Cindy Sherman and Representation

Untitled Film Stills by cindy Sherman presents the ideas about the female identity Sherman is after. On each of the images, Sherman photographs herself as a cliche of this identity as if she were an actress in a B-movie ,as the product of domesticity, the object of sexual desire exc. Critic Arthur Danto points out that none of Sherman’s images is of herself. They are of The Girl, for whom Cindy Sherman posed.The Girl appears in every photograph, and though she is familiar in each (because the model is Sherman), she is never expressing the same idea as The Girl. She is being-there and she is not there at the same time, like a performer, and all the while she is able to convey these figurative portraits of femininity. Modeling in several roles, she reveals gender as an unstable and constructed position, which suggests that there is no innate biological female identity. On the contrary, women adopt several roles and identities depending on their circumstances.Perhaps sherman is m aking a gender statement through critiquing women in representation. This is however questionable as she is willingly engaging in the subject she is critiquing. According to Mulvey the women is made into an object of male gaze. Thus making the man the spectator and the woman the spectacle. The man looks at the woman, and the woman is being looked at. This contributes and supports the stereotypical idea that men are to activity as woman are to passivity.Her work also encourages self-reflection in the spectator. As Sherman argues. Sherman encourages viewers to create their own narratives when looking at her work. Perhaps by doing so, we become conscious participators in the story, or in the society that created these stereotypes in the first place. Depending on the narrative we create, her photographs could possibly help us to question our own ideas about gender and how it is represented in photography.

Report on Herbal Medicine Essay

1. Herbal medicine is the oldest form of healthcare known to mankind. Herbs had been used by all cultures throughout history, In 2735 B.C., the Chinese emperor Shen Nong wrote an authoritative treatise on herbs that is still in use today. 2. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 4 billion people, 80% of the world population, presently use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. indeed, about 25% of the prescription drugs dispensed in the United States contain at least one active ingredient derived from plant material. 3. Today, research confirms that the herb boosts the immune system by stimulating the production of disease-fighting white blood cells. 4. WHO notes that of 119 plant-derived pharmaceutical medicines, about 74% are used in modern medicine in ways that correlated directly with their traditional uses as plant medicines by native cultures. 5. Herbs take many forms like capsule, tablet, tea, tincture, bath, compress, poultice and ointment. 6. Li ke any kind of remedies Herbs have advantages and disadvantages you have to ask your Doctor before take any of it, Generally Herbs don’t have any serious dangerous on our health that’s the reason why millions of people use it around the world. Conclusion Scientific experts and users of the Herbs are divided about its benefits. However, Herbal medicine is considered to be safe. Recommendations 1. Any medicine – herbal or otherwise – has the potential to have a adverse effects (or side effects). 2. Herbal medicines can also interact with other medicines you are taking. This could result in reduced or enhanced effects of the other medicines, including side effects. If you are consulting your doctor or pharmacist about your health or are about to have surgery or an operation, always tell them about any herbal medicines you are taking. 3. As with all medicines, keep herbal medicines out of the sight and reach of children.

