Saturday, August 31, 2019

Justice in V for Vendetta Essay

James Warren Pike Essay question: How far and in what ways has a writer presented justice as an important concept? Refer in detail to any work of literature you have studied. Justice is one of the fundamental principles upon which builds a nation. V for Vendetta conveys justice as fairness. V for Vendetta is a film based on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and David Lloyd in 1982. Through the plot and motifs presented in the film, we gain insights into the idea of justice. Several characters in the story bring the juxtaposing views of V? action, while V sets the conflict between fascism and anarchism. The director, James McTeigue leaves V? s act of justice in the film unjustified, and guides the audience to interpret it themselves. The opening scenes of the film accentuate justice through a voice over, this voiceover not only retells the history of Guy Fawkes, but also sheds light onto the revisionism of V. V as the protagonist in the film, is critical to the representation of justice, because the film portrays the definition of justice through V? s actions. The Guy Fawkes mask depicts the main adumbration of justice in the film. Guy Fawkes was involved in the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The Gunpowder plot was a group of Catholics attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament. V? s impulsion in the film is to destroy the central criminal court, the Old Bailey. V wears a Guy Fawkes mask throughout the film, not only to hide his identity, but also to bequeath the idea of being a superhero to the audience. The Guy Fawkes mask is not a V? s privileged weapon. In the scenes of the Shadow Gallery, the point of view shot of V wearing his mask gives the audience the feeling of wearing the masks themselves. V also shares the masks with the public and invites them to attend the 5th November protest. The mask is a representation of political justice. These scenes suggest to the audience that all people should have the right to fight for political justice. This is also supported through the history allusion of the Gunpowder plot, where Guy Fawkes was brave enough to stand up against the government. The anonymous V attempts to annihilate the Norsefire dictatorship by killing several members of the party. James McTeigue illustrates the British government as fascist through the naming the different bodies of the government. „The Eyes? are referred to the surveillance organizations, â€Å"The Nose? to the detectives, â€Å"The Mouth† to the propaganda and â€Å" The Finger† to the fingermen. V kills â€Å" The voice of London†, Lewis Protherol. Protherol? s rant on V suggests to the public that no on escapes judgement, which is irony to himself getting killed after. On one hand, it was an act of personal justice, because Protherol was a commander in the Larkhill detention camp. On the other hand, Protherol was one the main propaganda creators, a part of â€Å"The Mouth†. The motif of fire strengthens the idea of justice in the scenes of Larkhill. This fire was first introduced in the opening scenes of V. A fiery, sharp blaze swoops across the screen, drawing the letter of „V?. The fire symbolizes destruction, anger, and also passion. The destruction was the violent acts V was going to do, anger was V being tortured in Larkhill, passion was V enjoying the violent acts. V for Vendetta allows audience to justify the morality of V? action and to identify the British government as a functional institution. The story of Larkhill is told to the audience through the quest of unearthing V? s past. Detective Finch investigates Dr. Surridge? s diary and reveals to the audience how V was taught to obey orders through violence. The same way V pursues justice by killing people who were involved in the Larkhill detention camp. Through the voice of V, the speech given by V on British Televison Network further advocates the idea that all people should have the right to fight for political justice. V? s speech is also invigorated through a piece of artwork he had in the shadow gallery – A mirror with carved Latin words „Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici? This not only suits V? s love of words starting with the letter V, but also empowers the power of truth. V? s speech on British Television Network accuses the public of bowing down to the High Chancellor Sutler, allowing fear to be the government? s biggest weapon. V fought for fairness because he though „People should not be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of their people? V alleged the government of oppressing the people, and justice should be attained through the power of the people. This justice he is suggesting to the people is not violence, but is the power of the truth. V destroys the Old Bailey not only to get attention but also to prove to the public how vulnerable the government may be. Scenes on the roof with Evey, with the background music of parts of the 1812 Tchaiskovsky, suggest to the audience that V was enjoying it and treated it as a musical performance. On the other hand, he broadcasted the music to the public through the public surveillance speakers.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Research Summary and Ethical Considerations Essay

â€Å"According to statistics presented by the National Interview Survey (2010) there are approximately 7.1 million children in the United States who have asthma.† (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics [CDCNCHS], 2010). â€Å"Asthma is an inflammatory disease that is characterized by airway obstruction and may cause episodes of wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing.† (Walker, 2012). â€Å"Studies have shown that these symptoms are difficult to manage in obese asthmatic children as the medications used to treat asthma are less effective on them due to the added weight. This paper summarizes a quantitative study showing that enhanced physical activity and asthma management education can reduce asthmatic symptoms in children.† (Haines & Kim, 2013). It includes introduction, background, methods, results, ethical considerations and conclusion summary of the study. Introduction â€Å"Children with asthma are at risk for obesity and resultant severity of the disease due to their reluctance towards physical activity. In order to prevent this risk an educational and activity program was developed for elementary schoolchildren with moderate persistent asthma utilizing a quantitative study design. The introduction of this program resulted in significant improvement in lung conditions and reduction of the number of emergency room visits while potentially reducing the risk of obesity later in life.† (Haines & Kim, 2013). Background of Study â€Å"Reports show that seventy five percent of all children in the United States who need emergent care due to their asthma are overweight. Children with  moderate to severe persistent asthma have a higher incidence of also being obese. Obese asthmatics are less responsive to medications used to treat asthma. The reluctance to physical activity is due to the fear of asthma attack with exercise. This leads to obesity and obesity leads to more severe asthma symptoms. In order to break this cycle effective intervention is necessary. The most effective intervention is increased physical activity. Developing and evaluating understanding the mechanisms of asthma control and promoting physical activity in participating asthmatic elementary school-aged children was a pilot program resulting in reduced severity of asthma symptoms which was also the purpose of the study.† (Haines & Kim, 2013). This study is significant for nurses as they take care of children with asthma in clinics a nd hospitals effectively intervening to improve their health. Methods of Study â€Å"A quantitative, non-experimental, longitudinal design was used to evaluate a pilot asthma program with emphasis on physical activity in order to improve asthma control among children with moderate persistent asthma. Asthma symptoms, lung condition, and willingness to participate in physical exercise were compared before and one month after the six week asthma program. As a pilot study, this program was an intervention-only program without a control group. The sample was collected from participants of Breathe LA’s Lung Power program with moderate persistent asthma. Ten children between the ages of seven to twelve years old both males and females who volunteered for the study were selected for a six week asthma program. Barriers to proper asthma management were identified and treated by parental interviews. Introductory and concluding spirometry tests were done to assess the actual improvement in lung volume post program. Physical activity was closely monitored and performed only after sufficient management skills were taught to and reinforced by the participants and parents. Six lessons were prepared and delivered over two hours weekly sessions.† (Haines & Kim, 2013). Results of Study â€Å"Throughout the six week program the participants’ asthmatic attack rates dropped significantly. Weekly and monthly asthmatic incidences also decreased significantly. Although not statistically significant, emergency  room visits dropped after the six week program and the participants also engaged in significantly more physical activities in a given week and month compared to pre-program activities. The spirometry test post-program results showed a slight, but significant increase in lung volume.† (Haines & Kim, 2013). The implications of this study to nursing are very significant. Being the caregiver to children with asthma in clinics and hospitals nurses can make a huge difference in their lives by sharing the significant findings of the study and incorporating it in their daily care regimen. Teaching proper symptom management and physical activity to parents and children will significantly improve their health. Ethical Considerations of Study The authors are affiliated with California State University Fullerton and the study was reviewed by editorial board, blind peer, and expert peer. The study sample was a sub-group of pre-existing participants of the Breathe LA’s Lung Power program. In adherence to the code of ethics for the research study patient privacy was protected through the initial program. Only patients who volunteered were included in the study and the program was held in the Breathe LA facility located in Los Angeles. â€Å"Facilitators present throughout the program included a respiratory therapist and volunteer respiratory therapy students.† (Haines & Kim, 2013). Parents were to observe at all times and intervene as appropriate to the study. The article fails to mention approval acquired from an institutional review board. There is a possibility that there may be a blanket consent that covers the research study via the initial Lung Power program which was in accordance to laws in Los Angeles. Conclusion â€Å"Children with asthma represent a population group more prone to becoming obese than their non-asthmatic counterparts. Understanding the mechanism of what causes asthma and being able to control asthma enough to engage in physical activity is significant. Therefore, future asthma management programs should incorporate more supervised physical exercises. Educators, therapists, nurses, parents and coaches need to understand that moderate physical exercise is a remedy for asthma symptoms, not the cause and should take an active role in providing asthma education for children with moderate persistent asthma. Increasing supervised, moderate physical exercise for  these children can reduce asthmatic symptoms and risk for obesity later in life.† (Haines & Kim, 2013). References U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics. (2010). Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National Health Interview Survey, 2009. (DHHS Publication No. (PHS)-2011-1575). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr10/sr10247.pdf Walker, V. (2012). Factors Related to Emotional Responses in School-aged Children Who Have Asthma. Issues In Mental Health Nursing, 33(7), 406-429. doi:10.3109/01612840.2012.682327 Haines, M. S., & Kim, D. H. (2013). A Study of the Effects of Physical Activity on Asthmatic Symptoms and Obesity Risk in Elementary School-Aged Children. American Journal Of Health Education, 44(3), 156-161. doi:10.1080/19325037.2013.779905

