Monday, December 30, 2019

The Yellow Wallpaper, By Perkins Gilman - 1658 Words

Perkins Gilman aptly used narrative voice to shape the meaning of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† by writing a first-person narrative about a woman who slowly loses herself to madness. This voice is one of a woman who may possibly have post-partum depression or some other form of manic depression, and her unheard cries for help. She slowly draws within herself, and allows the insanity to take over. Within the first few paragraphs we learn general characteristics about the narrator: she is middle class, as indicated by the phrase â€Å"mere ordinary people† (354); we also learn that she is married, suggested a statement about John laughing at her, something she says is only expected in marriage. Though we are never given her name, these generic aspects†¦show more content†¦Early on, she openly admits that she may be ill, which quickly lends some reason to doubt when it comes to some of the things she talks about. Are there really women hiding behind the wallpaper? Surely not. Is there a woman lurking in the bushes outside? Unlikely. Are the patterns and shapes on the wallpaper interesting and thought-provoking? Probably so. That is all she thought of the wallpaper when first confined to the room—yellowish in color, with strange shapes woven into the texture. However, as her condition worsens, the way she looks at the wallpaper grows more and more distorted. The textures and strokes take shape and form; they turn into living beings, women who are confined between the layers of wallpaper. The narrator begins to feel sympathetic for them, feeling trapped and confined as well. The narrative slowly shifts from first- to second-person, with the inclusion of a â€Å"you.† Instead of simply describing her feelings, she then begins to say â€Å"this is how such a thing would make you feel.† The narrator’s descriptions of the room itself change with each entry. At first, it is merely irritating. She describes the color as â€Å"repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning light† (356). Any reliable, sane person would be irritated by an ugly yellow on their walls. By the second entry, she admits she has a growing fondness for the room, aside from the wallpaper. She starts to pick out

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Effects Of The Color Red On Task Distraction Essay

Effect of the Color Red on Task Distraction Brennah Ross Villanova University Abstract The impact of the color red on task distraction frequency was explored within an academic setting. A 25 year old female graduate student was observed repeatedly during note-taking sessions. Red ink was used to activate an avoidant-motivational state, while blue ink was used to activate an approach-motivational state. Scope of attention (narrow vs. broad) and cognitive processing style (vigilant vs. flexible) were examined through the simple, detail-oriented task of note-taking. Results were not statistically significant, and therefore conclusions cannot be drawn regarding the influence of color or motivational state on frequency of task distraction when performing a cognitively low-demand task. keywords: color, red, avoidant motivation, vigilance, task distraction, academic Effect of the Color Red on Task Distraction When asked about the psychological effects of color, most individuals retrieve anecdotal stories which they believe to be universal truths. Majority of people can recite that blue is calming, while red indicates danger and elicits concern. Very few individuals understand the associatively learned or biologically ingrained nature of these statements. Abundant research exists pertaining to the applied nature of color and behavioral implications in contexts such as advertising and marketing (Elliot Maier, 2007). However, up until recently, very littleShow MoreRelatedStroop Effect Essay1147 Words   |  5 PagesThe Stroop effect was tested on four different tasks. Nineteen Queens College students were recruited by flyer, and each were assigned to a word reading task, color reading task, color inhibition task, and word inhibition task. They were timed using a sto pwatch function on a cell phone, to name the color, or word to the quickest of their ability. In the order from longest reaction time to shortest: inhibition color naming task, color naming task, inhibition word reading, and word reading. This studyRead MoreThe Revolutionary Study By Stroop ( 1935 ) Essay1299 Words   |  6 PagesThe revolutionary study by, Stroop (1935) used 5 different colors; purple, brown, green, blue, and red in a color-word naming task. Subjects had to say the color of the word while it was printed in different color ink. For example, the word â€Å"blue† would be written in the color red. They first did this using the colored words and then repeated the process with the words printed in black. They found that the colored word condition suggested a 2.3s longer reaction time than the black word conditionRead MoreBuilding A Room Decorating Ideas1080 Words   |  5 PagesOptions Style, color, texture, size, and medium should all be considered when choosing art for your home. From abstract paintings on canvas and contemporary canvas art to sculptural works and modern photography, there is a time and place for every kind of art in your home. This is why it is important that you are open to different mediums. First consider your space, and then, find art that works in your space. Abstract art, pop art, and contemporary paintings introduce broad strokes of color into a spaceRead MoreEssay Ie349-Card Sorting Experiment1304 Words   |  6 Pagesvision deck. Three tests: color, suit, and number sorting were compared. The dependent variables in the experiment included time and the number of trials it took for the student to complete the task successfully. The independent variables were sorting the two different decks by color, suit, and number. Hypothesis: 1. There will be a significant time difference between sorting the standard deck of cards and the low vision cards by suit. The four distinct colors (red, green, blue, and black)Read MoreStroop Lab Report1407 Words   |  6 Pagesbasis. Whether this is in the wild, a zoo, or a household pet. Animals come in variations shapes, sizes, and colors and are generalized by attractiveness. For example, when putting in â€Å"cute animals† into Google search engine pictures load of puppies, kittens, bunnies, baby animals, and other animals deemed cute. This attribute is used in emotional Stroop. The original Stroop test was word and color congruence and incongruence (Stroop, 1935). With this experiment many more have popped up using the generalRead MoreHow You Can Ease Pain By Controlling Your Mind Essay1341 Words   |  6 PagesTitle: How You Can Ease Pain by Controlling Your Mind Category: News Opinion, Health Wellness Tags: block pain, acute pain, chronic pain Keyword: ease pain with your mind Summary: The often-dangerous side effects of pain meds like opioids pushes researchers to discover more natural ways of remedying pain. Many studies now suggest that you can ease pain with your mind. This article discusses how you can do that. Article: When pain overtakes you, your first response may be to pop a pillRead MoreChild Psychologists And Psychologists Have Long Assumed That Playtime Can Be Utilized For Children2055 Words   |  9 Pages Ray, 2000; Hansen et al. 2000; and Naderi et al., 2010). Two of the major symptoms of ADHD include impulsivity (doing whatever comes to mind without considering the consequences) and inattentiveness (inability to pay full attention to a topic or task for a very long unless it is very stimulating) (Moore, 2000). The following are some curative games specifically designed for ADHD children who suffer from impulsivity and inattentiveness: 1. ADHD children are known for their inability to follow simpleRead MoreThe Effect of Color on the Ability of Recall4718 Words   |  19 PagesThe Effect of Color on the Ability to Recall and Recreate a Series of Images from Short Term Memory (STM) Problem Statement The purpose of this experiment is to test the role color plays in one’s ability to recall and reproduce a series of objects. Specifically, if presented with images in high contrasting color, does a person have a greater ability to recall and recreate those images from STM compared to images presented in black and white? Relevance of the Question The information gained fromRead MoreUnderstanding The Intercultural Communication Gap1880 Words   |  8 Pagesrecognizing and embracing intercultural aspects in the virtual classroom, the platform can be problematic. The first step to designing the classroom environment to recognize the influence culture has on learning and cognition. Although not a simple task, learning environments can be designed to value the diversity of the student population and maximizing their cogitative learning. McAnany (2009) has developed three instructional methods for online faculty to consider, which can address the challengesRead More Criticism Of Diego Velà  zquezs Las Meninas, Sebastià  n de Morra, and Baltasar Carlos and a Dwarf3930 Words   |  16 Pagesthe ability to seize essential features and fix them on canvas with a few broad, sure strokes. â€Å"His men and women seem to breathe,† it has been said; â€Å"his horses are full of action and his dogs of life.† Because of Velà ƒ  zquez’ great skill in merging color, light, space, rhythm of line, and mass in such a way that all have equal value, he was known as â€Å"the painter’s painter,† as demonstrated in the paintings Las Meninas, Sebastià  n de Morra, and Baltasar Carlos and a Dwarf. Las Meninas is a pictorial

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Summary for the article ‘Mortgage Mess’ Free Essays

Steve Gass, a woodwork enthusiast, lawyer and physicist was able to come up with a safer saw that prevents accidents. Although, on his own effort, he was able to sell these innovative tools quite well, few people in the business are willing to adapt it into the mainstream because according to them, â€Å"safety doesn’t sell†. The writer starts by sharing the experience of a foreman in using the â€Å"safe saw†, showing that it was effective in preventing accidents. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary for the article ‘Mortgage Mess’ or any similar topic only for you Order Now The writer then uses statistics by saying that 40,000 Americans are injured by power saws every year and 4,000 of them are hurt badly enough to require amputation. She then gives Gass’s explanation on how the saw works. Whenever it the saw’s blade was touched, its body would absorb some of the shock like a circuit breaker and it will instantly activate the brake. Afterwards, she would talk about how surprised Gass was about the slow response to his new technology in spite of the fact that â€Å"Everybody in woodworking knows someone who’s lost a finger or had an accident.† Finally, she points out that power saw accidents can leave you with very high medical expenses and it would be best to use this new technology to ensure safety and to lower costs. II.  Ã‚   New Vocabulary Tinkering (n.)   – an act of fiddling with something in an attempt to repair it. Amputation (n.) –   to cut off a limb or other appendage of the body, especially in a surgical operation Prototype (n.) – something having the essential features of a subsequent type, and on which later forms are modeled Liability (n.) – anything for which somebody is responsible, especially a debt Plaintiff (n.) – somebody who begins a lawsuit against another person (defendant) in a civil court How to cite Summary for the article ‘Mortgage Mess’, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Bipolar Disorder1 Essay Example For Students