Refutation: Is the American Dream Still a Possibility? Essay

The American Dream can be defined as- â€Å"a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful.† (Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary) As we watch our country’s struggle throughout financial crises, we, as citizens, are torn in the belief that the American Dream is still possible. Although the outlook for our country includes events ranging from an apocalypse to another Great Depression, I am optimistic my â€Å"American Dream† can still be achieved, although it might be difficult. Although the Merriam-Webster Dictionary pinned the nail straight on the head, I see my American Dream as one with one day having a husband (who I do not divorce), children, a job teaching 2nd grade preferably here in Cortland, and a big brick house complete with a two-car garage and a vast backyard. I am aware that this essay is not about how my life should look like in about 10 years, but it is about if this dream is possible to becoming a reality. By the looks of our economy, by a college student’s perspective, the sky rocketing prices of education and the cost of living in a middle-class household, my American Dreams may be put on hold. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, â€Å"Between 1999–2000 and 2009–10, prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions rose 37 percent, and prices at private institutions rose 25 percent, after adjustment for inflation.† (â€Å"Tuition Costs for Colleges and Universities†) Everyone tells students to go to college to get an education, because without one, one will go nowhere in life. If I had a dime for every time I heard that, I would be a millionaire, therefore not needing to be in college. Although having an education is very important to make any sort of significant amount of money in one’s life, sometimes it is impossible for many middleclass households to put multiple children through a 4-year institute. I find the amount of tuition many colleges are charging is ridiculous. Since the recession, it seems prices in all aspects of life  have been raised, especially education. I understand college is important to succeed in a particular career, but a student has options. There are many alternatives to spending unnecessary amounts of money on 4-year institutions. One of which is going to a community school. Community college is a sufficient alternative for saving significant amounts of money. Communtiy colleges are also very apprpriate for many professions that require less schooling like criminal justice, firefighting or even nursing, all of which are professions with substantial incomes. Why waste money on an expensive 4-year school to land the same job? Another solution to spending less money on education is to not go to college at all. I know this might sound bad first hearing it, but in many cases, parents and teachers are the driving pressure for students to go to college. We have been told ever since we were adolescents that we need to be something impressive when we grow up, but what if the student does not want to be something that requires going to a 4-year institution. If the parents and teachers truly let the students figure out exactly what they want to do with their future, then many families could possibly save a lot of money, making the American dream much easier to be achieved. Another issue that usually results from going to college has raised much concern for the graduating seniors: the job outlook. The recession has played a large role in the loss of jobs, as well as the difficulty to be hired. After the economic downfall, recent college graduates paid the price. â€Å"New college graduates had 40% fewer job prospects,† says Hibuh Yousuf of â€Å"CNN Money†. Due to the stats like this, many graduates believe that this is still true, and in some cases, it is, depending on the field of choice, but there is a solution to this problem. NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) states, â€Å"Students earning engineering degrees have seen some of the highest salary offers.†(Baden) They also go on to advocate that, â€Å"Students earning engineering degrees have seen some of the highest salary offers. As a group, the average salary offered to engineering majors rose 2.8 percent from last year’s average, to $60,291. The a verage salary offered to petroleum engineering graduates grew 7.1 percent to $82,740, making it the highest-paid major, according to the report.† (Baden) As one can tell, jobs in the science and math fields are much needed and have an impressive job outlook. If one choses a career that they enjoy and has a good job outlook,  then the American Dream is not that impossible after all. No one ever said it would be easy, but I believe the American Dream is still alive, even for us poor college students. I feel as though through the recent hardships our country has faced many people believe the American dream can no longer be achieved, but they only think in those terms because America has become lazy and we have forgotten how to work for what we want in life. Unfortunately, there is no solution for America to be more motivated, but the future is truly in our hands, and we have the choice to fight for it.

Essay question Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Question - Essay Example This is an indication that the big businesses are more positive towards taking more risks in the business and this is what has made them get bigger and bigger than when they started. Being a big business is defined by the number of employees that are hired in the business overall. The more the employees, the larger the organization will be (Porter 78). Big businesses however deal with tens of thousands of employees nationally and globally combined. They have these huge industries and companies that demand attention of a lot of employees from the CEO down to the subordinate staff who are also in plenty. Since these companies are handling both onshore and offshore businesses, and a lot of accounts and customers of their many different products, they have run smoothly and very effectively and this is possible only through working with many employees to handle different aspects of the business. There are employees needed to bring in customers through different marketing strategies. Before products are marketed, they need to be manufactured which means this process of obtaining the raw products and chemicals demand more employees as well. After the manufacturing and marketing, there will be needed workers to sell transport the products to the retail stores and wholesale stores as well as well as take them the products themselves. All these employees need to be paid as well and in case of further expansion, more employees will be needed and hence continuing the growth of the business. Big businesses have more investments and trade more in stocks of the companies they have invested in. They invest in many different companies and in different markets and industries in order to distribute the risks as well as ensure that they continue growing their profits and especially with the current industry that is growing the most. The large organizations have invested in the automation, energy, accounting, inventory and

