Sociological Imagination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Sociological Imagination - Essay Example capacity to shift from one perspective to another; the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote transformations to the most intimate features of the human self – and to see the relations between the two of them. (1959: 9) The theorist is of the view that social change is an inevitable phenomenon that takes place in all human societies of the globe at large from the most primitive to the most modern ones. This social change, according to the theorist, may be the outcome of some immediate incident or catastrophe as well as the historical background of the society where the change is going to come about. Such transformation can alter the entire social environment including the prevailing social norms and traditions existing within a social set up. Mills believed that the persons need to have an understanding of the history of their society to understand the society, and themselves in it, and through this determine what their moral values are.  (Quoted in members.oz email.com.au) Hence, the latest or upcoming change can be estimated by looking into the traits and characteristics of transformations took place in the society in past. Since social change is inevitable in every culture and civilization and has been in vogue for centuries everywhere in the world, it vehemently revolutionizes professional, domestic, cultural and religious milieu. Though the pace, causes and consequences of such cultural transformations may be divergent in nature, scope and exposure, yet these are sure to pave the way towards adaptation of new ways, style and approaches in their wake. It sometimes happens that one single event or incident may bring revolutionary changes in social establishment. For instance, wars and hostilities inflicted by the big powers upon the weak countries deteriorate the very foundations of the vanquished states; as the lust of the western countries to capture the wealth and territories of the financially rich but strategically weak countries of Asia

JpMorgan Case Essay Example for Free

JpMorgan Case Essay We trust banks to hold our money and to help make use get more in investment and other ways. One of the most trusted banks is J.P. Morgan Chase they are easily one of the most well-known banks that exist. J.P. Morgan Chase on May 10, 2012 disclosed that they had lost more than $2 billion by trading financial derivatives. The administrative agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) take action in order to be effective in preventing high-risk gambles in securities and banking, a foundation of the economy. We have to understand the elements of a valid contract, and discuss how consumers and banks each have a duty of good faith and fair dealing in the banking relationship. Having to compare and contrast the differences between intentional and negligent tort actions. I’ll discuss the tort action of â€Å"Interference with Contractual Relations and Participating in a Breach of Fiduciary duty† and, if the bank I’ve chosen were to behave as JP Morgan did, would I be able to prevail in such a tort action. Lastly let’s discuss how banks have protected the software that allows for online transaction to occur through automation.7 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a federal agency. It holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nations stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States. The SEC is divided into four divisions; The Division of Corporation Finance; the Division of Trading and Markets; the Division of Investment Management; and The Division of Enforcement. All the branches within the SEC carry similar  goals in terms of protecting individuals and ensuring financial fairness, each has their own specialty for instance, the Division of Corporate Finance is tasked with the assurance that all imperative disclosure of which represent a corporation are easily accessible by the general public. In addition, the Division of Trading and Markets ensure fairness, order and efficiency in market activities. Much like the design of the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CF TC) is also inherently designed to ensure the public, its consumers, and investors are protected from coercion, manipulation, fraud, and/or any other forms of dishonest dealings between manufacturer and consumers/investors. The CFTC is noted to be an independent federal agency established by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974. Again, similar to the design of the SEC, the CFTC is comprised of five different committees, each of which are responsible for a different area of trade and marketing; for example, agriculture, global markets, energy and environmental markets and technology all of which are equally as responsible as the next for ensuring full cooperation and adherence to laws set forth by the SEC. Though banking is the most common method in which most people handle and maintain their finances, there are also equally as many that take their money to invest in stocks, bonds, and the like which do not carry a sound guarantee that they will make a profit or even keep their initial investment monies. Consequently, past dealings with investor types result in unfair and fraudulent losses and even erroneous gains such as the ones reported by JP Morgan Chase, the purpose of the SEC and CFTC alike become abundantly clear. With the utilization of these two particular securities, investors, consumers, and even marketers are able to rest easier knowing that there are serious legal, unfair and blatantly dishonest dealings within the marketplace. In an effort to maintain honest correspondence and dealings with the capital market, both of these require that all earnings and losses should be reported; at which point, there can be a recognition and determination of any imbalanced and deceitful dealings having taken place. The following are the essential elements of a valid contract. Offer and Acceptance. In order to create a valid contract, there must be a lawful offer by one party and lawful acceptance of the same by the other party  Intention to Create Legal Relationship. In case, there is no such intention on the part of parties, there is no contract. Agreements of social or domestic nature do not contemplate legal relations. Lawful Consideration has been defined in various ways. The parties to an agreement must be competent the contract. If either of the parties does not have the capacity to contract, the contract is not valid. Free Consent means the parties must have agreed upon the same thing in the same sense. In the banking context, this means among other things that a bank could call a loan, refuse to fund, refuse to roll over a loan, set off accounts, etc., no matter how drastic the consequences might be to the borrower. As long as the banks accept them expressly within the granted rights under the controlling loan documents. That may no longer be the case. With the advent of mobile banking, discuss how banks have protected the software that allows for online transaction to occur through automation. The first area, financial accounting, is used mainly for ascertaining the results of any such business on a periodic basis. This should as a result; help the company determine the future course of action, in the long term. From an economic perspective, financial accounting treats money as a factor of production. Management and cost accounting are apparatus used to help management make decisions on a day to day basis. Management and cost accounting aren’t useful simply for their own sake. These two functions help management conduct themselves along with other vital factors involved in the running of a business. Other key factors could be supply, demand, competitors, availability of raw materials, logistics etc. The second area is cost accounting, its primary purpose is to attain the value of direct and indirect costs involved in production. The value acquired, management can make an informed decision on improvement in production performance. From an economic perspective, cost accounting is the measurement of economic performance. This information gives management a clearer indication of the performance of the product resources in the business. Costing also helps the sales manage in setting the correct price. But, because costing is solely a measurement of economic performance, it cant be considered as an accurate basis for setting prices. Selling prices is more of an economic decision it would not be wrong to mention that pricing is basically determined by market  factors. Prices are influenced mainly on demand, supply and competition, less on costs. High demand plus lack of competition would result in the business charging higher prices for its product, well above the costs. The third area is management accounting, which is related closely to cost accounting. It has evolved from cost accounting; management accounting plays a much broader role in management decisions. It measures the performance, economically, of the whole business, the economic environment that the business operates in. This area of accounting, seeks to combine both financial and cost information into a much broader function. Compare and contrast the differences between intentional and negligent tort actions. Intentional torts and negligence towards both give rise to civil actions. However, there are some important differences to understand about negligence versus intentional torts. Negligence torts do not require intent. To determine if someone should be found liable for a negligence tort, a reasonable person standard is used. If the defendants behavior is found to be less careful than behavior a reasonable person would exhibit, that defendant can be found liable for damages. Intentional torts require intent. The person who committed to tort must have intended to cause harm. The harm, however, did not need to be the specific type of harm that was caused to you. The other major difference between intentional and negligence torts, aside from the standard of proof, is that in many cases, a person who is found liable for an intentional tort can be required to pay punitive damages in addition to actual damage s. Discuss the tort action of â€Å"Interference with Contractual Relations and Participating in a Breach of Fiduciary duty† and, if the bank you’ve chosen were to behave as JP Morgan did, would you be able to prevail in such a tort action. The tort of interference with contractual relations and participating protects the right to enjoy the benefits of legally binding agreements. I have chosen a bank like JP Morgan and they did what he I would not took it very well. I invested money and knowing that JP losses that money I would wind up probably suing them. But providing a remedy when the defendant intentionally induces another person to breach a contract with the plaintiff. The defendant must know of the existence of the contract between the plaintiff and the other person, or there must be a sufficient fact that a reasonable person would be led to believe that such  contract existed. Interference with the contractual relations requires an unacceptable purpose. If good grounds are set and exist for the interference then the defendant is not liable. But as for J.P. Morgan there were no good rounds so the defendant is liable. So if I were to go to court over this I would not win and neither would J.P we would just be both out of the loss money that was invested. In conclusion when you invest money in a bank Think to you self is it a good idea or is it not a good idea. We all make investments just need to make sure it in the right bank that you can trust. J.P Morgan had a down fall and loss a ton of money but in the end they had to deal with the fines and the investors. When in drought don’t invest your money unless you really have to. References: Bagley / Savage 2013 Custom Edition http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/10/news/companies/jp-morgan-losses/index.htm http://www.thedailybeast.com/

Thomas Day :: essays research papers fc

Life and Times of Thomas Day   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thomas Day was born in Dinwidee, Virginia in 1801 to a free slave mother. With the law that allowed children to be born free if their parents were free, Day was born free and did not have to be a slave. His family had been free since the early 18th century. He and his brother were educated by private tutors and they were trained by their father in cabinetry and carpentry. Thomas’ brother eventually began to study theology and he emigrated to Liberia in 1930 and was a Baptist missionary, eventually became one of the signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence and a prominent statesman there. He’s known as one of the founding fathers of that nation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thomas moved to Milton, NC in 1823 and started a furniture business where he became one of the best furniture makers of that time. He received notice from two of North Carolina’s governors and his furniture is inside of University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill’s original buildings. He eventually began to train free blacks and enslaved blacks to do the carpentry work that he was doing. By the mid 1800s his work was in demand from Virginia to Georgia. He then had to begin purchasing slaves to help him to the work. His furniture shop became the biggest shop in the state because he used steam powered machines and using mass production techniques to build his furniture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1827 Thomas married a free woman from North Carolina. But the law was that free slaves could only marry people from their own state. So Thomas threatened to move his furniture shop outside of North Carolina and to move it to Virginia where that law did not exist. So the North Carolina Legislature made special arrangements to the law so that Thomas would stay in North Carolina and he and his wife could still be married. Thomas had three children and they were educated in an abolitionist-sympathizing school in Massachusetts called Wesleyan Academy. He also constructed some pews for The Presbyterian Church in Milton provided that his family would be allowed to sit up front in the white section. He was an active member of the community of Milton. In 1848 he purchased the Union Tavern where he resided until he died in 1861. It is now a landmark but part of it was destroyed by a fire in 1989.