Bipolar Disorder1 Essay Bipolar disorder can best be compared to a mountain range. With high peaks of euphoria and deep valleys of depression, this disorder has periods of high, or manic stages, and periods of low, or depressed stages, with some periods of normal in between. For many people this disorder begins in the adolescent stage of life and continues throughout the persons adult life. Often people suffer needlessly for years or even decades without even recognizing that they have the disorder. As long as people are informed of the disorder this suffering can be avoided. Bipolar disorder can be recognized by many signs, has many treatment options, but awareness is the key to the treatment. One symptom of bipolar disorder is severe irritability and mood swings. The teen snapping at his or her parents, common in most households, can now be taken as a sign of depression. Of course, most teens that have bipolar disorder do not have parents to snap at. This is due to the trend of sorts that severe neglect is a major cause of this affliction. Early trauma can lead to a life of unhappy irritability and mood swings. Some individuals may display mixed symptoms of both mania and depression at the same time, while others may have fewer symptoms of mania (also referred to as hypomania). The type severity, and duration of mood episodes may vary. Some individuals may experience excessive mania, or excessive depression, and some may experience an equal amount of both. The mood episodes can last for a few days to as long as several months, especially when left untreated or not treated effectively. Usually a person with bipolar disorder can expect an average of ten episodes of either mania or depression in their lifetime, but some individuals experience much more frequent mood episodes. Some characteristics of mania include: increased energy, activity, restlessness, racing thoughts, and rapid talking; excessive euphoria; extreme irritability and distractibility; a decreased need for sleep; unrealistic beliefs in ones abilities and powers; uncharacteristically poor judgment; unusual behavior; an increase d sexual drive the abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications; a provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior; and a denial that anything is wrong. Some characteristics of depression include periods of: persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood; feeling of hopelessness or pessimism; feelings or guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness; loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities; decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being slowed down; difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions; restlessness or irritability; sleep disturbances; loss of appetite or weight, or weight gain; chronic pain or other persistent bodily symptoms that are not caused by physical disease; thoughts of death or suicide; and suicide attempts. There are also several types of bipolar disorders, depending on the nature of the illness. The main types are Bipolar I disorder, Bipolar II disorder, and cyclothymic disorder. Bipolar I disorder includes individuals who have had at least one full manic or mixed mood episode, and may or may not suffer from episodes of depression. Bipolar II disorder includes persons who have had at least one depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode, but never experience a full manic or mixed mood episode. Bipolar II may go unrecognized because the hypomanic symptoms may not appear that unusual. Cyclothymic disorder includes individuals who have suffered numerous hypomanic and depressive symptoms over at least 2 years that are not severe or not long enough in duration to meet the criteria for a mood episode. The subtypes of bipolar disorder include: rapid cycling, seasonal pattern, and post-partum onset. Individuals who experience more frequent mood episodes (4 or more per year) are called rapid cyclers. Some persons have predictable seasonal patterns to the onset of their mood episodes. Post-partum onset describes the time in which the mood disturbance occurs within 4 weeks of childbirth. Extensive research displays that mental disorder are derived from chemical glitches in the brains complicated network for signaling between nerve cells in the brain. .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e , .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .postImageUrl , .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e , .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e:hover , .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e:visited , .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e:active { border:0!important; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e:active , .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uca7ac34d7b8b2df576db09fda169514e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Theory of Human Development Essay Scientists believe that depression is related to a deficit of neural transmitters- either the chemicals norepinephrine or serotonin, at important synapses in the central nervous system. In experiments with animals and humans, an increase in serotonin has been associated with less aggression, irritability, and impulsive behavior. However, it is believed that mania is related to an excess of those neurotransmitters. .

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Reality Vs Myth Essays - Segregation, Desegregation,

Reality Vs Myth Record 9 of 200 Scripps Howard News Service, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE, January 17, 1999 MILITARY GETS HIGH GRADES, BUT STILL SHORT OF KING'S DREAM Author: LISA HOFFMAN Topics: race relations blacks armed forces military history Estimated printed pages: 4 Article Text: It is said that the military is the only American institution in which blacks routinely boss whites around. The armed forces were the first segment of U.S. society to desegregate and now - 50 years after the Army opened its doors to blacks - the military remains the largest living example of the meritocracy the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned in his dream. But even in the military, where uttering a few racist words can end your career, racial equality is still elusive. Below the egalitarian surface, some white GIs grumble that less qualified blacks are being promoted ahead of them, while some African-Americans in uniform complain that they are both being unfairly passed over for higher ranks and held to stricter standards of behavior. ``The Army has come a long way in the past 50 years toward achieving a colorblind institution,'' Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis Reimer acknowledges. Still, ``We are far from perfect and we still have some work to do.'' While the Army and other services may not yet have created a prejudice-free meritocracy, there is no question that they have traveled far farther toward that goal than the rest of society. Of all 1.4 million uniformed personnel in the military, about 300,000 are African Americans. ``They are a role model, especially the Army,'' said Charles Moskos, a Northwestern University military sociology professor and co-author of a book on blacks and the armed forces. He also was the first to observe that only in the military do minorities regularly outrank whites. It wasn't an easy path. Although President Harry Truman ordered the military to integrate in 1948, it wasn't until the Korean War that the services accelerated the process of enlisting more blacks and melding them with white units. The reason for the push had little to do with lofty notions of equality or morality; instead, it was a function of the military's need for more soldiers. Over the years, the military environment - where commands must be followed no matter who is barking them, and where individuality is not valued but getting the job done as a team is - spurred an atmosphere of fairness for blacks, who found nothing like it in the civilian world. Sociologists and others also credit the military with helping to establish a black middle class, both by providing career opportunities and through the GI bill's help for blacks to attend college. Even so, periods of racial hostility have marred the military's record. During the Vietnam War and for several years after, animosities erupted into the open. In response, the Army began to focus on fostering better relations and in promoting the notion that racial diversity is good. Education and other programs were instituted to encourage the rising of blacks through the ranks. The transformation of the Army, which has both the highest number and proportion of African-Americans of all the services, has been dramatic. In 1948 there was one black general and blacks made up only 1.5 percent of the officer corps. Last year, the Army counted 26 black generals and blacks filling 11 percent of its officer corps. The numbers were even larger when enlisted personnel were tallied: About 30 percent of enlisted GIs are black now, compared with about 13 percent in 1948. Fully 35 percent of all supervisory sergeants are now African-Americans. But now voices of discontent are rising again. Some of the loudest came during the sexual harassment scandal that tied the Army in knots during the past two years. As the Army uncovered more and more examples of drill sergeants harassing young female recruits, criticism grew that a preponderance of the sergeants charged or disciplined were black while the alleged victims were white. Grousing also grew that other instances of sexual misconduct committed by white officers were being winked at. When Sergeant Major of the Army Gene McKinney - the first black to hold that prestigious post - was charged with an array of sexual misconduct charges, his lawyer buttressed part of his defense on the argument that McKinney