Whistleblowing policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Whistleblowing policy - Essay Example In both public and private organizations, incidents of unethical and unprofessional conduct by the employees are common occurrences. The actions of such employees can take different forms, including sabotage, misappropriation of funds, espionage among other deeds against the professional ethics and conduct of an organization (PwC, 2011). The effects of such actions in an organization can be severe to both the company as well as the public, depending on the magnitude of the action. However, Boyle (1990) noted that any action that goes against the code of ethics of a particular organization, regardless of how small causes irreparable damage, which could herald greater economic and public image of the company. Adler and Daniels (1992) defined whistleblowing as â€Å"the public interest disclosure whereby a fellow worker reports a concern about the misconduct or omissions of the fellow colleague(s) and or employers that may cause danger to other people or the organization.† Most a ctions of misconduct involve theft and compromising on the safety of fellow workers and the public. The importance of whistleblowing in an organization cannot be overemphasized especially in the current competitive world market, which exposes organization to insecurity in order to undermine the competitive edge in business. In this regard, many corporations are increasingly formulating whistleblowing policies as a measure of preempting such attacks. Voluntarily instigated whistle blowing policy is one of such measures and according to Lewis (2001), the disclosure should be made in good faith, meaning that the confession should made out of real concern about a wrong action. In this regard, making maliciously motivated disclosures based on false accusations does not amount to whistle blowing. For whistleblowing to perform in the best interests of the company, Lewis (2001) notes that the whistleblower should have reasonable conviction that the information in his or her knowledge is sig nificantly correct even if it could turn to be untrue later. Raising grievances or complaining does not amount to whistle blowing because such talk in an organization is usually personalized, where employees could complain of being mistreated or sabotaged. In this case, a whistle blower should not be a person who has direct personal interests on the result of any given exploration or investigation to their concerns that they might have raised. A whistleblower should raise real concerns so that other in authority can address the problem (Jesse, 2010). Organizations have different areas of concern and they include but not limited to the incidents where an employee defrauds the organization, physical or emotional abuse of patients such as the elderly and vulnerable groups in medical setting. Moreover, faulty machines or equipment that expose operators and clients to risk in addition to situations where employees are bribed to award grants tenders and other approved monetary transaction s in an organization(Jesse, 2010). Whistleblowing could serve in an organization’s interest by enhancing better risk management practices (Adler and Daniels, 1992). However, employees should be empowered so that they can have enough confidence to report matters of concern without suffering from any form of physical, psychological and financial consequence. It is important for organizations to have effective risk management practices to prevent incidents of costly litigations, higher insurance premiums, damaged reputation of the organization in addition to loss of lives, jobs and even being subjected to stringent investigations (Adler and Daniels, 1992). In this regard, instigated voluntary whistle blowing can help in triggering early warning systems for employers. This could enable organizations to enforce effective policies that provide clear framework for taking action against culpable employees and employers. If employees voluntarily voice their concerns in an organization without being forced to approach an external authority, employers would often have the

