Misconception of African Americans Essay

Since the beginning of time African Americans have been viewed negatively. We have always been viewed as a threat to society and frowned upon by many races. There are many cliches displayed in the media of what African Americans are supposed to act like. These conclusions cause almost immediate negative feelings from other races and sometimes by our own race. African American females in television shows and movies are often shown as the loud â€Å"ghetto† acting, angry black girl who is always â€Å"telling someone off†. Actor Tyler Perry has been criticized for illustrating African American females as â€Å"big momma†, another negative portrayal of black women. Other times shapely video vixens cause other black females to be portrayed as â€Å"jump-offs† or gold diggers. African American males have even greater judgments to overcome. They are viewed as a menace to society. They are illustrated as wild, angry, dangerous â€Å"gang bangers†. Black men are viewed as absentee fathers or abusive husbands. Although, in some cases, African American males do possess some of these characteristics, there are just as many black men that are positive role models. These ignorant judgments are called stereotypes. A stereotype is defined as â€Å"a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing†. Stereotypes, in my own words, are judgments blindly made by people who use ignorance as an excuse to be biased against those who are different from them. There are many different types of stereotyping. Racial stereotyping, sexist stereotyping, stereotypes about cultures, and sexual orientation stereotypes are all judgments that can affect one’s life in many ways. Stereotypes are, sadly, made by everyone. Racial stereotyping, however, is the most common type of stereotyping, and can sometimes be dangerous. The Trayvon Martin story, for example, is a situation where stereotyping turned tragic. Trayvon Martin was a young African American boy who was walking from the store with nothing but Skittles and a drink in his pockets. Because of his race, and the stereotype of what black Males are capable of, he was targeted, and tragically killed. There have been many similar cases of dangerous stereotyping. People’s fear of what the media shows we are suited to do, has gotten out of control. Too many of us are dying because of this fear. While many stereotypes do seem to be believable, people like Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, my grandparents, and my mom allow me to realize that not all stereotypes are true.

Range of Problems Final Essay

In developing our quest of facing human service problems we are going to break out in categories of how I have learned them. My definition of problems is an experience or difficulty that the client has experienced due to the problems of living in today’s world. A Human Service Professional provides varied roles and assumes several responsibilities to help with successful care and devotion to the client to overcome their needs first hand. Choosing to work with people is a field that is a wonderful feeling and opportunity, helping makes a difference in many people’s lives. It contributes to building up values, helps inspire others for the work one is doing, gives ethical morale to agency and team of human service professionals you work with. Having unconditional acceptance for your clients and establishing a commitment to them treating them as you would want to be treated will help bring healing and establish the relationship that you so need to get them on their road to recovery. Finally, having honesty and awareness of yourself, knowing where you are in life, where you are going will always keep you in reflection of these principles. Understanding what our system in whole has developed will help us work effectively to recognize individuals situations and evaluate them carefully. There are three modules of service delivery and the interactions that formulate a successful means of treatment for the clients. You will find that many Professionals, such as Psychologist, Practitioners, Doctors, Therapists, Social Workers, and Counselors will utilize these modules to help diagnose and treat individuals. The medical module was openly seen as individuals were not â€Å"well† or â€Å"ill†. Then as time evolved the psychoanalytic method developed which is what we are using today, where patients are talking to therapist and a new theory of neurosis had taken place. Mental behavior has been an epidemic people are still unsure how to  approach, understanding the validity and following up with treatment and aftercare will improve as testing allows us. It is still a growing concern today as â€Å"living with problems† life is going so fast and we just don’t know how to slow down to deal with the way things are flying at us. The human service model focuses on the involvement between environment and persons trying to reach for balance. The public health model is focusing on geographical problems like abuse, poverty, illness is specific age brackets in categories, (children, the elderly) psychological, psychosis, ego or unexpected disasters that the client has endured or been diagnosed with. Gaining this foundation has proven to offer a course of action that will provide a standard classification to the direction of establishing the form of service to the client. A brief review of some problems that the human service professional’s face and identifying the helping skills that are most likely be used to help the client will be our subjects that we will be focusing on in the next few paragraphs. I would like to begin with a problems facing our human society that in my research I discovered about age and gender. According to Anderson et al. (1995) (Cultural Diversity and Suicide pg. 24) males completed suicide rate four times higher than females. Males used more lethal methods (i.e., handguns), but over 40 percent of females now choose handguns as their suicide choice as well. Adolescents and young adults (ages fifteen to twenty-four) and for people generally white men, over the age of seventy. Suicide is now the leading cause of death among fifteen- to nineteen- year- old adolescents. Clinicians may focus on the suicidal client’s view that life will never get better and that he or she will always be alone and have a poor job. The professional would attempt to get the client to view these thoughts more objectively and indicate to the client some thought provoking questions. Such as, â€Å"If you were to kill yourself who would you want to find you?† This question will serve two purposes: first, it will indicate to the client that suicide is only one of many options and, second, to determine with whom they may be upset with (redirect their thinking). Suicide is often based on an impulsive decision and that this decision can be faulty based on several factors, gaining rapport with the client helped them see their options. The Professional would like to ask the client to keep a thought log, to write down their thoughts and behaviors, this will help the client feel a sense of  purpose, hope and self-worth as well. Addiction and dependence, the seeking and searching for the drugs that effect our environments, communities, schools, our loved ones, and even our trusted medical and clergy fellowman/women. Yes, it is so very unfortunate, the craving for alcohol, crack, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and prescription drugs, marijuana that calls your name in the middle of the night. People can’t seem to get away from it, psychologically, they are physically dependent on it. Its severity varies with the individual, the situation and the substance. The National Institute on Drug Addiction reveals substance abuse has been linked to mental health problems, illness and occupational problems. It affects their social life and their ability to function as a healthy individual. (The Truth about Drugs pg.21, 22, 35) The complexity of the assistance required from the Professional depends on the severity of the problem and the state of the client. The Professional can use the Erikson’s stages developmental model to identify some of the problems with earlier stages of basic human life span. Developing a rapport with the individual, breaking the ice with the client, asking open- ended questions to get them to open up about their now situations. The helping process occurs over a period of time and there is preparation, application, administration, and certain strategies to be explored as a whole person. We may experience a client who has been involuntarily referred to our facility for counseling. For example, a court order was given to a juvenile because he committed a crime and he had been incarcerated. Depending on the crime judges do want them to receive counseling, to help in the social services department, or handle responsibilities related to their crimes. In conclusion we have covered the modules, some problems facing our human service clients today and the helping skills our Professionals use to assist with the road to recovery for the wellbeing of the client. Living life day to day with its problems are always going to affect each individual differently. As a person seeking a career in human services I value understanding the core strengths of listening, communication and teaching, advocating, and making myself be aware of the responsibilities of what is best for the client.