Monday, November 25, 2019

Free Essays on The Yellow Wall-Paper

Reflecting their role in society, women in literature are often portrayed in a position that is dominated by men. Especially in the nineteenth century, women were repressed and controlled by their husbands as well as other male influences. In "The Yellow Wall-Paper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the protagonist is oppressed and represents the effect of the oppression of women in society. This effect is created by the use of complex symbols such as the house, the window, and the wall-paper which facilitate her oppression as well as her self expression. It is customary to find the symbol of the house as representing a secure place for a woman's transformation and her release of self expression. However, in this story, the house is not her own and she does not want to be in it. She declares it is "haunted," and that "there is something queer about it." Although she acknowledges the beauty of the house and especially what surrounds it, she constantly goes back to her feeling that "there is something strange about the house." Her impression is like a premonition for the transformation that takes place in herself while she is there. In this way the house still is the cocoon for her transformation. It does not take the form of the traditional symbol of security for the domestic activities of a woman, but it does allow for and contain her metamorphosis. The house also facilitates her release, accommodating her, her writing and her thoughts. These two activities evolve because of the fact that she is kept in the house. One specific characteristic of the house that symbolizes not only her potential but also her trapped feeling is the window. Traditionally this symbol represents a view of possibilities, but now it also becomes a view to what she does not want to see. Through it she sees all that she could be and everything that she could have. But she says near the end, "I donUt like to look out of the windows even - there are so many of those... Free Essays on The Yellow Wall-Paper Free Essays on The Yellow Wall-Paper Reflecting their role in society, women in literature are often portrayed in a position that is dominated by men. Especially in the nineteenth century, women were repressed and controlled by their husbands as well as other male influences. In "The Yellow Wall-Paper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the protagonist is oppressed and represents the effect of the oppression of women in society. This effect is created by the use of complex symbols such as the house, the window, and the wall-paper which facilitate her oppression as well as her self expression. It is customary to find the symbol of the house as representing a secure place for a woman's transformation and her release of self expression. However, in this story, the house is not her own and she does not want to be in it. She declares it is "haunted," and that "there is something queer about it." Although she acknowledges the beauty of the house and especially what surrounds it, she constantly goes back to her feeling that "there is something strange about the house." Her impression is like a premonition for the transformation that takes place in herself while she is there. In this way the house still is the cocoon for her transformation. It does not take the form of the traditional symbol of security for the domestic activities of a woman, but it does allow for and contain her metamorphosis. The house also facilitates her release, accommodating her, her writing and her thoughts. These two activities evolve because of the fact that she is kept in the house. One specific characteristic of the house that symbolizes not only her potential but also her trapped feeling is the window. Traditionally this symbol represents a view of possibilities, but now it also becomes a view to what she does not want to see. Through it she sees all that she could be and everything that she could have. But she says near the end, "I donUt like to look out of the windows even - there are so many of those...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Symbolism in Packer's Drinking Coffee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Symbolism in Packer's Drinking Coffee - Essay Example ous efforts to distance herself from the pain-giving experiences of her life, like her devastating relationship with her Dad, grudging interview sessions with the psychiatrist imposed on her by the college administration, and suspicious interactions with counselors and study-buddies, take her to the portal of happiness? Dina’s cherished dreams do not fructify, she looks out for alternative avenues, to forget the pain. The mention of revolver as the inanimate object she’d most like go transform, on the eve of Yale University freshmen orientation, says a lot about her grudge against her past life and her future plans.(of revenge?) It is easy to say that life is to be lived in its trials, tribulations, duty and beauty. But when it comes to practical applications, the unforgettable incidents of the past continue to torture the inner core of an individual, who has faced the wrath of the society on many counts. Dina is one such individual, who has to cope up with lots of maladjustments. In the story â€Å"Drinking Coffee Elsewhere†, Packer provides enough homework for the reader’s imagination. She concludes the story without providing firm conclusions. The reader has to view the situation from own perspective. But her writing has the cordiality and grace to draw the reader to mainstream of the story. The ‘not so gentle’ gentleman with whom Dina has strained relationship is Dr. Raeburn. But one can not blame the Doctor. He is a psychiatrist and he is expected to do his professional job to treat the fresher. If the revolver is ‘triggered’ by Dina, he will be held responsible by the University authorities. He tries his best to probe the hidden layers within her mind and unearth the real Dina! When she expresses contempt for her father, the ‘shaken’ Doctor reaches out for a cigarette and Dina’s protests instantly. She says, â€Å"You can’t smoke in here.† She gives clever answers to his questions but the professional psychiatrist is able to isolate

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Comparative Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Comparative - Research Paper Example The journey represents the physical journey as well as the inner journey. The writers have chosen to use the symbol of a journey because they want us, the reader, to embark on this path of discovery with the protagonists. Both writers have used setting and symbols extensively to signify the start, the progress and the end of the journey. They have also masterfully created protagonists we can identify with, and as we travel on with the protagonists we are made aware of their feelings and beliefs and we end up empathizing with the protagonists because we could relate to their trials and embrace their humanity as our own, â€Å"the hold upon us of a character in fiction, for instance, is its ability to remind us of all those actual people who are therein described†. (Feibleman, 1949) In â€Å"A Worn Path†, Welty has endowed her protagonist, â€Å"an old Negro woman called Phoenix Jackson† (Welty, 1941, paragraph 1) with a physical quest to make her way to town. This physical journey is also an inner quest in search for immortality. Welty has painted the setting, that of a cold December morning and the character of a very old woman in the first two paragraphs. The antics of an ancient woman are fully described and the likeness of old Phoenix grows clear to us. In just the first few lines, Welty has fully planted this old and wrinkly woman before us and presented us with a suspending question at the same time, why is this â€Å"very old and small† (Welty, 1941, paragraph 1) woman making a journey alone in the cold? Similar to Welty, Rhys has also used a symbolic journey in her work â€Å"I used to Live Here Once†. Rhys has endowed her protagonist with a physical journey across a river to return to a place she has once lived in. The physical journey is deceptively simple. In actuality, the journey is also a journey of nostalgia and atonement and carries the enormous weight of memories. The start of the journey begins with the protag onist â€Å"standing by the river† (Rhys, 1976, paragraph 1). The protagonist describes the stepping stones with great detail. Each one is different but the stones are exactly as she remembers and this is significant because in the scenes after, she seems uncertain of the way things should look. Like Welty, Rhys has presented us with a suspending question here, what has taken place that makes the protagonist reacts thus? The missions of the quests in both works are not made clear to the reader till the end of the story. However, both Welty and Rhys have used the setting extensively to show the protagonist’s progress with the journey, the passing of time and their state of mind. The characters of old Phoenix and the ghost girl are fleshed out so well that towards the end of the journey, not only are the quests explained, we also empathize with the characters. As old Phoenix embarks on her journey, Welty let us know that old Phoenix is familiar with the path but the jour ney is long. Along the journey, old Phoenix has to cross different terrains. The pinewood at the onset of the journey marks the starting point of old Phoenix’s inner quest for immortality, as pine trees are often associated with immortality. The quest is not without a struggle. It is an uphill battle but old Phoenix is resolute. She then has to make her way through a forest of oak trees, oaks representing strength and wisdom to be gained. At this point, Welty has aptly

Monday, November 18, 2019

Investigating the Social - Research Question Paper Essay

Investigating the Social - Research Question Paper - Essay Example Requiring names of respondents is not good. ________________________________________________________ .Recall questions used here are not good because people are made to think back which is unreliable. Part c is frustrating and ambiguous and is likely to bring emotions in the answers thus being unreliable. The questions are biased in that they don’t include all possible answers expected. Theory is abstract and gives one side account of many other accounts in the social world. It gives researchers the relationship between the abstract and concrete which assist in making research decisions and making sense of the world. It provides the link between the thought statement and the observed, Intransitive and transitive objects (Glesne; 156; 1992). The method plays the role of linking the facts collected in the real world with the theories. The methods to be may be influenced by the interests of the researchers funding of the research and may other things. The data on the other hand brings the conclusion on the issue being stated in theoretical form. Data refers to the facts on the ground collected using the methods that seek to explain theory (Denzin; 236; 1994). The three are interrelated as one leads to another in the process of research. Statement is made that define the research intended and the methods to be used are applied to collect the data which give evidence on matters stated earlier (Hammersley; 231; 1993). 3) Describe and explain key steps you would take, as researcher, to ensure your research adhered to ethical principles in a study of attitudes and experiences concerning Sex Education amongst secondary school