Catcth Us If You Can Chapter 1-5

Chapter 1 Rory and his grandfather are waiting to see Dr Nicol, their  family doctor at the doctor’s waiting room. Rory calls his grandfather as Granda. Granda cannot sit still. He goes off to smoke his pipe and comes back. Granda walks over to the noticeboard. There is an old woman sitting beside it. Rory asks Granda to sit still. A young girl about sixteen years old comes in with a baby in her arms. Granda stands up and opens the door for her. Granda asks Rory to help to take her bag. Granda likes the baby and starts talking to it. The young girl giggles and says the baby name is Lorelei.Granda then asks if the young girl calls her baby after Marilyn Monroe and she is confused. The young girl again says that her baby’s name is Lorelei and not Marilyn. Granda is good about films and Marilyn Monroe is one of his favourites. Suddenly the old woman smells smoke. The young girl also smells it as well. She jumps up and shouts that Granda is on fire. Everyone in the doctor ’s waiting room sees that Granda’s pocket is burning. Then the smoke alarm begins to wail. The receptionist rushes to them yet Granda is still smiling. Rory grabs a vase filled with flowers from the receptionist’s counter and throws the water all over Granda.Dr Nicol is surprised to see Mister McIntosh wet. Granda complains that Rory is trying to drown him. Rory says that it is not the first time his grandfather sets something on fire. Dr Nicol likes Granda and Rory; both are like double act that always makes him laugh. Dr Nicol is glad that he has a grandson like Rory who looks after him and reminds him to take his medicine. Dr Nicol tries to get Rory a home help. Rory agrees that a home help will be a good idea but Granda does not like it. Granda’s memory is getting bad from worse. He leaves shoes in the fridge and milk at the bottom of the wardrobe.Rory needs help to look after his  grandfather who is very forgetful nowadays. CHAPTER 2 Rory’s grandfather likes to keep his homework ‘somewhere safe’ and Rory is trying hard to locate his homework. Granda remembers putting it in Rory’s school bag when he is putting the rubbish down the chute. Rory’s guess is right when he finds a bag of eggshells and potato peelings in his school bag. He imagines his homework lying among the rubbish. Rory does not know how to tell to his teacher, Mrs Foley. Darren Fisher, Rory’s best friend suggests to him by saying that aliens take it away.Rory’s other classmates gather around him at the playground trying to help him too. His friends like Granda and his stories. Granda is almost arrested for shoplifting when a hanger with a suit on it gets caught in the belt of his raincoat and he walks out of the shop without noticing it. Rory confesses to Mrs Foley about the loss of his homework. Mrs Foley asks about Granda’s condition and if he is coming to Parents’ Night. Granda never misses it befo re. Mrs Foley asks Rory to stay back and do the homework. However, Rory cannot stay back because Granda is making lunch and is waiting for him to have lunch together.Rory runs out of the playground towards his flats. He buys two hot pies, one for him and one for Granda. Granda does not cook at all; in fact Rory has to bring him lunch every day. Rory has to make sure Granda takes his medicine too. Granda is old now and Rory thinks that he has the responsibility to look after him. Chapter 3 Mr Hood, Rory, Darren and Mary Bailey are  at the  field where football practice is going on. Mr Hood  asks Rory to be in the football team. Rory refuses as he has to look after his Granda. Darren and Mary quarrel. Mr Hood drags Mary to the headmaster's office.Darren again suggests Rory to be on the team. Rory states the same reason. Darren thinks that Rory's Granda should be in a home and Rory is angry about it. Granda always talks about Rachnadar, the local old people's hospital to Rory. Hi s Granda would rather die than to live there. Darren's mother tells Darren that Rory's Granda will be better there. Rory runs off before Darren could say another word. Granda only has Rory and Rory only has granda as his kin. Rory tries his best to coach Granda on how to behave  as Parents' Night is coming up soon. He wants to reassure Mrs Foley that Granda has all his marbles.One day, Rory comes home to discover that Granda mistakenly peels a bag of apples and cuts them into chips. Granda thinks that the apples are potatoes! Granda also tries to help with the cooking but he leaves the electric rings switch on and burns out a pot. That night Rory and Granda are watching television when Granda watches Rory closely. Rory is thinking about his father. Granda is angry at the mention of Rory's father. Granda and Granny have spoilt him too much. He gets what he wants as a child. When he is tired of them, he throws them aside. He treats Rory's mother in  the same way.Rory's father leav es Rory's mother and Rory when he is a baby. Granda does not want to talk about Rory's father. Granda only has a son, none other than Rory! Chapter 4 Rory and his Granda walk to the school on Parents' Night. Granda wears slippers and they go back home again to change so they are the last to arrive. There are many parents waiting patiently in queue. Darren comes and greets Granda. Granda looks around ans asks where Holy Foley is. Granda then  goes to the toilet on his own. He does not want Rory to accompany him. Rory is worried about Granda.Luckily Granda  steps back into the classroom. It is Rory's turn and Mrs Foley talks to Granda about  Rory's homework. Granda leans forward and  says that Mrs Foley indeed has moustache, just as what Rory has told him! Suddenly, Mrs Foley smells that something is on fire. Clouds  of smoke is billowing from the pocket of Granda's coat hanging on a hook. Then Mrs Foley's coat, pale green with a little matching scarf  is on fire too becau se it is beside Granda's coat. People walk out of the  classroom into the playground as the caretaker ushers them. Granda goes to the toilet earlier  to take a puff.Then he puts his pipe in his pocket but he forgets about it. However, Granda finds the whole thing funny and exciting just like other boys feel. Luckily, Darren's father helps to put out the fire. Mrs Foley looks at Granda angrily. Chapter 5 Darren and Rory's other  friends  are delighted with Granda's attempt to ‘set the school on fire' and they exaggerate on it. Granda admits that it must have been his fault. Darren's mother is worried that it might happen again maybe in the middle of the night at Rory's home. She thinks that Rory should not shoulder  such big responsibility. He should be playing football!Rory confirms it will not happen as he hides Granda's pipe before he goes to bed. Meanwhile, Val Jessup, the social worker  comes to see Granda and Rory. She is sent by Dr Nicol. Val Jessup is trying to organise a home help who comes in at lunchtime and prepares food for Granda. She will also make sure Granda takes his medicine. With the home help, Rory dreams of joining the football team again. Val Jessup makes Granda thinks of Grace Kelly, a beautiful film star just because both have fair hair! Granda tucks Rory into bed and  Rory thinks life will be better as they have a social worker now.Mrs Foley asks Rory about things at home. Rory tells that now they have a social worker and will have a home help soon. One day after school, Rory runs for the bakery and two hot pies. The baker tells Rory about his flats which is on fire. Rory rushes to his flats. His neighbour, Mrs MacKay scolds Granda for causing the fire. Rory is very angry with her. He tries to defend his Granda. Rory throws himself at her and tries to kick her. The policemen stop him. One policeman informs Rory that Granda is in hospital now but he will be all right. Rory recalls that he hides his Granda's pipe.Howe ver, the policeman tells Rory that Granda leaves the chip an on and forgets about it. this causes the fire. Rory is perplexed as he does not know what is his Granda doing with a chip pan. CHAPTER 1 Characters: 1. Mister McIntosh (Granda) (Rory’s grandfather) 2. Rory 3. Dr Nicol (Granda’s and Rory’s family doctor) 4. old woman 5. young girl 6. baby (Lorelei) 7. Marilyn Monroe (was an American actress) 8. receptionist CHAPTER 2 Characters: 1. Mister McIntosh (Granda) (Rory’s grandfather) 2. Rory 3. Mrs Foley (Rory’s teacher) 4. Darren Fisher (Rory’s best friend) 5. Rory’s classmates CHAPTER 3 Characters: . Mr Hood 2. Rory McIntosh 3. Darren 4. Mary Bailey 5. Granda 6. Darren's mum 7. Mrs Foley 8. Rory's parents CHAPTER 4 Characters: 1. Granda (Mister McIntosh) 2. Parents 3. Mrs Foley (Holy Foley) 4. Darren 5. Darren's father CHAPTER 5 Characters: 1. Granda 2. Darren 3. Mrs Foley 4. Rory's friends 5. Some of the parents 6. the caretaker 7. Darren's mother 8. Rory 9. Val Jessup (the social worker) 10. Dr Nicol 11. a home help 12. Grace Kelly (a beautiful film star) 13. Mrs MacKay (Rory's neighbour) 14. the policemen CHAPTER 1 Settings: 1. doctor’s waiting room 2. toilet 3. the house 4. receptionist’s desk 5. he fridge 6. bottom of the wardrobe 7. Dr Nicol’s office 8. Rory’s pocket CHAPTER 2 Settings: 1. on the table 2. in the schoolbag 3. kitchen 4. chute 5. school 6. playground 7. road 8. across the street 9. block of flats 10. the bakers' CHAPTER 3 Settings: 1. Football field 2. playground 3. headmaster's office 4. Rachnadar, the local old people's hospital (home) 5. Rory's home CHAPTER 4 Settings: 1. school 2. the toilets 3. the classrooms 4. Rory's home 5. the playground CHAPTER 5 Settings: 1. the school 2. living room 3. Rory's bedroom 4. the toilet 5. Granda's bedroom 6. the bakery 7. flats 8. the hospital