American Persona

A persona as commonly known to many people is a social role played by a character. With all the kind of immigration that continuously takes place in America it is not easy to clearly distinguish who is an American. An American persona in a general perspective refers to someone whose origin is America. In history an American refers to the Red Indians; now they are refered to according to the political nomenclature Native Americans. Ironically, they have been reduced to almost an extinct community in their own country. Is it possible for one to clearly define an Italian, a British or a German? The America we live in has a Paris in Texas, a Moscow in Idaho and a Birmingham in Alabama. Even bigger cities and states in the world have changed their old cities names to others like New York, and New Jersey. Several Asian and American countries have changed the names adopted during the colonial era to others which match their customs and traditions. This is not the case to American personalities. After a whole 200 year period of being a free Nation, America is really content to remain residing to the areas where their parents, grandparents and other relatives had left behind. They are not destined to come up with other names that are not American. When someone talks about an American it is almost obvious that an ethnic prefix will be added before the word American for instance: Italian American, Russian American and Polish American. The single ethnic group who do not use these prefixes include the one whose ancestors were originally from British. That is why it is rare to here that one is an English American. The United States of America is a land that is known for its richness in diversity and cultures. In American history the natives, settlers and immigrants have learned a lot and passed through several challenges here and there. Generalising the nation for specific characteristics may not be very simple. The reason as to why this is so is because this society has several other communities in it with which have their own distinct characteristics. Whereas the Native American society has a tendency of being hardy, the settlers introduced versatility in the utilization of America’s rich resources and the colonists are uniquely associated with the introduction of scope for restraint and amalgamation of the diverse nature of America. The other source of uniqueness of Americans include the size of the nation and its climatic changes; ranging from winter, autumn and summer. The variation of the geography of the region has a great impact on the ethnic communities in the region. If variety is the secret answer to spicy life then America has it. The range in diversity goes all the way from the Atlantic region up to the Pacific area. Americans are known to the whole world for the value and respect of their individuality. The kind of spirit they poses that can never be doubted in the eye of the storm of the worldwide contradiction. People of America embrace resilience and equality among themselves and even other people with whom they live. Even though they did not adopt these aspects as a result of suffering and forcefulness, but they learned them very fast in a quick and thorough way. Like they battled with American civil war and colonisation, they also fought to bring down racial differences with strength and vigour of character. Their decisions always relied on the fact that they respect the underlying unity of thought, deeds and actions. In regard to fearlessness, they believe that as a nation they establish their own destiny. They have never acted in fear when they want to speak up. They have in various circumstances voiced their values and opinions freely. The attribute of not fearing anyone makes them able to express their opinions regarding politics without fear and abide by the liberties bestowed upon them as a society by the US constitution without fear or favour. The fact that they are fearless makes them able to refrain from collecting class distinctions or conscience (Burnett et al. ) According to their concern attribute, they are friendly to everyone in nature and can take their friendship to the next level genuinely. That is why they take part as forerunners in the United Nations. On the attribute of being informal and realistic, Americans are most comfortable when they are informal; this is not only confined to dress code and manners, but to all aspects of their lives. They are known for being able to break the fetters and find their way to the rooftop. In terms of being realistic they may or may not assume that their acquaintances are also their close friends. It is obvious that their variation in English language is strange all over but this does not hinder people from accepting them the way they are. The differences in spelling and pronunciation make more sense. It is not easy for a person who is not born in America to develop a system that is distinctly American. America’s foreign policy affects each and every person in the world in terms of prices, taxes, supply of gasoline, and the lives of our soldiers also depends on how we associate with US. This country can bring hope to the lives of the poorest people in the world. It is because of their persona that they are able to respect the lives of others who are not even their own. Most American citizens believe in embracing their values, justice, fairness, democracy, a helping hand when there is need and hard work. Their values are applied from their households, to community and to the rest of the world. The middle path of foreign policy requires that people work together with their allies, reward individuals who share American values and join arms against hatred (Alan and Steve). It would not be right to say that the American persona needs to be changed and not adopted, yet it is embraced by all Americans and is composed of very good attributes that should apply to every other nation in the rest of the world. Americans may be guided by the fact that ‘time is money’, though when they decide to unwind, it is difficult to compare to any other. To them being punctual is a virtue and a form of professionalism and life is as easy as a personal one. They accept that they are materialistic, but accept it and do not shy away from that. Works Cited Rebbecca, Burnett. , Elizabeth, Foster. , and Judith, Stanford. American Persona: A creative approach to writing. Littleton, MA: Sundance Press. 1998. Print. Alan, Dobson and Steve, Mash. US Foreign policy since 1945. New York: Routledge Press. 2002. Print.

Bussiness Plan- physiotherapy clinic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bussiness Plan- physiotherapy clinic - Essay Example A partnership serves both the short term and long-term interests of the organization (Eisner, 2010). Firstly, as a recent graduate I have few financial resources. Secondly, I have limited experience working in a real world healthcare setting. As a result, having a partner with an established record of accomplishment in the physiotherapy healthcare segment and the financial resources to support the business is strategic. The business would benefit from our partnership as we merge our skills and abilities to deliver high quality and effective healthcare for our clients. The location of a business plays a significant role in determining success (Spaeder, 2014). The location of the business at the outskirts of the city is informed by a desire to have a serene environment for clients to recover. Although it means that clients have a difficult time accessing it as opposed to the city, the cost of renting the compound is significantly cheaper. In addition, it is crucial to get a big office space at an affordable rate. An analysis of the market demonstrated a demand for physiotherapy services. According to the US Physical Therapy organization (2014), the market is estimated at $ 19 billion and is projected to experience an annual growth rate of over 5%. Firstly, the area has many sports teams whose players would need regular physiotherapy attention. In addition, a large segment of the population is aging. As a result, there will be demand for physiotherapy services to deal with backaches and other forms of pain that are associated with the aging process (NHS, 2014). Physiotherapy plays an integral role in successful aging (Cox, 2004). Furthermore, the demand for physiotherapy services exceeds supply in the state. Although the clinic will cater for everyone, it is necessary on the female gender and aging demographic. The competitors include Elite Clinic and Monsanto Clinic. The former caters

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

Data Analysis - Essay Example ysing the factors which influenced mind during voting, particularly how their educational qualifications, religious leanings, gender income, etc., influenced their voting behaviour. Various political and social developments impacted the voting behaviour of the people in the British elections. As stated by Alvarez and Nagler (1997), in the United Kingdom, â€Å"the sustained revival of the Liberal Party since 1970, the rise of nationalist parties in Wales and Scotland, and the new Social Democratic Party, poised significant challenges to the established two-party system.† Apart from these aspects, studies were conducted to find out certain personal and social factors also impacted the voting behaviour. One of the key aspects which is thought to influence the voting pattern of the voters is their education and thereby intelligence levels. Deary, Batty and Gale (2008) in the 1970 British Cohort Study, examined the relation between childhood intelligence and how those people voted at the ages of 30 and above during the 2001 UK general election. The studies found that, â€Å"People with higher childhood intelligence were more likely to vote in the 2001 election (38% increased prevalence per SD increase in intelligence), People with higher childhood intelligence were more likely to take part in rallies and demonstrations, and to sign petitions, and expressed a greater interest in politics (40%, 65%, 33%, and 58% increased prevalence per SD increase in intelligence, respectively).† (Deary, Batty and Gale 2008). The other aspect, which could also inf luence the voters during the voting process, is their religious leanings. Kotler-Berkowitz (2001) points out how data from the 1991 and 1992 waves of the British Household Panel Study, when statistically analyzed (using multinomial logistic regression analysis) state that religions influence the voting decisions of sizable number of British citizens. â€Å"Religious belonging, behaviour and belief, as well as the religious context

Choose a good topic for this paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Choose a good topic for this paper - Essay Example Quite rightly so, in order to find out how something is morally right or wrong, the need is to know where the line has to be drawn because then only can the distinctions be made between the right and wrong steps. If actions and undertakings bring in a positive aspect to the fore where there is no problem for the people concerned with it, then there is understanding available. This optimism shall suggest for further usage of ethics in a quantifiable manner. However, it is important to know that the flip side is equally fatal. The unethical means are also significant to draw and gain something from (Shafer-Landau, 2012). What this will do is to inform everyone how things shall shape up and how sanity needs to be restored. As a parent, this seems like a difficult process all along, yet the basis for comprehension is there for one and all to see. This oxymoron is apparent because ethics seem to differ from person to person. There are some individuals who believe that ethics is all about doing ‘good’ for one’s own self but not for others. This is a flawed mindset which has drastic results in the end, and more so for the societal regimes. Ethics when taught to the young ones should always be in such a manner that there are more positive undertakings for everyone irrespective of his position within the society. It needs to comprise of the collective goodwill of the society to bring forward seriously positive results. Essentially speaking and focused more towards the junior-high age youngsters, teaching ethics to them is a difficult process as they might have readymade alternatives for them. With so much negativity being highlighted by the media and the different domains of the society, the children can only be confused rather than getting corrected. In the end, it would be justifiable to say that there is a dire need on the part of the parents and teachers to enact ways and means to bring correction which is long-lasting and has a positive

Free writing journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Free writing journal - Essay Example Everyone has the tendency to doubt and to question things. We are not perfect beings. That’s the reason why we see goodness in men and why it’s easy for us to doubt. Since we are imperfect beings, we know that there is always a tendency to turn to evil. But we expect each one of us not to. Why? Because we have the church to make sure that we are well-guided. But church teachings sometimes are not enough. When our expectations are not met, our frustrations lead us to the other side of the road. This happened to Goodman Brown. He expected the priests and other religious men and women that serve the church to stay true to the church. But when he found them at a cult gathering, he began to question and to doubt them. Since he believed that evil cannot turn the people he believed to be pure and good, his experience in the forest greatly disappointed and frustrated him. The story also emphasizes that we, as humans, can make our own decisions. And because of this, we tend to firmly stand for what we believe in. The problem is when you encounter an event that can shake this belief, that we are in control. Then, we will find a problem for everything. Why? Because humans tend to reason out. And we fail or do something out of our control, we look for reasons and

HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES TO Dissertation

HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES TO CREATE THE BEST POOL OF APPLICANTS - Dissertation Example Finally, the chapter concludes on discussion on ethical considerations and contribution of this study to academic literature. 3.1.1 Deductive Hussey and Hussey (1997) have highlighted the importance of deductive approach so that the researcher could test the findings from project by using theoretical models and frameworks. For instance, this deductive approach enables the research in checking the scope of data and its relevance. In other words, this approach is quite useful because the researcher could accomplish his / her aims and objectives through performing various tests for confirmation of hypotheses (Chapman & Webster, 2003; Lallemand, et al., 2005). Saunders et al. (2009) also pointed out that deductive approach is feasible for researchers that conduct tests to prove / disprove hypotheses and to draw inferences in the light of results. 3.2 Research Philosophy Easterby-Smith et al. (2006) have argued that one of the research philosophies for data collection is known as positivi sm. For instance, this approach holds that only authentic knowledge is that which is based on sense, experience and positive verification. Saunders et al (2009) have highlighted that positivism is a philosophy which holds that the scientific method should be used to investigate the processes. However, Spens and Kovacs (2006) confirmed that the probability of personal / observer bias and structural limitations is high in positivism. Nevertheless, this is an HRM project and the researcher is concerned with investigation of recruitment procedures that would create best workforce within an organisation; therefore, the scientific method (quantitative) would enhance the scope and validity of this research project. 3.3 Research Design According to Saunders et al (2007), there are four major types of data collection methods including survey, experiments, observations and interviews. For instance, the primary data could be analysed by using case study approach in which a research focuses on comprehensive investigation of different aspects in an organisation. The research, therefore, will use case study method to comprehend the effectiveness of recruitment methods used in Kraft Foods for creating best pool of employees. The researcher will not adopt inductive approach because he is not inclined to develop a new theory. 3.3.1 Case Study Approach Eisenhardt (1989) has made significant contribution towards the use of Case Study Approach by pointing out that Case Study analysis could be used to develop theories. Indeed, this type of analysis takes into account a particular setting and then focuses on explanation and ‘understanding of dynamics’ (Stake, 1994). For instance, Yin (2003) maintains that the Case Study approach focuses on comprehensive evaluation and multiple levels of analysis because it covers a case from many aspects (Cameron & Price, 2009). In addition, this approach is quite useful because it helps â€Å"providing description, testing any existi ng theory and generating a new theory† based on findings from previous researches and literature, current theoretical frameworks and new research project (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 535). 3.3.2 Excel Once the data on recruitment techniques have been collected from filling of questionnaires, the researcher will utilise Microsoft Excel software (depending upon his convenience) for making calculations, creating tables, charts

Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Knowledge - Essay Example As one of those perennial topics, a team of philosophers decided to name the study of knowledge an epistemology. The word epistemology comes from two Greek words episteme (episthmh) meaning knowledge and logos (logo V) meaning reason. Others, philosophers nowadays would assign this subject as of fundamental importance; however, the subject about knowledge remains an essential part of philosophy (1997). Knowledge started way back, during the civilization period. By civilization, I refer to the many centuries back where humans managed the environmental change. For example there was the Egyptians in Mesopotamia, who discovered that with the possession of water(Nile) and their very fertile land, they could actually practiced farming and feed themselves and as well as making a living. From that, it is clear that knowledge infact is a tool to the ‘subject’ of change as opposed to the ‘object’ of change. You will notice that as time passed, the Egyptians transforme d from farming to other form of activities such as architecture, pottery, animal domestication, writing and so on. The ancient humans continued to discover rapidly other fronts after the set up of infrastructure which was brought about by the early activities. People did not stop discovering new ways of living despite the hardships, from architecture and agriculture to religion and politics, animal domestication to economic set-up. There are two types of knowledge; Knowledge by Representation and Knowledge by Acquaintance. Knowledge by Representation basically refers to the way in which a human being expresses himself. This is normally done through aspects of communication like language speaking or gestures. Through representation, knowledge is fundamentally used as a surrogate. This is for example when someone finds an entity to determine the consequences of something by just thinking about it unlike acting on it. It is more of a belief condition. You will find out that, a person c an claim to be rich one day but he does not even have a job yet being unemployed cannot stop him from proclaiming those words. In other words, on the subject of knowledge, dreams are part of representation. So many people out there would want to have something, some other want it so badly that they go to an extent of making it aloud. This is referred as belief. Regardless of the many difficulties experienced, you will get a person still having the same beliefs in making it in life. Off course everybody wants the best and will do anything to get there. This shows that regardless of the much opposition one might face, he or she continues to have a belief that he will make it. Knowledge by Acquaintance can be described as a direct relation without interference between a person and an existing thing. This is referred to as justification. For example, a person may be acquainted with a color or the texture of a table before him but this does not stop him or her from eating or leaning on i t. This shows that human beings can be acquainted with something immediately without even knowing the real truth behind it. We must concede that words can have different meanings, and that each of the different meanings may be legitimate. For example, one might say, â€Å"It is better to be red than dead.† Here, â€Å"red† obviously does not refer to a particular color in a scheme of colors, but is intended to convey notions of communism (1955).It would be improper to say that â€Å"red† cannot be used in such a way. Faith provides for a strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual belief rather than proof. This then leads to our next question as to whether we should continue inventing new knowledge or we

PRICING STRATEGIES Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PRICING STRATEGIES - Case Study Example roximately $5, it means that the employer can save (8*5=40 each year, 40*5,000= $200,000 by all the 5,000 employees) $50,000 per year in case two of each prescription is inappropriate (200,000-50,000= 150,000). This strategy will help employers save money and also improve the outcomes of patients as the quality of prescriptions will get better. This sort of strategy helps to cut the costs by providing the patients with the medication they require and not the prescription drugs, which will help the organizations efficiently utilizing the prescription drugs. This strategy will be undertaken by the help of the pharmacy claims that will pinpoint the high costs specified by the sponsors, diseases such as high cholesterol, cardiac diseases and asthma must be treated and medicated with the specific medication that will help the employers to slash the cost. These pharmacy claims will then be used for the identification of different patients and the medication they require. This strategy will also help in providing awareness and education to medical doctors in helping them improve the behavior related to their prescriptions that will result in better health care outcomes, as it will help the patients live an improved life as their needless health care costs are cut down, and better treatments are provided to them in accordance with their diagnosis. The use of the first line agents is essential in this program so that the awareness is spread about the use of â€Å"first line drug therapy† and offering samples to the prescription providers. The easy accessibility should be made possible by placing the first line agents at the pharmacies, so that the users should come to know about these agents and they can utilize these instead of branded medicines that are too expensive. It will help cut the cost of pharmacy but also it provides with the potential improvements in quality of care. This program has been followed by several organizations, and it made them cut their costs by

Enrollment System Essay Example for Free

Enrollment System Essay ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to say â€Å"Thank God†, for giving me the health and strength in doing this project work until it done. Not forgotten to my family for providing everything, such as money, to buy anything that are related to this project work and their advise, which is the most needed for this project. Internet, books, computers and all that as my source to complete this project. They also supported me and encouraged me to complete this task so that I will not be procrastinate in doing it. Then I would like to thank my instructor, Mr. JoeySuba for guiding me throughout this project. We had some difficulties in doing this task but he taught us patiently until we knew what to do. INTRODUCTION Interest in information system has increased during the recent years not only in education but also in all areas where resources are managed. Two main reason account for this- the increasing population and the need for improved problem-solving tools. Student information system has always been a difficult task, but it is more so today than ever before, where administrators uses the traditional way of filing records on a cabinet. As the population of the students goes up, it is becoming more complex. Data should be stored in safer places, and can be retrieved easily and fast when someone needs it. Administrator’s task has becoming more complex, there have been efforts to improve the effectiveness of problem solving and central to this are quantitative techniques and electronic devices such as computers. In the field of education, researchers and theorists have focused intensively in recent years on examining the concepts and use of information to assist administrators, teachers, students and parents. Others have raised and discussed fundamental issues and uses of school information system to facilitate judgment and decision-making in schools. Schools, like any other organization used to manage all sorts of data and information to ensure attainment of its goals and objectives. The emerging needs in most schools for accurate and relevant data and reliable information strengthen the Student Information System. PROBLEM DEFINITION: This study attempted to identify the quality of information system in San Simon Integrated School . Based on my observations during the interview, i found out that on the manual system that the school is presently using, information and records were not kept accordingly that causes lost of important papers and documents. The student’s Form-137 was kept by the present teacher of the student as well as birth certificate or baptismal certificate, which has no assurance of safety keeping. Another problem identified is when the entries of names in the student’s lists are not updated, where some are complaining when records are incorrect if someone needs the documents. One respondent said that lists of classes were not produced immediately upon the start of the school year, that’s why it takes 2 to 3 days to know what the student’s section. ANALYSIS: Student information system has enhanced the quality of information generated in terms of precision or accuracy of data. Important things must be specified and considered for the proper usage of the system. This is designed to create a user-friendly program. The system must be kept in place that is well ventilated to avoid any risk of damage to the system. It must also be password protected to avoid from viruses and computer crime such as information theft. The system includes a manual that can be used by the authorized personnel to operate the program correctly. It must have a pleasing design and should be right coded for the benefit of the user. Audiences involved in the system must be secured and restricted. Proper maintenance and regular check-up of the system must be done to avoid any failures of it. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED Because of the rapid growth of the student’s population in San Simon Integrated School, there are lots of problems encountered by both parents and the school administration. By using the manual enrollment system, problems such as time consuming production of information, unable to make corrections in student’s record, and tracking of student’s profile were not done fast and effective. Here are some alternative solutions that can be proposed to the school to avoid these kinds of problems:  · Provide a computerized enrollment system that has the ability to track records, make corrections and that can generate data fast and effective.  · Provide a system that can secure all the information and record of the students.  · Provide a software that will lessen the workloads of the teachers and the administration.  · To have a system that can give the students a successful enrollment system. RECOMMENDATION: Because of the problems encountered by San Simon Integrated School, we recommend to the administration to have another Enrollment system that is useful in many ways, and that is the computerized enrollment system. An enrollment system that has the ability to store students information, that can easily be retrieved and printed when needed. This enrollment system also can be able to make corrections of entry easily and fast. Through this, we can be sure that all the information will be kept in a single database so that we can minimize some problems like lost of records. It is recommended to the San Simon Integrated School that the detailed specification and implementation of the system would ensue as long as the administration approved the computerized enrollment system. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY San Simon Integrated School is a public school in San Simon Pampanga. Based on the investigations conducted, the school uses the traditional manual enrollment system. Data and information were kept on a filing cabinet, which finds difficulty and time consuming in retrieving the documents when needed. Grades were also kept by the present teacher of the students, which has no assurance of safe keeping. It also takes a long time to process the billings, lists of students, and correction of entries. During the first day of school, the students finds it hard to locate their names in a list posted on the doors of the classroom. Because of this, we are proposing the computerized student information system. This software has the ability to keep student’s records in a single database. This system can be the solution to some of the problems encountered by the school as defined previously. It is recommended to the school to provide a computer where we can install the system. And also, a committee which can be headed by some teacher must be organized to operate the system. This software can be acquired in a very minimal cost. Free seminars and trainings will be given to the person who will operate the system, and manuals will be provided. Some of the benefits that can be acquired in this system were: * easy correction of entries * effective and efficient production of data * grades can be kept in a database for future use * upon enrollment, students can immediately know their designated sections * will lessen the workloads of the teachers and staff * effective enrollment processing This proposed system is guaranteed to use, and will not be useless. Alternative solutions should be considered to make their enrollment system improved and progressive.