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Packaging Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Packaging - Essay Example The other view is the religious view that revolves around spirituality, and the believers are of the view that any environmental problem is a spiritual one and requires a spiritual approach. Despite the different views on the environmental crisis, a viable solution to any of the problems must be found to lower further problems from arising. The secular views seem to be the best approach to the environmental problems, and best solutions can be achieved through administering the finest practices to lower problems such as pollution. Solutions like advancement in technology and changes in sciences would play a significant role in solving environmental problems in the world (Clowney & Mosto, 2009). Proper waste management would yield better results for a disease free society. Progressive politics and a flourishing economy would be a benchmark to solving the environmental crisis because of economic independence of different nations. People need to appreciate every single effort that is aimed at solving the environmental crisis whether it is from a secular point of view or the broader religious

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Appraches in Business Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Appraches in Business Psychology - Essay Example It is influenced by experience. To observe that a brain structure or a brain process is correlated with gender does not necessarily imply that brain differences cause gender differences. Gender differences in brain structure may result from gender differences in learning, experience, and socialization. All the elements of an organisation – the members, functions, rules, governing authority, revenue and ideas – must be regrouped around series of basic political issues. Thus, it becomes necessary to identify the issues so that politics in an organisation may be examined in dynamic terms. What issues are these? There are several issues, but the concern of this paper is the issue on the gender. Members are associated within the organisation; they must stand in some kind of relation to each other. In fact, the members are the most important element of the organisation. If the organisation is a pyramid then they were the base; therefore, they are the very foundation of the group. Authorities might be at the top directing and leading the organisation but they should have a thorough understanding of this element to able to run the organisation smoothly. Are all members placed on equal footing? Or are some superior to the rest? The truth is, no matter how bad it seems to be, members would always be categorized according to class in a society where they belong. This fact would tell us that business leaders, in order to interpret their mission and vision, must always conduct class analysis. Rowe (1994) asserted that â€Å"the measures we label as environmental (including such central ones as social class) may hide genetic variation† (p. 5). And how do genes create the environment? To Rowe, The answer is that the genes may construct a nervous system--and that hormones and neurotransmitters may then motivate behaviors resulting in the dramatic redesign of an environment.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Domino's Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Domino's - Assignment Example This provides a representative data on her market share trends. In its behavioral paradigm, Domino is able to meet the demands of its marketing by basically employing online services. This has proved instrumental since a wide variety of people are reached. It also ensures populous numbers are informed on the same in a span of a very short duration. Domino has an international presence as one of the strategies to reduce the debts that are tied to the company. This debt is to the tune of $ 1.5 Billion, whereas her financial standing as regards her assets is only estimated at $ 450 million. The market share in favor of Domino is based on the price sensation amongst Pizza consumers. Those that need a quick cheap Pizza will be favored by Domino’s Pizza. This makes them focused simply to delivery contrary to services offered in restaurants. However, for a long time, poor taste has been a derailment of her trade. To address this, two strategies have been deployed, that is, using trial periods as a tool to maintain the customers after presenting them with a better alternative. The other strategy is the projection of her future growth and implement the means to do so. This can be achieved by maintaining loyalty as well as expanding her presence in China, where her current standing is at 5-times-customer-orders per year against a 17-times-customer-order per year by Quick-Service Pizza. The market share for Domino in totality stands at 18.4 % in the United States which is a leading franchise globally. In China, Domino’s standing percentage against Pizza Hut’s is 3.7 % which is quite

Monday, August 26, 2019

Movie Piracy Hurts the U.S. Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 13

Movie Piracy Hurts the U.S. Economy - Essay Example The estimated loss in millions because of movie piracy cannot be substantiated; it hurts the economy because IP protection costs for firms continue increasing, brand value and sales are lost, consumers get low-quality goods and the government continues to lose tax revenue. The first way that movie piracy hurts the economy is that it results in lost sales and brand value for companies, in addition to the costs incurred for increased Intellectual Property (IP) protection. Guaranteed protection of these companies is possible when the proprietors get limited exclusive rights to the economic rewards provided by the market for creating products. According to a report released by the U.S Government Accountability Office in 2010, there are many negative, economic effects arising from piracy and counterfeiting on the U.S economy (3). However, based on this report, the many claims that piracy has led to the loss of many American jobs and the loss of millions of U.S dollars are not valid (U.S Government Accountability Office 11). It is as a result of this statement that critics argue that perhaps there are little or no negative economic effects of movie piracy on the U.S economy. Today, movie piracy is so common that a person does not necessarily need advanced c omputer skills to gain access to illegal movies. Of course, this is a move that has led to companies looking for advanced ways of protecting their IP, which is known as costly affairs. If movie piracy was non-existent, new copyright companies in the entertainment industries would not lose their creative work without getting paid for their work. Essentially, piracy of movies is part of the reason contributing to lost sales and brand value for so many movies in the U.S. The second way that movie piracy hurts the economy is because leads to consumers getting low-quality goods and their safety risks increase.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Constructing Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Constructing Report - Research Paper Example Thus, they must follow the rules set by the EU to access any electronically stored personal records. Therefore, for the US investigators to be able to get information of individuals they have to gain access to their private data and get their details. For example, they are competent of obtaining the individuals’ live data using the advanced forensic pitfalls such as the encryption, or even the malicious running of the data procedures and also the networked storage pools information. Thus, the investigators need to obtain this personal forensic information in incidences like the abduction of children, missing of individuals, exploitation of individuals, and the act of pedophiles. These cases normally require the investigators to act very quickly and in time so as to effectively solve them. Thus, those investigators who are dealing with cases of crimes, forensics, and the suspects cases require them to act quickly and obtain evidence very fast without delay (Bennet & Raab, 2007) . Identification of the applicable legal constraints involving the discovery of stored personally identifiable EU member information (also known as ESI) The abbreviation ESI stands for the electronically stored information of an individual. These are the information details of an individual that are stored in the computers and other electronics devices. For these procedures to be regarded as legal and acceptable by a state, they must therefore utilize a set of legal law and also standards (Bayuk, 2005). First, the investigator is chiefly appointed by the government body. The investigator must be able to identify and utilize a set of legal procedures which are applicable in the discovery of the stored personal records for any forensic investigations. Moreover, they have to ensure limited types of personal data are collected from the member states of the EU. For instance, the data that is capable of revealing an individual’s ethnic, or the race, also the political conviction un less the investigator collecting that information has the right to do so in the member country. Secondly, the investigator must guarantee accuracy of the forensic details collected. The investigator ought to ensure accuracy of forensic data and any inaccurate data must be deleted. This is to enable the availability of correct data and therefore the inaccurate forensic details must be removed or updated and rectified. Additionally, the investigator of the EU members must further ensure that the information collected from the individuals is kept securely and safely. Moreover, the data investigator must further make certain that they have implemented appropriate technical and also organizational measures so as to protect it against any forms of accidental loss, or even the alterations, or from any unauthorized disclosure or even access. There must be redress of the forensic data. This is an independent mechanism that ensures individuals have recourse if they want to and feel like their rights to their personal details has been interfered with or infringed. Eventually, the investigator must ensure that the individual has a right and access to the power to investigate claims of forensic data protection violations. They must also have a right to intervene

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Chinese Government and Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Chinese Government and Media - Essay Example This was a move that solicited negative remarks form a large number of Chinese more so in the Diaspora. According to this report, Chinese living in Canberra voiced their complaints against Taiwan's attempt to make themselves independent of the rest of China. The Chinese in Diaspora added that the only Group that had a right to represent China in the UN was the Chinese government. Xinhaunet claimed that a large number of independent Chinese bodies oppose Taiwan's move to seek independent representation. Some of them included Australian Capital Territory, Federation of Chinese independence and Chinese Australian cultural exchange. Additionally, Chinese in the Philippines also express their opposition of the Taiwan's move. The report further adds some of the views held by representatives of this body. Their views mostly highlight the government's position on the matter. For instance, there are references to the benefits that will come out of unification of different straits in China. These proponents assert that unification of Taiwan with the rest of China will prosper the economy. As if this is not enough, it will promote peace in the region. Assertions made by the Taiwanese leader to seek independent representation will only threaten peace in the region. ... They asserted that Taiwan is a fundamental part of China and no single force can claim to separate from the rest of China. They also believe that if Taiwan is to seek representation, then all one point six billion Chinese should be given the opportunity to decide their future. Chen-the Taiwanese leader, outraged this latter group. They called this move a trick and claimed that there was indeed no room for discussion. It is very interesting to note that mot of the sentiments in the report mostly back up the government's stand point on the issue. One can clearly see that the speakers and groups chosen were government friendly. Their remarks were rather harsh but these were used as a tool to voice the Chinese government's standpoint. It is quite possible to find other Chinese groups that opposed the government standpoint. Nevertheless, such sentiments have no place in a government owned media outlet. Most of the information portrayed above indicates the fact that government owned media outlets normally report one-sided stories. There is very little controversy in this article and this is characteristic that is common among many other newspaper outlets in the country. Tibet Issues It is very clear that Xinhaunet supports the government's view on the Tibetan issue. This is especially in relation to their recent media releases. On 27th March 2008, Xinhua reported that the Chinese president was to meet with the United States president to discuss the Tibetan issue. The report affirms US support. It quotes the sentiments expressed by President Bush that they believe in the unification of China and that there is only one China. Additionally, the report also adds the Chinese presidents' views on the matter. President asserts that thy