Pros and Cons of Fast Food Essay

The fast food industry has come a long way from its humble beginnings nearly a century ago. The first restaurant considered a fast food restaurant was called White Castle. White Castle was opened in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas by Billy Ingram. He opened it so that he could sell his slider-style burgers at a price of 5 cents per patty. White castle is in business today and its belief of selling cheap affordable food for all became the foundation for all the fast food places that were founded soon after. Places that include, Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1930, McDonalds in 1940, In-n-Out in 1948, Burger King in 1954, and Wendy’s in 1969 along with others became the well known cheap eateries that we have here today. All this fast food although cheap, they have clearly had a well documented negative effects of it as well. As more and more fast food appears and gets advertised in our lives it drives people to want to go and get some but causes the average weight of people to go up because of it and also leads to the fast food industry to make money off of it too. The fast food industry has its goods and consequences but ultimately it comes down to what position you are looking at the industry from to really identify your viewpoint. For example if you were a person looking for a job and all you could get was a job at McDonalds, you would think that the industry is good because you make money off of it. But if you were a person who has become obese as a result of eating too much fast food, you might not be a big fan of the fast food industry. There are many arguments that can be made for the fast food industry because of all the good that it provides to people. The first benefit that it has is that it provides cheap food to people since back when it first started it cost 5 cents at White Castle per burger and nowadays basically every place has a dollar menu like McDonalds or a value menu like Burger King. I’m not sure how long that the dollar menu will last with how the price of everything in the world is getting more expensive as time goes on, but I’m sure that it’ll stay at around a dollar or two so that it’ll be a lot cheaper then anything else for a long time. Another benefit of the fast food industry is that the food that it provides is quite convenient because it is so quick to make for us to be able to eat unlike restaurants so that it is a lot better for those who are on the go and need to eat very quickly at the place or even order through the drive-thrus available at most if not all fast food places if they want to save even more time to eat in the car. Another benefit of the fast food industry that some people may overlook is the employment opportunities it creates for people. According to howstuffworks. com, as of today there are about 2. 4 million workers that work in the fast food industry which his quite a large number. These jobs, although small, provide a steady source for those who work there to support their families, and I’m not too sure that all of the people employed within the fast food industry could find other jobs. A last minor benefit of the fast food industry is how they are adapting because of all the criticism they receive about fast food being unhealthy, places like McDonalds started serving things like fruits, salads and milk to stop a bit of the negative opinions. The main argument against the fast food industry is the health issues that result from eating the fast food. All the fast food is and has been for a while assembly line made. We don’t always know what the fast food is made of; it could be filled with random meats that we might not quite like if we ever find out. Fast food is usually higher in things like fat, oil, calories and sugar. All the nutrients get fried out of the food and eating a lot will result in many problems, like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and joint problems. According to Buzzle, people who live within walking distance of a fast food restaurant are 13% more likely of suffering a stroke then those who don’t. According to Ehow. com 33% of Americans are obese and a lot of it stems from the doubling of fast food restaurants since 1970. Simply put, if you eat a lot of fast food bad things will likely happen to you. Fast food also has a negative effect on our environment as well because the factory produced fast food is said to have a big impact on our environment causing a lot of damage and a lot of people consider it a major contributor to global warming. And according to EHow, they quote the EatingWell Magazine that worldwide meat production is said to emit more greenhouse gases then all the transportation and industrial processes combined. Another argument against the fast food industry would be that fast food industries are also being considered as a factor for making families spend less time together because people just want to eat quick and leave thus reducing the amount of family time that people get together. All in all just like everything else in the world, the fast food industry has its pros and cons. The pros of it would be that the food is cheap, the food is convenient to get and eat, and that it provides a lot of jobs for people. The cons would be that it’s bad for your health to eat, its bad for the environment to make and may likely decrease the amount of family time that families can get. I believe that these really balance each other out, but it really depends on the point of view of the individual as to whether they like or dislike the fast food industry. In the end opinions may differ, but it’s really up to you to decide. Reference Page: 1. Bose, D. (2012, March 9). Advantages and Disadvantages of Fast Food. Buzzle. Retrieved September 18, 2013, from http://www. buzzle. com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-fast-food.html 2. Maire, L. (n. d. ). Pros & Cons of Fast Foods | eHow. eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More – Discover the expert in you.. Retrieved September 18, 2013, from http://www. ehow. com/info_8006832_fast-foods-pros-cons. html 3. Tannebaum, K. (n. d. ). Fast Food History – Original Fast Food Locations – Delish. com. Recipes, Party Food, Cooking Guides, Dinner Ideas, and Grocery Coupons – Delish. com. Retrieved September 18, 2013, from http://www. delish. com/food-fun/fast-food-history#slide-3 4. Wilson, T. V. (n. d. ). HowStuffWorks â€Å"The History of Fast Food†. HowStuffWorks â€Å"Science†.

The Plays the Thing

The Plays the Thing In Hamlet, there is the line that goes something like The plays the thing wherein we can catch the conscience of the king. If you play your cards right, playwriting can be the thing that earns you some extra money as a freelancer. There is a huge demand for appropriate plays for the middle school and high school markets. The reason is simple. A lot of people have found themselves in a position like I did several years ago when I was directing plays. I just couldnt find something suitable for the resources I had, so I wrote my own. Later, I queried a publisher on the off chance that it might accept freelance submissions. The one I queried did. Brooklyn Publishers accepted one of my plays and asked for more.   Since that first play, I have published seven plays with this company. The one thing about playwriting is that if you establish a reputation as a writer who can deliver what schools need, you can ride that formula to playwriting success. What I wanted was simple enough: easy comedies, simple sets, and flexible casts leaning heavily to more female parts. Now, twice a year I get royalty checks. If you would like to tap into this market, I would make three suggestions: First, look at publisher websites. Brooklyn Publishers is www.brookpub.com. Check out what they publish; read the descriptions and order a couple of plays to read. Do a search for paying magazines that pay for plays. I know of at least two that accept submissions: Dramatics and Plays. Second, go to performances. Im talking high school and college drama performances. Better yet, get involved in community drama. Third, learn some of the ins and outs of playwriting. There are at least two free online playwriting courses you can check on. MIT has an open course ware playwriting course and playwright Johnathan Dorf has on online course called Playwriting 101. You can google these and go right to them. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/music-and-theater-arts/21m-604-playwriting-1-spring-2005/index.htm playwriting101.com What are you waiting for? Curtains Up!   Lets play.

Biography of Brian May, Rock Star and Astronomer

Biography of Brian May, Rock Star and Astronomer In the late 1960s, Brian Harold May was an eager student in physics, studying to become an astronomer. He also happened to be a gigging musician. In 1968, he came to musical attention with the band Smile, and later went on to headline tours as part of the band Queen. In 1974, he put his studies aside to perform and tour with Queen.   With the death in 1991 of lead singer Freddie Mercury, Brian May embarked on a solo career as a musician even while performing with Queen and other musicians. Yet, as he has often noted, his past as a scientist never strayed far from his mind. Eventually, Brian May went back to school to finish his work. In 2008, he was granted his Ph.D., and since then has  gone on to do more work in planetary science.   Fast Facts: Brian May Known For:  His astrophysics research on dust in the solar system as well as his role in the band QueenBorn: July 19, 1947 in Hampstead, EnglandParents: Fred and Ruth MayEducation: Hampton Grammar School;  Imperial College London, B.S. in 1968 with honors; Imperial College London, Ph.D. in  2008Key Accomplishments: Knighted  by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Early Years and Music Career Brian Harold May was born in Hampton, Middlesex, England on July 19, 1947. His father, Harold May, worked for the Ministry of Aviation. His mother Ruth, was of Scottish descent. May attended schools in the area, and  went on to study physics and mathematics at Imperial College, London. He graduated in 1968 and began studies toward his Ph.D. that year. He was first married to Christine Mullen in 1974 and they had three children. In 1986, he met actress Anita Dobson and subsequently divorced his first wife so they could marry. Dobson has been with May throughout his musical career with Queen as well as his solo musical performances. Brian May went on to become a world-famous musical performer both with his band, Queen, as well as a noted solo performer.   Career in Astrophysics As a graduate student, May had been interested in studying dust particles in the solar system and had published two research papers. Eager to resume that work, he enrolled as a graduate student again in 2006. He finished his studies and got himself back up to speed on studies of dust particles during the years hed been away touring as a musician. His thesis work, titled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud was submitted in 2007,  37 years after he started the research. He used techniques of absorption spectroscopy and Doppler spectroscopy to study the light scattered by dust particles in the solar system. He did his work at Teide Observatory in the Canary Islands. After review by his advisors and a thesis committee, Brian Mays thesis was accepted. He was awarded his doctorate on May 14, 2008.   May went on to become a visiting researcher at Imperial College, where he continues to do work.  He has also been involved the New Horizons mission to the planet Pluto as a science team collaborator due to his solar system work. He acted as chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 2008-2013 and has appeared numerous times on such programs as BBCs Sky at Night show. He wrote books with the late astronomer Sir Patrick Moore and writer Chris Lintott. Activism and Additional Interests Thanks to his work with the late Sir  Moore, May participated in the efforts to save Moores estate and effects. He is also an avid supporter of animal rights and animal welfare. He continues to raise funds and awareness of issues involving wildlife in the UK and elsewhere. May has contributed his musical talents to spread the word about issues involving hunting and culling of animals in his home country.   Quite apart from his activities in astronomy, music, and animal rights, Brian May is also a collector of Victorian stereography.  He has written a book about T.R. Williams, the English stereographer. This hobby started when May was still in graduate school in the 1970s and has given him a massive collection of stereo pair images. He has also patented a viewer called the Owl Viewer, which  can be used to examine the stereographic scenes in his latest book.   Accomplishments In addition to his immense success with the band Queen, Brian May has achieved notable success in the field of astrophysics. Asteroid 52665 Brianmay was named after him, as was a species of damselfly  (heteragron brianmayi). In 2005, he was given a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his achievements in music.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. Sources â€Å"BRIAN MAY BIOGRAPHY.†Ã‚  BRIANMAY.COM || THE OFFICIAL BRIAN MAY WEBSITE, brianmay.com/brian/biog.html.â€Å"Secret Science Nerds: Queens Lead Guitarist Brian May Is an Astrophysicist.†Ã‚  Nerdist, 22 Aug. 2016, nerdist.com/secret-science-nerds-queens-lead-guitarist-brian-may-is-an-astrophysicist/.Talbert, Tricia. â€Å"Rock Star/Astrophysicist Dr. Brian May Backstage With New Horizons.†Ã‚  NASA, NASA, 21 July 2015, www.nasa.gov/feature/rock-starastrophysicist-dr-brian-may-goes-backstage-with-new-horizons.