Israel in summer 2 Essay Example for Free

Israel in summer 2 Essay Two summers ago, I had the privilege of returning to the country of my birth. Having been gone from my homeland for so many years, I had been experiencing a longing to return and see the people, places—even to smell the fragrances and enjoy the food to which I had been accustomed as a child. I met many friends whom I had not seen since childhood. I had long missed them and it was interesting to note how we had all changed together, though we had been apart. What was even more interesting, however, was to compare and feel the differences that occurred because of my departure and the different environs in which we evolved. On the one hand, there I was, having experimented with a different culture and adapted to it by acquiring a new language, a new mode of dress, and new customs. On the other hand, you have my friends who continued to live under the Israeli tradition and kept to that way of life. It was a pleasure also to meet my extended family, including my cousin, whose wedding facilitated the biggest family reunion of my life. Although the visit was primarily to see friends and family, I also had a chance to explore historical sites, such as the Western Wall. It is at this point that the trip became especially poignant because I also had the opportunity to appreciate firsthand the political tensions that exist in the country and specifically in the city of Jerusalem. The talks of dividing the city came home to me, especially since I had not been able to spend much time in my country’s capital in the time of its wholeness. The people themselves tended to be divided about whether or not the division would be desirable. The political and racial tensions seemed to favor it, but sentiments were (and are) still strongly against it. Last summer I spent most of my time working as an intern for Matrix Settlement Clearance Services, which is an investment company on Wall Street in New York City. I was responsible for consultation on technical and computer-related matters for the company, which made my job almost identical to the fulltime, adult employees working in the same department. I really enjoyed working at the job 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, since I had the chance to learn new techniques and strategies every hour. It was also very interesting and different from the school arena: it exposed me to a new world the particulars of which I was not aware of at the time. The way the business world works is fascinating. Wall Street is the center for business, and being in the heart of its activities made me feel as though I were at the center of the world’s progress. I enjoyed going to work daily, although I needed to wake up early, take two busses, and do the same to return home in the evening. It allowed me to meet new and interesting people who offered me a wide range of possibilities. I still keep in touch with a number of the employees.

