Writing Self-Reflection Essay - 759 Words

Providence when not divine ,it is foresight was a thought that was always haunting me from childhood,little knowing that later in my life the writer in me is taking its shape.At times I thought why I could not solve problems academic as well as personal by using the same kind of thinking which we used when we created them ,as my greatest problem was what to do about all the things I couldnt do anything about. Time passed and I set sails for SJSU.On arriving here ,I realised that I had grown wings and my perception of life had changed,so had ,my line-of-thought.Earlier, it was a kind of guided writing ,but now it had turned innovative, having an original subtle learning towards thought provoking themes that were inspired by†¦show more content†¦In retrospect, I see a change that has effected my personality inwardly as well as outwardly.This impact has groomed me inside out that itself speaks volumes as its a transformation for the better,for ever ,looking back I see the timid girl.who knew the basis of language such as the parts of speech of figures of speech, but was reluctent to use them without any constarints. Times have changed and so have I.The recluse in me has vanished.I am vibrent, communicative, expressive,innovative in all spheres .I have realized that English language has a magical touch of transformations ,while computers give it a proffessional look.Its a complete package that has many takers ,but few gainers,as I believe that one can only reap benefits if one puts her heart and soul with full effort at that zenith hour of learning when the tanticles of knowledge are in an active receptive mode.The human is actively assimilating andShow MoreRelatedWriting Self-Reflection Essay716 Words   |  3 Pagesgrowth. I have really learned to enjoy the writing process and the workout of just writing. When I started the course I had not worked out in such a long time. My muscles had started dystrophy they were weak. My muscles had had never been worked out like this before. I had no real understanding how to work them out. Or where to go once I had started to work out. Now I have a dri ve to work out every day. I have fallen in lust with where my muscles (writing) are taking me. The ability to just flexRead MoreSelf Reflection On My Writing And Learning Process Essay1554 Words   |  7 PagesSelf-reflection on my Writing and Learning Process I think self-reflection, or a careful cogitation of one’s personal work, is very important. It will help me think about my strengths and weaknesses in my writing skills and learning process, so that I can improve my weaknesses in the future and become a better writer. I believe, I have many strengths and many weaknesses that can be seen transparently through my drafts, revisions, and final essays, or writings, this semester. My overall strength includesRead MoreEssay about Self-Reflection: Writing Composition1410 Words   |  6 PagesI have always enjoyed writing, and I believed writing was a subject I was naturally good at. I turned in papers that were still rough drafts, I did not evaluate my sources, nor did I ever take the time to fully understand the prompt. It was not until my first semester of college, in my writing composition course, I realized that I had a lot of work ahead of me to be as good a writer as I thought I was. In the writing course, the students were req uired to compose several essays using different methodsRead MoreEnglish 111 Evaluation Essay623 Words   |  3 Pagesthinking and the fundamentals of academic writing. This is a prerequisite English class for higher-level English education. By the end of this course a student will have gained a great deal of practice in the craft of writing. This essay will evaluate the English 111 textbooks, essays, self-reflections, the instructor, and what I personally learned. The English 111 textbook had effective sample essays and diagrams of outlines. The Successful College Writing Textbook is the textbook used for the EnglishRead Morestudy skills988 Words   |  4 Pages Using critical self-reflection to improve and refine my study skills Using critical self-reflection to improve and refine my study skills Critical self-reflection refers to analysing one’s personal skills and qualities in depth. Critical self-reflection also involves being able to identify where one has strengths and weaknesses, as well as finding a solution on how to better ones self. In this essay I shall be writing about how critically reflecting on theRead MoreThe Activity Of Doing Action Research Among Iranian Teachers1540 Words   |  7 Pagesinterviewing with professional teachers, since reflection is an unfamiliar terminology among Iranian learners and teachers which has not been practically used yet. Thus, they can gain the best possible reflective and successful as well as practical and effective outcome. Teachers on the other hand have the responsibility of helping the students which could guide them to become better, autonomous learners through different procedures and ways of reflection. As the results which were investigated in advanceRead MoreReflection On Simkin Et Al899 Words   |  4 Pages 105-003 Assignment #1 – Reflection on Simkin et al.’s Study For more than the past 30 years, study after study has indicated that graduating university students in America greatly lack the necessary writing skills to flourish in the workplace. In their 2012 paper â€Å"Student perceptions of their writing skills,† Simkin et al. outlined a variety of possible explanations for these troubling findings. They, however, chose to explore two of the many possible reasons for this rising writing problem: universityRead MorePRS Coursework 11224 Words   |  5 Pagesdiscussing the module overview and after attending lecturers for the first four weeks, the misconception of the module being a theoretical one was corrected the moment I realised that the learning skills that were presented such as learning styles and reflection were very practical and applicable to my everyday life. I was caught up in my thoughts, thinking about my past experiences and how differently I would have approached learning if I had prior knowledge of these learning skil ls. Even though I hadRead MoreLessons Learned Paper1448 Words   |  6 Pageseye-openers that revealed development and improvement as a doctoral student. In the last five days, various lessons and experiences were taught and learned but the most important lessons for me include the learning team experiences, scholarly writing, and reflection on the lessons learned. Learning Teams During this residency experience, I acquired a lot about learning teams. In my academic and professional experience, I have been a part of numerous teams. I have had some bad encounters with teamsRead MoreArt Is An Expression Of Human Emotions And Creativity Essay968 Words   |  4 Pagesoutlooks. But what is art? It is an expression of human emotions and creativity. This can be through varied forms such as writings, sculptures, and paintings. Although, not everything is considered art. There is a defining line between what is art and what is not. For it to be art, it must go through three steps. They are: thought process of the artist’s process of construction, self-evaluation, and critical reception. Which are all art forms within themselves. Art is not merely the end result of hard