Several topics included in the uploaded file (questions from the case Essay

Several topics included in the uploaded file (questions from the case study) - Essay Example There are many methods of investment appraisal. Each method analyses the investment in different ways. The three main methods are: ‘Payback time’, ‘Average / Annual rate of return’ and ‘Net present value (NPV)’. Payback method is used to compare various projects for a business; the project which gives the best returns is considered. It generally calculates the time taken for the return of capital invested. Similarly if the annual return rate is considered, the projects are selected based on the one providing highest annual returns. The company’s cash flow can change from time to time; thus, this method is helpful as it considers the ‘rate of returns’. Usually, there is a time lag in receiving the payment for the business done and money value might be inflated or deflated during this time lag. Hence, in the ‘Net Present Value’ or ‘Discounted Cash Flow’ method, the ‘real value’ of the mone y is considered. The returns calculated using this method is called ‘Real Return’ (Investment Appraisal, 2008). With respect to Hazlewood Sandwiches, capital investment was made for the following reasons: It was observed that people, in general, had become very busy with their existing jobs or multiple jobs and hence had very little time to cook. This was the main reason to foresee an increase the demand for sandwiches. Secondly, due to good earning and spending power of the people, they preferred to pay others to get their food prepared, rather than painstakingly cooking food themselves. This served as a time saver and therefore increased demand for readymade sandwiches. Thirdly, Hazlewood Sandwiches could provide foodstuffs with better quality than the best existing in market, promising exponential growth in market. In support to these factors, the new factory setup assured a superior production flow line which decreased the number of workers needed to move materials within the factory and helped to manage the inward movement of raw materials to outward movement of finished goods. Hence, these three reasons mainly influenced Hazlewood Sandwiches’ decision to make capital investment. Q2: Discuss the differences, advantages and disadvantages of the three investment decision techniques mentioned in the case. Investment appraisal decisions are very crucial for any company, since it involves the future of the company. Decisions have to be made between various alternative project plans which decide the next steps of the company. There are 3 techniques of investment appraisal: The first technique is ‘The Payback Method’. It directly calculates how quickly the return of the investment covers the investment on the project. Returns on investment are calculated for all the alternative projects in hand. It is based on the shortest payback period, contributing in the prevention of cash flow problems. It is known for its simplicity and ada ptability to changing technology as the cost of machinery can be recovered before the next new model is released. The disadvantage is that the returns after this period are ignored. Additionally, the real value of money is not accounted since value of money is considered directly without considering the inflation effects on money value (Business Studies online, Investment appraisal, Chapter 4a.2.2, 4a.2.3). The ‘Average Rate of Return’

Peter Eisenman House II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Peter Eisenman House II - Essay Example This paper will proceed to compare the salient points of â€Å"Cardboard Architecture: House I and House II† to support or criticize the building (Appendix A) built by Sita Sanders of Catskills as a college project. Eisenman insisted on the notion of conceptual archituecture as similar to cardboard architecture for its underlying formal relationships going beyond mere shapes nor conventional signs but â€Å"a set of archetypal relationships which affect our most basic sensibilities about our environment,† (Eisenman, 25). The same can be said of Sita Sanders’ house built to look like a mound of earth or a hill, complete with grasses that grew on its roofs. It was described as â€Å"†¦one-room straw-bale †¦right next to her mother’s house,† (Green, P 3). While it has doors, walls, windows, and metal beams that represent the conceptual house, it blends well to its environment, or the architect’s desire on how to make it look like and f unction – beyond a home but a response to pressing needs to address: global warming, extreme cold during winter, improvement of the natural habitat.

Safety issues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Safety issues - Research Paper Example The safety issues need to be given the proper attention that shall pave the way for a better understanding of the society and the people at large so that they can interact on a one to one level and bring success for the society as a whole. The changing world scenario in the last decade or so has seen that terrorism has come out in the open. This has meant that the world order has come down badly. The uproar has been negative more than anything else and which has meant that the security and safety issues have come up for all the wrong reasons. This suggests the negativity of the society as a whole and its people in meticulous who are now more concerned than ever because they know that in order to spend a good life, they need to ensure that their near and dear ones are following the safety dictum – not to be present at the wrong place at the wrong time. What is even more distressing to know is the fact that the safety issues are being given more emphasis now than ever before. The people have started to enact ways and means through which their safety is going to be guaranteed. They are very serious about such nuances and want to ensure that their seriousness regarding this aspect is understood by the people around them and the ones who are in positions of authority. If this is done, it makes the entire society feel comfortable with one another, and gives the people the much needed mileage that they require in entirety. The safety issues are being understood properly by the people at large. This is because everyone wants to live in peace and harmony, and thus ensure that there is a great amount of security for the people who reside in varied parts of the world. But then again, the locals of a particular area do not want their lives to get disturbed through the agents that bring about unsafe avenues (Bladek, 2011). These safety issues are also being dictates by the government because it wants the people to live easily and without much fuss. If the