Exploratory Essay on Immigration

Exploratory Essay on Immigration Exploratory Essay on Immigration Immigration into the USA has recently become a contentious issue in the national debate. Democrats and Republicans have clashed with each other, and with the White House. Republicans have clashed with Republicans as well. Why is immigration such a problem to a country that was founded on immigrants, and has inscribed â€Å"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.† on their famous Statue of Liberty. There are several reasons that emerge in the debate. The historical source of immigrants and national identity is a main one. The original immigrants to the USA were in fact Anglo Saxon Protestants. As their national identity grew, they saw themselves as a Christian, Protestant, English speaking people and nation. As further waves of immigrants arrived, they were, if not Anglo Saxon, primarily western European, and Christian and mostly willing to learn English, and be absorbed into the American way. Even when the Irish, Italians and Polish made their way to the USA, although Catholic they were Europeans, who fit into the predominantly Anglo Saxon American identity. They were minorities, who learned English and accepted the status quo. Also, many of them brought needed skills to the country. This was a major factor of the sense of national identity, America was white, English and Protestant. The latent racial superiority overtones were only observed openly with regard to the African American slaves. However, as they were slaves and a small minority they were tolerated, if not welcomed. It is this that is driving some of the resistance to current immigration. The source of the new wave of immigrants is not European, or Anglo Saxon. Rather the main groups of immigrants are Latin Americans coming from South America, and the Caribbean island. They are predominantly Spanish speaking, unskilled, and Catholic, and arriving in great numbers. This threatens the national identity in various ways. The threat they pose to the original immigrants is first in the sheer magnitude of their numbers. In California, Texas, and Florida for example. This threatens to change the whole culture of these and other states. Instead of being absorbed into the American culture, learning English and providing skills, they are demanding education in Spanish for their children, and the majority has poor education, no English, few skills and no resources. Known as Hispanics there are about 50 million in the USA. Only Mexico has more. In the period 2010- 11 their numbers in the USA rose by 2.8 million. It is projected in 50 years time the Hispanics will constitute a third of the population of the USA. (U.S. Census Burea). It is this that has the Republicans concerned. With such numbers preferring to speak Spanish, be educated in Spanish, and keep their Catholic religion their immigration is seen as colonization. Their lack of skill and resources as a drain on social security, medical and educational resources. The massive amount of illegal immigrants already in the country is another problem. About 11 million are currently living in the USA illegally. To Republicans they are lawbreakers, criminals who need to be deported, not supported. Others say reality dictates they must be given legal status because it is impossible to arrest and deport them. Plus many have children that were born in the USA, are in schools, and see themselves as Americans. It is because of such complexities that immigration is such a contentious subject in the USA today. There seems to be no easy solution to the question of immigration into the USA, whether legal or illegal. Tips on writing: Exploratory essays ask questions to gather and share information on the topic about immigration. It is not necessary to find answers. Introductions for exploratory essays are broad, as you are making an inquiry into a topic, not proving a thesis. Present the topic and the questions you will ask. State your research question clearly state what you want to discover, and why. Identify the issue, its causes and other factors of immigration. Identify decision makers and other interested parties. You do not have to supply solutions as the paper is for the purpose of identifying the problem. If it happens that you need custom exploratory essays on immigration contact our professional writing company.

The role of the IMF in helping poor and debt-troubled countries Assignment

The role of the IMF in helping poor and debt-troubled countries - Assignment Example This role was cemented by the fall of the Soviet Union, where sovereign countries who were under the Soviet umbrella looked up to the IMF to reconstruct their battered economies. In 1999, the IMF remodeled its role from providing financial assistance to countries with low levels of income to reducing the rates of poverty and growing their economies (Bird 2). The IMF has established itself as a balance of payment institution. Many developing countries experience a persistent current account balance of payment deficit. It is important to note that not all countries with this problem turn to the institution for help. When a county cannot access external financing or private capital market, they turn to the IMF to settle the balance of payment deficit. Low reserve holdings have also been explained as the reason behind the use of IMF resources by low income countries. Poor countries have accounted for the largest proportion of the institution`s assistance between 1991 and 2002. They have additionally been described as having prolonged use of IMF resources (Bird 8). The institution`s role of lending to poor countries also helps to unlock external financing or rather serving as a catalyst for other institutions to lend to the countries concerned. By lending to a country, the IMF sends a signal indicating that the country has sound economic pol icies, investor confidence and a conducive environment for investment. With reference to the IMF, the conditions imposed are policies which should be met before a country can receive any funds. These conditions aim to guarantee that the member country will eventually be able to settle its balance of payment problems and at the same time repay the loan. The fund has two types of conditions with regard to lending to developing countries. It imposes quantitative and structural conditions. Quantitative conditions include macroeconomic goals which must be

Personel management Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Personel management - Research Proposal Example The preference of this model over the other contrasting school of thought, which is the hard or Michigan model is based on the flow of the conversation, and the more appropriate model from which the analysis can be made with an in-depth discussion. The part in where analysis of practices is reiterated provides various points to commend and points to evaluate in relation to Acme Engineering's Human Resource Management practices. The soft model from where the company patterns some of its policies provides the human part of the HRM practices-in line with its attention to 'the individual.' However, there are points that are raised by the hard model of HRM that are worthy to be considered as well. This can give a more critical analysis to Acme Engineering's HRM practices. In order to critically analyze the practices, let us look at some points to commend with the company's adoption of the Harvard model in its HRM function. While the counter-arguments are points to evaluate the practices, only a few of these are drawn from the hard model of HRM in order to critically analyze the practices and effect on the organization as a whole. Attention to individual.... he benefit of making employees' concerns heard by the company, the company makes the 'individual' the core foundation of the HRM principle the company adopts. This is what Acme Engineering notes as 'getting the benefit of a union' on the employees' viewpoint by giving them voices to air out their concerns and grievances to management, without having a real union and the disadvantages of it. In an interview with Martin Lawrence, an ACME Engineering employee, this is how he has coined it, "So the first principle was people were not that part of business that was going to be taken for granted or given little consideration. People really were critical to the business, so we had to pay a lot of attention to people. "The second principle was that we decided to work without a trade union. We were going to obviously operate in a team environment with groups of people working together. For that to be effective we wanted to maintain the visibility of individual. And that if anything that has permeated all our policies and steps we have taken to get people's side of the business right - giving the individual the visibility and voice within the company has been the strongest the thread." It is a point to commend, of the HR function also serving as the conscience to the organization, giving guidelines as well as a place where grievances of employees can be brought to and resolved. The company encourages individuals to express their concerns to the company-to be outspoken, to be able to speak their minds without being punished for their thoughts and liberty in thinking. This attention to individual is further reinforced by the company's culture as reflected in the values of management and the type of new hires the recruitment sees fit to contribute to this type of

Part II Dream vs. Reality Get Rich Quick Schemes Essay

Part II Dream vs. Reality Get Rich Quick Schemes - Essay Example No matter what is said or done by advocates or opponents of gambling in all its various forms, it is an activity that is practiced, or tacitly endorsed, by a substantially majority of Americans." This statement, as have been proposals for legalization, has been ignored. These proposals have been rejected and, to data, casino gambling is only legal in a handful of states. Legal prohibitions against gambling have contributed to the emergence of an underground, illegal gambling sector which is not only flourishing but, continually expanding. Estimates place the total gambles illegally wagered over the past year at $48 billion. Apart from this meaning that states are losing an important, and major, source of revenues, there is a more disturbing implication. Within the parameters of an underground, black market gambling industry, the activity is unsupervised with the consequence being the participation of underage youth and the proliferation of no limits' gambling which both sustains gambling addictions and often leads to financial ruin. Through the legalization of gambling, implying the movement of an underground activity to the open, not only will states benefit from a wealthy source of revenue but the supervision of the activity by law enforcement will lead to stricter adherence to both age and ga

Art as a way to creatively call attention to social issues Essay

Art as a way to creatively call attention to social issues - Essay Example Evolution of technology has had positive impact on artistic values in society and in aesthetics. In his essay â€Å"The Art of Collecting Light bulbs,† Kimmelman (2005) exposes characteristics and qualities contained in art making such as being ubiquitous and converting uselessness into an asset. However, as Restak (2004) explains in his essay â€Å"Attention Deficit: Brain Syndrome of our Era,† technology serves not only as an ally but also as a distraction to our daily activities. For instance in the summer of 2003, e-mails from themobproject@yahoo.com began to circulate inviting people to convene in a public place so as to take part in a random act with the sole purpose of confusing others (Bill 2003). The first successful mob took place in New York Macy where hundreds of people entered the store in search of a â€Å"love rug.† After that about two hundred people flooded the lobby and mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel in synchronized applause for about fifteen seconds, and the next shoe boutique in SoHo was invaded by participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip (Bill 2003). These activities provide the viewers with a sense of wonderment which heightens people’s curiosity and help them become aware of their surroundings. Moreover Restak states that ADD and ADHD is not actually a state of mental condition but merely a new state of cognition. Boredom arises when the brain attempts to account for incredible amounts of information available to us through technology and is simply overwhelmed. This causes the brain to develop differently in order to successfully understand everything that modern human expose themselves to, hence a way of thinking that certainly is an unprecedented change in cognition. This partially stems from multitasking which is a mechanism that humans have developed in response to suddenly having a much higher amount of distractions in comparison to just a few decades ago. Technology and modern art have