Ethical Issue Facing The Technology Industry Commerce Essay

Ethical Issue Facing The Technology Industry Commerce Essay Ethical issue facing industry (Charlie). We chose to take a look into the technology industry for our ethical analysis. We chose this industry because in todays world, technology has become a massive aspect in our everyday lives. Everyday technology is growing and become a bigger part in the world and the way it runs. Ethics is defined in the dictionary as, the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. So we wanted to look into an industry that has had issues and would be worth our time looking into. Some issues that face the technology industry for companies like Apple, IBM, and Google are production issues as well as the selling practices. Specifically for Apple, a big issue that they are facing is their both production and selling practices. Apple has their products made overseas in places like China while the goal of a company should be to increase jobs in the countries that they are in. Apple is also taking advantage of China and the fact that the average worker makes under $200 per week. Apple has decided to do this; however, because if they made their iPads in the United States, they would cost over $1,100. So yes, they may be doing the people a favor in terms of price by creating these iPads overseas, but at the same time they are taking advantage of a country in China because they know how cheap the labor market is there. We make products overseas because Chinese manufacturing jobs are paid 1/30th of the United States median salaries for manufacturing jobs (Thompson, Der ek). These businesses, especially Apple, are churning out products on a quick, regular basis. So what Apple has done is created a massive profit margin on their products so that they can keep creating new products, which are essentially software updates, instead of just allowing people to upgrade their software solely. Apple has made it so that their 32 gb iPad 2 sells for $729, but when you add up their labor and material costs to make these iPads, it only comes out to about $325. This gives Apple a profit margin of around 54% and allows them to have customers buy brand new products instead of just allowing them to upgrade the software on their products that they purchased within the past year (Thompson, Derek). Companies like Google are facing issues of being deceptive and need to show more Corporate Social Responsibility because their customer is the most important aspect of their company. Privacy International ranked Google as the worst in its survey, they say that Google is the worst when it comes to respecting their users privacy. Congress was also warned about applications that Google was marketing on Capitol Hill because people believe that there were privacy and security risks. Google also does not disclose its conflicts of interest; they keep their customers in the dark, also not fulfilling their social responsibility. Google says that they work for the people that use their site but Google really works for advertisers on their sites. People who use Google pay nothing to use it, so Google has a conflict of interest of whether theyre working for their users, who are their customers, or the advertisers on their site. This makes users of Google have a false sense of security while usin g the site and can put users at risk of being defrauded. Google is all about who will make them the most money, and not about doing things the right way. They say they hold auctions for awarding keyword searches to the highest bidder but to whoever makes Google the most money. Google has also been accused of stealing, which is neither ethical nor responsible. Viacom sued Google for a clearly illegal business model. Google is also being sued by no less than five different industries. Viacom is suing Google in the TV broadcasting industry. Motion Picture Association has sued Google over aiding the piracy of films by promoting sites that allow users to download movies without buying them. Some trademark owners have had Google sell keywords that are their brands, which in turn has created brand confusion. Book publishers and newspapers for things like copyright infringement, and illegal use of newspaper headlines have also sued Google. Google has shown little ethical compass as well. When former CEO Eric Schmidt was confronted about the fact that Google and their privacy issue, Schmidt said that they were not concerned with privacy and protection because it would slow down Google and their performance. Google has placed speed over their ethics and social respo nsibility to their users. It is clearly unethical to place profits and money over customers and ethics. (Cleland, Scott). Some ethical issues facing a company like IBM, which is big into things like Information Technology (IT). People who work in IT for IBM has several things that they need to look at. People in IT play a large role in helping shape ethical aspects of their organizations. IBM has to look into privacy and establish a freedom from intrusion for the customers as well as control of their customers personal information and as well as allowing customers to avoid unwarranted surveillance. IBM works to help their customers keep these three aspects intact. IBM is working to protect the privacy of their customers so they can avoid being defrauded and other problems that may arise. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has accused IBM of bribing officials in the governments of South Korea with both cash and free computers. These bribes supposedly helped IBM obtain contracts in South Korea that worth a supposed millions of dollars. IBM has also been charged with creating secret funds for officials in China as well. This shows how bribery overseas has become a large issue for United States companies. This showed a problem that IBM had in their department of internal controls to stop these problems. IBM was calling these payments as legitimate expenses that were used for businesses. IBM was essentially forging their books and records, also a very unethical practice. IBM was working with travel agencies to help create fake invoices. (Hilzenrath, David S). These businesses within the technology industry are where we thought we found the biggest ethical issues concerning social responsibility of the corporations in terms of things like bribery, privacy and other ethical issues. We believe these are the biggest issues facing companies today and thought it would be helpful to see how they affect such a large and growing industry in our world today. Pressures facing the industry (Alicia) There are many pressures that impact the technology industry. Most of the pressures that are growing for this industry come from employees, governments, consumers, suppliers, advocacy groups, and stakeholders. Some of the areas that are receiving attention with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are as follows: global responsibility, transparency with company information, environment issues, and safe labor practices (Cadmus, 2009). Global Responsibility Most companies in the technology industry, such as Apple, IBM, and Google, are Multinational Corporations (MNCs). This causes those companies to be in the spotlight as a leader. Consumers, governments, and advocacy groups for CSR expect these MNCs to step up and assume wider responsibilities in the social arena (Smith, 2003). Society sees big businesses that are growing globally and gaining more power, and they believe that with the power comes an obligation to attend to the community in which it operates (Smith, 2003). Apple, for example, is one of the most powerful companies in the world, let alone the technology industry. Because of that and the fact that they continually are innovating in creating new types of technology, people believe that Apple should use that innovation to help the world and contribute to social change. According to a Forbes article, Technology has become central to fighting disease, distributing food, improving education, and Apple should be a leader (Klein, 2011). Transparency Companies are receiving pressure from society to be transparent in their business practices. People, such as employees and stakeholders, are searching for the answers about how these companies are doing business and where their products are coming from. At this day and age, customers can find out any information they want about companies, with all of the social media available. Therefore, the pressure to be highly transparent about both good and bad things in the company is becoming more and more important (Monahan, 2012). The idea is that if businesses dont put their information out there, people will still find it and it will look as though the business was trying to hide that information from the public. Environment Activist groups are making a movement to make sure businesses are taking care of the environment while conducting their business operations. Of course there are government regulations that companies are legally supposed to follow, but there are also many groups that put the pressure on these companies to go over any beyond. As the need for energy increases, pressure increases on these technology companies to reduce materials used for their products, reduce effects of production processes in the environment, and use materials in production that have a smaller environmental impact (Business for Social Responsibility, 2011). Safe labor The media is really affecting how companies have been running with their unsafe labor standards. Businesses can no longer get away with child labor and unfair working conditions in foreign countries like they used to. If they do, they will most likely get caught because all of the different types of medias will find it and broadcast the companys unethical practices. Apple has become scrutinized in the media because of their unfair labor practices involving their manufacturing partner Foxconn and its subsidiaries (Sethi, 2012). Increased pressure on Apple and Foxconn has at least lessened their amount of unethical labor practices overseas, but it still hasnt done away with it completely. These pressures on the technology industry will likely decrease shareholder value on each firm if nothing is done about it. However, trends are showing that these firms are taking the pressures of ethical issues seriously. If the businesses continue to improve on their CSR, it is most likely that shareholder value and profitability will rise because of their ethical stance in society. Corporate social responsibility activities (Josh) CSR Activities IBM: IBM has shown in many ways that they support the communities they serve and strive to make not only themselves better but also the communities they operate in. IBM provided nearly $12 million in grants in 2011 to 4,000 schools and non-profit organizations where IBM members were volunteered. These grants were given to projects that applied innovation and professional skills to improve the communities that they served. IBM also has a grant program that gives up to $100,000 to innovative projects created by its employees that deal with healthcare, energy conservation and food safety. Along with this, IBM has a program that it calls Celebration of Service that encourages their employees to go out and volunteer at least eight hours for any cause that they wish support. Many individuals volunteered in areas of education, healthcare disaster relief and conservation. All-in-all, the program has yielded nearly 3.2 million hours of service from its employees in 120 countries across the globe. Lastly, IBM has a program that is called The Smarter Cities Challenge in which IBM sends top experts from different backgrounds to 100 cities across the globe for three weeks. While these experts are in these cities, they work with the local governments to make recommendations to try to make the city smarter and more effective. These recommendations come in the areas of administration, citizen engagement, economic development, education and workforce, environmental, public safety, transportation and urban planning. Through this program, IBM is trying to help make cities across the globe become more effective and efficient (2011 Corporate Social Responsibilities, 2012). Apple: Over the past year, Apple has tried to improve its appearance in the area of corporate social responsibility. Apple has made a significant effort to perform more audits on their supply chain. In 2011, Apple performed 229 total audits, 80% more audits than it did in 2010 with Steve Jobs as CEO. Of these 229 audits, more than 100 of them were performed on companies that had not been previously audited by Apple. Through these evaluations of its supply chain, Apple found several environmental and labor issues, but they claim to have handled the situation by enforcing their policies and helping their suppliers management teams to take corrective action to ensure that it would not happen again. Apple has also recently added 100,000 more manufacturing employees to its program to help ensure that its current employees do not exceed their 60-hour maximum hours a week (Supplier Responsibilites, 2012). Apple has also recently started a program for its employees that will match any employees don ation to a charity program of up to $10,000 (Hughes 2011). Apple has also made a conscious effort to reduce the amount of carbon emissions produced when manufacturing all of its products. In 2011, Apple reported that all of its products had a reduction in the amount of carbon emissions during the manufacturing process. Apple TV has seen 90% reduction in carbon emissions since 2007, MacBook Pro has seen a 21% reduction since 2007, and iPad has had a 5% reduction since 2010. Apple has also removed all of the toxic substances from its products that other companies still use, such as lead, mercury and arsenic in their glass screens. Because of this, Apple is years ahead of their competitors in technology, but also very socially responsible for taking these steps past their competitors to ensure their products will not harm the environment. Apple has also made all of its products extremely energy efficient. For example, an average 60-watt incandescent light bulb uses 48.4 grams of CO2 em issions per hour, while the 2011 MacBook Pro air only uses 7.4 grams an hour. All of Apples products not only meet the Environmental Protection Agencys strict Energy Star law, but they also exceed them. Lastly, Apple has made an effort to reduce and minimize the materials used in packaging its products. Since 2007, Apple has reduced the amount of packaging needed for the iPhone by 42 percent, allowing them to ship 80 percent more boxes in each airline-shipping container (Apple and the Environment, 2012). Google: Google has programs that give grants to select charitable organizations by giving them ad space on their site for free. Some of these organizations represent things such as animal rights, literacy to abandoned children and HIV education. Google has many other grant programs, especially supporting areas in Asian countries, giving grants to colleges and education programs. The most recent included giving 164 computers to the Green Computer Action for Poverty Alleviation. Google also attempts to be socially responsible with its environmental procedures. Google claims that to provide a user with three full weeks of streaming YouTube videos, Google only uses the amount of energy it takes to do one load of laundry. Googles data centers are some of the most efficient in the world, only using 50% of what the average data center uses. Not only does Googles data centers use less energy than most, Google has also began to use 33% of its total energy needed through renewable energy sources such as wind farms and solar panels on some of it facilities. Googles main focus is try to offset the carbon footprint it produces by investing in and using more renewable energy than it uses (A better web. Better for the envrinoment. 2012) In conclusion, not much was found IBM trying to improve its corporate social responsibility in areas of bribery and privacy. Although, IBM is still notably one of the most responsible companies in the industry and the world. IBM has many programs to help the communities that it operates in all across the globe. Next, Apple has made attempts to become more responsible within its supply chain and labor practices within the last two years. Apple has also maintained its solid reputation for being an environmentally conscious and consumer conscious company. They have made attempts implement change in the ways their production practices. Google, on the other hand, has not made many changes in the areas of deception and fraud. However, they are known for being a very environmentally friendly company. Social/Ethical Investment Policy Recommendation: In todays corporate society, it can be rather difficult to find a company that has strict adherence to ethical standards it has place for corporate social responsibility. However, there are some firms in the marketplace that are dedicated to both doing business in a socially responsible way and also increasing shareholder value. Therefore, it is important for Virginia Tech to take into account the corporate social responsibility of the companies for which they invest. Due to the fact that Virginia Tech is educating thousands of the worlds future business leaders, they should make sure they are setting the right example for America future. If Virginia Tech ignores how companies do business, and instead just focus on who can provide them with the cheapest price, it start a slippery slope among the young minds that receive their education at the institution. Also, since Virginia Tech offers an Ethical Leadership class that stresses the importance of corporate social responsibility, it w ould seem to very hypocritical if it were not to follow on the exact information it dissents to students. Therefore, it seems incredibly important to me that Virginia emerge as leader among state intuitions and makes ethical responsibility one of the main factors it uses when making investment decisions. Most of the reasons for Virginia Tech incorporating ethical issues into their investment decisions are ethical but there are also some financial aspects as well. First, Virginia Tech will need to accept the fact they often times the most ethically responsible company may not be the cheapest option out on the market. Therefore, they will need to plan for the fact they may end up with smaller investments or gains because the most ethical company may not necessarily be the best investment. However, just because Virginia Tech chooses to not invest in unethical companies with higher returns, does not mean the University will lose money. Simply put, the University will have to spend more searching for ethically sound companies that also reap high returns on their investments. Choosing to investment responsible companies will be a time intensive strategy that may not pay off in the short term, but long term will definitely have its benefits. Also, because of the amount of time spent searchi ng for ethically smart investments, the process may come under fire by shareholders (Fontinelle, 2012). Therefore, choosing to invest in responsible companies will be a difficult decision but one that is right for Virginia Tech in the long run. Clearly, Virginia Tech should be expected to make financial sacrifices in their investment decisions in order to make sure they are choosing the most socially responsible company. With the business strategy so clearly focused on the bottom line and not how a company achieves this number, Virginia Tech would truly be living out its Ut Prosim motto. By establishing itself as a company that will only invest in the most socially responsible companies, more and more industries will choose to follow this avenue. Virginia Tech is a large institution that investors would be enthusiastic to receive funds from. If Virginia Tech makes it clear that they will only invest in companies that have strict ethical standards, more companies will oblige to these rules to gain the Universitys business Therefore, the amount of unethical companies will diminish making investment choices for the University all the easier. By establishing itself as an an ethical investor, Virginia Tech could diminish the amo unt of irresponsible firms in the marketplace, while increasing the amount of companies that perform business in the right way. Investment Recommendations (Charlie) We believe that Virginia Tech could and should invest in firms in the technological industry. The technological industry is a massive industry and still growing every single day. It would be beneficial for Virginia Tech to get involved with companies in this industry because the world now runs on technology. The dependency of the world on technology has become incredible. Everyone knows how to use technology and everyone wants to be updated with the newest products. Yes, there are possible problems and ethical issues that arise in this industry, but it does not mean that everyone in this industry have problems arising constantly. This industry has been growing with such rapid pace that it would be beneficial for Virginia Tech to get invested in this area. Virginia Tech should most certainly favor firms that are more socially responsible in the technology industry. The most important thing when it comes to investing is making sure that you are investing in a company that has an investment in you. Virginia Tech needs to look into companies that have a history of being socially and ethically responsible. The returns may not be as great as the very top companies in this industry but if they go with a company that is socially responsible, they are less likely to run the risk of being hurt by the company not fulfilling their responsibilities. Virginia Tech is also a school that is big into technology as well and the best way for them to set a positive example is for them to invest in socially responsible companies. This will benefit companies that may not be at the very top of scale. This could start a trend where other schools and investors will be more open to the idea of investing in companies that are more socially responsible. This may turn the mentality of the investor by moving their motive from most profit to most socially responsible.