Fi515 Chapter 1 Mini Case Free Essays

MINI CASE a. Why is corporate finance important to all managers? Corporate finance is important to all managers because it provides managers the skills needed to identify and select the corporate strategies and individual projects that add value to their firm and forecast the funding requirements of their company and devise strategies for acquiring those funds. b. We will write a custom essay sample on Fi515 Chapter 1 Mini Case or any similar topic only for you Order Now Describe the organizational forms a company might have as it evolves from a start-up to a major corporation. List the advantages and disadvantages of each form. The organizational forms a company might have as it evolves from a start-up to a major corporation are proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. The advantages of a proprietorship are: †¢Easy and inexpensive to form, †¢Subject to few government regulations, and †¢Income not subject to corporate taxation. The disadvantages of a proprietorship are: †¢May be difficult to obtain the capital needed for growth, †¢Unlimited personal liability for the businesses’ debts, and †¢Limited to the life of its founder. The advantages of a partnership are: †¢Relatively easy to establish, †¢Increased ability to raise funds, Prospective employees become attracted to the business if given the incentive to become a partner, †¢May benefit from the combination of complementary skills of two or more people, †¢Can be cost effective, and †¢Provide moral support and will allow for more creative brainstorming. The disadvantages of a partnership ar e: †¢Partners are jointly and individually liable for the actions of the other partners, †¢Profits must be shared, †¢Disagreements can occur, †¢May have limited life, †¢Has limitations that keeps it from becoming a large business, †¢Partners have to consult with each other before making decisions, and †¢Unlimited liability. The advantages of a corporation are: †¢Unlimited life, †¢Easy transferability of ownership interest, and †¢Limited liability. The disadvantages of a corporation are: †¢Earnings may be subject to double taxation, and †¢Complex and time-consuming set up. c. How do corporations go public and continue to grow? What are agency problems? What is corporate governance? Corporations go public and continue to grow by selling stock to outsiders or venture capitalists, attracting lending from banks or raising additional funds through an initial public offering (IPO) by selling stock to the public at large. Agency problems are conflicts of interest arising between creditors, shareholders and managers because of differing goals. Corporate governance is the relationship between all the stakeholders in the company. d. What should be the primary objective of managers? The primary objective of managers is stockholder wealth maximization, which means to maximize the fundamental price of the firm’s common stock and not just the current market price. 1)Do firms have any responsibilities to society at large? Yes, firms have responsibilities to society at large. Corporate social responsibility is operating a business in a manner that accounts for the social and environmental impact created by the business. This means a commitment to developing policies that integrate responsible practices into daily business operations and to reporting on progress made toward implementing these practices. 2)Is stock price maximization good or bad for society? Stock price maximization is good for society. Shareholders are members of society. Consumers benefit when companies develop products and services that consumers want and need, which leads to new technology and new products. Employees benefit generally when companies successfully increase stock prices, it opens up growth and addition for more employees. 3)Should firms behave ethically? Yes, firms should behave ethically. There is no room for unethical behavior in the business world. Most executives believe that there is a positive correlation between ethics and long-run profitability. Conflicts often arise between profits and ethics. Companies must deal with these conflicts on a regular basis. Failure to handle these situations properly can lead to huge product liability suits and even bankruptcy. e. What three aspects of cash flows affect the value of any investment? The three aspects of cash flows the affect the value of any investment are the amount of expected cash flows, the timing of the cash flow stream, and the risk of the cash flows. f. What are free cash flows? Free cash flows are the monies available for distribution to all investors after paying current expenses, taxes, and making the investments necessary for growth. g. What is the weighted average cost of capital? The weighted average cost of capital is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. . How do free cash flows and the weighted average cost of capital interact to determine a firm’s value? Free Cash Flow = Sales Revenues – Operating Costs and Taxes – Required Investments in Operating Capital. Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) is affected by market interest rates, market risk aversion, cost of debt, cost of equity, firmâ €™s debt/equity mix, and firm’s business risk. Therefore, free cash flows and the weighted average cost of capital interact to determine a firm’s value by the following equation: Value=FCF1+FCF2+ †¦ +FCF00 (1 + WACC)1(1 + WACC)2(1 + WACC)00 i. Who are the providers (savers) and users (borrowers) of capital? How is capital transferred between savers and borrowers? Households and some foreign governments are the providers (savers) of capital. Non-financial corporation’s net users and U. S. governments are users (borrowers) of capital. Financial corporations are slight users (borrowers), but almost breakeven. Capital is transferred between savers and borrowers by direct transfer, through an investment banking house, or through a financial intermediary. j. What do we call the price that a borrower must pay for debt capital? What is the price of equity capital? What are the four most fundamental factors that affect the cost of money, or the general level of interest rates, in the economy? The price that a borrower must pay for debt capital is called the interest rate. The price of equity capital is the cost of equity equals required return equals dividend yield plus capital gains. The four most fundamental factors that affect the cost of money, or the general level of interest rates, in the economy are production opportunities, time preferences for consumption, risk, and expected inflation. k. What are some economic conditions (including international aspects) that affect the cost of money? Some economic conditions (including international aspects) that affect the cost of money are country risk and exchange rate risk. Country risk depends on the country’s economic, political, and social environment. Exchange rate risk is dependent on the non-dollar denominated investment’s value. l. What are financial securities? Describe some financial instruments. Financial securities are pieces of paper with contractual provisions that entitle their owners to specific rights and claims on specific cash flows or values. Some financial instruments are: †¢U. S. Treasury Bills  ­Sold by U. S. Treasury  ­Default-free risk  ­91 days to one year – original maturity †¢Money Market Mutual Funds  ­Invest in short-term debt; held by businesses and individuals  ­Low degree of risk  ­No specific maturity (instant liquidity) †¢Consumer Credit Loans  ­Loans by banks/credit unions/finance companies  ­Risk is variable  ­Original maturity is variable †¢U. S. Treasury Notes and Bonds  ­Issued by U,S, government  ­No default risk, but price falls if interest rate rises  ­2-30 years – original maturity †¢Municipal Bonds  ­Issued by state and local government to individuals and institutions  ­Riskier than U. S. overnment guides, but exempt from most taxes  ­Up to 30 years – original maturity m. List some financial institutions. Some financial institutions are commercial banks, investment banks, savings and loan, mutual savings bands, credit unions, life insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds and private equity funds. n. What are some different types of markets? Some different types of markets are physical asset markets, financial asset markets, spot markets, future markets, money markets, capital markets, mortgage markets, consumer credit markets, and world, national, regional and local markets. . How are secondary markets organized? Secondary markets are organized by location and the way that orders from buyers and sellers are matched. 1)List some physical location markets and some computer/telephone networks. Some physical locations markets are New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Some computer/telephone networks are NASDAQ, government bond markets, and foreign exchange markets. 2)Explain the differences between open outcry auctions, dealer markets, and electronic communications networks (ECNs). Auction markets are markets where participants have a seat on the exchange, meet face-to-face, and place orders for themselves or for their clients. The two largest auction markets for stocks are the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange. The New York Stock Exchange is a modified auction with a â€Å"specialist. † Dealer markets are markets where â€Å"dealers† keep an inventory of the stock (or other financial assets) and place bids and ask â€Å"advertisements†, which are prices at which they are willing to buy and sell. There are often many dealers for each stock. A computerized quotation system keeps track of bid and ask prices, but does not automatically match buyers and sellers. Examples of dealer markets are the NASDAQ National Market, NASDAQ Small Cap Market, London SEAQ, and German Neuer Market. Electronic communication networks (ECNs) are computerized systems that match orders from buyers and sellers and automatically execute the transaction. It is a low cost to transact. Examples of ECNs are Instinet (U. S. stocks owned by NASDAQ), Archipelago (U. S. stocks owned by NYSE), Eurex (Swiss-German futures contracts), and SETS (London stocks). p. Briefly explain mortgage securitization and how it contributed to the global economic crisis. Mortgage securitization is the pooling of various mortgage loans and their usage as collateral to issue securities. This process allows the originator of the mortgage loans to restructure its balance sheet by reducing the receivables and using the funds received from the sale of securities to invest elsewhere. Mortgage securitization allows the originators of the loans to diversify their risk besides enabling them to secure immediate liquidity for assets which would otherwise have face some difficulty in trading. http://www. economywatch. com/finance/high-finance/mortgage-securitization. html) Mortgage securitization contributed to the global economic crisis in many ways. †¢Homeowners wanted better homes than they could afford. †¢Mortgage brokers encourage homeowners to take mortgages even though they would reset the payments to amounts that the borrowers might not have been able t o afford because the brokers got a commission for closing the deal. †¢Appraisers were over-appraising house values and getting paid at the time of the appraisal. †¢Originating institutions (e. . , Countrywide) were quickly selling the mortgages to investment banks and other institutions. †¢Investment banks created CDOs and got rating agencies to help design and then rate the new CDOs with rating agencies making big profits despite the conflicts of interest. †¢Financial engineers used unrealistic inputs to generate high values for the CDOs. †¢Investment banks sold the CDOs to investors and made big profits. †¢Investors bought the CDOs but either didn’t understand or didn’t care about the risk. †¢Some investors bought â€Å"insurance† via credit default swap. When the mortgages were reset and the borrowers defaulted on them, the values of the CDOs plummeted. †¢Many of the credit default swaps failed to provide insurance beca use the counterparty failed. †¢Many originators and securitizers still owned sub-prime securities, which led to many bankruptcies, government takeovers, and fire sales including New Century, Countrywide, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and many more. PROBLEMS (2-6)In its most recent financial statements, Newhouse, Inc. reported $50 million of net income and $810 million of retained earnings. The previous retained earnings were $780 million. How much in dividends was paid to shareholders during the year? Dividends Paid= (Previous Retained Earnings + Net Income) – Recent Retained Earnings = ($780 million + $50 million) – $810 million = $830 million – $810 million = $20 million (2-7)The Talley Corporation had a taxable income of $365,000 from operations after all operating costs but before (1) interest charges of $50,000, (2) dividends received of $15,000, (3) dividends paid of $25,000, and (4) income taxes. What are the firm’s income tax liability and its after-tax income? What are the company’s marginal and average tax rates on taxable income? Taxable Income$365,000 Less: Interest Charges(50,000) Plus: Dividends Received4,500? $15,000(1 – 0. 70) = $4,500 Total Taxable Income$319,500 Tax Liability= $22,250 + ($319,500 – $100,000)(0. 39) = $22,250 + ($219,500)(0. 39) = $22,250 + $85,605 = $107,855 After-Tax Income: Total Taxable Income$319,500 Less: Tax Liability(107,855) Plus: Non-taxable Dividends Received10,500? 15,000(0. 70) = $10,500 Net Income$222,145 Marginal Tax Rate = 39% Average Tax Rate= Tax Interest Income/Taxable Operating Income = $107,855/$319,500 = 0. 33757 or 33. 76% (2-9)The Shrieves Corporation has $10,000 that it plans to invest in marketable securities. It is choosing among ATT bonds, which yield 7. 5%, state of Florida muni bonds, which yield 5% (but are not taxable), and ATT preferred stock, with a dividend yield of 6%. Shrieve’s corporate tax rate is 35%, and 70% of the dividends received are tax exempt. Find the after-tax rates of return on all three securities. ATT Bonds – $10,000 x 7. 5% = $750 Taxes = $750 x 35% = $262. 50 $750 – $262. 50 = $487. 50 ATT Bond Yield = $487. 50/$10,000 = 0. 04875 or 4. 875% ATT Preferred Stock – $10,000 x 6% = $600 Tax Exemption = $600 x 70% = $420 Taxable Income = $600 – $420 = $180 Taxes = $180 x 35% = $63 $600 – $63 = $537 ATT Preferred Stock Yield = $537/$10,000 = 0. 0537 or 5. 37% Florida Muni Bonds – $10,000 x 5% = $500 Not taxable, so no tax deductions Florida Muni Bonds Yield = $500/$10,000 = 0. 05 or 5% How to cite Fi515 Chapter 1 Mini Case, Papers

The Failure of Reconstruction Essay Example For Students

The Failure of Reconstruction Essay Reconstruction was a failure due to the opinion on race. Racism played a big part in the 1896 Plessey vs. Furguson case. Reconstruction began in 1865 and ended in 1877. Two goals were to rebuild the south and to reform society. Reconstruction should not be thought of as a bad idea. It was virtually impossible to just change ways in the south with out using some kind of force. Black codes did nothing but for the south but put them in further segregation. The black codes aloud a form of disguised slavery. They gave blacks the right to own land, and go to court; they still werent aloud to serve on a jury or aloud to vote. In the long run, black codes just made it easier for the people of the south to continue with their poor treatment towards blacks. A positive step did come for reconstruction in 1868. That was the 14th amendment, that stated that All persons born or naturalized in the United States and of the state that they reside (Thomas, 14) The amendment also declared that no state could make or enforce any law that restrain the privileges of the citizens of the United States. This amendment is clearly federal power over state power. This act was passed by congress to make sure that constitutionality of the civil rights acts (that made African Americans full citizen and guaranteed cirten right of citizenship, that completely went agents anything that had to do with black codes. With these new laws in place, Tourgee argued that the Louisiana law Separate but equal accommodations for the white and colored races on all passenger trains within that state, took away Plessey 14th amendment rights. The passage of the 1866 Civil Rights Acts and the fourteenth amendment marked the move toward racial reconstruction, which was controve rsial. (Thomas, 7) Right after following this positive step during reconstruction, came another racial act that prohibited the marriages between whites and people of other races. The compromise of 1877 put an end to reconstruction. Republican, Rutherford Hayes was elected over Samuel Tiden, who was a democrat. The two parties made a dele with each other. The deal that they agreed on was to get the federal troops out of the south. This left nothing to enforce the 14th amendment. With the 14th amendment not being enforced, in theory, the south could go back to treating slaves bad and continue slavery. Racism was so bad in the south, and in some parts of the north, that blacks began to feel like America was meant to be a white country. DeBois referred to this as a double consciousness (Thomas, 141) Blacks we being thought of by whites as violent brutes. Whites made fun of everything about them from their looks all the way down to their personalities. White power groups like the KKK made it hard for black to fit in or go about there daily lives, without being harassed. These are just some of the examples how racism was unfair and unequal to blacks. At the end of reconstruction, racism continued as if it never applied. My question is how can reconstruction work when you have people like John Tyler Morgan that said slavery was a custom and it was barbaric not to engage in it.? (Thomas, 64) It is obvious that he wanted to keep the color line and wanted no part in helping the problem at hand. He thought that the solution to the problem was to send all the blacks back to Africa. (Thomas, 73) .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 , .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .postImageUrl , .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 , .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529:hover , .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529:visited , .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529:active { border:0!important; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529:active , .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529 .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u098897258fa48a923917401bebbbb529:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Giver (synopsis of main character) EssayAnother person that thought whites were the inferior race was Fredric Hoffman. He took measurement comparisons of the skull, chest and lung captivity. He main study was the lungs. He found that whites had far higher lung captivity, which in theory, made them less prone to disease, and in his eyes, the inferior race. Henry Field said blacks have not achieved anything, and they are stuck in mediocrity level of society. (Thomas, 102). Field denies social equality in the north, and admits to the color line. He feels that this is natural. The Plessey vs. Furguson case on May 18, 1896 was about the state of Louisiana that .

