a qualitative study conducted in Australia by Williamson, Albrecht, Schauder, and Bow (2001). Primarily through focus group rese arch, the researchers presented the perceived benefits and concerns of the study's participants. Most agreed that the Internet enabled them to participate in an information and communication format that is becoming a primary source for many people. Many also saw the Internet as enabling them to be less reliant on others and, therefore, facilitating an increase in their own privacy.However, some were concerned about a reduction in social contact and an increase in isolationism. An additional concern was that there would be a decline in the quality of services from such entities as the government and banks because more is being done online. Training was viewed as critical to successfully using the Internet and computer technology. This, it was believed by many, was the key to achieving equality in the workplace, yet many felt it was a low priority by agencies and workplaces. Cost was also viewed as a barrier to accessing computers and the Internet.With various Internet advances, more individuals in all sectors of the community are working from home.   For visually impaired members of community the Internet has the potential to free them from the restrictions they have experienced in the past while seeking to obtain employment. â€Å"Once the challenges of access have been surmounted, [visually impaired] users can take their places in the digitalized workforce† (Williamson et al., 2001, pp. 693-4).With computer technology becoming a part of all college students' educational experiences, how are postsecondary schools preparing students for a computer-integrated future? To determine how the use of various technologies affect student learning, Shuell and Farber (2001) conducted a study of 728 sighted undergraduate and graduate students at a large northeastern university, where they found that, in general, students perceived the use of computer technology in their courses to be very beneficial. Students also believed that the use of communication technology brought an increase in their sense of involvement in a course.Eighty-eight percent of the sample indicated that their use of computer technology helped them learn materials and skills, and 75 percent indicated that using computer technology improved the quality of interaction with their instructor. Students also viewed the use of dynamic computer presentations and the Internet in lectures very favorably; it kept their interest, and the students believed that it improved their learning.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Students also favored electronic forums as a way to interact with their peers (e.g., email, listservs, and newsgroups) and believed that the use of these forms of computer technology increased the quality of these interactions.Another interesting finding in this study was that students who considered themselves to be more independent tended to respond more favorably to these technologies and the learning benefits associated with them. One theme of this study was the appreciation that stude nts had of the ability for computer technologies to enable independent learning. When serving the needs of students with disabilities, independence is a key factor to consider.Lewis, Coursol, and Khan (2001) examined the use and effect of computer technology on student development and education. They surveyed 124 sighted undergraduate students who attended a regional public institution in the Midwest. Technology choices, which included use of email, the Internet, and multimedia, were based on technology trends in higher education.Results indicated that the majority of students were comfortable with computer technology, using such tools as email and the Internet for both academic and social purposes. Both men and women spent about the same amount of time on email, class assignments on the computer, playing computer games, and shopping on the Internet. However, women spent significantly fewer hours surfing the Internet than men did.Consistent with Shuell and Farber (2001), Lewis et al . (2001) also confirmed that students believe the use of email increases their frequency of communication with faculty, which, in turn, enhances the faculty-student relationship and enables faculty to be more accessible. The issue of accessibility was discussed in this report and how there is a need for higher educational institutions to address this issue, which the authors indicate to be a social problem that has significant economic and social implications. They point to the need to recognize that there are some students, including those with disabilities, who may be at a disadvantage when a course requires the retrieval of materials from the web.The use of computer technology has become an accepted and expected component of every student's postsecondary educational experience. To better understand the use and effectiveness of these technologies, all of the studies used in this paper that focused on computer technology in higher education examined one or more aspects of the integ ration of these technologies into the educational system. The Arant (1996) study focused on the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web in higher education.Employing both qualitative and quantitative methods (phone interviews and a survey), it concluded that, while using online components to traditional courses did not support the apparent belief that online education saved time and money, it did change the way in which courses were taught, with additional online portions being incorporated into courses. For students who are visually impaired or blind, this could result in additional barriers.Computer Technology and Visually Impaired StudentsIn an extensive two-year study in Canada, Fichten, Barile, and Asuncion (1999) investigated the computer, information, learning, and adaptive technology needs and concerns of Canadian postsecondary students with disabilities. Of the findings from this study, computers were found to be critical to the success of students with disabilities, and the vast majority of students, regardless of gender, age, program of study, or type of disability, could and did use computer technologies to help them succeed. An important development that emerged from this study was that students often â€Å"cross-used† technologies. For example, while students with visual impairments are expected to use screen reader software, students with learning disabilities also used this software.The students in this study considered computers as â€Å"electronic curb cuts,† enabling technologies that allow students with disabilities to better prepare for and participate in the information-based economy of tomorrow. Fichten, et al. (1999) urged postsecondary education institutions to design for accessibility and to consider the needs of students with disabilities before making purchases.   