Opportunity Analysis of New Business Venture 03068 Essay

Opportunity Analysis of New Business Venture 03068 - Essay Example Where there are many competitors also, it should be able to present the idea of the business venture in a way that uniquely identifies untapped opportunities on the market (Oladeji, 2008). This is the basis for the report, where a new business venture is being critiqued for its viability as an innovative business idea. This is being done with the opportunity analysis approach where a feasibility study is being performed in the areas of self-analysis, venture description, market research, industrial analysis, technical feasibility, financial feasibility, scenario versions, and scalability analysis (Mambula, 2002). Once these areas are analysed, it will be able to conclude on the feasibility of the business idea and how innovative it is to succeed on the saturated market. The entrepreneur is considered an important authority and stakeholder for the introduction of any new business idea that becomes the basis of a venture creation. This is because the ideologies, motivation, vision, and inspiration of doing business are mostly dependent on the entrepreneur and what he or she brings onboard the new venture (Schaper, 2002). What is more, there are some core entrepreneurial qualities and competences that have been considered critical for the overall management of the venture (McMillan & Naughton, 2012). Based on the entrepreneurial behaviour theory, there are three major human capital requirements that may be assessed from the entrepreneur leading the idea of starting the new venture. These are general human capital, entrepreneurship specific human capital, and venture specific human capital (World Bank, 2010). The general human capital includes such qualities and requirements as education, managerial human capital, capabilities, and demographic control variables (Charles, 2002). The entrepreneurship specific human capital also includes entrepreneurial

Art as a way to creatively call attention to social issues Essay

Art as a way to creatively call attention to social issues - Essay Example Evolution of technology has had positive impact on artistic values in society and in aesthetics. In his essay â€Å"The Art of Collecting Light bulbs,† Kimmelman (2005) exposes characteristics and qualities contained in art making such as being ubiquitous and converting uselessness into an asset. However, as Restak (2004) explains in his essay â€Å"Attention Deficit: Brain Syndrome of our Era,† technology serves not only as an ally but also as a distraction to our daily activities. For instance in the summer of 2003, e-mails from themobproject@yahoo.com began to circulate inviting people to convene in a public place so as to take part in a random act with the sole purpose of confusing others (Bill 2003). The first successful mob took place in New York Macy where hundreds of people entered the store in search of a â€Å"love rug.† After that about two hundred people flooded the lobby and mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel in synchronized applause for about fifteen seconds, and the next shoe boutique in SoHo was invaded by participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip (Bill 2003). These activities provide the viewers with a sense of wonderment which heightens people’s curiosity and help them become aware of their surroundings. Moreover Restak states that ADD and ADHD is not actually a state of mental condition but merely a new state of cognition. Boredom arises when the brain attempts to account for incredible amounts of information available to us through technology and is simply overwhelmed. This causes the brain to develop differently in order to successfully understand everything that modern human expose themselves to, hence a way of thinking that certainly is an unprecedented change in cognition. This partially stems from multitasking which is a mechanism that humans have developed in response to suddenly having a much higher amount of distractions in comparison to just a few decades ago. Technology and modern art have

Essay (see instruction) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

(see instruction) - Essay Example Therefore, there has been a constant reduction of tourists who opt for regions with low tariffs. Consequently, there is a need to set low tariffs (Hall, Smith, & Marciszewska, 2006). Second, insecurity is a major challenge affecting tourism. Unfortunately, many countries have done less about solving the problem. Consequently, this has led different nations to imposing sanctions as a way of protecting their citizens. Therefore, this has led many tourism countries to face economic losses. As a solution, governments need to invest more on security, and set up policies that would protect tourists (Okoth & Ndaloh, 2010). Third, political instability has continuously been a challenge to the tourism sector. Thus, it has subjected tourists to difficult political situations. For instance, despite claims by government that they support tourism, visa allocation has been limited. These among many others hinder tourism. Therefore, through proper leadership political stability is attainable (Some of the Major Current Issues Confronting Tourism, 2006). Hall, R. D., Smith, K. M., & Marciszewska, B. (2006). The Challenges and Opportunities of EU Enlargement. In R. D. Hall, K. M. Smith, & B. Marciszewska, Tourism in the New Europe (pp. 247-250). New York:

Formal Analysis Essay Example for Free

Formal Analysis Essay â€Å"My spirit takes journey, my spirit takes flight, could not have risen otherwise I am not running I am choosing. † Alike is an intelligent and poetically talented 17 year old girl. On the surface, Dee Rees’s Pariah (2011), is the coming of age story of African-American lesbian, Alike. Growing up in a traditional household that is sexually repressed and a society that is hateful towards her for being homosexual she finds solace in poetry and academics. Through her plight, the film intelligently layers the dark themes associated with the struggles of a gay teenager growing up in the inner city- gender, sexuality, family relations, hate, religion, ignorance, etc. But the film is very hopeful in that it contrasts the dark themes with pleasant moments of optimism. I am analyzing one of the final scenes in the Dee Rees’s Pariah (2011). The scene [@ 01:15:11] where Alike is reconciling with Arthur, her father, on the rooftop of Laura’s building. The rooftop scene encompasses the beauty of the morals of the narrative really well and at the same time contrasts the dark themes of the film in a manner that compliments the overall aesthetic of the production. The scene’s Mise en Scene sets the tone for the conclusion of the narrative. The scene takes place on the rooftop of Lauras apartment building overlooking the sun setting over Brooklyn. Throughout the film we see Alike deep in thought several times; on the bus, in school, at the club- in all these circumstances the film utilizes dark, incandescent lighting and shadows to extenuate the tone of the emotions and events Alike is reflecting on. In this scene however the lighting comes from the bright, vibrant yellow-orange sunset. The film uses this in order to help visualize an appreciation of Alike’s silver lining; almost as if to say that Alike see’s the art and the beauty that came of her pain and suffering- this is expressed in the poem she reads against the montage of her leaving for California. Alike’s outfit shows a more developed sense of style. This expresses to the audience that she has grown and maturated from the sequence of events that have taken place in the narrative. The social blocking of the conversation between Alike and Arthur brings Arthur down to a more human level. Although Arthur is angled slightly above Alike to maintain his domineering male complex, this is the first time in the film we see him venerable. Alike and Arthur face the opposite direction on an equal plane, this is supposed to demonstrate naturalistic interaction between the two as well as give a sense of the subjective perspective of the film. The cinematography in this scene is utilized to expresses the subjective point of view of Alike. The scene starts with a close up shot of Alike followed by a hand held long shot overlooking the sky Arthur and Laura entering. Shift in focus in depth of field demonstrates the importances of Alike’s line â€Å"I’m not running, I’m choosing,† and Arthur’s reaction to it. We see that Arthur is man enough to accept his daughter for who she is and that he is not going to try to get her to run away from who she is, unlike his wife. The color balances of the yellow/orange spectrum is displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner to help provide a strong sense of optimism, which is also complimented by the background noise of the wind and birds. The scenes in which Nina and Alike are bonding is a very optimistic time for Alike as well. And in those scenes the yellow/orange color spectrum is used to illustrate this but in a much darker tone. The reason for the darker tone being is that Alike’s optimism was eventually destroyed after Nina tells her she’s â€Å"not really gay. † Therefore, in using brighter tones in the rooftop scene, we get more of a sense of closure as an audience. The rooftop scene encompasses the beauty layered in within the dark ominous narrative of Pariah. The film is very aesthetically pleasing and has many layers to it. It does not follow a formulaic structure like most â€Å"coming of age† films do but instead uses poetry and pays attention to metaphoric details in order to tell Alike’s story. Alike’s growth from the confusion of her sexuality and identity is illustrated eloquently though the use of light, blocking, depth of field, and audio.