On-Line Dangers Essays - Sex Laws, Pornography, Sexuality

On-Line Dangers On-line Dangers In this day and age of super high-speed networking and digital communications, just about anything on any subject can be found on the Internet. Some materials, such as online libraries are helpful, some, such as students personal homepages are fairly useless, and some sites, such as online medical references, can be lifesaving. All these sites have a right to be on the web. However, there are also sites that could be detrimental to people, such as pornography sites, pages detailing the manufacture of illegal drugs, and instructions on how to build high explosives and other illegal devices. With the number of these types increasing daily, parents and lawmakers alike are becoming concerned for the well being of the public, specifically the younger sector of the population. This raises the issue of how safe the Internet is. With the wealth of useful information available on the Internet also comes dangerous and harmful information regarding everything from stealing cable to manufacturin g high explosives, as well as child pornography and invasion of privacy. If the wrong information fell into the wrong hands, disaster could result. One of the issues most common in the papers today is pornography available on the Internet. There are two main types of pornography available on the Internet: regular and child pornography. Regular porn is rationalized by the following argument: The idea that a TV show or lyric can transform a healthy and connected child into a dangerous monster is absurd. The same goes for the Internet. The idea that certain material on the net can cause a child to grow up to be a child molester is primarily the invention of politicians, who use it to frighten and rally. Religious groups who use it to teach belief to the young, and journalists, who use it to regain their once powerful position in American society. The Internet should be treated with respect, and used with responsibility, just like any other form of media. This type of porno should be allowed on the net, but all sites should require a password of some kind. However, the other type of pornography, child porn, is much more dangerous as well as illegal. This type of pornography often involves people that are willing to spend great amounts of time, money, and energy to gradually seduce their targets, as well as people that immediately engage in sexually explicit conversations with children. Often times children are indirectly victimized through chat rooms and e-mail, or directly by being coerced into a real life meeting. This type of direct meeting can ultimately result in the childs death. Also, children may come across pornographic material in any one of the alt.sex news groups. These news groups provide a public forum for the discussion of various topics. Several of the alt.sex news groups are alt.sex.incest, alt.sex.beastiality, and alt.sex.pedophilia. Although there are bills providing penalties for the knowing transmission of indecent material to minors through a remote computer or other means, child pornography is still a major problem and threat in cyberspace There are, however, some types of sites that have content that could be hazardous to the public in general, not just children, and have no place on public forums. One example of this type of site is the Books for a Free People. This site contains various books for download, including the Big Book of Mischief, which has details on how to build explosives, and the Book of Fun, which gives detailed instructions on how to do illegal things such as stealing HBO and eavesdropping on cellular telephone conversations. While these two acts are not physically dangerous, they are still illegal. However, the Big Book of Mischief has explicit instructions on how to manufacture such dangerous compounds as nitroglycerin. NITROGLYCERINE Nitroglycerin is one of the most sensitive explosives, if it is not the most sensitive. Although it is possible to make it safely, it is difficult. Many a young anarchist has been killed or seriously injured while trying to make the stuff. When Nobel's factories make it, many people were killed by the all-to-frequent factory explosions. Usually, as soon as it is made, it is converted into a safer substance, such as dynamite. An idiot who attempts to make nitroglycerin

Brand Product management for Mobile Phones

Brand Product management for Mobile Phones 1. Background research1.1 Sony EricssonSony Ericsson Mobile Communications is a global provider of mobile multimedia devices, including feature-rich phones and accessories, PC cards and M2M solutions. The products combine powerful technology with innovative applications for mobile imaging, communications and entertainment. The net result is that Sony Ericsson is an enticing brand that creates compelling business opportunities for mobile operators and desirable, fun products for end users.Sony Ericsson is a 50/50 joint venture of Sony Corporation and Ericsson AB. Sony Ericsson has built global brand in the mobile handset industry and Sony Ericsson is getting more popular in the market. You can see its brand at every mobile phone retail shop in Singapore. People keep asking the new model of the mobile phones.Sony Ericsson estimated about 6.5% of market share in the industry, a 29% increase compared to the same period last year and a 17% increase sequentially, substantially higher than sequential market growth.Sony EricssonSony Ericsson products have universal appeal and are tangibly different in the key areas of imaging, design and applications. As new products are introduced to industry acclaim, existing products continue to receive accolades and Sony Ericsson is now established as a world leader in design and innovation.Sony Ericsson currently key competitors are Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG Electronics, these companies are the Top 5 worldwide brands in the mobile phone industry.Sony Ericsson mainly attracts people who have innovative desire. Sony brings vast experience in consumer electronics and entertainment - music, pictures and games - and Ericsson contributes with its mobile technology lead and the world's largest customer base among mobile operators. This is the ideal partnership for the growing market of 3G and Mobile Internet.By creating an enticing brand and taking the lead in bringing new ways of using multimedia communications...

Biography of Mary Read, English Pirate

Biography of Mary Read, English Pirate Mary Read (1685–buried April 28, 1721) was an English pirate who sailed with Calico Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny. Though little is known for certain about her former life, she was well-known as a pirate from 1718 to 1720. After being captured, she was spared hanging because she was pregnant but died shortly after due to an illness. Fast Facts: Mary Read Known For: One of the most famous female pirates of all time, Read sailed with Calico Jack Rackham during the early 1700s.Also Known As: Mark ReadBorn: 1685 in EnglandDied: 1721 (buried April 28, 1721) in Port Royal, Jamaica Early Life Most of the limited information about Mary Reads life comes from Captain Charles Johnson (believed by many, but not all, pirate historians to be a pseudonym for Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe). Johnson was descriptive, but never mentioned his sources, so most of Reads alleged background is in doubt. Read was supposedly born sometime around 1690 to the widow of a sea captain. Mary’s mother dressed her up as a boy to pass her off as her older brother, who had died, to get money out of Mary’s paternal grandmother. Mary found she liked dressing as a boy, and as a young â€Å"man† she found work as a soldier and sailor. Marriage Read was fighting for the British in Holland when she met and fell in love with a Flemish soldier. She revealed her secret to him and they married. For a time, they operated an inn called The Three Horseshoes not far from the castle at the town of Breda in the Netherlands. After her husband died, Read could not operate the inn alone, so she went back to war, dressing once again as a man. Peace was soon signed, however, and she was out of work. Read took a ship to the West Indies in hopes of finding new opportunities. Joining the Pirates While en route to the West Indies, Read’s ship was attacked and she was captured by pirates. Read decided to join them and for a while, she lived the life of a pirate in the Caribbean before accepting the king’s pardon in 1718. Like many former pirates, she signed on board a privateer commissioned to hunt down those buccaneers who had not accepted the pardon. The mission didn’t last long, however, as the whole crew soon mutinied and took over the ship. By 1720, she had found her way on board the pirate ship of â€Å"Calico Jack† Rackham. Anne Bonny Calico Jack already had a woman on board: his lover Anne Bonny, who had left her husband for a life of piracy. According to legend, Bonny developed an attraction to Mary, not knowing that she was a woman. When Bonny tried to seduce her, Read revealed herself. According to some accounts, they became lovers anyway, with Rackham’s blessing (or participation). In any event, Bonny and Read were two of Rackham’s most bloodthirsty pirates, each carrying- according to one report- a machete and a pistol. Read was a good fighter. According to legend, she developed an attraction to a man who had been forced to join the pirate crew. The object of her affection managed to irritate a certain cutthroat on board, who challenged him to a duel. Read, fearing that her would-be lover might get killed, challenged the brute to a duel of her own, scheduling it a couple of hours before the other duel was supposed to take place. She promptly killed the pirate, in the process saving the object of her affection. Capture and Trial By late 1720, Rackham and his crew were well known as dangerous pirates, and bounty hunters were sent out to capture or kill them. Captain Jonathan Barnet cornered Rackhams ship in late October 1720. According to some accounts, Bonny and Read fought valiantly while the men hid below deck. Rackham and the other male pirates were quickly tried and hanged in Port Royal, Jamaica, on November 18, 1720. Bonny and Read declared at their trial that they were pregnant, which was soon determined to be true. They would be spared the gallows until they had given birth. Death Mary Read never got to taste freedom again. She developed a fever and died in prison not long after her trial, probably sometime in early April 1721. Records from St. Catherine Parish in Jamaica show that Read was buried on April 28, 1721. Legacy Most of the information about Read comes from Captain Johnson, who most likely embellished at least some of it. It is impossible to say how much of what is commonly known about Read is true. It is certainly true that a woman by that name served with Rackham, and evidence is strong that both women on his ship were able, skilled pirates who were every bit as tough and ruthless as their male counterparts. As a pirate, Read didnt leave much of a mark. Rackham is famous for having female pirates on board (and for having an impressive pirate flag), but he was strictly a small-time operator, never getting close to the levels of infamy of someone like Blackbeard or the success of someone like Edward Low or Black Bart Roberts. Nevertheless, Read and Bonny have captured the public imagination as being the only two well-documented female pirates in the so-called Golden Age of Piracy. In an age and society where the freedom of women was greatly restricted, Read and Bonny lived a life at sea as full members of a pirate crew. As subsequent generations increasingly romanticize piracy and the likes of Rackham, Bonny, and Read, their stature has grown even further. Sources Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag:  The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 1996.Defoe, Daniel. A General History of the Pyrates. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1972/1999.Johnson, Charles, and Margarette Lincoln. A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates. The Folio Society, 2018.Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Guilford: The Lyons Press, 2009.Woodard, Colin. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down. Mariner Books, 2008.