Concepts of Irish Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Concepts of Irish - Essay Example It cannot be denied that the Vikings invasions throughout Western Europe played a role in the shaping of society, both politically and socially in the ninth and tenth centuries. In his book, Kings and Vikings, Sawyer notes that although the Vikings were disruptive and destructive when raiding, they made a positive contribution to society as conquerors and colonists.(Sawyer, 1994).This is a revised view of Vikings, where previously they were thought to be plundering and murderous villains and is more accurate if we are to take the evidence of the social development due to the Vikings into account. Ireland was affected strongly by the impact of the Vikings. Before the invasions of the Norse, the Irish were a race of cattle farmers, living mainly inland and there was little commerce or trade within Ireland or between Ireland and the rest of Europe. After the Norse had settled the Irish concentrated on the coastal areas and a rich system of trade developed. This shows that the Vikings had a significant impact on the culture and society of the Irish, without which they would not have developed so quickly. It is the attitudes of these Normans towards the Irish that is particularly interesting, however. Gerald of Wales describes the Irish people as uniformly barbaric, with only a talent for music to recommend them. Gerald of Wales was born in about 1147 at Mamobier Castle, Pembrokeshire. His father was a Norman knight, and his mother a Welsh princess. After his studies he became a teacher in Paris. Later he was appointed Court Chaplain to King Henry II. In 1185 Henry ordered Gerald to accompany Prince John to Ireland. He wrote about these experiences in his books, The Topography of Ireland and The Conquest of Ireland. Gerald was particularly interested in the military tactics used by both sides. Although Gerald was critical of the Irish his book shows concern for the way they were treated by John's army. In The Topography of Ireland, Gerald of Wales writes in great length of the beauty of the land, all the while keeping it in perspective to Britain, which the author obviously feels is superior in many ways to Ireland. After the beautiful description of the land and its resources, however, Gerald speaks about the rudimentary cultures of the people. "This people are not tenderly nursed from their birth, as others are; for besides the rude fare they receive from their parents, which is only just sufficient for their sustenance, as to the rest, almost all is left to nature. They are not placed in cradles, or swathed, nor are their tender limbs either fomented by constant bathings, or adjusted with art. For the midwives make no use of warm water, nor raise their noses, nor depress the face, nor stretch the legs, but nature alone, with very slight aids from art, disposes and adjusts the limbs to which she has given birth, just as she pleasesBut although they are richly endowed with the gif ts of nature, their want of civilization, shown both in their dress and their mental culture, makes them a barbarous people. For they wear but little woollen, and nearly all they use is black, that being the color of the sheep in this country. Their clothes are also made after a barbarous fashion, " (Cambrensis, 2000). It is apparent that Gerald of Wales did not have high respect for much of Irish culture. In Contrast, Bede the Venerable seemed

Friday, August 23, 2019

New Product Entry into U.S. Market Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

New Product Entry into U.S. Market - Term Paper Example In the present study, the marketing environment of the target companies will be studied and their situation will be analyzed. Proper strategies will be made for entry into the target market. Situation Analysis Steel cables are generally two or more cable wires bonded with each other in symmetry. They are used for various purposes such as towing, lifting or conveying etc. Steel wire cables are used in almost all big electrical and outdoor equipments such as elevators, escalators, big machines for holding equipments etc. It can be easily said that these steel cables are one of the building blocks of the outdoor electronic equipments like elevators and other construction equipments. In the present situation analysis, three companies will be selected who are the largest manufacturers of elevators and similar electronic equipments in US. The selection will be based on size of the company, number of employees, sales figures, location and distribution, major products manufactured and the pu rchasing process. 1. Dover Corporation The first company selected is Dover Elevator Systems Inc., USA, which is an arm of Dover Corporation. Dover is known as the largest manufacturer of elevators in US. The other operating divisions of the corporation are communications, vapor recovery, electronics etc. The elevators manufactured by Dover are mainly used by hotels, apartments, department stores, hospitals, factories, railway stations, medium high rise developments such as office, low cost flats etc (Dover Corporation, 2012). Dover follows a normal purchasing request which is demand –supply process. Demand is estimated according to pre-production analysis and supply process is initiated in cycles. Geographic markets- apart from United States, Dover has its operations in many countries such as Mexico, Malaysia, and Australia etc. Apart from distributing as a wholly owned brand, Dover has its distribution in many countries as third party distributors, franchisee and tie-ups. Do ver elevators are distributed in all major countries of Europe, Asia and majority of UK. Distributors- Dover operates through both independent and local distributors. One unique strategy which Dover applied was that both their names as well as the local distributor’s name were engraved in the installed equipment. This helped the organization to gain a local advantage. The presence of national distributions helps the company in reaching a wide geographic distribution over the country. 2. Otis Elevator Company Otis Elevator Company is considered as one of the biggest manufacturer of vertical transport system. The company is headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, USA. Major manufacturing factories are established in America, Asia and Europe and it has distribution in more than 200 countries. The company also owns two testing towers, one situated at its headquarters and another in Japan (Otis Elevator Company, 2013). The company specializes in elevators, escalators and moving walkways. Apart from this, the company is also engaged in providing elevator solutions and immediate services to any issues regarding safety and communication. Distribution- the distribution occurs through many sales channels. The

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt Biography Essay Example for Free

Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt Biography Essay D. O. B-D. O. B: September 6, 1817 September 19, 1893, in London, England and came to Canada in 1835 to work for the British American Land Company. Family Information: On February 9, 1848, Galt married Elliott Torrance, the daughter of John Torrance, of Saint-Antoine Hall, Montreal. She died on May 25, 1850, shortly after giving birth to their only son, Elliott. Later he married her younger sister, Amy Gordon Torrance. Amy gave birth to 7 daughters and 2 more sons. They lived in Montreal at their house within the Golden Square Mile, which Galt built in about 1860. Galt appears to have had a very non-sectarian approach to religious faith and although the grandson of a Calvinist theologian, Alexander Galt supported both the Methodist and Anglican churches while his wife, Amy, was a lifelong Presbyterian. Occupation: He was a politician, member of the Canadian parliament. Is the Father of Confederation. Personality: Alexander Tilloch Galt, who was of Scottish descent, spent his early years with his brothers John and Thomas partly in the London area, partly in Scotland. Addiction: Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt had no addictions to anything. Political Party: Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt is from a Liberal-Conservative party. Political Beliefs: He was a member of the Great Coalition government in the Province of Canada that secured Confederation between 1864 and 1867. He became a leading figure in the creation of the Coalition when he was asked to become premier of the Province of Canada by then Governor General Sir Edmund Walker Head. Doubting his own ability to demand the loyalty of the majority of members of the Legislative Assembly, he turned down the position, but recommended that George-Etienne Cartier and John A. Macdonald be asked to become co-leaders of the new government. Political Career: The remainder of Galts political career was spent as the Canadian governments representative abroad until 1883, when he returned to the business world. Chronic health problems late in life forced him to limit his activities after 1890. He died at home in Montreal on September 19, 1893 Contribution to Confederation: He was one of the pioneers of the philosophy of Confederation. As early as 1858, he proposed a federation of the colonies of British North and planned the financial arrangements for the new nation. After Confederation, he served briefly as the Minister of Finance, but drifted into the position of Independent Conservative and in 1880 he was appointed as the first high commissioner to Great Britain which he kept until 1883. Additional Information: Alexander Tilloch Galt was one of the most influential politicians of his time. His role was most prominent during the constitutional conferences; he was involved in the issue of economic development and was committed to defending the rights of religious minorities. These things together made him truly one of the Fathers of Confederation. In 1824, Alexanders father John Galt founded the Canada Company a settlement company active in the area of Lake Huron and laid the groundwork for the city of Guelph, Ontario. It was during this time that the young Alexander first came to Canada, in 1828. He remained for two years. Despite the failure of the Canada Company, John Galt helped found the British American Land Company in 1834 and arranged for his son to be taken on as a clerk in the Sherbrook office. Thus, in 1835, Alexander Tilloch Galt returned to Canada for the second time. In 1840, he drafted a report on the companys successes and failures, and the document made its way to London. Galt had made an impression: in October 1843, the London office made him secretary of the British American Land Company and, in 1844, he was named commissioner.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Notion Of Aura Used By Walter Benjamin Cultural Studies Essay