Consumer perception towards service quality of Internet banking

Consumer perception towards service quality of Internet banking To perceive customers perception towards quality aspect of services provided through remote banking channels. Objectives and scope of study: To give a detailed account of the services offered by the banks in the Banking sector through Remote Banking ( Internet banking). Perception of consumer towards the quality of Remote Banking including parameters like (Usability, Convenience, efficiency, effectiveness). To understand the level of e-banking exposure of the banking sector (private and public). To study the future prospects and scenario in line of the banking sector. Methodology: Will conduct a mail based pilot survey to find out what are the common concerns problems faced by the i-service users at present. It will also give an insight on the future expectations from remote banking services from users perspective. Collecting info. About the various services offered through Remote Banking from information available on the net, written material and by questioning /interviewing working executives of various banks. A survey to be carried out to identify what the bank service users think about the quality of Remote banking services offered using a questionnaire, on a representative sample of working executives in the age group of 20 40 yrs. Location: Auckland(CBD) ,New Market Scaling Technique : Non -Comparative Research Design : Descriptive (Cross -Sectional) Sources of Information :Primary Secondary Sample Technique: Convenient sampling Analysis on the basis of data collected through primary secondary sources and application of various marketing tools Interpretation of data. Introduction Banking sector plays a vital role in the economies world over, during the past decade the banking sector has undergone an astronomical change in terms of technology. Traditional mode of banking is fast loosing ground to one click banking(E-Banking).The figure below shows the perceived threat by the banks which are responsible for the above transformation. Substitute(customization) New Entrant Banks(Rivalry) Buyer Supplier Porters 5 Model Rivalry, competition among rival banks can drive the profit of the banking industry to zero. Industry concentration is a real term indicator of the extent of rivalry in the industry. In USA alone there are approximately 7000 banks with around 82000 branched at end of 2008.Chinas top banks constituted to around 67000 branched, there are around 129 different banks in Japan and finally the combined number of different branches in UK, Francs and Germany exceeded 30000(Wikipedia). With effective use of technology(Introducing e-commerce, mobile banking), a bank can improve its distribution and communication channels thus creating a niche in the minds of the customer, other banks have to follow suit to maintain the competitive advantage. Substitute, threat of a substitute exists when the price elasticity of a product is affected, due to abundance of similar type of product offering. There are a lots of banks operating across the banking industry all round the world. Customizing product offering or upgrading the already existing financial product is a common practice(Jayawardhena Paul Foley). These innovations in product development and delivering was a pivotal factor for the banks to adopt internet related tools in day to day operations. New Entrants, due to the increase number of players within the banking industry, the purchasing power of the buyers have increased many folds (Jayawardhena Paul Foley). With a wide spread use of technology and internet adoption there exists ample opportunities for financial companies and other new entrants to reach the target customers and show their uniqueness in terms of product offerings. Perceiving the actual advantage of using internet technology for reaching the customer, product offering, banking operations becomes all the more important for the participating players of the industry. Buyers, customers of a bank, are perhaps the most important assets of a bank. Increased number of choices across the banking industry leaves the customer with ample of choices. Banks in order to retain their customers and increase the customer base have to rely on internet based technology. Previous studies indicate that the educated class forms the majority users of internet, they are high network individuals. Banks unable to respond to the demands of a these customers for a new product may end up loosing them to the competitors. Enabling mass communication using internet technology by the banks can create a niche mind share of the customer. It also makes the customer feel important, when it comes to customizing a new product. Internet technology is also a centralized and efficient mode of advertising for the banks (Jayawardhena Paul Foley). Supplier, operational banks in the sector. With an increased number of financial services provider in the banking sector, it often becomes a head ache for the customers to choose. Customers of the bank are aware that switching their bank would lead to altering product requirements and switching cost(Michael E. Porter). Internet enabled tools like Siebel internet banking , sales platform are used by the banks to maintain transparency with the customers. Creating products after taking in the requirements of the customers acts as a tool for retaining customers. From the banks point of view using internet technologies has multiple added advantages . Cost saving, using virtual channels proves 11 times cheaper than using a physical channel for service delivery (Jayawardhena Paul Foley), this is done through proper utilization of the workforce and economic resources. Services Offered Services Type Service Core Banking Balance Statements(account) Transfer funds Account opening Applying for loan Applying for mortgages Applying for credit cards Applying for Insurance Subscribe for mutual funds Customer oriented Manage Reward Points Bill payment(Misc) Railway Reservation E-Freight services Demand Draft Intimidating loss of ATM card Excise payment online Internet banking is a fast evolving mode of product delivery, in which the service provider(Bank) and the service user(Customers) are not present at the same place at the same time. E-banking services are also called, anywhere, anytime services because services are available over the internet 247. These services are discreet and fully personalized as the service user is just a click away from using the desired services. Banks provide two separate types of internet services namely Core banking services(Traditional), offered through traditional banking channels and miscellaneous customer oriented, to make banks a one stop destination for water, electricity bill payments or paying excise duty or income tax, online ticketing for railways and paying freight cost for transferring of goods. Perception of consumer towards the quality of Remote Banking including parameters(Chapter-1) The term quality in the present aspect may have different meaning from one respondent to another. Below are some of the aspects of quality that would be discussed in advance in my survey. Aspects Properties Performance Up to date Information Response time Download time Complete Product Info. Tutorial / Demonstration Help Function Features Online Registration Transfer between bank Other Language Keep data safe Require encryption (SSL) 24 hours 7 days Innovation features Reliability Require Authentication Limit to change data Complete data Correct Link Manage font display Clear Instructions Conformance Product Information Locating Information How Informative Explains Symbol Internal Connection System Responsiveness Durability Announce Information Complete Display System Performance Continue to Use Connection failed Able to fix problem Serviceability Search Function Navigation menu/ buttons Online Help Communication with Security Rapidly Services Quality aspect of Internet banking has two prime perspective: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ customer perspective à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ bank perspective Customer perspective From customers perspective, the service quality has two aspects, the expected quality (before use) and the perceived quality (after use). Expected quality is based on the expectation of the customer which are further based on self-belief about a certain service used in the past or experience of others and finally by the general image of the service provider in the market. Perceived quality, the impression that is formed after realization of the service by the customer. The difference between the two aspects throws light on the level of customer satisfaction. Providers perspective From the providers side, there are again two aspects, quality targeted and the quality delivered. Quality targeted to the customers is based on an internal conformation of standards, rules and regulation framework . Delivered quality works on an external framework which further depend on the communication and product delivery channels. Survey Details Sources of data collection Questionnaires Tele -Interview SAMPLING We have used convenience sampling technique. It is also called haphazard or accidental sampling. Members of the population are chosen based on their relative ease of access. Sometimes called grab or opportunity sampling, this is the method of choosing items arbitrarily and in an unstructured manner from the frame. Though almost impossible to treat rigorously, it is the method most commonly employed in many practical situations. Sample Unit: Internet Users Sample Technique: Convenient sampling Sample Area: AUT(City Campus) Sample Size: 25 TOOLS Statistical : SPSS Techniques :Chi ^2 test of goodness of fit Interpretation of the data collected Chapter-3 The sample survey carried out to critically analyze the utility ,advantages and disadvantages of E-banking services offered by the banks in the Indian Banking scenario yielded the following results. SWOT Analysis(E-banking) Strengths More than 87% of the people are satisfied with e-banking facilities provided by the bank which they use so already a good user base is present 83% of the respondent feel satisfied with the response time of the banks to answer their queries so already a good IT enabled communication system is in place 80% of the respondents find the usage of the E-banking services through the official site of the bank an easy process , thus the facilities catches the eye of more potential customers Regular updation facility provided by the banks E-banking wing also finds the customers nod with about 75% respondents availing full advantage of the service, this shows the presence of an excellent internet based application and maintenance of proper database of the customers About 69% of the respondent are happy with the innovative features of E-banking services like (E-Tax payment, e-freight services) ,this shows that the E-banking wing is constantly in touch with the needs of the customers . Weakness Connectivity to the sites a major problem for 54% of the respondents as they complain that sometime they could not log onto the sites, so internet access on the side of the customer is a problem Only about 38% of the respondent feel comfortable leaving their credit card numbers on the net for availing facility like the E-bill service , so security standards in some of the banks is a major set back The Inter/Intra bank fund transfer facility is a also a set back for the banks as the internal connectivity is not very strong, the respondents have complained of a particular bank not accepting the cheque of another bank on certain occasions. Only about 36% have so far not encountered such type of a problem Opportunities Have a great opportunity to spread the remote banking services to rural and second and third tier cities through net and mobile banking facilities With the type of investment done in the remote banking wings of the banks better and full proof security and privacy features could be provided to the users in the near future Emergence of open standards for banking functionality. Growing customer awareness and need of transparency Threats A common mistake made by end users is believing that their online banking session is perfectly safe when they use an SSL connection. Fake website pop-ups and malicious code running inside the web browser can extract key information about a particular user and dent the confidence of the customers A threat of virus act cannot be ruled out that can lead to loss of important information threats like hacking, faking etc cannot be ruled out. E-banking exposure of the leading private and public sectors In this section we try to compare the level of e-banking exposure in private(Stakes controlled by individual stake holders) and public sector banks(majority stakes held by the government). It is perceived that private bank users get better service in terms of efficiency, technology and staff willingness to work(Peter Kangis). It was also noted that the younger, tech savvy and urban population favored the private banks and rated them highly on the technology usage(Peter Kangis).Below is an example of Indian banking industry, it shows the internet technology acceptance level in the two types of banking systems Indian Contextà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Pooja Malhotra and Balwinder Singh) The data covers around 57 banks which operational at the end of the 2005 financial year. There were about 30 private sector banks and 27 public sector/nationalized banks in the study. The study takes into account several factor like age, size of the banks. We concentrate on the type aspect of the study, below is a model to explain the extent of e-banking exposure. It was found out that in general the private sector banks and the multi national banks(MNB) are better adopters on internet the technology than the public / nationalized banks. (Pooja Malhotra and Balwinder Singh) PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE(PLC) Public Sector Bank(Chapter-6) Product Life C The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is used to map the lifespan of a product(Internet Banking). There are generally four stages in the life of a product. These four stages are the Introduction stage, the Growth stage, the Maturity stage and the Decline stage. The following graph illustrates the four stages of the PLC. Public Sector Bank Stage :(Introduction stage) Characteristics: Among the public sector banks 48 % of banks offered Internet banking, however only 15 % offer fully transactional Internet banking. Only 15% of the banks are capable of managing an E-wing in the bank. Pioneer Banks like the Canara Bank has absolutely no internet banking services available to its strong customer base The customer base for the public sector bank mainly comprise of the rural population so the internet exposure is limited. The idea of the nationalized bank becoming a HI-TECH(e-Banking) has not really sunk into the customers mind , they still symbolize the banks as the pillars of authentic traditional banking service providers. Most of the common E-banking services like Instant loan, intimating loss of credit cards, fund transfer are still not fully functional. Intra-Bank Networking(connectivity between two branches ) of a bank has not been fully set up though they plan to complete the work by 2012(Basel 2 norms) Obstacles in the form of a lack of regulatory framework, a mindset attuned towards opposing technology, inadequate computerization and highly politicized unions are holding back the nationalized banks. Private Sector Bank Stage:(Growth Stage) Characteristics: More than 55% of the private sector banks operating in India provide e-banking services to its customers. Among the private sector banks 50 percent of banks offer Internet banking, however only 33 percent of banks are fully transactional banks. Cost of supporting Internet Banking in the private sector banks have been reducing steadily as the banks adopted E-banking as early as 1996 Almost 85% of the present customer base of the bank is urban based with more than 98% of the customers regularly use some form of e-banking services Cost of maintain the traditional banking functions have declined considerably The profit and the revenue earned by the banks with the adoption of e-banking has been increasing at a constant rate The number of ATMS In the urban areas have already outnumbered its PSB counterparts thus making the private sector banks more technology oriented Future prospects of e-banking in India Banks and other financial institutions across the globe are in a constant ever evolving process of virtualizing there banking and financial operations. Most of the big multinational companies, banks have already put a lot of IT enabled infrastructure in place and in turn a reaping benefits like, grater reach to the customers, increased customer loyalty, customization of the products etc. Internet banking is changing the face of the banking industry, and instead of being nice to have it is fast becoming a need to have technology to stay competitive in the industry. Future challenges Banks in the process of reaping profits from the deployment of internet technology assets and development do not pay heed to the post development issues like security, satisfaction of the customers, site maintenance. (Adel M. Aladwani). Other important challenges include the legal implication, customers privacy, enough IT infrastructure. Regulatory issues also form a major concern, of which little concern is taken by branch operation managers. At present the usage of internet technology in the banking sector is still in a very early stage and at the moment focus is more on the management issues rather than the post management discussed above (Adel M. Aladwani). Some of the key challenges that have to be researched upon in future include: Customers and other market forces roles in the adoption of internet based banking Identifying key forces that lead to customer satisfaction What is required to gain the trust of the customers The legal policies and frameworks for supporting online banking ops Effective techniques to secure and audit online transections Road Ahead B2B (Retail product applications) A greater impact on the banks profits is likely to come from business to business and business to retail product applications. The products under development globally currently include Electronic Bill Presentment (EBP) and Procurement systems. EBP will allow issuers of bills to present them to the customers on-line. The EBP intermediary will get to collect fees for this and will also gain valuable customer information that will be useful for future marketing and product development. Procurement services will allow direct buying by one company from another and the fees again will be collected by the intermediary. Changes in the present SERVICULE PROCESS Besides banks, non-financial companies like IBM and Microsoft are also working on developing similar commercial financial products. Transactions that were earlier routed through banks could now go through non-financial intermediaries. This development is a serious threat to the banks traditional grip on the global payments system. Erosion of the dominance of the banks in the financial system would be an inevitable consequence of internet penetration. Standardization of the Financial products Due to a fierce competition to gain market shares, prices of financial products would initially be dictated by what the competitors are offering rather than any predetermined pricing policy of the firm. Heavy price-cutting and price wars may be seen. In the long run, the pricing strategy will prove to be a major challenge in both banking and non-banking sectors because some consistency in prices between (low cost) on-line services and other (high cost) traditional distribution channels will have to be maintained. Strategic alliances The scale of operations required in order to exploit the new technology successfully would have to be large, and there are few players, even in the developed countries that have the required size. Intermediaries will most likely form alliances with other parties in order to offer a broader range of services. New innovative product packages will be developed to woo customers. This way companies will be able to leverage their existing base of customers to broaden existing relationships and also reach new customers.