Criminal law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Criminal law - Essay Example Based on the decision of the court in the case of DPP v Newbury2, the person performing the act need not be aware that the act is dangerous in order for the person to be held liable for involuntary manslaughter in the event where the said act resulted in the death of another. b. Liability of Kathryn By virtue of her job, Kathryn had the duty to take the message correctly and act on it accordingly. Unfortunately, Kathryn failed to take the message of Tom properly which sent the ambulance in the wrong direction. According to the court in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson3, one must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions that may cause harm on another person. The relationship between the parties is very important to establish criminal liability against each other. In establishing the â€Å"Neighbor test† in this case, Lord Atkins said that whoever will be directly affected by the acts of a person shall be considered as a neighbor of that person. The decision on the court in the case of Caparo v Dickman4 reinforced the idea that a person who is affected by the act of another may hold the other as liable for the injuries or loss that he or she may suffer. In defining when a person may be liable for tort of negligence as against the other, the court said in the case of Caparo v Dickman5 that there must be a harm foreseen, there is a sufficiently proximate relationship between the people involved and the imposition of a duty of care is just and equitable. Should Kathryn be held liable for the death of Alf? The cause of Alf’s death is extensive head trauma and if it can be shown that he would have died anyway even if the ambulance got to him or time, Kathryn may not be held liable for his death. The key here is the actual cause of death of the victim and if Kathryn did not contribute to the actual cause of the death of the victim, then she cannot be held liable for such death. However, she cannot be exonerated from her negligent act. According to the court in the case of Nettleship v Weston6, a professional is expected to exhibit a standard of care required of his or her profession. Since Kathryn is trained to handle emergency calls, she is expected to exhibit professionalism. As it is, she should have confirmed the address with the caller before dispatching the ambulance. c. Liability of Karen There are two incidents in our case that involve Karen, first, she was sent to attend to Alf and second, she responded to the call of Zola regarding the wounds suffered by Peter. In the first instance, Karen was given wrong directions to the house of Alf and Beryl which caused her to arrive 20 minutes late. If Karen can prove that she exercised due diligence in following the directions given by the dispatcher, she cannot be held liable for negligence of duty. According to the court in the case of Caparo v Dickman7, where the duty of care exist and the person who is bound to exercise such duty fulfilled the same, that person cannot hel d liable for injuries and loss suffered by the other. In the case of Karen, she was merely following the directions given to her and she could not have known at that time that the address given to her was wrong. When it comes to the second incident, Karen requested Tom to come to the hospital with her but Tom

MHE509 Module 5 - SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MHE509 Module 5 - SLP - Essay Example The main better features of the Barnard College’s plan/policy for the emergency and disaster management those can be used to effectively deal with the weakness of the overall policy and disaster management plan. This plan has set up priorities regarding the disaster management, where the policy makers have given priority to the saving of the lives and collage property in case of emergencies. Then they have placed the point regarding the functioning of College main task during emergency condition. Here they have minimized the weaknesses through the on time better management of the resources and manpower in the occurrence of an emergency state. They also mentioned that the help and coordination with the outside agencies in case of emergency will be preferred, in this way the Barnard College be able to manage and handle of its main weaknesses regarding there policy and emergency state management recourses. Now I will mention few main objectives settled by the Barnard College for the effective management of any disaster state. This feature of their policy is more powerful tool they can use for the better disaster management in spite of lot of policy and resource weaknesses. This policy has established that the on time and non-interrupted emergency communication is very necessary for handling the critical situation. The policy states that need to assess the injuries, damage and site of main troubles is also a main facture for the successful critical situation handling. The evacuate plan implementation is also a better step for the better disaster management and handling. In this way the Barnard College is able to save the numerous lives and the property from some critical situation. Another main feature of this policy is regarding the isolation of the unsafe areas in anticipation of evaluation that can grantee that the location is now safe for reentry. In this policy they have mentioned that the first aid and medical triage

Meanings of Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior Essay Example for Free

Meanings of Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior Essay Until several years ago, many students who were classified as having ID or assigned into an inclusion classroom were not expected to participate in standardized testing, however as late, everyone in public schools is expected to participate in standardized assessments. Some educators are happy with the change while others are concerned the assessments are not an accurate assessment of what students actually know. For many students with learning disabilities, standardized assessments often don’t accurately indicate what the student truly knows and where they have deficits. One problem with assessing students with ID is the identification and classification of ID is that they differ greatly between states and is often inconsistent. According to Kortez, students with specific learning disabilities are served under the IDEA, however we use the word â€Å"classification† when referring to the category of and indentified student’s specific disability or disabilities (Kortez). The major problem that arises is the fact that identification is being highly inconsistent which is raising the concern students being mislabeled. It seems as though some educators are either over identifying or under indentifying students. However, this is not just a problem on the educator’s level; it is also showing up on the state level. It seems as though when the combined across the nation, identification is inconsistent. More than half of all students being served are doing so under the IDEA part B umbrella, students with specific disabilities, while the number of students recognized as† learning disabled ranges from 3% to 9%† across the United States (Kortez). According to Kortez, not all states implement the same policies, guidelines, or criteria, therefore some states have a significant higher or lower number of students identified based on what they as a state deem legitimate. Because there is such a difference in policies, it is therefore difficult to d etermine an adequate way to assess students with disabilities. Inclusion needs to be implemented in a way that will not only boost the quality of performance generated by the assessment but also the constructive outcome of the education being provided. The difficulty therefore lies in being able to implement a sound assessment because of the significant essential factors. One factor that would have to be determined is how many special education students would qualify as ineligible to partake in the regular education assessments. Another factor that would be solved would be how the regular education assessment could be enhanced to better suit the needs of the special education students. Also, the decision would have to be made to determine the criteria for students who would qualify for accommodations and which accommodations would be appropriate. In order for all these decisions to be made, it is essential for all the characteristics as well as the needs of the indentified students be met, and it is almost impossible if the identification and cl assification of the students continue to be inconsistent. Another problem with assessing indentified students is the fact of accommodations. When a test is given to a student with disabilities, certain changes or â€Å"accommodations† are made. Some of these accommodations are simple as testing the student in a smaller group, allowing the frequent monitored breaks, allowing the student extra time to finish the assessment, or reading the directions or questions to the student. When small changes such as these mentioned are made, they are referred to as accommodations. However if changes such giving the student a different test, illuminating parts of the test, or change the test in any way it is referred to as a â€Å"modification† and the assessment is no longer considered a standard test and is referred to as a non-standard test. When it comes to the element of measuring the assessment, the main goal to implementing accommodations is to better validate the information regarding the students and their disabilities. Testing cons istency is implemented in order to increase the accuracy by getting rid of the immaterial variations for the testing between schools. For instance, if one school allows thirty minutes for a test and another allows an hour and a half, the longer test would be considered the bias between the two. When it comes to students and their disabilities it is only fair that accommodations be made in order to make the test fair for everyone. For example, if a student has a profound vision problem then it would only make sense to change the presentation of the test (larger print, recording), in order to show a more true result of what the student actually knows, instead of not doing well simply because they can’t see the text well enough. If accommodations aren’t standard then results will not be consistent and therefore we won’t have an accurate snapshot of what the students actually know. A third problem that may arise when testing students with disabilities is the design, construction, and evaluations of the test. One circumstance that needs to be considered where testing is concerned is the design of th e test. Some tests can be biased in one area where another assessment may be biased in another area. Some tests are designed to assess a certain group of students with similar backgrounds and therefore are biased against those students who don’t share a similar background. While there are methods for dealing with bias are implemented, not all the methods are not equipped to detect bias toward students with disabilities. Systems used for assessing bias often insist on students being paired on some criterion measure of the structure of relevance. For example, if a reasonable criterion could be settled on for fifth graders in math proficiency, then the students without disabilities and students with disabilities could be matched together and then determine if the two sets of students were similar or different in the same areas. The second area of design that needs to be considered is the difficulty of the assessment itself. Often, most students with disabilities do not perform well on assessments. Furthermore, most assessments are too complex for students with disabilities, therefore often rendering results that are intimidating for students with disabilities and may also cause unfavorable reactions from their teachers. Some students may be nonverbal students and may not be about to write or say their answers, making it impossible for them to par take in standardized tests. Many of the students with ID have a mixture of intelligence deficits and adaptive behavior that initiates their academic deficits. These deficits can’t be the effect of a sensory impairment, a specific learning disability, or a behavior disorder, and would have to start showing systems before the child reaches school age. If a student’s cognitive deficit seems to be mild, then their deficit would resemble a broad disability with no specific area. The students who have been diagnosed with a specific learning disability will have functioning highs and lows. Students with intelligence disabilities have a difficult time across the curriculum as well as adaptive behavior. As time goes on there are more and more students who have to take standardized tests. This can be difficult for teachers, especially when it is almost impossible to accurately assess them and their progress. Some of the problems that occur when assessing students with ID, is the classification and identification of students, deciding what accommodations or modifications should be used for each child, and if the test that is being administered is level appropriate for the students with disabilities. References 1. Kortez, Daniel. Center for the Study of Evaluation. Project 1.1 Comparative Analyses of Current Assessment and Accountability Systems/Strand 3 Daniel Koretz, Project Director, CRESST/Harvard Graduate School of Education http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/TR587.pdf 2. Centra, J. A., (1986). Handicapped student performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 19, 324-327. 3. Clarizio, H. F., Phillips, S. E. (1992). A comparison of severe discrepancy formulae: Implications for policy consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 3, 55-68.