Friday, November 15, 2019

Bitcoin and the Silk Road Scandal

Bitcoin and the Silk Road Scandal BITCOIN 1 Introduction Bitcoin is the stage that can really change the way we store cash, the way we utilize cash and our segment plans. For the monetary zone, we can delineate the improvement behind Bitcoin new to us as the PC was the time when it at initially showed up in 1975 and the Web sway upon in 1993. The offer of exchanges with relative riddle is basic cash related impact and goes on changes to the future part structures. Much the same as individuals left the music and highlight recording industry and swung to the free music utilizing YouTube or Napsters interminable on-energy gushing, equivalent individuals again would leave the saving money structure and make utilize free managing a record utilizing Bitcoin or any free-managing a record elective that will rise. Everybody can purchase associations; stock likewise wrongdoers have an approach to manage exchange their pay from unlawful exercises completely quietly. 2 What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a sort of bleeding edge exchange for cash which encryption techniques are utilized to manage the time of units of money and insist the exchange. Virtual pooch rency through a P2P system, which is exchanged online and traded into coinage. Precisely when composed with pariah associations, licenses clients to mine, purchase, offer, or perceive bitcoins from wherever on the planet (Eyal Ittay and Weapon Sirer Emin, 2014). The business worth is overseen by the supply of bitcoins available for use and individuals yearning to hold or exchange bitcoins. Bitcoins are not issued by any association, bank, or alliance. Exchanges are made with no banks meddling, so there are no exchange charges. While Bitcoin originators bolster Districts to give direction to the Bitcoin com-munity, they dont have a united database or power. Most other non-greenbacks related exchanges experience a go between, for occurrence, a bank or wire exchange association, which screens colossal budgetary exchange s for IRS shirking danger. 3 How dark is Bitcoin Michael Bedford Taylor exhibits in his study that in dark bitcoin exchanges, just the wallet address id is recorded in an open log, with keeping anonymity of the client exchanges private (Bedford, 2013). Since it never uncovered weak record identifiers, unlawful action is strengthened, similar to government evasion, terrorist financing or other conceivable sick utilization for detestable purposes. Governments are drafting regulations with law essential that will for the most part can track trade information left by the coin and develop the regulation with charges. The framework is at danger to gigantic and developing focal control for the Associations yet virtual coinage believed is in reverse. Bitcoins decentralized security model is indeed secure and the calling money related associations are not unprotected against key issues of bafflement which would oblige oversight and regulation. 4 Bitcoin and overall wrongdoing U.S. law endorsement forces have closed down unlawful business centres’ that coordinate by utilizing bitcoins (UNODC, 2011). The virtual bitcoin coin is not sup-ported by banks or government and can be spread between any two individuals wherever. Everybody can purchase associations and stock besides scallywags have an approach to manage exchange their pay from unlawful exercises completely unobtrusively. Unlawful advancement is bolstered, as IRS shirking, terrorist financing or other conceivable abuse for perniciousness purposes. They direct exchanges without the uneasiness of got from washing controls. There is history of assaults at bitcoins security. In February a tremendous bit-coin trade called Mt Gox, after a trap by engineers; an assignment of 500 million $ made the inspectors and the Bitcoin social affair feel anxious. Additionally, one of the bitcoin banks in Canada close down in spring after programming engineers defalcation of 670,000$ (Millan, 2014). 4.1 FBI: Silk Streets medication market U.S. law approbation forces have closed down Silk Street, the online medication market where cocaine and heroin were trafficked, and got Ross William Ulbricht, the websites proprietor. Correspondingly the Organization Branch of Examination seized about $3.6 million in Bitcoin, made it one of the best confiscatory in the moved coins history (FBI New York Press Office, 2013). Government prosecutors charges against Ulbricht breaker plan to narcotics trafficking connivance, PC hacking premium and IRS evasion plan (United States Lawyer, 2014). 4.2 Bitcoin and the Law IRS will treat bitcoin like property, for occasion, stocks and securities, and not as coin (IRS, 2014). Governments intercession through Branches of Trust, which are drafting regulations, doesnt have all the reserves of being skilled to control all the exchanges expansive. Parliament of Canada grasped the worlds first national law on computerized money related measures recalling the last goal to check all exchanges under national adversarial to obligation shirking law. Generally every single overseeing bodie will take after regulations, for occasion, Canada national law on forefront cash related measures yet dependably some spot on the planet, guilty parties will discover money related things free of any mediation in the e-cash, government-reinforced or all around. 4.3 Bitcoin and Evaluations Bitcoin can be considered cash as it satisfies the segments of cash yet it is suspicious that Bitcoin would go as cash in different nations under the National Money Law. Bitcoin is perfect for some individual who purposefully tries not to pay charge (Friedman Jillian and Neudorfer Joseph, 2014). In any case, for a great various people who report charge re-turns and report their remuneration whether it appears on a Structure, it likely isnt the expense haven some are recommending it is. The IRS will most likely make moves to regularize charge re-porting. Government Commitment Office report says the IRS data to the general open for Bitcoin is inadequate. Individuals must be told that they need to pay charge on Bitcoin exchanges (IRS, 2014). 5 Future of Cash related standards Most cash today are quickly electronic structure (Jung-Wen Lo, Min-Shiang Hwang, Yen-Ping Chu, 2008). The banks arent holding a critical measure of exchange for cash there. The exchange for chilly hard money various records is information, consolidated framework numbers 01. Bank stores are in threat in light of the way that stores wont be considered as cash however paper tries is looked over G20 and will be announced soon (G20, 2014). I cant help envisioning that Bitcoins and whats more all cash will be seen as the same and will be depending from the budgetary status of each Nation. In a steadily impelled world, it profits related and societal sense to permit electronic coinage. A report by Goldman Sachs expected that Bitcoin would oblige banks to fight by chopping down their expenses and streamlining their frameworks (Goldman Sachs Pack, 2014). 6 Conclusion As opposed to developing regulation and attempting to anticipate the best in class time of troublesome progressions, it would over the long haul be impeccable to admire the types of progress and police the reasons of open contact with existing genuine courses of action. Later on any-one will be proficient to control all the exchanges and get hooligans found for cost shirking law encroachment. Virtual coinage will rise and accomplice with budgetary things at long last on a general scale. Unmistakably, monetary establishments cant offer security any more. Generally virtual financial structures philosophy directed into being more secure and everybody will believe them. References Barber Simon, Boyen Xavier, Shi Elaine and Uzun Ersin. (2012). Bitter to Better How to Make Bitcoin a Better Currency. Sixteenth International Conference Financial Cryptography and Data Security 2012. Bonaire: International Financial Cryptography Association. Bedford, M. (2013). Bitcoin and the Age of Bespoke Silicon. CASES 13: Proceedings of the 2013 International Conference on Compilers, Architectures and Synthesis for Embedded Systems. Montreal, QC, Canada: IEEE Press. Bohr Jeremiah and Bashir Masooda . (2014). Who Uses Bitcoin? PST2014 International Conference on Privacy, Security and Trust (PST). Toronto, Canada: IEEE Computer Society. Dorit Ron and Shamir Adi. (2013). Quantitative Analysis of the Full Bitcoin Transaction Graph. Financial Cryptography and Data Security 2013 Seventeenth International Conference. Okinawa, Japan: Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, The Weizmann Institute of Science. Eyal Ittay and Gun Sirer Emin . (2014). Majority is not enough: Bitcoin Mining is Vulnerable. 18th International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security (FC). Barbados: Cornell University Computer science researchers. FBI New York Press Office, S. D. (2013). Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Seizure of Additional $28 Million Worth of Bitcoins Belonging to Ross William Ulbricht, Alleged Owner and Operator of â€Å"Silk Road† Website. New York: FBI New York Press Office. Friedman Jillian and Neudorfer Joseph. (2014). Bitcoin and the law. Montrà ©al, Canada: Bitcoin Foundation Canada’s testimonials at the Senate Banking Committee hearings in October 2014. G20, G. F. (2014). G20 Leaders’ Communiquà © Brisbane Summit 15-16 November 2014. G20 Leaders’ Communiquà © Brisbane Summit. Brisbane, Australia: G20. Goldman Sachs Group, I. (2014, 3 11). Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research : All About BitCoin. (I. The Goldman Sachs Group, Ed.) Top of Mind(21). IRS, K. A. (2014). How existing general tax principles apply to transactions using virtual currency. Internal Revenue Service, Income Tax Accounting. Cincinnati, Ohaio: Internal Revenue Bulletin. Jung-Wen Lo, Min-Shiang Hwang, Yen-Ping Chu. (2008). An Exchangeable E-Cash Scheme by E-Mint. Eighth International Conference on Intelligent Systems Design and Applications, ISDA 2008. Kaohsiung, Taiwan: IEEE Computer Society. Kroll A. Joshua, Davey C. Ian, and Felten W. Edward. (2013). The Economics of Bitcoin Mining or, Bitcoin in the Presence of Adversaries. In P. University (Ed.), The Twelfth Workshop on the Economics of Information Security (WEIS 2013). Washington, DC. Millan, L. (2014, June 6). Cryptocurrency! Canadian Lawyer Magazine, 26. Retrieved 11 1, 2014, from http://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/318717# Reid F. Harrigan, M. (2011). An Analysis of Anonymity in the Bitcoin System. 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: IEEE. United States Attorney, P. B. (2014). The Indictment Of Ross Ulbricht, The Creator And Owner Of The â€Å"Silk Road† Website. Retrieved 10 25, 2014, from http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/February14/RossUlbrichtIndictmentPR.php UNODC, U. N. (2011). Estimating illicit financial flows resulting from drug trafficking and other transnational organized crimes. Vienna, Austria: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Candide and Great Expectations: Comparing Candide and Pip :: Charles Dickens, Voltaire

Candide, by Voltaire, and Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, are two novels written in different periods of time and by authors with different backgrounds. Their main characters are consequently not identical to each other. The fundamental difference between Candide and Pip as characters is that Candide shows us only his outer countenance while Pip lets us know the deepest of his feelings. Candide is one of those "follow the leader" type characters, that doesn't do much thinking for himself. Most of Candide's opinions and actions match those of his philosophy teacher Pangloss. Pangloss firmly believes that he lives in the best of the worlds and that everything that happens is for the best and Candide has learned to apply this believe to all the events he goes through. Candide relies so much on Pangloss and other characters that the reader is not able to figure out Candide's inner thoughts nor his true personality. Pip, on the other hand, shows an internal struggle whenever he has to make a decision. Pip also has an image of a father imposed on other male characters throughout the progress of his life: first his brother-in-law Joe, later the lawyer Mr. Jaggers, and finally his secret benefactor Magwitch. But the relative importance that each of them hold on Pip's opinions is rather little compared to the effect of Pangloss' word upon Candide. Pip is always open to suggestions coming from any of the individuals around him, and he really cares about the judgement of any of these, but he is always left with freedom when concerning an ultimate decision. Candide and Great Expectations have much dissimilarity by themselves. Candide is narrated in third person by an omniscient voice, but Great Expectations' narrator is Pip as an adult: the story is told in first person retrospective.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Organisational Structure Key terms Chain of command Essay