Maddox :: essays research papers

I didn't think it was possible to be more unimpressed with Star Wars. Today, I stand corrected. If you were unfortunate enough to hear your stupid co-workers yammering on about Lucas' latest shit burger, you might have heard them saying something like "I didn't like the first two, but this one was good!" When I ask why, these people have trouble responding because it's hard to talk with George Lucas' flaccid penis in their collective mouths. Perhaps the question I should be asking is "why didn't you like the other two movies if you liked this one?" Nothing has changed. You have the same vacant-looking actors running around, aimlessly bumping into things, an army of stupid, sensitive robots, and dialogue clumsy enough to warrant putting a handicap sticker on George Lucas' car. To Lucas' credit, he was tacitly shamed into not giving Jar Jar any talking lines in this movie. With Jar Jar's character no longer speaking to annoy you, Lucas filled the void by giving every robot in the movie stupid toy noises. So instead of doing something cool like having the robots chase after screaming children, they bitch and moan and say things like "ow" when they get their prosthetic limbs chopped off. Even worse are the idiots who scarf down these sub-childish morsels of comedic relief, playing into Lucas' shallow theatrics so easily that you could sell these people hookers in a vagina storm. Before I go on, I have to address something that all you stupid Star Wars nerds are probably thinking right about now: "But Maddox, it's a movie made for kids, what do you expect?!" Even Lucas stated in an interview with the BBC that: "The movies are for children but [the fans] don't want to admit that." Oh really? It just so happens that this "children's movie" has a scene where a guy gets his hands chopped off, a graphic decapitation, the wanton slaughter of children (the highlight of any movie), and the coolest scene in any space action movie starring Ewan McGregor: Anakin getting his legs chopped off as his stumps catch fire while his face melts. Maddox :: essays research papers I didn't think it was possible to be more unimpressed with Star Wars. Today, I stand corrected. If you were unfortunate enough to hear your stupid co-workers yammering on about Lucas' latest shit burger, you might have heard them saying something like "I didn't like the first two, but this one was good!" When I ask why, these people have trouble responding because it's hard to talk with George Lucas' flaccid penis in their collective mouths. Perhaps the question I should be asking is "why didn't you like the other two movies if you liked this one?" Nothing has changed. You have the same vacant-looking actors running around, aimlessly bumping into things, an army of stupid, sensitive robots, and dialogue clumsy enough to warrant putting a handicap sticker on George Lucas' car. To Lucas' credit, he was tacitly shamed into not giving Jar Jar any talking lines in this movie. With Jar Jar's character no longer speaking to annoy you, Lucas filled the void by giving every robot in the movie stupid toy noises. So instead of doing something cool like having the robots chase after screaming children, they bitch and moan and say things like "ow" when they get their prosthetic limbs chopped off. Even worse are the idiots who scarf down these sub-childish morsels of comedic relief, playing into Lucas' shallow theatrics so easily that you could sell these people hookers in a vagina storm. Before I go on, I have to address something that all you stupid Star Wars nerds are probably thinking right about now: "But Maddox, it's a movie made for kids, what do you expect?!" Even Lucas stated in an interview with the BBC that: "The movies are for children but [the fans] don't want to admit that." Oh really? It just so happens that this "children's movie" has a scene where a guy gets his hands chopped off, a graphic decapitation, the wanton slaughter of children (the highlight of any movie), and the coolest scene in any space action movie starring Ewan McGregor: Anakin getting his legs chopped off as his stumps catch fire while his face melts.

The Beatles :: Essay on The Beatles

The Beatles The group that I picked to be an example of a particular type of music is The Beatles. The Beatles included George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Richard Starkey, other wise known as Ringo Starr. This group is very well known and also influenced many musicians since they formed. The Beatles started their careers in England. They were a huge success there, playing in clubs and eventually for the queen herself. After the appearance before the queen, The Beatles came to the USA. The Beatles came to New York City for the first time in 1964 and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. They performed the song â€Å"I want to hold your hand† to millions of people anxious to hear their new kind of rock. They were an instant success. A couple of weeks after their New York appearance, the five best selling records were by the Beatles. They became world famous by the end of 1964. The Beatles were unusual because most rock was strong beat with no melody. The Beatles added melody to rock. The Beatles also added strong and meaningful lyrics. Many of these lyrics were derived from pop culture, and had real life meaning to the group. Most of the songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Although, every song was always credited with being written together, rarely did they write the songs this way. Usually, John and Paul would write songs separately, and then take the songs to the group and work out the kinks. Early in their careers, most of the songs written by The Beatles were about love. This changed in about 1965 when the songs became about more practical things, and about things that were going on in the world. Even when the group decided to break up and go off on their own solo careers, the songs were still about the same basic themes. Paul was the most successful solo artist, followed closely by John.

Sex in Movies Essay -- Media Entertainment Films Essays

Sex in Movies Has the role of sex gained too much importance in todays movie industry? The answer to this highly publicized question, although highly depending on personal opinion, is no. The growth of sex in movies is directly related to the growth of its role in modern society. The movie industry has no choice but to adapt to a society with changing entertainment needs. The movie industry is just what it says, an industry. An industry that has one goal similar with all other industries, to make money. Compare the movie industry to other industries in todays society. Other forms of industry like the alcohol industry are allowed to operate without constant criticism from public figures. I understand that the alcohol industry runs on a strict set of guidelines and provides for reasonable age limits, but switch back to the movie industry. Most movies are mere ideas of their original versions after they are subjected to industry limitations. The rating system also provides for assurance that viewers are of a mature age to handle the content of movies. Skeptics of modern society use the movie industry as a scapegoat. They make unjust claims that the movie industry is the cause of changes in our society. This is impossible, a movie completely contrary to modern standards and beliefs would not be accepted. In todays high dollar industry one flop would be enough to nearly end the career of a new producer or company. A mistake this costly is not worth the risk. Skeptics should look for actual causes of the shift of morals in society and not concentrate on an industry that happens to be profiting from the shift. Other critics would like to see sex portray... ...st is always on the move and has a fear of settling down. Her true love for Tomas and Teresa is shown in the final scene when she learns of their death. Tomas, Teresa, and the artist are all caught up in a dangerous love triangle in this movie. The sexual action catches the attention of the audience and arouses their curiosity on sexual inhibitions. This play on human curiosity is a genius move on the part of the film makers. Sex is a needed part of this movie. Although it may drown out the political plot of the movie, it is also an equally important plot. The film makers used the war setting to show that humans and their sexual habits exist everywhere through any type of chaos. Overall sex in the movie industry is natural. Humans want sex. Sex is a physical fact. The movie industry is just practicing good business.