My Personal Philosophy of Education Essays -- Philosophy of Teaching S

Philosophy of Education As a child, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said that I wanted to do something to help other people. I realized that even though teachers do not get a lot of respect, or money, they have the greatest job anyone could ever hope for. They help children become adults. All children are inspired by someone to be what they will become in the future. Teachers inspire those of all professions; police officers, firefighters, secretaries, carpenters, bankers, trash collectors, actors, truck drivers, fast food workers, scientists, inventors, doctors, lawyers, even the president. Imagine how it would feel to know that you are the reason someone developed something to benefit mankind, saved a life, or became the first female president of the United States of America. Hopefully, as a teacher I can inspire a child to fulfill all of their dreams. As a teacher I hope to help my students set and achieve goals. Another goal of mine is to get my students to feel good about themselves. These are things they can take with them and use in the future. I will teach students about other cultures and races in an attempt to produce students more accepting, compassionate, and understanding of situations encountered in life. My students will understand that just because someone is not like you, does not mean that there is something wrong with them. Everyone is different in his or her own special way. The purpose of education is not to pre...

Multimedia Courseware Shell Proposal Essay

A new experimental degree program, the Bachelor of Applied Business Program (BAB), was launched Spring Quarter 1994 by Continuing Education and Extension. BAB is a practitioners’ degree for the working adult student. The emphasis in the program is on learning skills and accessing information to apply to solving practical workplace problems in a rapidly changing business world. The program was developed with substantial involvement of the Inver Hills Community College, the business community in the Twin Cities area, and the University of Minnesota’s Continuing Education and Extension (CEE) unit. This is the first degree program offered by CEE, and—if successful—it will serve as a model for redefining â€Å"outreach† in the urban corridor to fulfill part of the land grant mission of the University of Minnesota. We are currently in the process of developing the course materials and selecting faculty to teach in the program for Fall Quarter 1994. Note that the three distinguishing features of the BAB program include a number of technical features, graphic elements, or applications that could be significantly enhanced by multimedia courseware: †¢ Courses are being designed with substantial involvement of area businesses to give students â€Å"hands on† experience, including leading and participating in group work; skills for managing upward and downward business relationships; storing, accessing, and retrieving information; creating and implementing budgets, operations flowcharts, schedules, and staffing plans. †¢ Learning outcomes will be specified for each course and applications-related competencies will be integrated into courses across the curriculum. These will include emphases on writing, speaking, and visual communication; using technology and information management techniques, engaging in applied problem-solving and critical thinking skills, working in teams, quality in the workplace, ethics, and the dynamics and management of a diverse workforce. †¢ Practicum/project work will also be an important aspect of the BAB curriculum and students will be encouraged to develop and maintain a portfolio of their coursework and practical experiences which can later be used as evidence of the competencies that they have developed. Our business partners stressed that the BAB upper division courses must be applied and skills-oriented, making use of interactive learning modules that model actual workplace situations. Moreover, the courses must integrate both medium and message into a fast-paced, electronically connected, multimedia learning environment that requires that students take the initiative and work on real projects with limited supervision. Project Description Under an earlier MinneMac grant the principal investigator, Elizabeth Michaels, collaborated with Deborah Henderson and Ann Douglas to create WAC (Writing Across the Curriculum), a courseware shell, for delivering instruction in writing, pharmacy, and business courses. This shell has been used extensively in the English Department since 1990, at Grace High School since 1991, and for the past two years, in five Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The major shortcomings of WAC are its lack of graphics or visual capabilities and its lack of integration with other software packages. However, if we could integrate the basic principles of text delivery that we have already developed in WAC with the capabilities of the PowerMac 7100—specifically with its AV Video, CD-ROM, and color display, we could develop a powerful multimedia component that will teach students how to manage a business â€Å"from their desktops.† Moreover, by linking to other programs, like Microsoft Projectâ„ ¢, Excelâ„ ¢, or Directorâ„ ¢, we can create a multi-functional learning tool that can be used in labs and for distance learning throughout Minnesota. The multimedia courseware shell we propose to develop will provide an innovative and easily updated method of delivering timely, practical, high quality business courses to working adults. The PowerMac 7100 which we are requesting will be used initially by the multimedia courseware development team: Elizabeth Michaels, Principal Investigator (English); Mr. Pat Lingren, Program Director (CEE); and our project consultant, William Rudel (Carlson School of Management). After the courseware has been developed and alpha tested, faculty designing the target courses will be trained in the use of the courseware shell to develop their own multimedia course modules. The project we propose, therefore, is to design an interactive, multimedia courseware shell, initially for four key courses in the curriculum. The BAB MultiMedia Courseware shell (BAB-MMC) will enable us (1) to develop multimedia case studies and (2) to create course materials which will enable students to integrate various project planning, database, spreadsheet, business graphics, and electronic mail packages with textual information in their classes. The BAB-MMC will serve two purposes: as a training tool for innovative and experimental curriculum development for BAB faculty and as a teaching/learning tool for BAB students. The following is a description of the four courses and how we will use the BAB-MMC in each of them. 1. Planning and Implementing at the Business Unit Level (4 cr.) This course focuses on creating and implementing plans such as operations flowcharts, budgets, schedules, and staffing plans at the business unit level. The BAB-MMC will integrate these flowcharts, budgets, schedules, and staffing plans as well as the presentational software for creating written and oral briefings for presenting, monitoring, and revising these plans. It will also contain strategic planning instruction and forecasting techniques. Moreover, the course will make use of multimedia case studies to give students practice in solving real logistics and planning problems. 2. Project Management in Practice (4 cr.) This course has two objectives: (1) to teach students about project management and the various tools and techniques available to the project lead in such areas as scheduling, coordinating, allocating resources, and monitoring project activities; and (2) to provide students with the opportunity to carry out a field project and put the tools of project management into practice. These projects will be carried out in teams whenever possible. The BAB-MMC will integrate into the course a number of the abovementioned project management tools which will then be used by the students in recording and reporting on their field experiences. The students will also communicate electronically with the instructor and regularly post messages to a class bulletin board as a means of communicating progress and requesting help with problems. 3. Accessing and Using Information Effectively (4 cr.) This course begins with a conceptualization of the role of information in business operations including information systems and data management. The BAB-MMC will serve as a tool for developing short case studies and exercises, which include data-based, text-based, oral, written, and multimedia elements. Students will learn to access external information for the firm through library resources, information search services, CD-ROMs, and periodicals and internal information through desktop database systems, e-mail, or computer conferencing. 4. Practicum (4 cr.) Two of the three forms the practicum could take are (1) to develop a business plan for a new venture or (2) to complete a portfolio of projects which demonstrate transferable skills from previous courses or fieldwork. The BAB-MMC will take the current course materials that we have developed for the business plan and convert them into self-study units which will integrate spreadsheet, cash flow analysis, financial analysis, and graphics packages capable of creating organizational charts and other business graphics to enhance and simplify the preparation of a complete business plan and its pro formas. The third form a practicum could take is a supervised project at the student’s workplace or at another location. For this option, the BAB-MMC will set up a course Website where the students report electronically to the instructor and other students. This will minimize the need for site visits and enable one professor to manage and respond to the individual need s of six to eight students who are enrolled in the practicum in any quarter more efficiently. Evaluation The BAB-MMC will be evaluated by the developers conducting user testing on the shell and sample modules and by instructors developing modules for their courses to determine its ease of use and effectiveness as a classroom tool. Students will be asked to evaluate the BAB-MMC as part of their regular course evaluations at the end of each quarter. We will also have two representatives of the Digital Media Center conduct an independent evaluation of the multimedia courseware shell as a teaching/learning tool. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected.