Chain of command – Line linking the top of the structure to the bottom workers Top to bottom Responsibility Accountability Horizontal – People on the same line, but usually in different departments. A span of control is the number of people one person is in charge of. Tall Hierarchal structures Those with a long chain of command Management communicate with those directly below them and further down the line. Example: Marks and Spencer, Next, they’re normally formal organisations. They are tall because there are a lot of people working for them. Advantages Clear chain of command Staff know where they stand They know who there boss is Chances of promotion They know there entitlements and rights Specialist departments Disadvantages Takes more time to make a decision Inflexible, people only know there area of work, and can’t cover for someone who is not in that works in another area. Information might get misinterpreted and distorted along the line of communication because there are so many links in the chain. Read more:Â  Walgreens Organizational Structure Matrix Structure Sometimes an organisation needs to run according to what projects they have to do. In these situations people usually work together in a team to achieve their projects goals. A person working on a project would have two bosses, the boss of the department that they work in and the leader or manager of the particular project that they are working on at the moment. A project may cover some or all of the organisations departmental areas. Senior manager heads a division or team of specialists drawn from different departments. A specialist (e.g. finance) can be part of a number of teams or divisions Advantages Promotes coordination between departments – cuts across departmental boundaries – flexibility and creativity Mixture of knowledge and skills Allows a range of staff to be involved which gives good experience. Disadvantages Confusion between managers who are dealing with a number of projects at one time Projects may be temporary Too many people involved to make decisions.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on Charles Lindbergh

There have been many great adventurers and heroes in America’s past. One of them is Charles Lindbergh. He is most famous for his transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. He faced many hardships and successes, including his flight, marriage, and his child’s kidnapping. All of his fascination with planes started when Lindbergh was just a youth. Charles was born on February 4, 1902, in the city of Detroit. At the age of eight is when he saw his first airplane, which was piloted by Lincoln Beachey. This is what started Lindbergh’s love for and interest for flight. Lindbergh then started to study World War I. He was fascinated with the flying exploits of French ace Rene Fonck, who had shot down 75 German planes in the war (WGHB, 1997). Lindbergh spent three years working on his father’s farm by the time he graduated from high school. He then enrolled as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Wisconsin. After an airplane landed on campus, Lindbergh had a great desire to fly. He quit college and became a student in Nebraska Aircraft Company, where he was taken aloft for his first flight in April, 1922. After learning the basics of aircraft construction, he went on a cross-country tour with a seasoned barnstormer and learned to wing-talk and make exhibition parachute jumps (NAHF, 1997). Lindbergh then started to take flight. He won his first airplane and a second lieutenant’s commission in the Reserves in 1925. In the spring of 1926 he made the first airmail flight between Chicago and St. Louis. This route was very difficult and poorly marked. He was forced twice to parachute to safety from his disabled mail plane while flying the routes. There was then an extraordinary offer to pilots of the world. A Frenchman, named Raymond Orteig, offered $25,000 to the first aviator to fly non-stop from Paris to New York or New York to Paris. Orteig’s offer was only good for five years, but within those f... Free Essays on Charles Lindbergh Free Essays on Charles Lindbergh There have been many great adventurers and heroes in America’s past. One of them is Charles Lindbergh. He is most famous for his transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. He faced many hardships and successes, including his flight, marriage, and his child’s kidnapping. All of his fascination with planes started when Lindbergh was just a youth. Charles was born on February 4, 1902, in the city of Detroit. At the age of eight is when he saw his first airplane, which was piloted by Lincoln Beachey. This is what started Lindbergh’s love for and interest for flight. Lindbergh then started to study World War I. He was fascinated with the flying exploits of French ace Rene Fonck, who had shot down 75 German planes in the war (WGHB, 1997). Lindbergh spent three years working on his father’s farm by the time he graduated from high school. He then enrolled as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Wisconsin. After an airplane landed on campus, Lindbergh had a great desire to fly. He quit college and became a student in Nebraska Aircraft Company, where he was taken aloft for his first flight in April, 1922. After learning the basics of aircraft construction, he went on a cross-country tour with a seasoned barnstormer and learned to wing-talk and make exhibition parachute jumps (NAHF, 1997). Lindbergh then started to take flight. He won his first airplane and a second lieutenant’s commission in the Reserves in 1925. In the spring of 1926 he made the first airmail flight between Chicago and St. Louis. This route was very difficult and poorly marked. He was forced twice to parachute to safety from his disabled mail plane while flying the routes. There was then an extraordinary offer to pilots of the world. A Frenchman, named Raymond Orteig, offered $25,000 to the first aviator to fly non-stop from Paris to New York or New York to Paris. Orteig’s offer was only good for five years, but within those f...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Jazz Music the roots of our everyday life essays

Jazz Music the roots of our everyday life essays What is Jazz? According to the dictionary, jazz is defined as, A kind of syncopated, highly rhythmic music originated by Southern blacks in the late 19th century (Jazz 232). But, everyone should at least agree that jazz is the mother of all music, and is referred to as the only art form originating in the United States (History 101 2). America was home to immigrants from all over Europe and beyond who wished to build a new life, or just needed to escape from the old. These people, often thought of as second-class, brought their culture with them to America, expressed it musically, and changed the music world as we know it today. Most early jazz was played in small marching bands or by solo pianists. Besides ragtime and marches, the repertoire included hymns, spirituals, and blues. The bands played this music at picnics, weddings, parades, and funerals. Characteristically, the bands played hymns on the way to funerals and lively marches on the way back. Although blues and ragtime had arisen independently of jazz, and continued to exist alongside it, these genres influenced the style and forms of jazz and provided important vehicles for jazz improvisation. Around the turn of the 20th century, the earliest fully documented jazz style emerged, centered in New Orleans, Louisiana. This city is often called the cradle of jazz (History 101 3). In this style, the trumpet carried the melody, the clarinet played showy countermelodies, and the trombone played rhythmic slides and sounded the root notes of chords or simple harmony. Below this basic trio, the tuba or string bass provided a bass line and drums the rhythmic accompaniment. New Orleans jazz was just the beginning of an entire sweep across the county. The first true virtuoso soloist of jazz was Louis Armstrong. He was a dazzling improviser, technically, emotionally, and intellectually. He changed the format of j...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Personal essay assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal assignment - Essay Example First of all I must note that I strongly identify myself as a Chinese person, more specifically a Chinese exchange student. I acknowledge the fact that while studying abroad I represent my country as well as the rich cultural tradition that it is able to boast. I feel to a gained access to my inner resources that constitute my very nature. There are several reasons why I identify myself in this way. First of all, I spend the majority of the day among people who come from a different cultural background than me. As a result, I can clearly see that I am different from then in many aspects. However this feeling makes me confident of my own origin. Secondly, I have to introduce myself a lot; so, when I say that I am from China I am usually asked to share something interesting about my country. Thanks to it I am always in touch with my roots. It would be rather advantageous to examine the way others think of me. While the best way to know it would be to ask people that I interact with, it would not be a rude exaggeration to note that they surely perceive me as an Asian student. I deliberately used the word "Asian" here in order to point out the fact that the majority of people consider Asians to have a super ethnos that should not be divided into distinct cultures. Speaking of the reasons why others perceive me in such a way, I might assume that the following kind of thinking takes place here: as Takaki put it â€Å"my face and name had tagged as a stranger" (Takaki 1). It will not be an exaggeration to argue that the analysis of the cultural background of a foreign person does not go further than that. I must admit that such a superficial attitude towards my identity surely makes me sad. For example, there have been several occasions when people thought that I was Japanese. While the difference between these two cultures is insignificant for other individuals, I feel offended to a

Friday, November 1, 2019

Organic Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organic Growth - Essay Example Now before discussing the advantages and disadvantages of organic growth over cross border acquisitions for multinational companies, one should first understand what is organic growth and what is a cross-border acquisition. Organic growth talks about using internal sources of a company for expanding and earning profits. In other words organic growth talks about the expansion of a firm's operations from its own internally generated resources, without resorting to borrowing or acquisition of some other firms. Organic growth represents the real growth of the company. Organic growth represents how well the company has applied its internal resources to increase profits (Reuters, 2009). Increasing output and enhancing sales are some of the methods in which the growth rate of a company can be enhanced. Organic growth sometimes is also referred to as internal growth. Here the company uses funds from one year to expand in the following year. Since organic growth is a slower way of expansion and growth, and many companies wants to grow at an accelerated rate they go in for the inorganic growth. Again a firm can grow inorganically by the means of mergers and acquisitions. ... Organic growth sometimes is also referred to as internal growth. Here the company uses funds from one year to expand in the following year. Since organic growth is a slower way of expansion and growth, and many companies wants to grow at an accelerated rate they go in for the inorganic growth. Again a firm can grow inorganically by the means of mergers and acquisitions. Inorganic growth is often seen as a faster way to grow in the business and acquire new markets. Inorganic growth is seen as a major and significant event for the faster growth. Inorganic growth strategies are regarded as important tools to reach into new markets, expand customer base, cut competition, consolidate and grow in size quickly. Cross border acquisitions and mergers Due to globalization, companies have started the ways and means to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. Also the world has seen increased deregulation, privatization and corporate restructuring; globalization has led to cross-border acquisitions and merger activities. Today they are seen as the main mechanism in which a company can expand in foreign markets. The cross border acquisitions and mergers cuts down competition, helps the companies to expand their customer base and grow in size quickly. But there are many barriers to cross-border acquisitions and mergers. Some of them have been discussed below: Legal barriers: cross border acquisitions and mergers are very complex transactions which may involve a number of legal entities. The company may suffer due to lack of information which may also result in deadlock. There may be cases where even after the acquisitions the acquiring company may not get proportionate powers in the