Love in John Donnes A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and Andrew Marv

Love in John Donne's A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" and Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress" both talk about love but has different views about it, one talks about physical love and the other talks about spiritual love. John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" compared love to a circle while Andrew Marvel's "To His Coy Mistress" compared love to a straight line. Both poems are act of persuasions. "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" is persuading the reader that true love is eternal while "To His Coy Mistress" the speaker is persuading the mistress to make passionate sex with him. Therefore, with all of these similarities and differences, it's commendable to compare the two works of literature. "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" has a subtle theme of religion in itself particularly, Christianity in relation to life after death. The main theme of the poem is true love will continue on, even after death. Lines one through two illustrate the notion of afterlife. "As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go..." Essentially, it implies that we have souls, and souls are the immortal part of men (human beings). John Donne's notion that we have souls and there's life after death are presumably based on his Christian beliefs. Donne was born in England and raised by a prosperous Roman Catholic family. At the age of 42, Donne accepted ordination in the Angelican Church. He, then, became and earned a reputation as one of the greatest preachers (Abcarian and Klotz 1121). Donne was 60 years of age when he wrote the poem; presumably, he was still a preacher at the time. Therefore, his poem can be suggested as... ...ourning." Although the main central theme of the poems were directly opposite of each other, we can relate that physical love and spiritual love has a connection to each other. Physical love can turn to spiritual love or perhaps spiritual love can turn to physical love.   At one point or another, we have experienced both physical and spiritual love. On the surface, we can say that spiritual love is a cut above physical love. However, it's hypocritical to say that we do not come into contact with emotions such as desire or lust. Therefore, physical love is at the same level as spiritual love. It is merely difficult to admit that we do experience lust because it is not something to be proud about. Social convention dictates that we should not feel lust. Moreover, lust is one of the seven sins. However, lust is a valid emotion that every one experience once in a while.

Gov’t Paper

People each have different personalities that others like and dislike about them. These individuals can be funny or serious; nice or a jerk; a talker or a listener. All this makes up a person and who they are. A person's personality is similar to a news program; sometimes they can be biased and unreliable; other times they are spot-on and trustworthy. Hardball and O'Reilly are both news programs that display their news differently. While both commentators give their opinions on the subjects, Chris Matthews pushes his opinion more than O'Reilly. During times where Matthews has guest speakers, he always tends to argue with the one that does not agree with his opinions; he pushes his ideas into his opponents' head, not letting them express their thoughts. Even though he refuses to let one's opinions out, Matthews allows the other, who agrees with him, to talk. In other words, he is hard-headed and believes his opinion is right. On one occasion, Jonathan Alters, gave his opinion about how the Republicans are attempting to woo the Latinos' votes, Matthews shuts him up by talking over him, basically yelling. Alters looks as if he was about to burst into tears. On the other hand, O'Reilly tends to ask for his guest speakers' view first, then adding his own. He actually allows them to finish their views, seeing their points out, instead of cutting them off. O'Reilly and Chris Matthews both have different perspectives in the topics that were discussed. O'Reilly leans towards the liberal side, while Matthews is a conservative. For example, O'Reilly notices how everything is based on race, and believes no one should be judged by that. However, it seems that Matthews only wants the Republicans to focus their targets on the white people and not Latinos. In one specific topic that both commentators discussed, the Zimmerman trial, it seems each were on one or the other sides. Chris Matthews argues that Zimmerman acted on self-defense, while O'Reilly gave both sides, but showed sympathy towards Trayvon Martin's family. O'Reilly has more facts, making it seem like his show was a news' show, while Hardball with Chris Matthews is all about argumentative opinions. O'Reilly adds statistics to show subjects and backs each topic with facts. For example, there was a segment about the Arizona forest fire that killed nineteen firefighters. O'Reilly gave facts like how the firefighter had contacted the headquarters, saying that they are using their heat shelters, which was the last resort. Then O'Reilly explains what these heat shelters are, a foil-like blanket that can protect the firefighters from the heat for a certain amount of time. Unlike O'Reilly, Matthews did not give facts, only his own opinions. During the Zimmerman trial segment, he only showed Mark Osterman taking the stand to defend his best friend. He then argues with the guest defense attorney, when she was explaining the harm that was inflicted on Zimmerman. It seems that O'Reilly is more genuine and actually cares about the public's interest. At the end of his show, he had a tip of the day, giving feedback to the audience who sends him e-mails. Hardball had a serious attitude, while O'Reilly had a calm attitude. During Hardball's segments, there was a lot of tension with the arguments. Also, his introduction had the serious music like it was life or death. In O'Reilly's introduction, it had funny captions, and in his segments, he had a calm manner. While Chris Matthews attempted to add humor and jokes into his show, it was not understood. He used a blue cow reference, but some people do not know the meaning of it, so it proved to be ineffective to draw the audience in. However, in O'Reilly's segments, the humor and jokes had a positive impact. After a serious discussion about the Zimmerman trial, to lighten the tension, Megyn Kelly and O'Reilly joked around. Megyn Kelly had given him a chocolate bar as her way of buying dinner. Then she explains that she is going on maternity leave until the fall, but O'Reilly jokingly said she won't be back until next year. Both persons continue to banter back and forth, while the camera crew laughed in the background. This was of course not planned, making it actually humorous. There has been significant issues about race in political topics. In Fremont, Nebraska, the townspeople are frustrated with the undocumented immigrants obtaining jobs in the town. Since Fremont is a meat packaging town, these townspeople need the jobs that the immigrants are taking. These illegal immigrants are sending money back to their home country to their families, so Fremont does not profit from this. In an attempt to stop this, he townspeople want to banned the undocumented individuals from renting apartments and houses without proper documentations. According to U. S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp, it is a discrimination to deny housing permits to those who were not in the country legally and it interferes with federal laws. However, the town counters back with a policy that requires businesses to use the federal E-ve rify software to check on the employees. Another topic discussed was how Republicans were trying to win the Latin American voters. The Republicans think that if they talk about the immigration reforms they will gain more voters. However, it was stated that no matter what, Latinos will most likely vote for Democrats even if immigration reforms were discussed by the Republicans. The most important topic discussed was the Zimmerman trial. When this first happened, people across the country defended Trayvon Martin, thinking that he was targeted for being a colored person and looking suspicious by wearing a black hoodie at night. Zimmerman was on the night watch around his neighborhood when these two ran into each other. A fight broke out, leading to Zimmerman pulling and shooting the gun at Martin. Zimmerman pled that he was acting in self-defense. All over the country, people even news station wanted Zimmerman to plead guilty to avoid race riots to occur. Nowadays, news delivery is on the decline of being trustworthy. Reporters, journalists, and those who deliver the news to the public now will spin the news to fit what the audience wants or to fit their own opinion. These people can twist a person's opinion just by intensifying the language and speech. The audience will then notice, â€Å"Hey, they are using powerful words; this makes them sound smart so therefore correct. If the newscasters exude confidence and seem to â€Å"know what they are talking about†, they will have more followers. The public tends not to look for the credibility of the sources or even the sources themselves to see if they are reliable. Instead, the public will definitely look for superficial materials like the appearance of the person delivering the news, how the program looks, or if other p eople like it. If someone were to wear casual clothes, their credibility increases; also if the newscaster was attractive, people tend to listen to them. For example, people tune in to Anderson Cooper on CNN and practically worship the ground he walks, just because of his appearance. If the delivery of the news looks not well done, not all people will want to read or view it. People want professional, not something that someone can program in five minutes. An individual will also tend to get advice from their peers as to what to read or watch. For example, if a person trashed a news station to his or her friend, the friend will not want to get information from that news station. With that being said, nowadays, people judge the book by its cover and not by the information provided. Most news station are affiliated with a political party. For example Fox News, when taking politics will favor the Republican view while MNSBC will favor the Democratic view. With that being said, each will attract a different group of people who agree with that the news station has to say. This makes the shows heavily biased. What I've learned through these research sources, is that there are still racial conflicts throughout the United States. Watching the two news program, Hardball and O'Reilly, each segment had something to do with race and ethnics. Latinos are especially targeted, whether it is to win their votes or to get them out of â€Å"American† jobs. Even though, today there are still some segregation in the communities, people will band together to defend someone of different skin color. What I do not get is that if people will defend Trayvon Martin and not know what actually happened, why can't they support the Latin Americans coming into America in search of an opportunity? I think people are just on the bandwagon. They think that supporting Trayvon Martin will make them look like the good guys, but in reality it just makes them look ignorant and stupid. I also learned that each news program is affiliated with a political party, making them biased and untrustworthy because they only address one side of the story. I know that they are just doing that to gain viewers, but if they just address both sides, there will be more educated people and not opinionated. I think the audience should also be aware of what is happening in our country right now. After watching these two shows, I am more aware of these topics. I never paid attention to the political topics and did not know how the Republicans were trying to woo the Latin American voters. My opinions on the two shows differ from each other. I absolutely could not stand watching Hardball. I think Chris Matthews is a hard-headed jerk. He does not think the other opinions matter but his. He yells at his guests when he is talking to them. I could not wait for it to end, and I nearly celebrated when it was over. On the other hand, I was more interested in O'Reilly just by how he represented the topics. He did it in a formally fashioned way; it felt like a conversation with some debates. I actually paid closer attention because of the humor and learned a few things along in the show. I felt that O'Reilly actually cared about the subjects because he gives both sides to the story. Both Hardball and O'Reilly display their information differently. These news shows are like a person's personality; they express emotions and thoughts. Each individual has a different personality that makes them who they are. A personality can make someone like or dislike an individual.