Notion Of Aura Used By Walter Benjamin Cultural Studies Essay Walter Benjamin was a Jewish intellect who lived in Germany during a period of anti-semitic feeling and WWII. His work was influenced by Jewish mysticism and historical materialism. Both the era in which he lived and his religion strongly impacted on his thinking. He is associated with the Frankfurt school. The Frankfurt School refers to the work of those philosophers, cultural critics and social scientists who belonged to, or were associated with, the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research (Edgar et al 1999 p129) The institute developed a Marxist approach which it is now associated with and no doubt contributed to Benjamins historical materialism. In The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction Benjamin addresses the ways in which mechanical reproduction spoils the uniqueness and authenticity of the work of art. He called this uniqueness and authenticity the aura. Aura is the particular power which an image or object has by virtue of its singularity, authenticity, and embeddedness in the fabric of tradition (Gilloch 2002 p182) Benjamin believes the aura of art has changed due to mechanical reproduction and sees the increasing reproducibility of art as directly related to the strength of its aura. Art in the age of mechanical reproduction explores the differences and consequences of the politicisation of art and the aestheticisation of politics. Benjamin describes works of art and some natural objects as having an aura. By aura he meant the trait of authenticity and uniqueness that constituted the artworks distance from everyday life, the notion that art was something that required contemplation and immersion on the part of the spectator (Gentz p116) A natural object such as a mountain could be said to have an aura because it has a personality and life independent of us. It is distant, is the only one of its kind and is tied to its surroundings and location. Similarly, a masterful painting is considered unique in that no person can reproduce it with complete accuracy. Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence. (Benjamin p4) The paintings value comes largely from its exclusivity . A painting may be called permanent partly because museums, galleries etc. are devoted to keeping them intact and partly because history insures that the artists identity and the contextual significance of the work of art survive through the ages. But in another, less well-known sense, aura refers to the investing of an object with human qualities and emotions. We imagine not that we are looking at an inanimate thing, but that this thing can look back at us. We become caught up in a reciprocal relationship with it, just as with another person (Butler 2002) One could question whether uniqueness or authenticity could really be used as According to Benjamin the use of technology such as lithography changed the way in which art is produced and consumed. With lithography the technique of reproduction reached an essentially new stage (Benjamin p3). Lithography enabled many copies to be printed and expanded the potential audience who could view the art considerably. After this, the introduction of the illustrated newspaper and later, photography increased the rate of production and the size of the audience who consumed it. The use of photography was a turning point in the history of artistic aura. But only a few decades after its invention, lithography was surpassed by photography (Benjamin p3). After this the introduction of film was a further step towards mass communication. These technologies enabled art forms to be enjoyed by the masses. Art was no longer reserved for the wealthy and inaccessible to the general public. Film created even greater changes as it allows performances to be recorded and repeatedly enjoyed . Mechanical reproduction, therefore, has brought great changes to the consumption and availability of art. Both film and photography completely changed the idea of what art is. These changes in the production of art are what, according to Benjamin, spoiled the authenticity and uniqueness of the work of art i.e. its aura. For the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual (Benjamin p9) He also believes that a work of art has now become a thing that is designed to be reproduced From a photographic negative, for example, one can make any number of prints; to ask for the authentic print makes no sense (Benjamin p9). However, no matter how perfect a reproduction may be, it will always lack a place in time and space and unique existence. Benjamin gravely disapproves of the lack of history that mechanical reproduction allows. He believes that without a testimony to history the aura of an object is destroyed. A plurality of copies is substituted for a unique existence. The aura of the object is destroyed through mechanical reproduction and this coupled with the ability to meet the perso n in his own environment are the two main reasons for the shattering of tradition that Benjamin speaks of and both are connected to the mass movement. Prior to the age of modernity, art was predominantly religious. Art of this type has what Benjamin describes as cult value. For Benjamin, works of art in our society often have with them a specific cult value, or value that is not subscribed to the artworks themselves, but, rather to the context in which the artworks were either constructed or situated (Cala 2010, p283) He explains that this form of value is no longer relevant, as art produced using modern methods of production no longer have an authentic element. For example, From a photographic negative, for example, one can make any number of prints; to ask for the authentic print makes no sense (Benjamin p9) The exhibition value of art is emphasised in the modern age . Benjamin feels that art is no longer produced for arts sake but for political reasons. Film and photography could be said to be prime examples of this. Reproducibility leads to the demise of the artworks cult value. It is no longer hidden away in those hallowed spa ces of bourgeois culture frequented by the privileged few (Gilloch 2002 p185) The destruction of the aura with regard to film is as a result of two distinct advances. They are the relationship between the actor and the audience and the mass nature of film. In film, the actor does not perform to an audience and the performance does not occur in one long piece but in scenes that can be recorded in any particular order and put together at a later time. The audience is distanced from the actor and Benjamin says that they take on the role of a critic as there is no personal contact with the actor This permits the audience to take the position of a critic, without experiencing any personal contact with the actor. The audiences identification with the actor is really an identification with the camera. Consequently the audience takes the position of the camera; its approach is that of testing. This is not the approach to which cult values may be exposed (Benjamin p13). The audience do not stand back and admire this art form and therefore it can be said that film has a ltered arts very nature and in this way it promotes the detachment of film from the realm of the beautiful semblance which, so far, had been taken to be the only sphere where art could thrive (Benjamin p15) The mechanical reproduction of film changes many of the original notions on art. One of the most radical ideas contributed by film is the promotion of a revolutionary criticism of traditional concepts of art (Benjamin p15) In Benjamins mind, the production of film is the ultimate expression of the aestheticsation of politics as it was revolutionary and changed the way in which people interpreted and saw the outside world. The invention of film allowed people to escape for a short time ultimately masking them from reality. Benjamin realized that film had the power to be used for political purposes and that it was well suited to propaganda. Film had the power to attract and hold the attention of the audience in order to shape their beliefs on the dominant political ideology without questioning. Its apparatus is perfectly suited for propaganda in both a positive and negative way. In fascism, film was used to celebrate the cult leader with whom the masses could identify without being urged to denounce social inequality. (Van den Braembussche 2009 p189) Benjamin also discusses another way in which mechanical reproduction affects society by discussing the change in the social status gap. Before mechanical reproduction a work of art would be a singular object unique by its individuality. Important works of art would be kept in private dwellings by someone of high social status and other places such as cathedrals, castles or private museums. These works of art would be inaccessible to anyone in the lower classes who were considered not worthy of viewing them. These private works of art defined the owners status due to the exclusivity of the art and its exhibition value. Due to mechanical reproduction the value of art took a dramatic shift. A piece of art was valued by its uniqueness and its aura. Today, an image is valued not in its uniqueness but rather in its aesthetic, cultural and social worth. With the introduction of mechanical reproduction the social gap between those who viewed art and those who didnt began to close. There was an increased circulation of images and documents that were very rare and used by the higher classes. Once mechanical reproduction became widespread these rare images and diagrams were shared by all classes increasing public education and thus closing the status gap. Technology meant that art could be reproduced and consumed by the masses, which Benjamin saw as a democratising feature. Benjamin envisioned a time when art was no longer reserved for the elite, but could be enjoyed, discussed and interpreted by anyone (Gentz p116) Benjamin influenced the work of Theodore Adorno. Adorno also wrote about art as having an aura. Adorno agrees with Benjamin in some regards such as that the aura has declined in this age of mechanical reproduction and that the aura of art is declining in the modern era. However he disagrees with Benjamin in other areas such as the reason for this decline. Adorno criticised Benjamins The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction in a letter he wrote to Benjamin. He critisised the manner in which Benjamin used his concept of aura. Adorno criticises the way Benjamin transfers the concept of magical aura to the autonomous work of art' (Van den Braembussche p189 ) Adorno thought that Benjamin made it appear that only autonomous works of art are characterised by aura.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Problems with Mobile Commerce