Reaction Paper on the book The Souls of Black Folk Essay

Reaction Paper on the book The Souls of Black Folk - Essay Example The book portrays a new direction of his thinking. He writes passionately about the spirit of African-Americans and how they have succeeded in maintaining their humanity and strength in spite of centuries of oppression of the worst kind. According to Du Bois the best, and perhaps the only way, African Americans could rise above their situation was to understand their circumstances and embrace intellectualism and. Some critics felt that he should have advocated a more aggressive kind of social change but I believe that it was the right approach. Du Bois shows how a veil has been put over African-Americans and how others are unable to see them as they are. Race prejudice is the lens through which they are viewed. It is this veil that has created "double consciousness", a situation where the blacks see themselves in two ways, one what they think about themselves and the other how others view them. Du Bois’ feels that this veil on human beings divides the identity of the blacks. He describes this situation thus:† this twoness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings . . . in one dark body.† (Du Bois, 1903) This is wrong and must be condemned. He wants the reader to understand that the African-Americans have a cultural identity of their own and all Americans must acknowledge and respect this. Some scholars felt that his concept of double consciousness is a defining moment in the history of African-American thought. Here I have to say that Du Bois’ description of how an African American feels in America is excellent. The words â€Å"He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face† are truly powerful. Du Bois through his essays wants us to realize that silent acceptance of racism

The Contribution Of Feminist Criticism To Opera Studies Essay

The Contribution Of Feminist Criticism To Opera Studies - Essay Example In order to defend the position of a woman and stop discrimination, feminism penetrates all the spheres of life. As the old values of the society have been formed for a long time and are reflected in the works of art, it became necessary for the strugglers for human rights to make feminist movement influence the sphere of art. Old plots of classical art creations are very popular today and widely used by producers for their performances. However, feminists claim that many of these plots should be modified. The trouble is that they plunge us into the past values and traditions feminists did their best to change. As the plots are too old, the representation of women is usually too discriminative and reminds men about their dominance in the past. Under such influence the efforts of feminists risk to come to nothing, thus they consider it necessary to impose their effect on the sphere of the modern art. The given paper will provide the overview of the feminist influence in the sphere of mass media and demonstrate how the modern opera is affected by the feminist movement. The main argument of feminists is the â€Å"male gaze† that can be traced in modern performances. Notwithstanding that feministic mood penetrated many fields, the sphere of film-making remained almost unchanged. It keeps using motives, which are considered to be classical, in spite of the fact that they were formed in the patriarchal society. A woman continues playing secondary role. Boetticher explains: "what counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance."1 If to trace the literary works on the topic, it becomes clear that the problem was started to be considered by the strugglers for women’s rights already in 1970s. The work by Mulvey titled "Visual Pleasure and Narrat ive Cinema" discussed the secondary role and discrimination of women. The author states: "in their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness," and as a result contends that in film a woman is the "bearer of meaning, not maker of meaning.†2 The author draws the readers’ attention to the theory of Lacan that explains how the performances contributes to gender discrimination by depicting women as objects for sexual exploitation. Mulvey emphasizes the importance of re-consideration of the plots used to make performances. She states that the radical changes in the film-making structure are crucial as it is the only way to eliminate gender discriminative motives from modern performances. The issues of women discrimination in opera was discussed in the book by Catherine Clement. The feministic work â€Å"Opera: The und oing of Women† were created at the end of 1970’s. The author strongly believes that in opera women are oppressed and men dominate over them. She underlines that women in opera are portrayed as victims, who cannot express their own feelings and who sacrifice their lives for their beloved men. The life of these women in most situations has a tragic end. Really, it is possible to trace that most of the female protagonists appear in difficult circumstances and they are always unhappy and dissatisfied. In order to prove that it is enough to overview the most famous plots that are depicted in opera. The main heroine of â€Å"Tosca† Floria has committed suicide after she got to know about the execution of her beloved. The opera â€Å"Madam Butterfly† is rather popular, but if to consider it from critical point of view, it is plot is