Adolescence Paper Essay

Adolescence is a period of socialization where children develop relationships outside of the family.   These relationships further fuel or enhance their perceptions of the world, their bonding with surrounding society members and their view of human interactions.   In an environment where there is a distant mother or absent father, where the child is found to have problems acting socially normal with other people, the person is defined as a deviant.   Not everyone who has been subjected to the above findings will go on to become a self-mutilator, but these types of adolescent girls are or have been defined by these terms. It becomes apparent then, that early childhood development is essential to creating an identity and furthermore to creating a sound human being who is not prone to acts of aggression.   In the theme of this paper, the concept of transgenderism will be discussed.   Although the theory of socialization is a very strong indicator of moral values and actions, it does not indicate sexual disposition.   The theories of biology are more aptly considered to be the reason for sexual persuasion, and in the argument for this paper, transgenderism will be proven to be biological, not psychological, or sociological. See more:  Capital budgeting essay The purpose in the role of a transgendered person is in the definition of identity.   It is any person’s right to discover their true self and to present that self to society.   The problem that society has with a transgendered person is that society is often times eluded by this identity.   Anything or anyone who defies definition, that cannot be exactly categorized, becomes a ‘problem’ in society.   However, where the discussion of this paper is concerned such a ‘problem’ is beyond its scope, thus, the issue of identity and the rejection of that identity by society will be discussed. First, a transgendered person is a person who defies a specific gender role.   Men are conditioned by society to not be a sissy, to be superior and tough.   As Tucker-Ladd states in his book Psychological Self-Help, â€Å"And, what makes a woman a â€Å"great catch?† What makes women sexy? A pretty face and a great body! Women compete on the basis of their looks. This may interfere with women’s motivation to achieve and be successful. Oprah recently asked young people which they would rather be: attractive or intelligent? An amazing percentage said attractive. What counts in this culture is how attractive you are, especially if you are a woman.† (2000). Thus, it would seem that a transgendered person would have the benefits of either gender, but this is not the case. Going back to the idea of identity, a transgendered person is both genders.   This does not however classify that person as a hermaphrodite which is being born with both sexes functional sexual organs.   A transgendered person has attributes of either sex, as their biological make-up pertaining to psychological contexts designs behavior.   Often times such an individual is a man who has, or who desires to be female, or vice versa. Although society has many sexual deviants in its subcultures, a transgendered person is not a transsexual, which is a specified gender dressing in the other gender’s clothes.   Instead, a transgendered identity pertains to defying or including to a smaller extent the gender assigned to them at birth.   Thus, the dualistic nature and the confusion of this, is the make-up of the transgender definition. Therefore, by the above stated definition of a transgendered person, they should be considered social deviants inasmuch as society fails to define this subculture.   The thesis of this paper rests upon the fact that a transgendered person does not choose that they are transgendered but instead, their psychological make-up adheres to one sex’s societal role definition more than the biological make-up.   Thus, although transgender is a defiance of biology, it is also a deviance of societal norms, as Sandy Stone states, Transgender is a term whose exact meaning is still in dispute, and I consider that a very healthy sign. The most widely accepted definition is that transgender includes everything not covered by our culture’s narrow terms â€Å"man† and â€Å"woman†. A partial list of persons who might include themselves in such a definition includes transsexuals (pre, post, and no-op); transvestites; cross dressers; persons with ambiguous genitalia; persons who have chosen to perform ambiguous social genders; and persons who have chosen to perform no gender at all (Stone, paragraph One). Against this idea that transgendered people are transgender due to psychology is the fact that often times the transgender definition includes (as stated by Stone) other social deviants whose identity is not guided by psychology but biology such as ambiguous genitals, or the people who choose a certain lifestyle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The argument of this paper is that choice is not a factor in determining transgendered people.   Instead, it is inherent in them, and is not under the guise of socialization, or biology.   The concept of choice is one which defies the rules of constructed psychology.   Along the same lines that a schizophrenic cannot choose their dementia or a serial killer their disposition to kill, so does the definition of a transgendered person escape choice. Thus, although Stone’s definition of a transgendered person is inclusive, it should not be so inclusive as to apply to these various subgroups of social deviants.   There is a difference between a transgendered person and a transsexual, transvestite, etc.   While some have to do with choice (transsexual), others have to do with complete changing of their sex (as in a transsexual).   A transgendered person is biologically one sex, and yet performs attitudes, functions, reactions and thoughts according to social definitions of the other gender’s role.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although culture has implications on the role of gender, the technicalities of which cannot be aptly portrayed in this essay.  Ã‚   It is however in this scope of this essay to mention that while biology caters to the transsexual, psychology is the format by which a transgendered person obtains their social role.   Although some contest to the fact of biology being a main component in transgender identity as Stone states, Social constructivists believe that both sex and gender arise in social interaction and have no existence independent of social interaction; i.e., they are not grounded in â€Å"nature†, the meaning of which is itself socially determined. The â€Å"constructedness† of sex and gender is made invisible by the normal workings of social life, so that they appear natural rather than artificial. Recent constructivist theory also points out that the idea of two absolute chromosomal sexes is also a social construction. Recall the film Alien 3, in which the inhabitants of the prison colony are all double-Y chromosomal; thus although they possess many of the secondary sexual characteristics of males, genetically they are not male, nor are they any other category for which we currently have a socially understood name (Stone, paragraph Six). The fact remains that a transgender person is born with appropriate body functions, and their chemical make-up is no different than other person’s with the same gender.   Therefore the reliance on psychology, not the function of sociology and the socialization of gender through cultural awareness, but the psychological components which determine if a person is a genius, serial killer, etc. are the same for finding the reason behind transgendered people. Work Cited Stone, S.   Transgender.   Online.   Accessed:   May 11, 2007.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   < http://sandystone.com/trans.html> Tucker-Ladd, Clayton, E.   Psychological Self-Help.   2000.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Is Europe a Multicultural Society †Humanities Essay

Is Europe a Multicultural Society – Humanities Essay Free Online Research Papers The Oxford dictionary defines multiculturalism as ‘the policy or progress whereby the distinctive identities of the cultural groups within a society are maintained or supported’ (Oxford, 1999.) Some people would consider this to be an accurate definition whereas others not, whether or not one agrees with the above depends on ones interpretation of multiculturalism and whether they are pro or contra a multicultural society. Multiculturalism does not always have a positive function in society and that due to fundamental differences in cultures, it may never be possible for a society such as Europe to be fully integrated to be multicultural. This essay will firstly look at the different views on multiculturalism before exploring whether or not Europe is a multicultural society. Multiculturalism was first used to describe Switzerland in 1957, but came into common currency in the late 1960s. (www.wikipedia.com/multiculturalism.)When one thinks of multiculturalism one thinks of a term used to describe societies, especially nations, which have many distinct cultural groups, usually as a result of immigration, as mentioned in the introduction this can lead to anxiety about the stability of national identity, yet it can also lead to cultural exchanges that benefit both cultural groups. Whether or not one takes it to be positive or negative is dependent upon ones interpretation, more often that not, this is due to economic and social backgrounds. Ruth Lea director of the centre for policy studies voices her opinion of multiculturalism as ‘there are two ways in which multiculturalism is interpreted, the first one being more common, that is every culture has the right to exist and there is no over-arching thread that holds them together, and, the other way is what I would call diversity, where people have their own cultural beliefs and they happily coexist – but there has to be a certain level of Britishness to hold society together.’ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3600791.stm) A recent study by the BBC on 1000 people in Britain highlighted the fact that 62% of the people surveyed said that multiculturalism made Britain a better place to live, but also found the public opinion to be that ethic minorities need to adapt to the British way of life to be accepted by society at large. (http://news .bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4138616.stm.)Does this mean that if the immigrants were not of the minority they would be more welcomed? Let us not forget that the United Kingdom has been a multicultural state composed of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and also a multicultural society. During the potato famine of 1845-1850, which saw many Irish immigrants arrive upon British shores, were these immigrants asked or expected to obtain a certain level of Britishness in order to be fully accepted in society, or is it purely a racial thing to outcast ethic minorities as they are seen as the ‘other.’? Rhian Beynon of the joint council for the welfare of immigrants believes that multiculturalism and statements such as the above, have fallen victim to a negative press, Beynon states that ‘multiculturalism is like asylum seeker, it’s become tainted because of the way some individuals have used it and I think there is a school of thought that lumps multiculturalism in with political correctness and would jeer at it’ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4138616.stm) In Kenan Maliks essay titled ‘against multiculturalism’ he states multiculturalism as ‘an authoritarian, anti-human outlook’ (kenanmalik.com/essays/against_mc.html) and the Prime Minister, Tony Blair confessed to the BBC that ‘I never know, although I use the term myself occasionally, quite what people mean when they talk about multiculturalism.’ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4138616.stm) Could it be that this level of uncertainty of multiculturalism, even by the prime minister, be the reason that many people including Trevor Philips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) are calling for multiculturalism to be scrapped? Or is it that multiculturalism separates communities? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4138616.stm) One thing is for sure, multiculturalism requires that all cultures should be open, self-critical, and interactive with their relations with each other and whatever ones interpretation of multiculturalism is, it is important to remember that to understand it is to appreciate that it means many different things. With taking all of the above into account, how far can we go to say Europe is or is not a multicultural society? If one takes a look at the surface of Europe one can say that it appears to be a multicultural society, after all ‘Euroland’ is made up of different countries, each having their own distinct languages, customs and traditions. The recent expansion to ‘Euro 25’ bridging the gap between western and Eastern Europe, (one must take into account that the customs and traditions of most of eastern Europe are very different to western Europe, and are more a liking to Russian customs and traditions, due to its long occupation by the former Soviet Union.) One can look at these and see that Europe is a sort of ‘melting pot’ in which customs and traditions are shared. One can see religion as another factor making Europe multicultural; one can see that Christianity lives side by side with the orthodox religion. Music being another factor, for exampl e, popular music from Italy is also just as common and popular in France and Spain, just as much as it is in its country of origin. Eating habits being passed from country to country. Culinary delights being bought and sold all across Europe. Another strong factor in that Europe is a multicultural society is the Euro, the single European monetary system. Surly the Euro must signify that Europe is indeed not only a multicultural state but also a multicultural society. Or does it? Take a closer deeper look; after all, in order to answer the question efficiently and effectively, one needs to take a look into the deep heart of Europe. Italy, is a country which immigration is a fairly new process, yet, the Italian people along with the Italian government (Forza Italia party) are not hesitant in letting immigrants know that they are not welcome and that integration is not wanted, after all, one of the mottos for the Forza Italia party is ‘Italia per Gli Italiani’ (Italy for the Italians) and the recent closing down of a mosque in Milan provides one with evidence of this. Mr Berlusconi also recently declared that ‘We don’t want Italy to become a multiethnic, multicultural country. We are proud of our traditions.’ (guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1740902,00.html) France once believed in immigration in principle, but pretended to itself that its Muslim North African immigrants would eventually go away. (unieurope.org/showarticle.php?id=785.) This of course was not the case and January 2006 saw Paris as the centre of violent attacks between ethic minority groups from the Parisian suburbs with the French police. Furthermore in February 2004 French congress banned headscarves and other ostentatious religious symbols from French state schools. With France having the largest Muslim population in the European Union with around 5million, making it also the second largest religion. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/663862.stm) So why did the country whose values are Libertà ©, Égalità ©, Fraternità © ban headscarves? Was it an anti-Muslim legislation? No, it was not an anti-Muslim legislation; in fact the reason lies deep within the French constitution, the constitutional requirement of Laà ¯cità ©, whose origin stems from Greek, which means â⠂¬Ëœsecular.’ (Baubà ©rot, Paris, p10.) The French government is legally prohibited from recognising any religion; instead it recognises religious organisations [†¦.] Laà ¯cità © is best described a belief that government and political issues should be kept separate from religious organisations and religious issues [†¦.] French consider religion a private matter, and, any ostentatious displays are generally out-of-place (Baubà ©rot, Paris.) Considering the above, does this mean that Laà ¯cità © along with article one of the French constitution which states France is a secular republic; La France est une republic, une indivisible, laà ¯cità © et sociale.’(www.wikipedia.com/frenchconstitution) pose as a barrier to France ever being a multicultural society? What effect will this have on Europe being a multicultural society? Germany, country with the largest number of immigrants than any other E.U state, one would consider being multicultural and at the forefront of multicultural rights, just like it is on environment issues (Cini, 2003.) Germany is in fact, where nationality was long conceded ethic in origin, immigrants originally were excluded from cultural or political assimilation, with the fiction that they were all ‘guests’ that would all one day go home, (www.unieurope.org/showarticle.php?id=785) made and does make it hard for immigrants to integrate in order to give birth to a multicultural society. The Netherlands whose aim was a ‘multicultural society composed of equals’ (www.unieurope.org/showarticle.php?id=785) on the 2nd November 2004 witnessed the murder of Dutch film maker Theo Van Gogh, by Dutch Muslim Mohamed Bouyeri, who claimed to have acted in the name of Islam made it difficult for them to achieve their goal and left many Dutch people having new reflections about Europe. (dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1763492,00.html) The United Kingdom also had the aim of a ‘multicultural society composed of equals’ (www.unieurope.org/showarticle.php?id=785) did not even want to join the Euro, the single European currency. Surly this would have been the first stepping-stone in achieving this goal! The United Kingdom like the Netherlands also saw an attack in the name of Islam, this time the London underground bombings. This ‘attack’ left shockwaves throughout the nation. The bombings were carried out by people who have lived in the United Kingdom for a long time or were even born in Europe (dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1763492,00.html) The attacks along with Van Gogh’s murder creates more barriers not only for certain states to become multicultural, but, for Europe becoming a multicultural society. In conclusion and with taking all the above facts into account, one does not think that Europe is a multicultural society and the idea of Europe being a multicultural society is merely just an image trying to portray Europe as multicultural. It is this ‘image’ that is the idea of Europe; the idea being the main goal of what Europe should be, cultures coexisting peacefully and harmoniously. When one looks into the deep heart and inner soul of Europe one can see that this image is a long way off and far from being achieved, in fact this image of the ‘idea’ of Europe is nothing more than a delusion that the governments of Europe are trying to achieve, by many numerous strategies such as introducing the ‘Euro’ and uniting east and west. Those who want to live in a ‘foreign’ country regardless of gender or ethic make-up, for a long time should learn to over come the sense of ‘foreignness’ by getting to know the country better, by having an open mind and be willing to accept new things and try ‘integrate’ into the ‘new’ society. Only then can we try to establish a multicultural European society. 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Accreditation