Problems with Mobile Commerce The recent years have seen an explosive growth in the mobile phone industry. Research has shown that the number of mobile phone subscribers at the end of the year 2004 has passed 1.6 billion. Mobile commerce more popularly known as m-commerce has made the business mobility a reality. The concept of anytime and anywhere internet facility with an inexpensive and comparatively smaller computing infrastructure is the driving force towards mobile commerce. With the advancements in the Wireless communication, mobile commerce has become a new paradigm for personal communication without any constraints in location. There are no age limitations in conducting mobile commerce. Starting from the teenagers to the retirees, everyone is depending on mobile devices. Mobile Commerce is defined as any direct or indirect transaction conducted through the handheld devices such as PDAs and mobile phones facilitated through mobile or wireless telecommunication networks. It is a subset of electronic commer ce. E-Commerce and M-Commerce differ in the way the business is conducted. In E-commerce, online auction systems act as an intermediary between the buyer and a seller whereas mobile commerce is more personalized and is ideal for the location based services. The characteristics of mobile devices such as mobility, cost, portability, voice, more personalization and global positioning system (GPS) have made the establishment of new business models around mobile devices. Many applications such as mobile payment systems, entertainment, content distribution and business services have been developed. Consumers can use mobile phones as an ATM or debit card to purchase tickets or pay the bills online. Content distribution services such as real time information and notifications and location tracking systems are increasing every day. Consumers can get real time information such as stock quotes, traffic information, news and weather forecasts anywhere anytime on their mobile phones via the internet. In addition to the real time content services, mobile phones have become an entertainment medium. Entertainment services such as ringtone downloads, watching live TV broadcasts, online games and music downloads has become a youth trend today. A report from Screen Digest Ltd., a global market research company, shows that Korea and Japan accounted for 80% of the worldwide online game downloading revenues (approx. 380 million Euros). According to Juniper research, a company that specializes in mobile market and technologies, adult mobile services and mobile gambling services accounted for total revenue of US $1 billion and US $ 15 billion respectively. Mobile Commerce has a great impact on business services and applications. Extending the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to have mobile functionality will provide the sales personnel and marketing staff with real time management and corporate data. Mobile inventory management applications benefit the logistic related business in their supply chain management. Also, no time and location based constraints helps in making the offices going paperless in which case a sales person need not have to carry loads of paper for the client delivery. Mobile Commerce is creating new opportunities for the mobile service providers as well as for mobile users. Experts have proposed that the next wave of computing would be mobile commerce and the first decade of 21st century would be considered as the decade of mobile computing and mobile commerce. The driving factors of mobile commerce include various interrelated forces. The social trends where every person is depending on his or her mobile for communication (mobile society), technological advancements and economics are some of the driving forces of mobile commerce. The success of the electronic commerce itself is another major driving factor for mobile commerce. Consumers have embraced the web based e commerce in their day to day life in such a way that they cannot think of doing their tasks without any electronic channel and this has made businesses to extend their services beyond electronic channel into mobile channel. In addition to the above factors, the lowered provider costs, increased internet speed and reliability, availability of content and information anytime through an instant access and reduced time to market have contributed for the growth of mobile services. Although the above mentioned factors indicate that mobile commerce is creating various opportunities for businesses, users and service providers, a report from the Business Studies 2009 shows that only 7% of the 90% of the Americans who own a mobile phone have used their mobile phones to conduct mobile commerce transaction. Electronic Commerce can be divided into four different categories such as Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), Consumer to Business (C2B) and Consumer to Consumer (C2C). Mobile commerce is mainly concerned with the B2B or B2C market. With the widespread adoption of mobile phones, mobile commerce has a prosperous future in business to consumer (B2C) category. As Business to Consumer (B2C) is considered the future of mobile commerce, businesses and consumers are becoming more concerned about security issues since identity theft has become a growing problem. The wireless telecommunication industry has seen enormous advancements in technology and hence the development of standards. But a question arises on whether the early adoption of the standards may hinder future developments in mobile commerce. Let us have a look at the major differences between mobile commerce and electronic commerce and what drives the consumer to adopt m-commerce over e-commerce. The attributes such as ubiquity that is anytime, anywhere availability, high interactivity, convenience, personalization, that is mobile phones are more personal with most probably a single owner when compared to home computers or internet cafes which is shared between a number of people, and finally localization are some of the benefits of mobile commerce which is driving the consumer market. In short, mobile commerce offers more enticing market opportunities than e- commerce. While live internet on the mobile may sound intuitively appealing, it is very difficult to estimate the utility and the extent of its usage. Businesses, governments, service providers, mobile users and stakeholders still need to address many issues and obstacles before mobile commerce pervades in to our daily lives. The next section of the paper discusses the major issues in mobile commerce such as application issues, network challenges, consumer privacy and trust, security concerns, infrastructure problems and legal and regulatory issues. Key Issues in Mobile Commerce * Security in mobile commerce * Location management issues * Limitations of mobile devices * Ethics and Privacy * Wireless Infrastructure * Usability * Legal and Regulatory challenges * Consumer Trust * Interoperability and Compatibility Analysis Security in mobile commerce Wireless communications are more vulnerable than wired communication. Although most of the wireless data networks provide reasonable encryption, security has become a major concern with the introduction of high end mobile devices in the market and the anticipated increase in the number of devices. Many issues exists with the use of mobile devices to conduct transactions such as: Data could be lost and the mobile terminals itself could be misplaced or stolen due to its smaller size and contents stored in the device could be accessed by anyone who possesses the device due to lack of proper authentication techniques . Although mobile commerce enjoys mobility, it raises many serious security threats. In particular, as it plays a very important role in business and personal life, security issues have to be considered seriously. There are many aspects to consider in security which includes physical security, risk assessment, secure wireless transmission, secured access and malware. The built in security features such as passwords and locking keypads are not used by majority of wireless users and the data stored on these handheld devices are often not encrypted which makes it easy for anyone to access the information stored without any authorized access. The article Mobile Commerce: issues and obstacles mentions that Motorola, Ericsson and Nokia did provide industry standard digital signature for authentication but was discarded in 2006. Data transmitted over the wireless medium is more vulnerable for attacks. Wireless transmission can be intercepted and if is not encrypted or encrypted with a flawed protocol, then the information can be made known. Unsecured data transmission may be exploited by hackers for eavesdropping or à ¯man- in-the-middle attacks. Tradeoff between performance and security remains an issue of concern for low power mobile devices. Communication between mobile devices is in the form of ad hoc networks where one node communicates with another without a fixed infrastructure. Network decision making in ad hoc networks is decentralized, as a result all the network protocols rely on the cooperation between the nodes. An attacker can utilize this to compromise a single node with false routing information or can instruct all the routing to go through the compromised node. In addition to compromising the nodes, hackers may route the mobile users to download malicious or miscellaneous information or may even launch denial of service attacks. An attacker need not always target a mobile user but instead if a mobile user roams in an attackers zone he or she is vulnerable to attacks. Roaming in an attackers zone may lead to the alteration or stealing of data and information without the end users knowledge. The difficulty in tracing the wireless devices as they roam in different wireless zones, no fixed geographic points and the ability to go online and offline easily gives the malicious users an excellent advantage to launch the attacks. A question of who would be responsible for the financial or data loss remains a challenge in security. Is it the user or the wireless provider or the financial institution or the software provider held responsible for the loss? Someone has to be responsible for the loss and it is quite costly and becomes a risk for stakeholders. Hence there is a need for wireless risk management. There are some false impressions that only laptops or computers are exposed for viruses and cell phones or handheld devices such as PDAs and smart phones are immune to viruses. These viruses when downloaded by cell phones drain battery life or can simply increase the load on the network.28 The compromised security function may affect not only the network but also can lead to the loss of revenue in business. Location management issues Mobile Commerce is an emerging field which involves many applications such as financial applications, user applications, entertainment, mobile inventory management applications, mobile business re-engineering, mobile games and location specific mobile advertisements. All these applications require the support of location tracking to track devices, products or the people. The following figure shows possible mobile commerce architecture. The important components of mobile commerce include wireless infrastructure, user interfaces, devices, database, mobile middleware and servers. In general, mobile commerce is very dependent on the location information of the users, devices, products, services and servers. Because of the mobility involved in mobile commerce, the location management becomes a challenging task. With the varying requirements in precision, scalability and delay between different m-commerce applications, tracking becomes more challenging. Issues in location management include precision in tracking, updating the location, storage and access of the tracked information, updating of the existing location management schemes with few modifications, difficulty in modeling the context-awareness related to the location management, the overhead of location management for various mobile commerce applications under different network size, mobility patterns and transaction size. There are a number of location intensive mobile commerce applications which require location management support as their primary requirement in wireless network. The article Addressing Location Issues in Mobile Commerce identifies some of the location intensive mobile commerce applications which include mobile advertising, mobile financial applications, mobile inventory management and proactive service management. One of the most important components of mobile commerce is financial applications which include mobile banking, mobile money transfer, brokerage services and mobile payments. If implemented properly, these applications may eventually become a business tool. Mobile advertising is another category of application where advertising is targeted to the users depending on the demographic information collected by the wireless service providers and the location of the user. Location sensitive advertisements such as shopping deals or on-going specials can be accomplished depending on the surrounding area of the mobile users. Issues in mobile advertising are: who owns the location information, how to share this information between wireless providers, what are the storage requirements and how to satisfy the need of real time processing in order to capture the user information. Mobile inventory management is tracking the location of products, goods and services. This application is very helpful for logistic providers to determine the time taken for delivery to their customers in order to provide a better customer service and to compete against other businesses. Amongst different inventory management applications, rolling inventory is one of the interesting applications which involve tracking of multiple trucks carrying large amount of inventory which helps for just in time delivery of goods when a store needs certain goods or services. Another category of mobile commerce application is proactive service management which involves collecting pertinent information of current or future needs of a user and providing the service proactively. Some of the issues in these applications are security, reliability and the cost of deployment. Limitations of mobile devices Mobile phones, hand held devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and pagers, palm sized computers and laptops such as tablets and vehicle mounted interfaces are some of the examples of the current wireless devices. Although mobility and flexibility are the main advantages of the mobile terminals, they lack in several aspects when compared to personal computers. Most of the mobile devices have constrained display capabilities with low resolution and small screen size. Limited and complicated input options due to small and multifunctional keypad. The requirement of mobile devices to be physically light and small hinders the development of user friendly interfaces and graphical applications. Mobile devices also have limited processing and computational power, memory and disk capacity, limited battery life and surf ability. All these drawbacks which do not support complex applications and transactions may lead to the limited usage of mobile commerce. Some of the must have features of smart phones are as follows: In order to satisfy multi-tasking and multi-application nature in smart phones, multi-tasking operating system is a necessary feature. Second feature for smart phones to conduct mobile commerce is a real QWERTY keyboard. The third feature is the QVGA or a high resolution display which is necessary for web browsing, gaming and MMS. Business productivity tools and application software for smart phones is a necessary feature to access business, sales, financial, inventory and real time information. Support of the 3rd