Thursday, October 31, 2019

The history of the number zero Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The history of the number zero - Research Paper Example For instance, the numbers 2011 and 211 represent two different numbers and have completely different sense. Secondly, zero is used in its form as a number itself i.e. 0. Both the above mentioned uses of zero have been exceedingly important. Yet, the two above described uses of zero cannot report historical evidence of creation of zero. It would not have been so easy for the term and idea behind the invention of the number to be widely accepted and used. The number and term zero has not been spontaneously derived concept. It took a huge period to develop the concept and use of zero as a name and a symbol (O'Connor and Robertson, 2000). Zero as a number, symbol and a concept has been indeed important and is known possibly worldwide for its significant usage. The recognition, apprehension and functioning of zero has been the fundamental of the world now that today, zero fulfils a key role in mathematics as the real numbers, additive identity of the integers, and a lot of other algebraic structures. In addition, the concept of zero can be employed in calculus, accounting, finance, statistics, computers, and particularly in today's connected world. The development of zero from being merely a placeholder to the driver of calculus has crossed centuries, and involved diverse and extensively great cognitive thinking, both in extent and scope globally (Kaplan and Seife, 2002). As a concept, zero indicates ‘nothing’ or ‘naught’. â€Å"How can nothing be something?† is a question that ancient Greeks asked themselves. Records have shown that they seemed to be uncertain about the interpretation of zero as a number. The creation and status of zero has led to philosophical and religious arguments by Middle-ages (Bourbaki, 1998). As a matter of fact, today’s Arabic number system has originated in India, but is comparatively newly developed. From the beginning, people have been labeling amounts and measures with a variety of figures and sy mbols throughout centuries, while facing difficulties in performing most elementary arithmetic computations with those number systems. A counting system had been first developed by the Sumerians as they wanted to mark and keep the accounts of the quantities of their goods such as cattle, horses, and donkeys. The drawback regarding the Sumerian system was that the system was positional which means that the positioning of a specific symbol as compared to others denoted its value. Around 2500 BC, Akkadians handed down The Sumerian system and in 2000 BC, the same was done by the Babylonians. The evolution of zero seems to have initiated from the Babylonians which has crossed may centuries and was very different from the symbol know to us today. Babylonians were the first to ideate a mark to to make it realized that a number had been missing from a column. For instance, 0 in the number 2011 expresses that there are no hundreds in that number. By that time zero did not have any symbol to denote the space. Although Ancient Greeks have brought many famous mathematicians who learned the basic principles of their mathematics from the Egyptians and they had a number system, but that system lacked a placeholder like the one of Babylonians so they could not suggest a name to indicate that empty space. They might have contemplated the name to denote that place between numbers, but there is no such evidence to draw conclusion that the symbol even

Monday, October 28, 2019

Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations Essay QS. Look carefully at the opening chapters of great expectations and explore some of the ways in which Dickens captures and keeps the interest and attention of the reader. Explore also how social conditions of the time inform his writing. When Dickens writes he uses three methods to interest his readers, the presentation of character, creation of atmosphere and his use of narrative, description and speech. To begin with we will look at dickens presentation of character. When my English class first began reading great expectations I noticed that Dickens did not describe a character physically or through their thoughts, instead he describes them with two details, their surroundings and their past. For example we are never told that Pip is blonde or his age etc, instead we are only told that he has a married older sister who cares for him and that they live quite simply for example we learn that for dinner they would have something like buttered bread which suggests that they have poor nutrition. We are also told about the fact that when Pip was younger his parents died along with five of his siblings, which suggests that he comes from a family that were and still are struggling and this suggests that they are living in the popular social conditions of the time which were harsh cold, poor hygiene, no hot water or heat, high infant mortality rate etc and this is also suggested at the bottom of page two when Pip says I was undersized for my age and not strong, the house they live in is also described as being in the marsh country this method of Dickens I found to be quite striking as I have not before read a book that does the same, however I think it is very effective because it allows the reader to paint their own picture of the characters and give them a greater insight into the characters and helps them to understand the characters actions, thoughts and words. This also allows the reader to become more involved in the novel and therefore the readers interest is already being drawn in. These social conditions, so far mentioned inform the novel a great deal as it is the story-line of this young boy from a poor background, and because he has been raised by hand that this child is so meek and innocent, and because of this innocence, and by chance, he is given the opportunity to become someone, quite literally, a man of great expectations In the first two chapters it is also noticeable that Dickens starts to give particular traits to each character to make them individual, such as Mrs Joe Gargery Was the evil step-mother while her husband Mr Joe Gargery was the quiet and almost wimpy yet kind man. Dickens narrative technique is also very powerful. Unlike most novels the action starts almost straight away. By page two we are shocked by the very sudden arrival of Magwitch with the shocking and almost frightening line Hold your noise! We are suddenly completely sucked in to the story when we find very quickly that Pip, the young boy we have become fond of is in danger and that Magwitch has only just escaped from a prison ship and is in desperate need of food, drink and possibly a file, if he will be able to make a full escape. This makes the first chapter become very exciting. Also it seems quite realistic because Magwitchs language is very powerful because it is so graphic, blunt and colloquial. Also Magwitch not only speaks in the way you would expect a convict to speak but he dresses how you would expect as well. Dickens uses many subordinate clauses and he also uses the word and a lot yet he uses it with style and it makes his writing seem much more rhythmic, for example in the third paragraph in the first chapter when Pip is telling us of his first memory, he says My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip Dickens mainly keeps our attention by using drama such as when Magwitch enters on page two. Another way in which Dickens sustains the readers attention is his use of language in the way he writes. For example the type of words he uses to describe the new characters intrigues the readers so that they want to know more such as when Mr Joe Gargery is being introduced, In the middle of page six, Pip describes him as being a sort of Hercules in strength, and also in weakness. This seems to be very confusing and makes the reader want to continue in the story in order to figure out its meaning. Finally the most effective way which Dickens uses to with-hold the readers attention is through the creation of atmosphere. By using words such as raw, bleak, marsh and phrases like overgrown with nettles, dark flat wilderness etc. the writer makes the scene seem gloomy, drag and sad, and with the opening setting not only being in a churchyard, but a graveyard, we are subconsciously being prepared for Magwitchs arrival. Pip describes the river as a low leaden line This is a perfect example of Dickens art of alliteration. The word low is also representing the low spirit of Pip, The word Leaden makes us think of something that is heavy, grey and dull, and the word line sounds very bland and boring. Also the way in which Dickens uses personification for example in calling the wind a savage beast, these words make us think of Pip a small helpless child who is out alone in what seems like an extremely solitude and scary place. We then fear for this young child and want to learn what happens to him so once again the reader finds that they wish to continue in the book, and for the rest of the novel the drama and language that Charles Dickens uses makes us keep wanting to read on continues Therefore it is through using the techniques previously mentioned, of character presentation, creation of atmosphere and narrative, description and speech that Dickens gains and sustains his readers attention. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Compulsory and Voluntary Voting Policies in Democracy