Accreditation can be viewed from two broad perspectives. It can either   be seen as a status and on the other hand, it can also be seen as a process. As a process, accreditation is the practice of certifying that an institution or a program has met some required standard and so, people are free to enjoy the facility. The institution to be accredited is subjected to such tests as to verify the veracity and authenticity of their claims. In this way, the institution therefore continues to seek ways by which it can improve in order to maintain its accreditation status. As a status, moreover, accreditation is the provision of notification to the general public that a process, or a program or an institution, as the case may be has met certain standards and the claims it is making are genuine. This is a sort of legalization as it gives them the right to operate their business. Accreditation is very important. it is necessary as it is a pointer to the quality of service an institution or organization is providing. Moreover, in situations where there are several providers of the same, or similar service, accreditation helps the consumer to be better positioned to make informed choices on which to choose from. Accreditation also gives room for continuous evaluation of the quality of products and services. Accreditation also ensures that the concerned corporations strive to continually improve on their services as they are subjected to periodic evaluation. This translates to a better quality of service to the consumers. The Joint Commission is a non-profit organization not affiliated to the government. it operates by scheduled surveys of hospitals. The hospitals are notified beforehand before the visits. The commission thereafter provides information as to the accreditation status of the hospital as well as the services that needs to be improved upon. The Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA) is also not affiliated to the government. It is a good substitute to the Joint commission as it also accredits health care facilities by surveying them. The accreditation option is tailored towards the Durable Medical Equipment. Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) is also a non-profit organization. it can also be seen as an alternative to the Joint commission. It accesses health care organizations that offer community based services. It is the first body created to perform this function. ACHC is another organization involved in the process or accrediting health care facilities. Its primary instrument is survey. There are a number of other agencies that are involved in accrediting health care. National Committee for quality Assurance: NCQA is also involved in the accreditation of health care facilities. It annually releases   a report on all accredited health care providers and facilities. Avmed is one of the health care providers in the country. It recently received an excellent rating from NCQAs annual ratings. This corresponds to the highest accreditation status that can ever be accorded a health institution for service and clinical quality. (Reuters, 2008) REFERENCES AvMed Receives Highest Quality Rating(2008) http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS133795+03-Jan-2008+PRN20080103 NCQA (2008) NAtional COmmittee for quality Assurance:Homepage http://www.ncqa.org/ The Joint COmmission (2008) About us. http://www.jointcommission.org/AboutUs/

Give an argument for legalizing active euthanasia and an argument Essay

Give an argument for legalizing active euthanasia and an argument against it - Essay Example To start with, euthanasia denies the basic right of a human for the appropriate treatment and life and therefore, weakens the respect for it. Regardless of the type of euthanasia, whether it is passive or active, its essence lies in performing action that leads to either letting one die or to killing a person rather than offering healthcare, providing medical and emotional support, of which patients are in need. (Ebrahimi, 2012) As a result, the sanctity and respect of human life becomes devaluated and human ethics – challenged as far as people no longer question the personal capacity to make decisions concerning patients’ lives. Furthermore, the procedure of euthanasia should be regarded as a violation of duties of medical professionals, who are aimed at saving lives, not depriving of them. According to the International Code of Medical Ethics, doctors are expected to â€Å"always bear in mind the obligation of preserving human life from the time of conception until death.† ("Twelwe reasons why," 2015) Similarly, adhering to the Hippocratic Oath specialists promise not to give â€Å"deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest such counsel†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Yin Au, 2010) Thereof, doctors are obliged to apply efforts to prolong the life of a patient possibly long rather than choosing the easier path – euthanasia. Taking it into consideration, the right of medical specialists to be engaged in this procedure remains doubtful. In addition, it is obvious that the legalization of euthanasia can place pressure on terminally ill and the elderly to resort to it for the sake of not being a burden for others. Facing a deadly illness or entering particular age when the end of life seems to be approaching, a person may feel like being obliged to resort to euthanasia in order not to feel guilty for creating inconveniences for the family, even though being morally opposed to and, in fact, not wanting euthanasia. (Ebrahimi, 2012) By this, patients with similar diagnosis

Air pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Air pollution - Essay Example Glass starts his article by stating that the common notion that pollution is a recent problem is completely mistaken. The author backs up his statement by citing research that indicates that air pollution can be traced back many thousands of years to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The author then goes ahead to give a short account of how scientific research shows that industrial activity of the Greeks, particularly silver coin minting, released high amount of lead into the atmosphere. This lead accumulated in lakes and continued to rise as the activities of the Greeks continued. The level of lead in lake sediments also was recorded to have increased with the rise of the Roman Empire but they decreased after the Empire fell. The trend of high levels of lead in lakes started again in 1000 A.D. at a time when Germans were mining silver and lead. By the 19th century, Glass states that lead pollution was 3 and a half times more than it was in the 19th century. At the end of the article, G lass says that air pollution is not a positive thing, but reinforces his initial assertion that the problem is nothing new. The article is quite simple and it does not contain contradictory statements. Glass has not used much in terms of references. He mentions results from research, but he does not specify what research he is referring to. If I was the author of this article, I would have included more information about the source of information. Vidal focuses on the fatal effects that air pollution has on people. He starts by stating that 50,000 people lose their lives prematurely every year due to air pollution. He gives results from the environmental audit committee that show that microscopic particle released after burning fossil fuels shortens lives by 7 to nine years depending on level of exposure. He also says that air pollution does exacerbate illnesses such as asthma, heart disease and respiratory

What is the Buddhist Critique of the Christian understanding of God Term Paper

What is the Buddhist Critique of the Christian understanding of God - Term Paper Example Whatever the case, misconception of religious aspects have elicited debates which tend to prove or disapprove practices that do not conform to the perceived beliefs. The concern is not to discredit the practices observed, but to contend to factors that led to such practices. Recent development in the religious circle indicates a practice, which does not seek to find the truth, but creates competition among the religionists. The suspicions that a given group of religionist directs towards others does not portray the intention of religion in humanity. The aim of this paper is critique Buddhist understanding of the God served by Christians. Christian Understanding Christianity is a religion that traces its foundation from the teaching, death and life of Jesus Christ. The focus on Jesus Christ by Christians point to the God they serve. History of Christianity points various incidents when God revealed Himself to men. Understanding the concept of Christian faith necessitate the understand ing of nature of God they serve. Christians profess to serve a God who is monotheist and posses qualities such as ever presence, exercises control over nature and has the ability of redeeming humankind from its predicament.Human beings feel that it is wrong to commit ill against a fellow human being. Religionists contend that perception professed in religious faiths tend to promote harmony in humanity. Pointing at the Christian understanding, human beings co exists as a family whose head is God. The teaching of Christianity project evil deeds as influences, which distract the moral will of God. Humankind has thus been lost because of the practices, which they do. The road to redemption from this lose is through Jesus Christ. Redemption from the evils in the concept of Christian understanding is to focus on Jesus Christ whose misery in death and resurrection redeemed humankind from all sin3. The concept of Christian faith has the following elements punishment for sins, redemption, fo rgiveness and new birth. Christians’ belief observes sin as a factor that separate human beings from divinity of God. God is a divine creature above other creatures. The explanation of Gods existence transcends thought which argue on His visibility. Redemption is relevant to Christians because of the separation created by sin4. The point in the Christian tradition is to serve a God that redeems humankind from the ills of sin. Forgiveness element bring a Christian back to the fold of God since the stain of sin would no longer influence relationship between human beings and God. Forgiveness of sin can only happen when a person believe in the teaching of Jesus and profess the same faith to others. Not until then, human beings have no power over sin. The concept of new birth differentiates a Christian from other human beings who do not profess the same faith. The nature of God that Christians serve is unique in the sense that God respect life, project love, natural order, and har mony. These aspects influence Christians to develop attitudes, which promote the teachings of Jesus Christ. Respect for human life eliminates all manner of evils that a person would be intending to do to the other fellow. Christian doctrines define life and penalty of sin as death with a meaning that the whole idea behind Christianity is life5. Human life is precious or valuable above all other things. The giver of life is thus creature above ot