De Niros Game

De Niro’s Game â€Å"De Niro’s Game† by Rawi Hage is a coming of age story about a boy named Bassam from war torn Lebanon. The main settings are the headings of the three parts of the novel; Roma, Beirut and Paris. The settings help to illustrate character development, the novel’s themes and are important symbols throughout. The first section of the novel is entitled â€Å"Roma,† but the events all occur in Beirut. Bassam never goes to Roma, however it is always present in the novel and an important symbol throughout. Roma is a place that Bassam has wanted to go his entire life.Roma symbolizes Bassam’s hope for a better life. He fantasizes that it is a perfect place, almost a heaven. When a little girl from his neighborhood dies he says â€Å"I went to the little girl’s funeral, the little girl who was on her way to Roma. † pg. 25. While visiting his friend George he says that they â€Å"whispered conspiracies, exchanged money, drank beer, rolled hash in soft, white paper and I praised Roma. † pg. 34. In the Roma section Bassam is younger and more innocent than in the other sections. Bassam is still a petty criminal.He only commits small crimes such as vandalism and drug use. The fact that the first section is called Roma, yet it is not in Roma, is a form of foreshadowing, suggesting this fantasy may never become reality. The second part of the novel is called â€Å"Beirut. † This section is the turning point of Bassam’s life. In this section Bassam stops dreaming about Roma. Beirut symbolizes Bassam’s loss of innocence. He starts committing major crimes, such as murdering the militiaman ‘Rambo. ’ Bassam starts to learn about the brutality of the war and the slaughter being committed by the militia.Beirut is a symbol of the horror in the world. In Beirut, Bassam realizes how harsh reality and the war are. Soon after realizing this he says â€Å"Ten thousand coffins had slipped underground and the living still danced above ground with firearms in their hands† pg. 88. At one point Bassam says â€Å"From the roof I could see West Beirut on fire. The Israelis bombarded the inhabitants for days, orange light glowed in the night, machine gun bullets left the ground and darted into the air in red arches. The city burned and drowned in sirens, loud blood and death† pg. 163.Not only does Bassam learn about the horrific things going on in the war but he also witnesses his best friend George killing himself, because George cannot go on knowing that he has committed such heinous crimes against humanity. Because of the war Bassam is betrayed by his best friend, tortured by the militia for a crime he did not commit and is forced to realize that the militia and war are not good, but rather morally wrong and pointless. Part III, of the novel is called Paris. Bassam escapes from Beirut and goes to Paris searching for George’s father. After Bassam finds Georges family, they soon betray him.Paris is a symbol of Bassam’s complete and utter hopelessness. In Paris Bassam thinks â€Å"I had no plans, and realized that I could not think of any. Other than Rhea, no one in Paris knew me, no one was expecting me for dinner, nor to walk in a funeral procession, nor to work, eat, carry the wounded, speed around on motorcycles† pg. 215. He has almost no place in Beirut and even less of a place in Paris. Paris symbolizes that Bassam is ruined by the war in Lebanon. Bassam is an outsider in Paris because of his twisted morals and values that were corrupted due to the war.He reads â€Å"The Outsider† by Albert Camus, which talks about the meaninglessness of existence and realizes there are many similarities between him and the character in the book. No matter where he goes, Bassam will always be an outsider. Paris helps Bassam develop as a person, realizing that things are horrible everywhere, and he cannot esca pe his past. Near the end of the novel, Bassam says â€Å"And so I drifted for hours, trying and failing to reconcile Paris with the phantasm of my youth, with the books I had read, with my teachers stories† pg. 204. Bassam realizes Roma is a fantasy.Setting and place are vital literary devices in â€Å"De Niro’s Game†. The settings are linked to the themes, in that Beirut is a city destroyed by war as Bassam is destroyed by war, and due to his journey through Paris he realizes his dreams of Roma are unattainable. The changes in setting also parallel and mark the stages of his coming of age. In Roma Bassam was a boy, in Beirut his transformation began and in Paris, Bassam became a man. While Bassam is in no way a perfect or even good person, he has made a transformation into adulthood. Without the setting his transformation into manhood would have been less clear and with

On Saussure’s Linguistic Theory Essay

1. Introduction Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) is one of the most famous and influencing linguists in the last century. His linguistic theory of regarding language as a synchronic and static sign system has turned the historical trend of linguistics and opened up a new pattern of modern linguistics, thus makes linguistics get great achievement in the 20th century. His work Course in General Linguistics (1916) that comes from the notes of his lessons collected by his students is one of classical works and is called â€Å"Bible† of linguistics. It has caused extensive response with its novel and unique thought, and Saussure is praised as â€Å"Father of Modern Linguistics† too. Saussure is an epoch-making giant in the development history of linguistics. His new theory, new principle, and new concept have become the foundation stone for the setting-up of the modern linguistic mansion. 2. Langue and parole Saussure begins with the two basic expressive forms of language, namely langue and parole to examine the whole language phenomenon first. He thinks that speech activity is various, and its nature is complicated. It covers several fields of physics, physiology and psychology at the same time, and it still belongs to personal field and social field. We are not able to include it in any category of humane fact, because we do not know how to understand its entia (Saussure, 1980, p. 30). He points out that in separating langue from parole we are at the same time separating: (1) what is social from what is individual; and (2) what is essential from what is accessory and more or less accidental (Saussure, 1980, p.35). This is the first fork in Saussure’s thoughts of language: the speech activity is divided into the langue and parole. Saussure says that, â€Å"No doubt, these two targets are closely linked and both as the prerequisite. To let parole understood by people and make all its effects, there must be languages. But to establish language, there must be speech† (Saussure, 1980, p. 41). â€Å"The speech activity has personal aspects and social ones; one cannot exist without the other† (Saussure, 1980, p.29). We can conclude from the statements above, that Saussure thinks langue and parole are inseparable, and closely linked. Without langue, parole loses the unified system, and cannot be understood, its result is unable to be verified. Without parole, langue will not be set up either. Therefore, it is easy to tell that, Saussure’s distinguishing of langue and parole is on the purpose of explaining the differences between the two, namely emphasizes the systematization of language. However, at the same time Saussure says that â€Å"Research of speech activity includes two parts, one is primary, which is social essentially, and does not take the personal speech as research target†¦Another is less important, that it takes the personal part of speech activity, namely parole, including articulation as research target†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Saussure, 1980, p. 41). â€Å"It is an illusion to joint langue and parole together with the same view. The whole of the speech activity is unable to know, because it is not homogeneous† (Saussure, 1980, p. 42). This kind of seemingly self-contradictory view is really very apt to make people produce doubt and misunderstanding on the relation between langue and parole. The meaning of Saussure is that language is systematic and can be studied because of the disorder of inner link between langue and parole, but parole cannot be studied systematically, and therefore is cast out. And then people criticize Saussure for distinguishing langue and parole on the purpose of cutting off the connection between them and regarding them as irrelevant to each other. In fact, Saussure does not think there are impassable gaps between langue and parole. For Saussure, langue and parole are two unified aspects in speech activity. He also thinks that, â€Å"We must be clear: we believe linguistics†¦is a science that tries to converge two thoroughly different things into a whole, it emphasizes that they form a research object†. It is obvious that Saussure not only finds the antithesis of langue and parole, but also finds the connection and unity between them while describing the relation between them. 3. Saussure’s theory of linguistic sign. As the founder of modern semiology, Saussure proposes and establishes the discipline of semiology formally for the first time. The influences of Saussure’s theory of semiology on later age are known by everyone, but the disadvantages are seldom mentioned. How to understand the core connotation of the theory correctly is the primary subject of semiology. The contribution of Saussure’s theory of semiology lies in the following several aspects. First, it proposes the discipline of semiology formally for the first time. Second, it points out the essential distinction between  linguistic sign and non-linguistic sign clearly. Third, it has carried out systematic analysis on the characteristics of the linguistic sign. The research of sign is not initiated by Saussure. As everyone knows, in the west in ancient Greek period, and in China in the early period of Qin, there was already large amount of dispute about the phenomenon of signal. The target of the dispute is primarily linguistic sign, and the essence of the dispute is mainly about the relation between linguistic sign and the object it represents. Namely whether there is natural relation of different extents between linguistic sign and the signified. Namely whether the forming of words and phrases can be proved, and whether the origin cause of linguistic sign’s formation can be found from the targets represented. Different answers to this question have formed the â€Å"natural theory† and â€Å"conventional theory† of ancient Greek, and â€Å"nominalism† and â€Å"realism† correspondingly in China. Such disputes are not yet settled down today. Saussure’s semiology is not only review and examination on the basis of the related disputes in the history of language. The more important thing is that he realizes the human society has used numerous relatively self-sustaining form systems consciously or unconsciously while expressing and transmitting the achievement of understanding about surrounding environment and oneself. These systems have very obvious generality that they can replace, represent, and reflect the objects on different extents (LU, 2001, p. 101). To Saussure, language is an organic sign system. In this system, linguistic sign has two aspects of a form (signifier) and content (signified). It is arbitrary to use a sign to represent any content, and it is determined by the society. However, when it is fixed, it has compelling force, and any individual cannot change it optionally. The debt relation of linguistic sign is not important, and the more important thing is the difference and relation between it and other signs. That is to say, the value of linguistic sign is not decided by its physical property but the relation between signs. On the basis of this theory, Saussure thinks that linguistics face the second fork on the road, the language in speech activity can be divided into synchronic and diachronic. Thus, Saussure advocates distinguishing two kinds of linguistics: synchronic linguistics and diachronic linguistics, and the synchronic linguistics are more important. On this foundation, Saussure explains syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations emphatically. He thinks that in the organization of language, all key elements are based on â€Å"relation†, and this kind of relation is nothing more than two kinds, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations. Syntagmatic relation is a relation between one item and others in a sequence; and paradigmatic relation is a relation that items can substitute for each other without violating syntactic rules. These two relations are the basic relations in language system, and are our keys to observe, analyze, and sum up the intricate language phenomenon. While setting up new language theory, Saussure points out that the question of language is mainly the question of semiology, and all of our demonstration should obtain meaning from this important fact. To know the essence of language, we must know what common qualities it has with other congener sign system first. He thinks that we can imagine there is one science studying the life of sign in social life; we call it semiology†¦. Because this science does not exist, we cannot say what it will be like, but it has the right of existence, and its position is confirmed in advance. Linguistics is just a part of this general science†¦ (HU, 2001, p. 105). The theory of semiology proposed by Saussure is limited, but it is very important to the research later. In addition, although his definitions of sign, signifier, and signified are made for linguistic sign, they inspire all of the modern semiologists. Therefore, people praise Saussure as the founder of semiology (JI, 1994, p.  19). 4. Conclusion Saussure’s contribution to linguistics is indelible. However, his theory of language has limitation, too. Since the coming out of Course in general linguistics, Saussure’s views have been accepted by the linguistic circle generally. According to his opinion, linguists throw into the synchronic static research and description of the construction relation in the language system, in order to achieve the â€Å"scientific† aim of â€Å"research language according to and for language†. In the language world of Saussure, what he values is structure, form, rule, generality, mode, and system, which makes the language research step on a road that repels humane factors, and departs from the social environment and the people who use languages. If this way is convenient to establish an accurate and â€Å"scientific† linguistics, it makes distance with the active, abundant, and changeable human speeches. Linguistics may become â€Å"lean† and â€Å"sere†. Certainly, we should not deny Saussure’s theory from this angle totally. As a kind of â€Å"scientific linguistics†, Saussure’s view should have its certain historical position, and it has finished corresponding historical mission. What we really need to do is that we should not regard Saussure’s linguistic mode as the only possible existence. We should break the traditional way of observing language phenomenon, and examine them from different sides and different points of view, so that to understand language more roundly, and establish more scientific linguistic view, instead of sticking to one kind of understanding (JI, 1994, p.20). In the field of linguistic research today, the research object has already expanded from Saussure’s structure analysis to social linguistics, speech linguistics, practical linguistics, etc, which brings new vigor to the development of world linguistics. This development trend will make linguistics emit more magnificent and brilliant rays in humane scientific research.