Compulsory and Voluntary Voting Policies in Democracy The right to a free and fair vote is a staple in the democratic process. However, there is debate over whether or not this process is best implemented when the population has the choice to engage in the political system or whether or not it should be mandated.[1] Many people claim that the best system to follow is the one that they are a part of, however in countries where different voting policies are implemented; there is empirical data that can be used to determine whether compulsory voting or voluntary voting produces better results and whether it tends to enhance the quality of democracy. Yet many people will still argue that just analyzing empirical data is not enough to determine whether or not compulsory voting more democratic due to intrinsic reasons. Both of these approaches make it difficult to discern whether or not compulsory voting is more democratically favourable however upon analysis of the two different voting systems, I have found that the arguments that oppose com pulsory voting are not substantive enough to discredit the evidence as to why it does improve upon the essence of democracy. That is why in this essay I argue that compulsory voting does enhance the quality of democracy. What does it mean to enhance the quality of democracy and what is the importance of determining how to advance it? Democracy, at its most basic definition, means the rule by the people. When analyzing the quality of democracy of a state, what is being analyzed is how well the citizens of that state (the people) are represented in the policies that are passed. If the democratic representatives of the government pass laws that a majority of the people in the state do not want, then the quality of democracy is poor. It is not the people that are ruling in this case, but rather the elite few. The issue of compulsory versus voluntary voting is a very relevant issue in todays day and age because a lot of people are disenfranchised by politics. People lose faith in their political system because they feel like they are not being represented. This in turn leads to a less politically active society which is not concerned by the issues that affect them and then often times their lives are made worse due to their lack of input in the policies that are passed. This circular downwards spiral further alienates people and future voters, demonstrating the need for maximizing representation in democratic political systems. The quality of the system cannot be improved until the people are represented to the nations fullest potential. When analyzing which voting system would be the best to implement in order to enhance democracy, it is important to evaluate societies where these different voting styles are implemented. The American voting system is an ideal case study when considering the effects of voluntary voting. The United States and its citizens pride themselves on being a shining example of freedom and democracy. To many people across the world, it has become synonymous with the idea of a perfect democratic system which all other nations strive to achieve. However statistically, the vast majority of citizens in the United States are very poorly represented by their democratic government[2]. For example, a study done by Princeton and Northwestern Universities found that on economic policies, the policy preferences of the average citizen only get implemented less than 20% of the time while the policies preferred by business interests and economic elites are implemented the vast majority of the time, demonstra ting how the median citizen or median voter at the heart of theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy does not do well when put up against economic elites and organized interest groups[3]. This in turn leads to the main flaw with the voluntary voting system. People refuse to be involved in the democratic process because they lose faith in their representatives. This in turn leads to worse social and economic situations for the majority of citizens in the state. The United States is a prime example of this. The United States has a relatively low election turnout rate, ranking 22nd in the modern world.[4] The United States is also has the highest total global personal wealth yet 80.56% of that wealth resides among the top few.[5] In fact, more than three quarters of all Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck.[6] With a voluntary voting system, the American government tends to leave the people behind in favour big money interests. A defining argument in favour of compulsory votin g is that compulsory voting will alleviate the socio-economic inequalities in a society because if everyone voices which policies they want to see implemented into their law, then the politicians will be severely pressured into pushing for those policies if they wish to stay elected, and hence policies that benefit the majority of the people will be implemented.[7] Americans and others who believe in that voluntary voting is more beneficial than compulsory voting will refute this claim by stating that if you force non-politically active citizens to vote, you cannot infer that they will vote in their own interests because they would not have a good understanding on who to vote for to implement their ideas.[8] They claim that people who would stay home and not vote in a voluntary system would just vote arbitrarily in a compulsory system. The flaw with this objection is that it assumes that everyone who doesnt vote does so because they have absolutely zero interest in voting. There are many reasons that people do not vote in a voluntary system other than being apolitical. For example, voting could be a large enough inconvenience for so poorer people so they decide to stay home.[9] People also choose not to vote even though they have policy opinions because they believe their vote is just one in a million so it doesnt make a difference and furthermore could just lack the motivation to express vote.[10] If all these people were pressured to vote, the elected representatives would better represent the views of the overall population and democracy would be enhanced. Australias voting system is the antithesis of Americas. If you are over 18, it is your legal duty to register to vote and to go the polls. Failure to do this will result in a fine and a potential day in court.[11] This form of pressure is meant to increase the participation levels in elections and better represent the will of the public. Multiple studies have been done checking if this theory translates to real world policy and they all come to the same conclusion: [Compulsory voting] can increase the salience of elections and make voting more rational and meaningful and it can enhance and protect such values as representativeness, legitimacy and political equality. It also has the potential to break the counterproductive cycle of low efficacy, alienation, non-participation and state neglect that has led to an increasingly moribund political culture.[12] The studies found that compulsory voting remedied one of the biggest problems with voluntary voting which is the Socio-economic status voting gap.[13] When observing the history of Australias voting population before the compulsory voting law was passed, it was revealed that turnout disproportionally represented those in higher socio-economic status while many people who were in a lower economic status abstained from voting for a various amount of reasons.[14] Many people who argue in favour of voluntary voting disagree with the idea that the socio-economic status voting gap should be addressed by compulsory voting because they claim that if peoples lives were already very burdensome so much so that they didnt vote when they had the opportunity because it was so inconvenient, then there shouldnt be a law that inconveniences them further by forcing them to vote.[15] The problem with this argument is that it misses the fact that peoples lives became less burdensome because of them bein g represented in their system[16], and so compulsory voting was for their own good, and hence the quality of democracy improved. When evaluating whether or not compulsory voting enhances democracy, people who  support voluntary voting say that simply analyzing statistics is not enough. They claim that a reflection must be done on whether compulsory voting is right by the fundamental nature of democracy. One of the aspects in measuring the legitimacy of democracy is checking if there is A free and independent citizenry[17]. This means that the public has absolute freedom of speech and a right to protest, demonstrate, and preach with dissent from the government. The argument then comes up that abstention from voting is a form of expression, and therefore any attempt to remove this democratic right would be dictatorial and would actually be diminishing democracy, not enhancing it.[18] However, this claim is refuted by the idea of the social contract. The social contract is the pillar upon which authority is given legitimacy in a democratic state. By choosing to live in a democratic system, the collective is obl igated to contribute to certain areas of society. As with paying taxes and jury duty, compulsory voting is just another duty that the citizens of a state are obligated to comply with under the social contract. Since the social contract is the strongest case made for accepting authority in a democracy, then having compulsory voting as a citizen duty would not tarnish the quality of a democracy because it would seen as legitimate. In countries like Australia where compulsory voting has become the status-quo, it is not thought of as dictatorial or tyrannical in anyway.[19] It has become a culturally accepted norm. However, countries where this idea is viewed as taboo would view this as an attack on freedom. A case study by Lisa Hill on Americas low voter turnout found that the idea of being compelled to vote is anathema to many Americans and it would undoubtedly meet with vigorous resistance on a number of fronts.[20] Unless there is a cultural shift that would allow the assimilation o f these kinds of new ideas, compelling people to vote could possibly weaken the quality of democracy in countries like America because their citizenry would have a difficult time integrating it into their established system. However, there are ways to remedy these rejections of policy. Hill explains that methods that have been approached to improve public acceptance of compulsory voting were to clarify existing requirements, give the people optional preferential voting, and to expand the voters option for political expressions. The objections to implementing compulsory voting are rooted in status-quo biases and are under the assumption that it is not possible to change the cultural views of citizens on policies which have not been adapted yet. These objections falls flat due to these policies being implemented into other countries successfully through smart execution plans and therefore it has increased the quality of democracy, not decreased it. Compulsory voting enhances the quality of democracy because it provides a better representation the needs of all the people in society. When analyzing a country without compulsory voting such as America, it is found that the views of the people are not what is represented by the policies that end up being passed because a large majority of the people who tend to be lower class do not engage in their political system. However, in a country that does have compulsory voting such as Australia, the socio-economic status voting gap is greatly diminished and the policies that end up being passed are more representative of what the people want. Many common objections to compulsory voting are that it is burdensome and it decreases freedom. These objections do not hold up because in countries where it is implemented, the system ends up benefitting more people and becomes culturally accepted to the point where it does not become an issue. Therefore, compulsory voting does end up producing bette r results and improves the quality of democracy. Bibliography Beck, Katie. Australia election: Why is voting compulsory? BBC News, August 27, 2013. DeSilver, Drew. U.S. voter turnout trails most developed countries. Pew Research Center, August 02, 2016. Gilens, Martin, and Benjamin I. Page. Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014): 564-581. Heywood, Andrew. Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Sathel, Trevor. Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook. London: Routledge. 1999. Hill, Lisa. Compulsory Voting in Australia: A Basis for a Best Practice Regime. Federal Law Review 32 (2004): 479-497, http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/fedlr32div=30g_sent=1collection=journals Hill, Lisa. Low Voter Turnout in the United States Journal of Theoretical Politics 18(2): 207-232, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0951629806061868 Hill, Lisa. Public Acceptance of Compulsory Voting: Explaining the Australian Case. Representation 46:4 (2010): 425-438http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00344893.2010.518089 Johnson, Angela . 76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. CNNMoney, June 24, 2013. Martin Gilens, and Benjamin I. Page. Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014), 564-581. Sherman, Erik. America is the richest, and most unequal, nation. Fortune, September 30, 2015. [1] Trevor Sathel, Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook (London: Routledge, 1999), 75. [2] Martin Gilens, and Benjamin I. Page. Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014), 570-577. [3] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.572-573. [4] Drew DeSilver, U.S. voter turnout trails most developed countries. Pew Research Center, August 02, 2016. [5] Erik Sherman, America is the richest, and most unequal, nation. Fortune, September 30, 2015. [6] Angela Johnson, 76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. CNNMoney, June 24, 2013. [7] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.565. [8] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.566. [9] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.565. [10] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.565. [11] Katie Beck, Australia election: Why is voting compulsory? BBC News, August 27, 2013. [12] Lisa Hill, Low Voter Turnout in the United States Journal of Theoretical Politics 18(2): 228. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0951629806061868 [13] Lisa Hill, Compulsory Voting in Australia: A Basis for a Best Practice Regime. Federal Law Review 32 (2004): 480, http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/fedlr32div=30g_sent=1collection=journals [14] Hill, Compulsory Voting in Australia: A Basis for a Best Practice Regime. 480. [15] Sathel, Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook, 75. [16] Hill, Compulsory Voting in Australia: A Basis for a Best Practice Regime. 497. [17] Andrew Heywood, Politics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), 86. [18] Sathel, Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook, 75. [19] Lisa Hill, Public Acceptance of Compulsory Voting: Explaining the Australian Case. Representation 46:4 (2010), 429, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00344893.2010.518089 [20] Lisa Hill, Low Voter Turnout in the United States, 228.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Educating Rita Raises Serious Issues Essay -- Educating Rita Essays