What the authors describe as â€Å"troubling† is â€Å"the absence, in many cases, of planning for access† for students with disabilities by postsecondary institutions (Fichten et al., p. 179).  As some technological barriers fall, others are slowly erected as new technologies continue to become part of a student's educational experiences. One suggestion the authors had for government funding bodies to help raise awareness of these issues was to take accessibility issues into consideration when reviewing grant applications and to create incentives for businesses to develop and market technologies that are accessible to all students. The authors wrote: The enormous potential of computers to remove barriers to students with disabilities and concerns over barriers posed by limitations in access were central issues noted by respondents in all categories in all phases of the research (p. 180).Shaw and Giacquinta (2000) used a questionnaire that was very carefully developed, field tested, and revised several times before being used for this study. The sample consisted of 412 sighted graduate students. This study was very well thought out and documented.  Ã‚   The authors suggested that faculty integrate more computer technology into their curricula (e.g., with the use of such tools as Blackboard, WebCT, and course web pages). They did not, however, take into consideration the ramifications of that suggestion as it applies to students who are blind or visually impaired.  Ã‚   Unfortunately, unless having been asked to consider it, most faculty do not think about students who are blind or visually impaired (or who have any other disability) when they begin to integrate technology into their curriculum.Shuell and Farber (2001) piloted a questionnaire and discussed it within two focus groups before using it for the study. Their sample was composed of 728 sighted undergraduate and graduate students.  Ã‚   Both qualitative and quantitative data showed a link between active, participatory learning and the positive perception of students regarding technology as a learning tool; they also confirmed tha t the use of technology made the classes seem more personal to the students.However, the authors caution that the apparent relationship found in their study between a positive perception of computer technology by students and students' actual learning is still unclear. Lewis et al. (2001) used an author-constructed survey, which they described as â€Å"a self-report, forced-choice survey.† One of the problems with this study is that a self-report is subject to response bias, although the results of this study were consistent with the others regarding a positive perception and use of computer technology by students in postsecondary institutions. Both Shuell et al. and Lewis et al. recommended that future research focus on the impact of technology on student learning. Lewis et al. also recommended the need to examine the use of technology among specific groups, such as students who are Hispanic, African American, and commuters.ConclusionGiven the state of existing literature in the area of postsecondary students who are blind or visually impaired, combined with the overwhelming integration of computer technology into the academic environment, there is still a need for a more substantive exploration into how postsecondary institutions are supporting and serving the best interests of these students. Disability scholars Susan R. Jones and Julie Smart point out the relationship between individuals who have a disability and how society views people with disabilities. They assert that disability is a universal issue, and yet there is no single disability experience.With a focus on the prejudices, discrimination and stigma experienced by people with disabilities and their responses to their disabilities, Jones (1996) and Smart (2001) define disability as a socially constructed phenomenon that combines the experiences of those living with a disability together with their environments. Goggin and Newell (2003) further state that â€Å"in the name of inclusionâ₠¬  society builds disability into digital technologies, arguing that disability has been constructed in the technological world of computing and computer networks and that there is a need to critically analyze the ways in which it is constructed within contemporary society.ReferencesArant, Jr., M. D. (1996, August). Going online to teach journalism and mass communication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED399596)Fichten, C, Barile, M., & Asuncion, J. V. (1999). Learning technologies:Students with   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   disabilities inpostsecondary education [Montreal: Final Report to the Office of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning Technologies]. Adaptech Project,Dawson College. (ERIC Document   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reproduction Service No. ED433625)Goggin, G. & Newell, C. (2003). Digital disability: The social construction of disability in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   new media. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Jones, S. R. (1996). Toward inclusive theory: Disability as social construction. NASPA   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Journal, 33(4), 347-354.Lewis, J., Coursol, D., & Khan, L. (2001). College students @ tech.edu: A study of comfort and the use of technology. Journal of College Student Development, 42(6), 625-631.National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (2000). Falling through the   Ã‚   net: Toward digital inclusion. A report of American's access to technology tools. 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