U.S. Intervention within the Nicaragua Contra War Essay

U.S. Intervention within the Nicaragua Contra War - Essay Example The CIA was responsible for U.S. operations involving the contras. Aid was later done covertly under the Reagan administration. Although many Nicaraguans also opposed the Sandinistas, few of them supported the contras because they focused on civilian targets and their brutality raised condemnation among the population and human rights groups (Horton 1998). The first contra groups such as the MILPAS were peasant militias formed by former Sandinista supporters. Formed in Honduras as the Fuerza Democratica Nicaraguense (FDN), it was headed by Enrique Bermudez, a former National Guard colonel and Jaime Irving Steidel, a Honduran-born field commander. Steidel was later replaced by Oscar Sobalvarro. In 1983, a political directorate was created under Adolfo Calero, a businessman and anti-Sandinista politician (Brown 2001). The creation of the Democratic Revolutionary Alliance (ARDE) and the Sandino Revolutionary Front headed by Eden Pastora in 1982 in Costa Rica established a second front. The ARDE was composed mainly of Sandinista dissidents and those who overthrew Somoza. They were primarily opposed to the increasing Cuban influence in the Managuan government. Although Pastora clearly stated his ideological difference from the FDN, he nevertheless called his campaign as the â€Å"southern front† to emphasise a common campaign against the Sandinistas (Brown 2001). Amerindian tribes such as the Misurasata, Sumo and Rama created a third front in 1981 against what they considered the Sandinistas’ genocide campaign against them. These tribes had a number of grievances against the Sandinista regime including: exploitive natural resource policies which deprived ethnic groups access to their ancestral lands and their subsistence activities; arrest and execution of the majority of Misurasata leaders; the bombing and occupation of more than half of Miskto and Sumu villages; the forced conscription of young men into the army; the eviction and relocation of 100,000

A Person Live on 500 Rupees in a Month Essay Example for Free

A Person Live on 500 Rupees in a Month Essay Today our society become advance and the previous living standard of our life also changes. A few years ago, peoples started trade with barter system, and then a big change happened in our trade system. According to this change money took barter’s position. Now people trade their things with money except of barter system. But again a changing happen in our currency system and this time change happen in the shape of value of currency because the value of currency still fall day by day. According to this system, inflation also increases day by day. In which, let’s suppose a person who live on 500 rupees in a month is a student and if he want to do this then he must follows some guidelines. Because once there was a time when peoples thought 500 rupees is very big amount for live in a month but now a days, our society is very expensive and for this reason 500 rupees lose their previous values and if we depend on 500 for whole month then it is very difficult to spend a happy month. Now if you ready to done this job as a student then first of all reduce your all unnecessary expenses like smoking, out campus visits without any reason etc. First of all student should have to plan a budget for the whole month because we must know, which things are necessary and which are unnecessary. We should also know how much amount we are going to spend on which items and what importance of these items for us. The budget which has been planned by you should be implemented. Some of the students plan the budget but fail to implement like Pakistan Government. If you want to make a call to your friend, then please give him a miss call and wait for his call back. If he does not respond you within four to five minutes then make a call from your other nearest friend, brother or your father’s mobile. In the university, when you feel hunger and want to eat something, force your friends for party without any reason. For party, you can hide your friend’s cell phone or any other precious-valuable, important- things. If a friend forces you to give him or her party then tell him, â€Å"today I left my wallet at home, by mistake†. These suggestions are very good and helpful to spend whole month in 500 rupees. If you follow these suggestions, I’ll guaranty you that you will fulfill your requirements and may be you can save two hundred or more a month.