Customer Satisfaction iPhone

Customer Satisfaction iPhone The Apple iPhone brought a whole new level on interface and features such as incorporating the iPod technology as well as multi-touch technology which let users to control everything using only their fingers. The research on the level of customer satisfaction on buying an iPhone has been done across the world as it was one of the first handphone that was release by Apple. Customer satisfaction is a vague and abstract concept and the actual expression of the state of satisfaction will vary depending on individuals needs and it also depends on the product or service. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organizations products. It also distinguishes six qualities of attributes such as basic factors, excitement factors, performance factors, indifferent attributes, questionable attributes and reverse attributes. (Kano, 1984) The objective of this research is to analyze the level of satisfaction of having an iPhone based on certain factors. This research will look into factors such as price and quality where each factors has its respective advantages or disadvantages to affect the customers level of satisfaction. This is because every distinct consumer has their own priority of need before even getting a new handphone. The research will be focusing on the capability of the iPhone and what it has to offer to the customers that makes it different and better than its competitors. These capabilities refer back to the factors which were mentioned earlier in the paragraph earlier. Technology for hand phones has been developing endlessly with new features offered as time past. Apples new range of products, especially the iPhone shows such vast improvement. The research first looks at the background of the company which is Apple and what they have offered to their customers before launching the iPhone. Next, the research will provide detailed explanation and information on each factor that will affect the customers satisfaction. The research will use only secondary data such as online journals and articles, blogs and newspapers so that the latest information can be obtained for the research. In the conclusion, the research will show which factor would be of most importance before considering on getting an iPhone. Price Price would be the basic factor where it doesnt only affect potential customers but also customers who already purchased the product. This basic factor does not cause customer satisfaction if it is fulfilled but it does cause dissatisfaction it is not fulfilled (Kano 1984). This explains the curve for basic factor in Figure 2.0 where the curve is below the graph and not above. Apple has started selling the 8GB iPhone at US $599 at its released before implementing a promotional price of US $399 for the festive season. The original pricing was a market-skimming pricing strategy where the iPhone was set a high price as it is a whole new product in the hand phone industry to cover development cost (Philip Kotler et. al. 2005, p. 302). The expensive price tag on the iPhone can also to relate to the product life cycle of the particular product. Product life cycle shows the whole process of the products life, from the beginning of it till the possible end of it where it consists of four stages which is introduction, growth, maturity and decline. It maybe a matter of a few hours like the newspaper, months for fashion and style, years (VCD, DVD) or decades (Volkswagen Beetle) (Heizer Render 2007, p. 157). The price reduction for the festive season is a promotional pricing strategy to get more customers to buy the iPhone (Philip Kotler et. al. 2005, p. 308). The cut of US $200 has stirred up early buyers and caused dissatisfaction. But as mentioned by Job (2007), the price reduction was supposed to benefit both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ‘tent. Having said that, Apple issued the $100 credit to the early buyers for them to use on their next purchase at Apple stores. Besides that, buying the iPhone is not just bout getting the hand phone because iPhone only allows ATT line, therefore the customer would need to pay a minimum of US $1939.75 which includes ($599.99 x 24months. and 499.99 4GB iPhone) (ATT iPhone Rate Plans, Prices, Costs, and What You Get 2007). Having said that, the iPhone is only tied with ATT, it still attracted many customers. The downside of getting the iPhone is that the user has to comply with the ATT contract that he or she has signed up with. If the user wants to carry on, he or she has to pay a $175 termination fee though the phones cost isnt subsidized under the long term agreement. This termination fee which is quoted at a high price dissatisfy customers it is a big investment where most customers would go for the 8GB model rather than the 4GB model which will land up causing them to spend more the USD $ 2000. Quality From this factor, the research will look more in depth in quality where total quality management systems are driven by identifying and satisfying customer needs. The key dimensions of qualities include durability, interface and functionality. It is believed that the trade-off between the cost of improving quality and the cost of poor quality, the cost of poor quality is understated (Heizer Render 2007, p. 194). Providing good quality product does not only glorify the companys name but also create loyal customers that will keep buying the products and become brand loyal to it. Durability The first factor in quality that will look at is the durability of the iPhone. It would be a shame to lose a $500 to $600 iPhone to a minor mishap therefore many customers such as bloggers and even product reviewer always put new technology gadgets for a stress test. PC World conducted one of the many stress tests for the iPhone around the world. Firstly, the iPhone was as stuffed in a plastic bag full of keys and small pebbles. Then the iPhone screen was rubbed against the keys and pebble with a fair amount of force as if like the user was leaning against the counter with his iPhone and keys in the jeans pocket. The result was outstanding as the screen of the iPhone was as pristine as when it went it but there are scratches on the back of it. To take the test to another level, a key was taken and scratched across the glass screen of the iPhone, but it still fail to scratch it. Next, the iPhone went trough a drop test where it started of on a carpeted floor to a concrete sidewalk and from the height of the waist line to the head level. The same hand phone was dropped repeatedly but it still worked normally and the glass display survived without a scratch after the drop test. Overall, the iPhone still looks impressively good but however the only obvious damage would be a few gouges along its metal edge from the drops onto the concrete. Interface The excitement factors are where it increases customers satisfaction if fulfilled but it doesnt cause dissatisfaction if it is not achieved. These factors of surprise are to generate delight among the consumers and it is used by the company to distinguish itself from the competitors in a positive way (Kano, 1984). This is why the excitement factor curve is above the graph of the Kano Model in Figure 2.0. The iPhone /a>features the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse which came from the iPod. The multi-touch screen technology is an entirely new interface based on a large multi-touch display and innovative new software that lets the user control everything using only the fingers. Therefore the user can glide through albums with ‘Cover Flow option, flip through photos and email them with a touch, or zoom in and out on a section of a web page just by using pinch in or pinch out motion; all by simply using iPhones multi-touch display. Jeff Hans multi touch system uses a technique called Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR). It involves the use of a transparent screen with the images rear-projected onto it. For touch-sensing, a camera is placed behind the screen to detect the user interaction. On the human-computer interaction, it is a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them. The basic goal of human-computer interaction is to improve interaction between users and computers by making computers more user-friendly to the users needs. The iPhone has brought human-computer interaction to a whole new level with the multi-touch screen interface. Though it has its flaws, but if the iPhone is to be compared to hand-phones such as the Nokia N95, the iPhone is not only more stylish but its easier to use (refer to Figure 1.0). Ergonomics or in the words which is human factors is the application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems and environment for human use. Usually when the word ergonomics is brought up, it focuses more on office environment where the right office furniture and the right computers system can maximizes work efficiency because there will be comfort when the employees to carry out their task in the office. But looking at the iPhones multi-touch screen interface, it does have its own distinct pros and cons. Though browsing through pictures and music can be such a breeze, but typing a SMS or any activity that requires typing on the iPhone would be a little more difficult because there is no physical keyboard on the iPhone as the iPhone is completely a touch screen handphone except for the power button and the home button. Adding to that, the iPhone does not include a touch screen pen and the on-the-screen keyboard is rather cramp, making hard for use rs with big thumbs. Functionality Technical Specification Technical specification of a handphone is the most basic and the most important part to look at before buying a handphone. This is where the performance factor comes in where every attribute of the product is being analyzed. Basically, satisfaction can be gain when the performance of the product is good or high and it causes dissatisfaction if the performance is low or bad. Therefore, the line for performance factors is linear line that cuts across the graph as shown in Figure 2.0. Firstly, the flash memory capacity which comes in 4GB or 8GB which is a lot for a handphone but there will be no memory expansion for the iPhone. With no memory expansion and with a maximum capacity of 8GB, it defies the iPod feature in the iPhone because the maximum capacity of 8GB comes in second compared to the 16GB iPod Touch which looks exactly like the iPhone. The iPhone also includes a 2 mega pixel camera but it is without flash which is quite disappointing for a hand-phone which costs a lot and has a nice 3.5 inch diagonal display. Besides that, the battery life for the iPhone is quite lasting compared to the competitors as how it is displayed in Figure 1.0 under the ‘talk-time column. The audio option in the iPhone is actually a build in iPod where with just a touch on the menu, users can listen to their music on the go. Adding to that, the audio support supports common files such as MP3, AAC and WAV, therefore there is no need to convert files before transferring it i nto the iPhone. The video support for iPhone has not opened up just like all iPods where it only allows limited video formats H.264, mp4 and M-PEG 4 video. This makes the iPhone quite an unreliable video player compared to other hand phones and mp4 players such as CREATIVE ZEN mp4 which can play common video format such as (.avi). On the contrary, Apple has another feature can cover this flaw which is easy access to YouTube on the iPhone which allows users to watch YouTube videos on the go, as long there is WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) connection present. This brings us to the WiFi feature which allows users to surf not only for YouTube, but also to surf the internet with the embedded Safari internet browser. Safari is a web browser just like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox where it allow users to surf the web on the iPhone just like how they surf the internet on their computer. Users can also purchase songs instantly on the go or songs that they listen at Starbucks through the iTunes Music Store. This requires WiFi and an iTunes account in order to proceed. A short sample of each song can be heard on iTunes before choosing to purchase it for only USD $ 0.99 per song. Conclusion Having stated all the factors above such as price, durability, interface, human-computer interaction, ergonomics and technical specification, all this contributes to customer satisfaction where it was divided into 3 which are basic factors, excitement factors and performance factors. Each of these factors has it pros and cons where it depends in the consumers preference on which would be of great importance. To summarize it, the iPhone does comes with a very nice appearance and nice touch screen interface but the expensive price tag that comes along with it makes customers take a step back to reevaluate whether is it really worth to invest in an iPhone With the Customer Satisfaction Model by N. Kano, consumer can use this model to place all the iPhones attributes according to their perception on to the model and see how the iPhone fairs out in the outcome. Ultimately, the basic factor which is price would be the most important factor because of the ATT line subscription which will last for two years and will cost a lot even for a working customer. Reference: Heizer, Render 2007, Operations Management, Pearson International Edition Kotler, Amstrong, SH Ang, SM Leong, CT Tan, K.Tse, Principles of Marketing, Pearson Prentice Hall Multi-touch screen interface Retrieved 14 November, 2007, from http://multi-touchscreen.com/iphone.html iPhone Competitive Data [Image] 2007 Retrieved 15 November, 2007, from http://www.apple.com/iphone/pr/20070618iphone.html Customer Satisfaction Model [Image] 1984 Retrieved 15 November, 2007, from http://www.12manage.com/methods_kano_customer_satisfaction_model.html