Steinberg Analysis

The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the private toll of Global Competition (83-92) The model family is only a myth, nothing more. There is no such thing as a perfect family where there is no problem, no disputes and fights. As I read through â€Å"The Accordion Family', I actually feel as if the model family can only break family down and cause more disappointment in reality. In the accordion family, the kids come back to live, usually temporarily, with their parents because of financial problems or they are trying to pursue an interest that requires he help of their family.Well then, society might view the kid who is trying to pursue his own interest with the help of his family as a slob and that he/she is ruining his family by staying around doing nothing. But the only reason society would even be thinking that is because they are comparing it to a model set forth 5 decades ago. They are still basing that today's â€Å"perfect† family will still be ex actly the same as it was back then. I think that as the social, political, and economic situation of a culture and society change, the standard for a â€Å"perfect† family also change.I also put the word perfect in quotation mark, as I want to show that the word perfect has high amount of flexibility. There is no one defining perfection. The model family was a model that was set forth in the 1950 where economy was booming; optimism is high in the air. This is not the case for the 21st century, we have only recover from the great recession and maybe due to the circumstances that is provided, a family where everyone stick together, pit their effort and wealth together is actually the best solution right now.Also the model family is created for the American Culture, but hat about the Chinese culture, the Indian Culture, and the Middle Eastern Culture. Some of these cultures have the parents and the children and the children's spouse and the children's children all living togethe r. This is their definition of a perfect family. Maybe the accordion family, the boomerang kid is Just another model of the perfect family that is used by another culture. Chapter 1 â€Å"Quality Time Redefined† (93-99) I think the hidden implication of the model family is that the family supposes to spend time together.Such as playing board games after dinner, attending church on Sunday, and simply interact with each other Just that much more. The only problem with this is that these all seem to be forced. Playing board games after dinner would kind of be like playing video game together after dinner speaking on today's term. Well the model family is suppose to be the perfect happy family, but how can a family be happy if one or more member of the family is force to do stuff they do not want to be doing.Let's say I want to play Madden 08 but my mom wanted to play Dance Dance Revolution, then whatever game we play, one of us will be stuck playing a game that we did not wanted to play. I believe that a family usually knows each other well enough to know what each other's interests are. Then when there is an activity that comes up where every single-family member's interest is met, they can all Just go and enjoy the event together. I don't agree that the advancement in technology is lowering the quality of family time. If anything I think it is improving the quality of family time in a different way.Usually when my family spends family time together, it always ends in an argument or dispute because there is always someone in the group that do not want to be doing whatever we are doing. So as a matter of fact for my family, the traditional way of spending family time is actually decreasing the quality of family time. When my family Just all gathered together in a big room and do our own stuff, we all tend to go to bed happier and with out an argument. We were able to do what we wanted to do and we are still able to be around each other.On the other hand we would have been around each other but we would not have been able to do what we wanted to do. Also I think that the title of this article is completely correct on what quality time should be. I honestly believe that quality mime should be redefined. We are a nation that is constantly changing socially, politically, and technologically. The reason that families spend time playing board game 5 decades ago were because they do not have the technology we have to do other stuff together. The model of the perfect family is a model that needs to be updated for the people of the current era.Chapter 2†³Learning Power: The Myth of Education and Empowerment†(103-109) Education is a powerful tool. With it we can change those around us, modify the culture of others and push our self further than those around us. Also the education hat we have give us a sense of authority over other there we are defined by what we learn and where we go for school. Because education is highly value, th e demands for education has rise which in turn raise the price for an education with it. Since Education can be used to change the way a culture think, it can be used to control the way that a population will be.The myth of empowerment is that with education it can shaped us to be more educated and more qualified to make decisions. But the other side of the story is that with education will are only focus on a single point, the acts and the material that we have learned is so embedded in our mind that we are not flexible to changes and new ideas. In this 21st century, there has been a new rise to what determines our identity and that is education, but the myth dispute whether what we know and learn in school defines the kind of people we are.The myth of education and empowerment also say that it is a chance to provide people with a chance for equality and a decent life. The motto is that you will get rewarded for the hard work you do. This is the American dream that everyone is afte r; if you have the education, you have the empowerment to do what is beyond what you are currently doing. Chapter 2 â€Å"Idiot Nation† (121-136) To answer the chapter's first question, â€Å"NO, I do not feel like I live in a nation of idiots. † Maybe the reason I feel this way is because I'm on a campus surrounded by some of the most educated and informed people I will meet in my life. DRP.Moor's repeated used of sarcasm shows that he is angry and irritated with how uninformed the American public is. I think he is Justify in how quickly people believe what they hear especially from someone with authority. The myth said that those with higher education usually feel more empowerment to make opinion and other also perceived them with more empowerment to make opinion. This is true with a terrible side effect as DRP. Moore show here. DRP. Moore demonstrates that the public will blindly follow those with higher education even though those with higher education may not be e ducated in the field they are making an opinion about.Also those with higher education want to maintain their status of empowerment therefore they are not willing to admit when their position are in the dark. Even when they do not know what is going on they will try their best to BBS their way out of it. The myth of the education is a caving effect. The uneducated blindly follow the educated that makes uneducated opinion for the uneducated to follow. Then when the next generation come up the uneducated are making opinion that is not correct. DRP. Moore in his example demonstrated someone with prestigious education that is leading the nation, George W. Bush. George W.Bush went to Harvard and Yale therefore he must be educated, right? Well according to the myth, George W. Bush is one of the most educated and empowered to make decision, but DRP. Moore showed that even though George W. Bush had an upper education, his education might have only been Seibel because of his families influen ce. This shows that Just because someone has education does not necessarily empower him or her to make decisions. Just because someone has education does not necessarily make his or her opinion more valid. America believes that education is power, yet they do nothing to fix up the condition that their future is studying in.The myth said that America believe that a proper education is one of the most important aspect of a good future, but it is ironic how they are not even willing to turn their attention to fix up the most important tool to a DOD future. This in a way goes to show how educated the â€Å"educated† leader we have leading us is really are. The educated leader that we have in our society does not solve the problems, instead they let the problem pile up and then point finger at the one that is actually trying to make a difference. Maybe this sense of empowerment is just severely overrated.Chapter 2 â€Å"l Just Want Be Average† (151-162) The myth of educatio n and empowerment is that if we work hard, we will have a fair chance at the life that we are working hard for. If we work hard, our hard work will be repaid back to us. Well in Mike Rose's situation that is not the case, his education did not even start out by being fair. He was given an identity base on how he scored on a test and it was not even his test ironically. The myth of education and empowerment is false as not everyone get a fair chance at life despite how hard they work.The myth of empowerment is what leads to the abuse of the power of education. Education can be use to empower people with the ability to make decision or it can be a formula that is entrench into people's mind so that they are following a guideline that they are taught when they are young. This was happening in Mike Rose's vocational school. The education system did not give the kids a chance to do well in life and school. The kids are taught life skill so that when they come out they will be better to s erve society.And when it comes time to teach what really matter, it seems as if education has Just abandon them and left them behind. The myth of education and empowerment is the belief that everyone has an equal chance to empower himself or herself and further their ability to go beyond what they are currently capable of doing. Yet this is not true as the education system is the exact opposite of that. The education system tries to create ridges so that there will be those to work the lower end Jobs and those to work the managerial position. It seems as if the idea that education is fair is only a myth.Education is also the idea that it empowers us to make educated decision. Well that is Just simply Just a myth, as in Mike Rose's case, our educated leader would hire â€Å"empowered† teachers to teach the vocational class; the teachers usually would Just not care. ON the other hand McFarland, someone who is â€Å"unqualified† to teach is actually making an attempt to e ducate the kids. This really shakes the foundation that education empowered us the ability to do stuff. I think that instead of education empowering us to make decision and do stuff, it should be our action and our intent that be our empowerment.Chapter 2 â€Å"Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work† (163-179) The myth of education is that it should provide a fair chance for everyone to be accomplish in life. The idea is that if we simply work hard, we will be rewarded with for our hard work. This is not true in the American system and I can speak from personal experience. As Anyone demonstrated all of these school are separated into class by their possessed wealth, not by their capability and potential. As soon as the child of a poor family steps into school, his education will be to teach him to serve and obey order.This is not a fair chance for the child to be accomplish in life. It ironic how education is supposable to be the only way for those who are at the bott om to become those who are at the top, but in reality education is a way to push them further down and entrench a guideline so deep in their minds they will never come out of their pit. Education also empowers people to make the best decision. The teachers in the lower end school are empowered to make decision. But it seems as if their decision re harmful to those who the decision are being made for.This bring into question, are those who are educated really empower to make decision. Education is a powerful tool, but I believe that it's entanglement with empowerment corrupt the pure intent that education should truly be. When people see education as a way to power themselves with authority, then education is not use in the way it should be. This can be prove the opposite too. People with education want to maintain their authority so they use education to squash those who they believe should stay at the low end to serve them.