generation technology for internet access is another important feature. Video and audio streaming, GPS and navigation capability and digital camera are another set of requirements which needs to be incorporated into the ideal client platform. Packing the above mentioned functionalities into a small handheld device with the multi-tasking operating system and a user friendly interface is a formidable task. Figure 2 shows a graph of the global cell phone and the smart phone shipment. As seen from the figure the percentage of the fully featured handsets are growing every year. Although the growth of the smart phones makes smart phones an ideal client platform for mobile commerce, the specifications of todays smart phones are not adequate for the transactions required for conducting mobile commerce. The success of the mobile commerce lies in the user satisfaction and the user experience in the new technology. Thus mobile device limitations have to be overcome for the widespread adoption of mobile commerce. Figure 2: Global Cell phone and smart phone graph Ethics and Privacy In the recent years ethics and privacy have become a major and touchy issue where consumers do not want to expose every aspect of their daily lives. Web applications such as maps and financial applications require personal information from the users which has created a negative impact with consumers. The risk of openness is comparatively more in a mobile environment which has created higher demands of privacy protection amongst the users. Being able to control information about oneself is what has made privacy a major concern for the society. Inappropriateness of the ringing of cell phones such as in a meeting is one of the annoying situations. This raises an ethical concern of the intrusion of cell phones at inappropriate circumstances. This gives rise to several questions on if mobile commerce evolves in such a way that it follows us around, monitors us and tries to anticipate our needs and delivers services, how much does it intrude in our private lives and the lives of people around us? Will there be a boundary between the work and the personal life? These issues if not addressed in a satisfied manner may become the obstacles for the adoption of mobile commerce. The article Mobile Commerce Adoption in China and the United States: A Cross Cultural Study states in its hypothesis 4 as Privacy Perception is positively associated with consumers intention to use mobile commerce which is in fact a true analysis. Federal Trade Commission has to increase its efforts in the inspection on mobile marketing industry. It is the responsibility of the wireless providers to protect the privacy of the consumers in the services they provide. A recent report shows that Verizon Wireless (VZW) customers were billed for downloading the ringtones and other mobile content which was advertised as free by the online marketers. Privacy has to be protected by the mobile service providers in order to make consumers feel comfortable doing business using mobile devices. It is very important for the wireless operators to protect their customers to the fullest and to stand by their word on treating every customer with respect. Mobile devices provide convenience to the consumers with the slimmer and compact style. In addition to that with the increase in the storage capability consumers are able to store more and more data. Research shows that ninety four percent of the mobile users stored phone numbers, eighty three percent stored digital photos, sixty five percent stored contacts and addresses, fifty five percent stored videos and forty eight percent stored their calendar appointments and music and other important information. With the vast amount of private data stored on the mobile devices raises a question of the protection of these mobile devices. If lost or stolen or damaged there is no way to back up the data. Wireless Infrastructure The wireless communication infrastructure required for mobile commerce is complex. The development of appropriate services and standards determines the success of mobile commerce. The technologies used for mobile commerce include wireless local area networks and wireless telecommunication. Bandwidth and data transmissions are some of the obstacles for mobile commerce. Wireless networks bandwidth are less when compared to the wired network. Although applications are created in such a way that it functions effectively in both the wired and mobile environments organizations still need to research on the interaction of the users through the wireless devices and network. Applications running successfully in a wired environment may encounter new problems such as data availability, fault tolerance, concurrency control and processing efficiency when ported to a mobile environment. The table below shows some of the wireless networking issues. Table 1: Comparison of mobile and wireless networks As seen from table 1, bit rate and coverage are two important factors. In addition to that the wireless quality of service which affects the performance in terms of delay and loss, reliability and survivability of wireless networks where a user can access mobile commerce application even during the network failures, roaming capabilities where a user can have access to multiple heterogeneous networks other quality attributes are some of the specific requirements of wireless infrastructure in order to conduct mobile commerce. Wireless Application Protocol or WAP is the protocol used as a standard for mobile commerce in the United States. WAP uses a set of common protocols to facilitate the interoperability among different wireless networks, applications and devices. But in reality WAP has failed to fulfill the technological promises. WAP cannot handle complex transactions such as sequencing of several services distributed over different networks. WAP is not suitable for a distributed networking environment. Another issue with WAP is it tends to be slower since it was not originally designed for broadband communications. The last problem with WAP is its charges are minute based; hence time consuming activities may become expensive. GPRS was designed as an alternative to WAP which is faster than WAP but it has its own downside. Since the charges are based on kilobyte download (kb) in GPRS, it may become expensive if mobile commerce service download volume is considerable. As there is an increase in the demand for bandwidth for new and existing applications, a lot of problems arise on how to obtain the unused airspace. Although reuse of frequency is increasing today the availability of frequency and bandwidth may become more limited in future. Wired devices such as laptops and PCs use a set of established wireless standards such as IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.11b. Will the mobile devices have the ability to interface with more than one communication environment? Will the communication technologies itself have the ability to interfere with one other? All these questions remain as a challenge. The table below consolidates the wireless infrastructure and communication issues. Table 2: Wireless Infrastructure Issues Usability Usability and user experience issues are often neglected in most of the businesses. It is necessary to understand and improve the usability of the web interfaces exposed through the mobile devices. Users conduct communication such as information search and transactions via user interface. Hence user interface is an important pre-requisite for satisfying customers sensory and functional needs. While mobile devices today can access a variety of applications, they enforce limitations in screen size resolution and have cumbersome input mechanisms. A survey from an internet on mobile internet users indicates usability as the biggest source of frustration. A complete understanding of different aspects of usability and how it might differ in a wireless context is necessary for all the designers and the organizations before leveraging the commercial benefits of mobile commerce. Device inefficiency may become a major issue for the adoption of mobile commerce. User interfaces if not properly designed may lead to a fifty percent transaction reduction via mobile devices. Addition of what is called cool features may make mobile devices less convenient for use. There are a number of guidelines available on web site usability such as on how to improve the layout and design of a web page, how to improve the components of a webpage. However these guidelines do not specify which aspects are critical and also the criticality may differ for different contexts and for different users. Furthermore there are limited guidelines on specific situation implementations. Thus it is necessary to understand what is important to users in order to create a more compelling mobile commerce and to drive revenues. The following figure shows the linking of usability, context and value. Figure 3: Linking of usability, context and value Relevance, Structure and Personalization are the important factors for a successful wireless interface experience. In addition to that it is necessary for the designers to understand the value the consumers derive from these three relevance, structure and personalization aspects in order to provide that value. Web presence is not equal to wireless web presence i.e. e # m. Mobile experience differs from web experience in both designs as well as in usage. Legal and Regulatory challenges Mobile commerce raises various legal and regulatory issues and challenges which is very broad as it includes safety along with many others. The difficulty in the application of the traditional laws and principles in the usage of wireless technologies is an issue facing mobile commerce. One particular case is when a seller tries to sell goods or services through a portal which is allocated to receive requests from wireless devices through specific network providers or when a person uses his or her mobile device (cell phone or a PDA) to purchase something poses many legal challenges between various parties as to who is responsible for regulating them and how should they be regulated. There are various legal issues need to be considered in mobile commerce, among them are the m-commerce contracts and identification of contracting parties and their legal capacities. Another legal issue in mobile commerce is determining the ideal method for payment. What methods need to be devised for the payment of a purchase from ones mobile? Another important question is what is the applicable law and jurisdiction if mobile devices are used for business transactions? The article on mobile commerce legal issues gives an example for the above question. What law would apply if a person residing in Lebanon who is a customer of Emarati uses his or her mobile to purchase software from a German firm whose server is located in the USA? Is it the law of the server location or the law of the country of citizenship of the customer or the law where the customer resides or the law of jurisdiction where the customer purchased software? If there is any dispute between the buyer and the seller, which court is responsible for the jurisdiction? Is it the court of the buyers country or the sellers country or the court agreed by both the parties? Digital cameras in mobile devices can be used for taking the photos and exchanging or sharing them over the internet instantly. The sharing or exchanging of the photos done without the proper authorization may result in the violation of the intellectual property rights including the copyright law. In that case who is liable for the infringement? The person who exchanged the photos on the internet or the network providers or the operators who facilitated the exchange? Is it possible to identify the person sharing the photo? Another aspect of mobile commerce issue is the safety and health risks. Safety includes many regulatory concerns such as terrorism and exposure to wireless devices. Today cell phones and other handheld devices are used in airplanes, automobiles, boats and more. This convenience has made the transactions on the go, but is this safe? Cell phones or other mobile devices installed in an automobile or a motor vehicle can distract the user from driving. Mobile commerce in the context of driving may pose serious safety concerns. Health risks of using mobile devices for conducting m-commerce include cancer. A research from the Foster and Moulder from the medical college of Wisconsin indicated that the radiations produced by the wireless devices may cause brain cancer. Cell phones are being used to set off the bombs remotely. A report from a Cellular news showed that terrorists used a cell phone to detonate the bomb in a min bus in Indonesia. Another recent bombing in London England was attempted by cell phones. A slight different issue in legal and regulatory is privacy. Todays wireless technologies provide a lot of information about the users to the network operators which include tracking of the users location. Competitive companies can purchase such information from the network operators which may lead to a privacy breach. The last but not the least issue in mobile commerce is the risk of crime. Hackers can steal the data and information from the mobile devices or simply overload the wireless network traffic to deteriorate the service. Is there any criminal law to incorporate these new types of crime and how will these penalties be enforced? Consumer Trust Trust plays an important role in mobile commerce. Trust is part of security issue but it is more of a business and psychological issue than a technical issue. This does not mean that trust has nothing to do with the technology, however it is necessary for the potential mobile commerce users to perceive wireless environment as a secure environment in order for the mobile commerce to reach its potential. Business relationships would not exist today without the trust which exists in many forms in business context such as laws and regulations, contracts, company policies and personal reputations. Building consumer trust in mobile commerce is a daunting task for the organizations, network providers and mobile vendors. E commerce is also facing the same issue because even today users do not trust technology. They are afraid to do any kind of financial transaction or any purchases using mobile handhelds. Trust plays an important role in business transaction too as trust lays the foundation between the businesses and the customers. The key characteristics in forming the trust include convenience, cost-efficiency, motivation, capacity and integrity. They all play an important role in gaining the consumer trust. Interoperability and Compatibility Interoperability is the ability of a mobile device to be used anywhere around the world. Compatibility as defined by the Gera and Chen is the degree to which an innovation is consistent with existing facilities and practice. Mobile commerce applications are said to be compatible if the applications and services satisfy the needs or lifestyle of a user. Compatibility can be classified into two types: Behavioral and Needs Compatibility. Behavioral compatibility is achieved when an innovation is consistent with the current technology and the users existing value. Needs compatibility is achieved when an innovation satisfies the needs of the users. Both behavioral and needs compatibility play a very important role in the adoption of mobile commerce. An example for the lack of the interoperability is when a network provider offers a text message acknowledgement within their own network and not on other network carriers. Mobile commerce is impeded by the existence of a variety of network communication standards. Applications are developed around the network standards and device characteristics which is the main cause for the interoperability issues. Efforts are being made to overcome