'Educating Rita' Raises Serious Issues 'Educating Rita' was voted best comedy of the year when performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1980 and by 1983 it had risen to be the fourth most popular play on the British stage. Russell uses humour as a tool to engage and entertain his audience whilst at the same time dealing with serious topics. Without the humour, the play would be less accessible and would probably have reached a much more limited and elitist audience. The play is naturalistic with a fixed and simple staging, which firmly reflects the real world. The entire play is set in one study room in a red brick university. The room is Frank's environment - cluttered with books representing both the world of knowledge and the disordered state of Frank's mind and life. It is a far cry from the world to which Rita is used, but one to which she aspires in her quest to 'find herself'. By contrast Frank is disillusioned with his life as an academic and the audience quickly gathers the impression that Frank would escape from his world if only he could. This theme is handled hilariously from the opening of the play. Rita's bungled attempt to enter the room, fumbling with the door handle and cursing, is a metaphor for the apparent barriers between Rita's working class environment and the middle class, educated world that she is trying to break into. "The poor sod on the other side on the outside won't be able to get in. An' you won't be able to get out" (Act one, scene one) The mismatch between Rita's language and academic setting provides a great source of humour throughout the play. Rita's accent and dialect clearly sets her apart and so does the constant swearing and joking. At times however... ...ntually have to come to terms with their mediocrity. Although the play is hilarious the seriousness is never lost. The humour is mainly at a verbal level and slapstick situation comedy is avoided. The humour helps the author to bring out an essentially optimistic flavour despite all the tragedy. Rita completes her transition and ends the play as a well-rounded individual feeling herself to be in full control of her destiny. She has learned a key lesson on the way that she does not have to change her personality and be like other people to become more mature. As Rita rises, Frank falls as the drama unfolds. The play ends with his carrer at its lowest point after students complain about his drunkenness. However, even for Frank there is the hope of a new start and renewal with his sabbatical to Australia a country which for him symbolises new beginnings.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Ebay Case Meg Whitman Essay

In 1995, Pierre Omidyar founded eBay, an on-line company whose purpose was to facilitate an environment where people could not only exchange goods, but also have discussions, make connections, and form relationships. He carefully crafted a culture based upon, â€Å"trust, respect, autonomy, empowerment, and equality,† and sought for the eBay community and company to be reflective of those principles. eBay was successful because Omidyar realized that a respectful, symbiotic relationship with this on-line community was critical, â€Å"because eBay wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for [the] community. In 1998, Meg Whitman was brought in as CEO to strengthen the eBay brand and to develop a stronger marketing strategy. In this, she was remarkably successful. In little over a year, eBay registrants grew from 88,000 to 3. 8 million users. The company successfully went public, revenue just about doubled every quarter, and acquisitions and partnerships were made to increase the customer base. However, the rapid growth under Whitman caused a major problem for eBay: it put a strain on the culture and the community upon which eBay was successfully founded. With growth came the need for more rules and policies. For instance, Whitman made the decision to ban the sale of firearms to keep the company free of legal liabilities. Many in the community and company were shocked and outraged by this policy because it violated the eBay values of open communication and trust. Also, the acquisition of Butterfield and Butterfield, a prestigious, high-end auction house, was taken as a slap in the face. It violated the eBay value of respect, and the community saw this purchase indicative of the company’s priorities being focused on higher profit margins, not building and maintaining relationships with its existing community. There are clear reasons why the eBay community felt its culture was being left behind in the wake of rapid growth. First, the strategic design of eBay dramatically changed under Whitman’s management. eBay was previously built upon a small, flat and flexible team of engineers who worked together without many formal chains of authority. This open work environment perfectly mirrored the community Omidyar sought to create online, and the internal company practiced its values of respect and trust on a daily basis. However, Whitman correctly recognized that as the company grew, more formal structures and positions would have to be put into place to bear the burden of greater demand. With expert consultation, she reorganized the engineers. She eventually added eleven different vice presidents in upper management. In little time, the company transformed from an informal, flat model to a formal functional structure. This enabled growth, but it also created tall hierarchies that diminished the culture of open communication. For instance, lower-level employees and the eBay community both back-lashed at the decision of banning firearms for largely the same reason: they had no idea such a policy was forthcoming. Upper management made this decision without outside consultation. Even though it was the right decision for the company, it was handled and presented in a way that violated the culture eBay was built upon. In 1999, Whitman formally created a Community Watch group to monitor the website for fraud. Initially, eBay â€Å"counted on its users to abide by its user agreement and take much of the responsibility for safeguarding the site themselves. But, the community had grown too large to be self-monitored. Again, the decision was appropriate, but so many structural changes implemented in so little time was too much for the community to absorb without reaction. Moreover, the political nature of eBay changed rapidly. Pierre Omidyar, eBay’s founder and developer, had the rare gift of leading with b oth referent and expert power. He used this power to create a strong sense of community throughout eBay. He also used his referent power to give Whitman legitimacy in both her position as CEO and in her consequential actions. His support was effective at getting the company to align behind her decisions, but the external community did not see this support and were more suspicious of the company’s new direction. Whitman’s decisions were all sound and applauded by Wall Street. But the community saw what was once a democratic forum turning into a big business. Her lack of consultation with the community lead one user to brand eBay as having a â€Å"cavalier attitude,† and a â€Å"political agenda. † Lower level employees also saw this lack of communication. Where there were once full company meetings weekly, now they were held, at most, once a quarter. Power was concentrating. Clearly, this power shift was positively causing growth but negatively affecting culture. In her defense, Whitman was not indifferent to the culture at eBay. She stressed hiring people who understood and wanted to expand the eBay culture. But at the same time she outsourced customer service to a location in Utah, far from where the gatekeepers of the eBay culture were to be found. Therefore, those directly working with the community may have been the least in tune with its values. Also, she applauded and maintained the â€Å"no penalty† culture where everyone could voice their opinions and feel free to change their minds. However, with the growth of the company, there were fewer opportunities for a voice to be heard, less direct contacts with upper management, and fewer voices involved in major decisions. This led to decisions being made that were sound individually but not corporately when placed in the eBay culture. It also proved difficult to spread this culture to the plethora of newly added users. And it is critical because it built the community, which built the company, and if it is removed, those elements that made eBay a unique success will be gone. Therefore, eBay needs to find a way to maintain its culture. One way to correct this problem would be to implement more cross-functional teams internally. These teams would recreate the initial eBay structure of being team-based, autonomous, and flat. They would allow different departments to address problems and offer valuable input into pending company policies. This lateral flow would lead to decisions that would keep more in line with the original eBay culture, thus satisfying the community at large. The downside to these teams is that it gives Whitman and others less authority to use in making decisions for the company. Another alternative would be to create a formal system of distributing information and gathering feedback from the eBay community. This would create an opportunity to communicate values as well as pending or upcoming policy changes. This system of polling through email would empower the community to have a cogent voice once again and would reestablish the feeling of one-to-one communication. The downside is that if the company decided to go in a direction different than that of the community, those polled and involved could lose faith and optimism in exercising their voice. Finally, Whitman could create a separate company under the eBay name where she could make mergers and acquisitions without alienating the base users and without directly affecting the company. This would help maintain the existing eBay culture, but it would do nothing to repair any damage done. Moreover, having a different arm will not expand their user community of eBay, which is eBay’s vision. Whitman should create a formal system of distributing information and gathering feedback from the eBay community. This mechanism would be two-fold in design. First, eBay would create a oalition of the â€Å"top sellers,† those truly engrossed in the eBay community and whose interests are aligned with both company and community. Upper management would formally integrate the opinions and responses of this group (on issues ranging from policy to community values) into its decision-making processes. Also, the use of widely sampled polls of eBay users on the same issues would help th e company get a feel for how the broader community at large feels about important issues. This would be positive for the community because it would give them a legitimate voice in the company again, just as it had at eBay’s inception. It is important to remember that eBay is unique in that the community it serves is the company itself. Soliciting, responding to, and implementing the voice of this community improve eBay; even with its now more functional structure, it will only help the company know the needs and opinions of its community, which will strengthen business. The downside to this move is that after hearing out the top sellers and looking at the data of a poll on a particular issue, Whitman and upper management may still feel that an unpopular direction needs to be taken. Some users may feel patronized and refuse to participate in future polls. Even so, many in the community will be appreciative to at least be involved in the process and to be forewarned of pending changes. Once again there will be a dialogue with the community that will attribute value, trust, and respect to its opinions, even in disagreement. In this manner, eBay can grow and still stay small.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Farming and Industry essays

Farming and Industry essays It is virtually impossible to answer the question of whether Americas farmers or industrial workers had it worse in the period 1865 through 1916, because issues of gender, culture, and race make it difficult, if not impossible, to generalize about people in either occupation. Furthermore, regional differences exacerbated the differences in how each group was treated. Therefore, instead of ignoring these differences, this paper will concentrate on how gender, cultural, and race impacted each occupation, and then attempt to determine which group, as a whole, lived under worse working conditions. Any discussion of American history that begins in 1865 has to, by necessity; discuss the tremendous social changes caused by the U.S. Civil War. First, the Civil War helped highlight regional differences in the United States; the North was linked with industry and the South with agriculture. Furthermore, after the Civil War there was no incentive for the United States government to push for industrialization in the South. On the contrary, preventing the South from becoming industrialized was a way for the North to make sure that the South would not be able to secede from the Union. Second, the Civil War was responsible for the deaths of nearly a million Americans, from injuries and disease. As with most wars, the majority of those deaths occurred in young, working age males. Therefore, the Civil War left a gap in the labor force, and also forced many women and children to work because they had no husband or father to provide financial support. Furthermore, the end of the Civ il War led to a tremendous change in financial status for many Americans. Reconstruction led to a restructuring of the economy of the South; and the defeat of the Confederate Army left millions destitute. Of course, the most significant political and social change following the end of the Civil War was the end of legalized slavery. The best-understood ty...