Apple iPhone Essay

Japan to Apple iPhone â€Å"No Thanks† and Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark Fin Soup these two case studies shows what happens when consumer behavior and marketing mix in globalization goes very wrong. These two studies reveal how marketer think they are giving a wonderful product and service in the case of Apple’s the iPhone and Disney the Shark’s Fin Soup. Understanding the consumer’s behavior and the customs and values of the culture impacted these two campaigns. Apologies good media press and changes in the strategy to get the approval of the consumers. Both case studies points out the impact of technology and how it at first affected the campaigns for bad with negative that changed the reputation of both companys. Apple’s dilemma was very embarrassing for the company with negative reports and predictions of how the iPhone was going to sell in Japan. The propaganda was already put out to the media about the Japanese saying No Thanks to Apple concerning the iPhone 3. Apple thought that Japan would be ecstatic with the new product but supposedly the opposite occurred with reports of weak showing of the iPhone3. Of course with Apple being the cutting edge in technology and innovation in the western world Japan did not feel the same way about Apple’s iPhone3. First Japan was a hard market to try to get into the for Apple and their competition Nokia, and Motorola, whose attempts to grab Japanese customers were futile. So this was going to be a difficult campaign for Apple. At the time Japan was hostile toward western brand including Nokia and Motorola which I thought were Japanese brands. What’s wrong with the iPhone, from a Japanese perspective? The high monthly data plans that go with it, its lack of features, the low-quality camera, the unfashionable design and the fact that it’s not Japanese. Besides cultural opposition, Japanese citizens possess high standards when it comes to cell phones. The country is famous for being ahead of its time when it comes to technology. Japanese consumer rather would use their own brand even if the feature is not used frequently. For example, Japanese handset users are extremely into video and photos .The iPhone had neither a video camera nor multimedia text messaging. A highlight feature enjoy on their handset is a TV tuner. Many consumers also used their cell phone as their only computer device and also as a TV. The monthly rates was considered to expense and many consumers did not want to pay the monthy bill. Apple had to make  decision because the consumer’s behavior was very different in Japan. The Japanese in the time of No Thanks were more communal than individualistic which a new trend with the younger generation is. They were not considered conspicuous consumption they way it is in western countries. The Japanese way of consumer behaving was inherited from Edo Period of history (each class had it own code) Brand shopping revealed two things about the Japanese consumer social status and quality of product. Japanese consumers are known for being demanding with products. The Japanese consumer shopped mostly in department stores but now this is changing with malls. The Japanese consumer is a cautious spender and that is why the monthly charge for service was problem for Apple. They are also very environmental aware and health conscious. Apple did not understand that Japan demographic of aging is very large with life expectancy being vey long. So Japan has a big 60 plus consumers demographic that live by the old tradition, values and customs. These consumer behaviors were very different from the western marketer Apple did not take these in to consideration when the iPhone came out. The marketer had to start at zero level and make huge marketing decision for the Japanese market. Quality of the iPhone its features had to be reintroducing to the consumers to the cell phone market in Japan. Many iphones were given away so as to help the consumer get comfortable with the iphone a great strategy. The monthly pricing had to be adjusted but they really had to do with the value of the Yen. The Bloomberg report today notes that the iPhone has captured 72 percent of the Japanese market. High price, lack of a video camera and support for multimedia messaging, all three of those shortcomings have been addressed. â€Å"Softbank w ho Apple used to sell iPhones gives away the phone for free, and Apple has added a video camera and support for multimedia messaging. The Bloomberg report further suggests that those moves were just what the iPhone needed to gain a foothold in Japan, which we also acknowledged in a report published August 2009.†(Tewney ,2008) Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark’s Fin Soup? Became fiasco for Disney with reports that Disney wool start serving Shark Fin Soup to their customers in Disney Hong Kong. In a feature dated May 18, the Hong Kong Standard reports that shark fin soup, along with roast suckling pig and sliced abalone, will be included in wedding banquets Disney is promoting at the two hotels at the Hong Kong Disneyland resort. Shark’s fin soup is a traditional Chinese  delicacy popular at weddings and other important social events. Eating shark’s fin soup carries cultural significance and is seen as luxurious and a display of affluence and generosity. However the process by which sharks are caught and killed to provide the ingredients has long been criticized for the way in which fins are h arvested. A 2004 survey by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that out of 262 shark species around the world, 56 were endangered. The Hong Kong Standard publishes a follow up to the story on May 23 and reports that Disney’s plans to serve shark’s fin soup have outraged local environmentalists. Under the environmentally umbrella Disney has integrated conservation efforts into its daily operations. The company says its employees around the world proactively support environmental initiatives through all aspects of its business and states that it is â€Å"committed to balancing environmental stewardship with our corporate goals throughout the world.† Disney lesson was tradition and customs no longer overruled environmental issues because affluent consumer wants a certain food or clothes. The voice of green and environmental safety out powered and was louder than the money of the wealth who wanted the Shark Fin Soup. With the new rising environmentalist animal cruelty advocate this was not going to be easy for the affluent consumer to win. Disney was going to have to make a decision not to serve the soup at all and it did. Globalization, can intentionally or otherwise remove social and cultural differences, which can often have a bearing on consumer behavior and in turn, lead to brands developing a more consistent global identity, one which doesn’t have to worry about the backlash of possible misinterpretation in other parts of the world. This isn’t to say that marketers believe cultural issues are no longer important. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The more information a brand holds about the world and its contrasting consumers the more chance it has of understanding and manipulating them. The interlocking of economic spheres is another aspect, which has affected consumer behavior for very different reasons all together. The European Union and the combine currency of Euro connecting different countries with the same currencies make for a huge consumer behavior being established. This was also the problem with Apple’s because Japan does not have the same cultural values as the western hemisphere which was a learning campaign for Apple’s globalization. The arrival of the Internet and advances in technology have succeeded in breaking down social and cultural barriers, but have not succeeded in stopping the masses from being continually guided by those who are learning more and more about them and the way they behave. In conclusion these two global business dilemma help to open the way for a precise understanding of different culture that helps with evolving of globalization to include all cultures and to give the best culturally socially, environment decision while giving the best service and product. Reference Key Characteristic of The Japanese Consumer (2014) Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/rpretet/key-characteristics-of-japanese-consumers CRS ASIA (2014) Retrieved from :http://www.csr-asia.com/weekly_news_detail.php?id=5318 Consumer Behavior (2014) Retrieved from:http://publicresearchsystems.blogspot.com/2009/01/report-on-global-factors-affecting.html Why Japans Hate Apple (2014) Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ . â€Å"Softbank who Apple used to sell iPhones gives away the phone for free, and Apple has added a video camera and support for multimedia messaging. The Bloomberg report further suggests that those moves were just what the iPhone needed to gain a foothold in Japan, which we also acknowledged in a report published August 2009.† Why Japans Hate Apple (2014) Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark’s Fin Soup Retrieved from:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/business/worldbusiness/17 shark.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0