Monday, August 19, 2019

Sponsors And Sports :: essays research papers

Sponsors and Sports In the world of sports, everything from the cups the athletes drink from to the stadiums they play in is up for grabs. The four major sports are a playing field for the teams as well as major companies hoping to influence the public. While there are some positives and negatives to sponsors, a line has to be drawn somewhere. The four major sports, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League all generate millions of dollars from sponsors each year. Individual athletes themselves command large endorsement contracts that in many cases exceed their own salaries. And although the heads of these sports try to limit the influence of companies, they are still a major part of every game played. One of the more widely known sponsors of sports is Nike. Their rivalry with Reebok and other shoe and apparel companies is seen on television and on the playing field. Advertising their company is the major concern when displaying their logos in sports. Beverages, fast foods, credit cards, automobiles and a wide variety of companies spend their money on sports related ventures. They spend big dollars to name stadiums and arenas after their companies. Television gives these companies even more chances to influence the public with commercials that companies might sometimes pay up to $1 million for. The uniforms that the players wear are now being made my different manufacturers whereas five years ago each league had all their teams wearing the same brand. The equipment being used is also made by different companies. No matter what is being fought for, sponsors create good and bad influences in each sport. Major League Baseball is recognized as the most popular sport. They also play the most games which is a plus to sponsors. Each game is seen as a chance to spread word of their company. But MLB seems to be the least affected team wise by sponsors. This is probably because of the strict rules set forth and also because of recent work stoppages and labor disputes. MLB was once the leader in innovative ideas involving sponsors. Billboards are placed around the stadium in strategic spots that will be noticed by fans and television. Stadiums are now being renamed by companies willing to spend millions to have the stadium named after the company such as 3Com Park in San Francisco. These short term deals can create a problem in the future though. Athletes are not as widely chosen for endorsement contracts as in other sports. This is probably because many players cannot make a huge

Sunday, August 18, 2019

State Universities Should Lower Tuition Essay -- State Colleges Should

What to do after graduation? This is a question many high school students ask themselves as they near the end of their senior year. Most students will want to go on to higher education and continue their studies to receive a degree in something they are passionate about. Unfortunately, some of these students don't have enough money or receive enough financial aid to attend the schools they dream of; and most of the ones that do, graduate with a huge debt due caused by student loans. Over recent years, state universities, whether public or private, have been raising their tuition rates and fees. Because of this increase, fewer and fewer students are enrolling in universities to further their education, and the number of students dropping out of college is rising as well (McClure 12). State universities should lower their tuition rates and fees in order to allow more students the opportunity to go on to higher education after high school. The transition from high school to college is hard enough with all the coursework. But now, students have to worry about constantly rising prices in their schools. A main obstacle students face while in college is being able to pay for their classes and books. That is why many students seek to obtain part time jobs. However, a part-time student’s salary is not enough to cover the expensive books and high tuition. This leads to students obtaining full time jobs, multiple part time jobs, or the most common of them all, student loans. Erin Sandonato is a perfect example. She graduated from a public high school in Georgia and had good enough grades to have scholarships pay for her education. However, when she transferred to a university outside of Georgia she no longer had any aid and h... ...08. Web. 19 Nov 2009. Dannenberg, Michael. "The Truth About Tuition." American Prospect, September 2009. Web. 15 Nov 2009. Duke, Alan; Martin, Augie; Morrison, Greg; Lamanivong, Lynn. â€Å"Protests of tuition increase continue on California campuses.† cnn.com. CNN, 20 November 2009. Web. 27 Nov 2009. â€Å"Federal Pell Grant Program.† ed.gov. U.S. Department of Education, n.d. Web. 27 Nov 2009. McClure, Ann. "Conclusion: college is expensive: annual trend reports put the spotlight on pricing and student aid." find.galegroup.com. General OneFile, December 2008. Web. 15 Nov 2009. Price, Tom. "Rising College Costs." library.cqpress.com. CQ Researcher, 5 December 2003. Web. 22 Nov 2009. Riley, Anjanette. "Tuition increase will provide $55 million to Arizona universities." find.galegroup.com. General OneFile, 5 December 2008. Web. 17 Nov 2009.

Niccolo Machiavellis The Prince and The Discourses Essays -- Machiave

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Niccolà ² Machiavelli thoroughly discusses the importance of religion in the formation and maintenance of political authority in his famous works, The Prince and The Discourses. In his writing on religion, he states that religion is beneficiary in the formation of political authority and political leaders must support and endorse religion in order to maintain power. However, Machiavelli also critiques corrupt religious institutions that become involved in politics and in turn, cause corruption in the citizenry and divisions among the state. In the following essay, I will examine Machiavelli’s analysis of religion and discuss the relationship between religion and politics in Machiavelli’s thought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is important to establish from the very beginning of the essay what Machiavelli’s politics are and how he arrives at his beliefs in order to understand his views on religion in politics. Machiavelli is a realist thinker whose main arguments are about maintaining political authority over a state by using historical evidence, especially Roman, in order to support his theories. His main writings are an illustration of realpolitik, a government policy that emphasizes retaining power by using any means necessary including war and deceit. â€Å"Niccolà ² Machiavelli †¦ emphasized a political calculus based on interest, prudence, power, and expediency above all other considerations.† (Kegley pp 36) Therefore, one must remember when reading Machiavelli that he is attempting to use religion as an instrument to maintain political power rather than a mechanism for achieving ideals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Machiavelli’s view on religion stems from his famous argument of whether it is better to be feared or loved as a leader of a state. Machiavelli feels that it is safer to be feared than loved, but a great leader would hope to be both even though it is rather difficult. His reasoning behind this is that he feels the nature of man is to be fickle and greedy and man will turn against the political leaders in difficult times despite his loyalty during prosperous times. Machiavelli writes, â€Å"†¦that prince who bases his power entirely on their words, finding himself stripped of other preparations, comes to ruin; for friendships that are acquired by a price and not by greatness and nobility of character are purchased but are not owned, and at proper time cannot be spent.† (The Prince Chapte... ... control religion. While the government must stay secular without the influence of religious organizations, it must appear to be quite the opposite in the view of the citizenry. Religious organizations must be used to keep the people pious in order to instill the fear of God rather then a fear of the state for the leader to avoid being despised, in turn causing him to be both feared and loved. Unusual laws and organizations are introduced easier into the city when they are based on religion and morals and often times only divine authority would instill them. Religious institutions must be kept from getting too large and must be kept from gaining political power or else they will turn corrupt and cause divisions among the people as in the case of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy since religious organizations are neither powerful enough to defend the state nor are they willing to submit their power to those who can. Works Cited Kegley, Charles W., and Eugene R. Wittkopf. World Politics Trend and Transformation. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2006. Machiavelli, Niccolo. â€Å"The Prince and The Discourses† McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 1 edition (August 1, 1950)

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Education System of Britain

According to the research of Oversea Education Center (2000), is that â€Å"Education in the United Kingdom (UK) is compulsory for everyone between the ages of five to sixteen. † This mean that no one left behind in their system that everybody must be in school to learned and participate. I believed that the learning and participation of students would require equality in the school system. Does the school system can provide this equality to all students? I know that this problem has been existed on other countries.Is the system in Britain practices equality or inequality still persisting? This essay will explore on the educational system in contemporary Britain acting to decrease or increase social inequality highlighting current issues. Equality Impost Britain’s Government partnered with Sutton Trust funded by Peter Lampl tried to make the education system as equal as possible by making â€Å"new scheme aimed at giving talented children of all backgrounds access to q uality education†.They are pronouncing that all can access this mean more to the poor that will be given the chance to develop their talents and able to have an education they wanted. There are striking findings from domestic and international survey that the English education is improving. But while average standards in education in the UK are high, the traditional problem of inequality, and especially with the educational outcome and social class, remain very strong pointed out by David Miliband (2003). Inequality IncreasedThe problem starts young: as early as 22 months according to pioneering research of cognitive ability of very young children. At the age of two poor show advance but was overtaken at the age of 6 by the rich family and will maintain its advancement at the age 7-11. But more social differences can be seen in secondary level as Leon Feinstein (2003) demonstrated. On the other hand, University system practice inequality that affected most of the poor from rem ote areas that wanted to avail the opportunity that offered by millioner philanthropist and the Britain’s government program.John O'Leary, Education Editor (2000), reported that â€Å"Almost half the entrants are from independent schools and only one in 25 comes from the poor neighborhoods identified as sending fewest students to university. Barely one in ten is from a working class home. † The universities still practice elitism in their university depriving most of the poor students. Thinking that students coming from the independent school have more advantage since they have all the good facilities they need to learned to their full potential compared to the students coming from the public schools.The increased in Social inequality is more observed reported by John Clare, Education Editor (2000), he stated in his report that Eleven top universities accused of state bias, this was supported by the research gather â€Å"It estimated that every year 3,200 pupils from independent schools gained a place at a top university to which, statistically, they were not entitled. † There bases in accepting entry is on predicted grades rather than A-level grades. This apprehended the schools of sending pupils to avail the opportunity.The statistics that John Clare emphasized is a clear indication that social inequality is increasing in Britain’s educational system. Remarkable evidence which was also sparked by Gordon Brown condemning Oxford College in rejecting a teenager Laura Spence that elitism in Britain’s top universities are still practiced despite the campaign by Mr. Lampl giving opportunity for all and providing all the necessary materials needed by the students just to discover and develop their talent to the full potential.A writer Ben Russell (2000) wrote the description of Mr. Lampl as a â€Å"scandal† the current situation where children from poorer backgrounds accounted for 50 per cent of the school population but on ly 13 per cent of the entry to top universities. He further added that University inclined more on constructing building and research instead of finding youngster from inner cities and other deprived areas.In respond to the allegation that universities practice social inequality lots of school, the university answered as presented by Ben Russell â€Å"they say the students are not applying and they are not coming through. I suggest there's some truth to that but our universities has to become much more pro-active by going out and selling themselves to the schools. † This response of universities to the founder is not acceptable by some public schools who tried hard to let there students enters to the top 13 universities and avail the opportunities offered.Another finding that inequality is increasing in Contemporary Britain researched by Jeremy Lovell (2005) â€Å"The results show that social mobility in Britain is much lower than in other advanced countries and is declining ,† and it was suppported with Co-author Stephen Machin said â€Å"low income groups were trying to manage to keep pace with middle income, but the gap between middle and high was widening rapidly and those in the very top bracket were accelerating out of sight. † This issues is the result of inadsequate education policiy and globalization which was entrenching wealth inequalities acrross the world.The effect of this are fewer graduates from the poorer community landed on a good job in the market. (Lovell 2005). More evidence reveal by Julie Hyland(2004) â€Å"Britain: social inequalities widen under Blair government†. This is because of the government policy that imply from welfare reform through to privatizing key services. That was before abandoned by Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) (1994) which established a â€Å"Commission on Social justice† that sought to redefine measures of social inequality, that used to give justice to labor and leave d the traditional social reformist programmed.The factor to this issue is the polarization of â€Å"class and wealth† this giving more chance for the riches to make more shares and in facts doubled in 1999. (Hyland 2004). The IPPR demonstrate that social inequality means that â€Å"the UK education system continues to experience high levels of geographical segregation,† the reports states. â€Å"At any time since 1989 around a third of children living in poverty would have to move to schools in wealthier areas for there to be an even spread of poor children between schools.† The poor students tried hard to make them avail what the rich students have but the system has failing on looking this issues. The results can also be seen in the record obtain by deprived schools that lower records attaining in education compared to better-off areas. The writers further added (Hyland 2004), â€Å"Examining the period since the early 1980s as a whole confirms that a class b ias in entry and success within higher education remains and has even grown. † If more students from higher class can enter into universities and few from lower class there is no improvement in the educational system.The data prove that in â€Å"1981, 23 percent from high-income backgrounds obtained a university degree, and only six percent from lowest income and it increase by 37 percent in 1999. † If this will not give importance to changes in the educational system inequality would be double in the coming years. The worst evidence that the educational system in Britain’s social inequality is the case of Pamela Relf reported by Tania Kent (2000) that inequalities not only happening in the poor students striving to be successful but to a teacher itself.Pamela Relf was the longest serving teacher in the Middlefield primary in St. Neots, Cambridge shire. Only she failed to report on the first day of service in the new term felt very bad that she instead drove a ri ver near her house and end her life. She left a note telling that â€Å"I am finding the stress of my job too much. The pace of work and he long days are more than I can do. † Not only Pamela Relf but had another teacher hanged himself Daniel Overfield and a boy who is 12 years old. All the issues concerning the schools work performance and these terrible incidents have common social roots.Tania Kent described as the outcomes of two decades of attacks on public education by the former Conservative government, which have been continued and deepened under Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair. Since Labor took office in 1997, schools have had to confront the highest levels of state intervention ever experienced within the public education sector. The aims of prime Minister Tony Blair is to lift the standards by publishing the results in â€Å"league tables† that the pay also of a teacher was based on their performance that ties teachers’ salaries to pupils’ test exam results.The system was able to create stress both to students’ and teachers’ that resulted on tremendous death of the three victims that hardly cope up the challenge. The system is failing that castigation is focused on the part of the teachers. The stress given to teachers made the other teacher to leave their job. The researcher Tania Kent further exposed that Association of teachers and Lecturers (ATL) in the conference discussed a report warning of an increase in pupil suicides due to the pressures resulting from what the union termed â€Å"factory farming† teaching.It is very alarming that 35 children aged 14 and below committed suicide in Britain in1997. These are due to stress and pressure to pass the compulsory test. The issues making pressure both the teachers’ and students’ damage the emotional and mental capacity of each individual and these will result to a more poverty and of course increase inequality in educational system in Bri tain. Moreover we cannot blame that Black graduates do not want to become teachers within a racist education system.Deborah Gabriel (2006) an author on Black Britain acknowledge one of the lecturer Sonia Davis, said that a senior lecturer in education at De Montfort University and spokesperson for the African Forum for Education believes that recruiting more black teachers without making radical changes to the education system is pointless. † She further stress out to Black Britain that out of around 1000 trainee teachers in the first year of a teaching programmed, not one is black.The reason for the lack of interest, she asserts is: â€Å"A damaged system. Black teachers can see the trauma experienced by black pupils and many do not want to be in that situation. † All the weighted issues above would still be increasing and never stop if these were not given immediate actions. The damaged that have been done will increase; the action should be now we will not wait for a nother victim for this social inequality in Britain educational system. ConclusionThe above issues would if not be given consideration the educational system increases the social inequality and part of it is the difference between the ethnic groups in their social profiles and by their geographical concentration in inner-city areas with poor education provision. This subject of inequality was very much to the forefront of the debate on education. But there were high hopes that education would make for greater economic and social mobility and thus lead to reduction in inequalities.The continues support of the different agency especially the Sutton Trust that give opportunities to poor families and continues expansion of public-sector with the little cost to families has been entailed would greatly helps decrease the social inequalities in Britain’s educational system. References Clare, John 2000, â€Å"Eleven top Universities Accused of Sate Bias†, Viewed 8 January 2007 , . Gabriel, Deborah 2006, â€Å"Black graduates do not want to become teachers within a racist education system† Black Britain Online, viewed 8 January 2007, from . Hyland, Julie 2004, â€Å"Britain: Social Inequalities widen under Blair Government† viewed 8 January 2007, . Kent, Tania 2000, â€Å"Suicides reveal impact of government attacks on Britain's education system† viewed 8 January 2007, from . Leon Feinstein2003, ‘Inequality in the Early Cognitive Development of British Children in the 1970 Cohort’, Economica (Vol. 70, No. 1)Lovell, Jeremy 2005, â€Å"Social Inequality entrenched in Britain† Viewed 8 January 2007; . O'Leary, John 2000, â€Å"Elitism in Universities†, Viewed 8 January 2007, < http://www. psychology. nottingham. ac. uk/sutton/Reports. htm>. Oversea Education Center 2000, â€Å"British Education System†, Viewed 7 January 2007, . Russel, Ben 2000, â€Å"Universities Need more Cash to Widen Access†, V iewed 8 January 2007, from .