Business Structure Of Blizzard Entertainment

Business Structure Of Blizzard Entertainment This report is a in-depth look at Blizzard Entertainment the company, to find out why Blizzard entertainment is so successful in the gaming industry. We will look at the reasons on how it could come out with best selling games over and over again and how they manage to sell 2.4 million copies of one game within the first 24 hours. Furthermore, we will understand how Blizzard entertainment runs such a big company to such efficiency using the business model SWOT and PEST in the analysis of its success. A look at the current developments and what future developments it might have or where it can go from here will be discussed as well. Well, Blizzard Entertainment was not always as we had known it, originally founded in 1991 February as Silicon Synapse by Chairman Allen Adham, president Michael Morhaime and vice president Frank Pearce All Graduates from UCLA. In the days of Silicon Synapse it was more on focused on making game ports for other Gaming studios. Until the Breakthrough Game The Lost Vikings, it was hailed as one of the forefathers of that Game Genre . A year after that they released Rock Roll Racing another Cult Hit that paved the way for its predecessors in the Racer Shooter Genre. In 1994 It was only then its name was reestablished as Blizzard Entertainment. The first big scale game it released by Blizzard Entertainment, was Warcraft: Orcs HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft:_Orcs__HumansHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft:_Orcs__Humans Humans and it was a hit with the gamers. Ever since they have made a benchmark in the game, the gaming world was at their fingertips now. After such success with Blizzard Entertainments original Warcraft game, Warcraft: Orcs HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft:_Orcs__HumansHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft:_Orcs__Humans Humans , was touted as one of the best strategy games of 1994, and the games epic sequel, 1995s Warcraft II : Tides Of Darkness, won numerous awards, including the companys first Game of the Year award. Warcraft III :Reign Of Chao ss, released in July 2002, has likewise won several accolades , just like Starcraft another hit Game Series released by Blizzard Entertainment, It has become a staple of professional tournament gaming, along with its expansion, the award-winning Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne, which was released in July 2003. II. Current Projects and a look at the rise of WOW ( World Of Warcraft) Well Blizzard has many notable achievements in its released games, None of it comes close To World Of Warcraft, more widely known as WOW. World of Warcraft stands as the greatest game in the popular Warcraft series. World of Warcraft has been an extraordinary success since its launch in November 2004. It has impressed game critics and has captivated millions of players, who adore the virtual world created by this game. It is no longer just a game but is now a genuine phenomenon, and one that shows no signs of abating. It is one of the key games of recent times, and stands as a landmark title for online gaming. World of Warcraft is the forth title in the series of Warcraft games, which has been entertaining people for over a decade To understand more about the appeal of World of Warcraft, let us recall the time when WOW was released. It was not merely some massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It created a truly engaging online world set in the heart of Azeroth, a fantastic land that is filled with heroes and monsters and many other creatures. The games strength is that it functions as an experience, as a world that exists on its own terms that you may visit and explore as you please. The game sold more than 240,000 copies in its first 24 hours on the market, more than any other PC game in history. Since then it released two other expansion sets which was a greater success then the one before. Blizzard is also making attempt to diversify beyond their original aim of just making games. Blizzard Entertainment is currently working with Legendary Pictures in making a live action Warcraft movie. III. tso The 8 Core Values are namely : Gameplay First, Blizzard Entertainments success can be attributed to the gaming experiences they provide the consumer or player. The goal of each discipline within the company regardless of job post be it art, programming or customer support, is to create games as fun as possible for as many people as possible. In order to achieve this aim, it is in Blizzard Entertainments prime belief that its workers also enjoy the process of game making. Commitment to Quality, This is the most well known core value of Blizzard Entertainment, which is not only applied in creating the best gaming experience for the consumers, but also practiced in every aspect of their job. They approach each task carefully and seriously, and seek honest feedback and use it to improve the quality of their work. Afterall, games are remembered for their high quality, and not how late they are released into the public. Play nice, Play Fair, In their business first impressions are important but lasting impressions are the ones that matter. Blizzard Entertainment strives to maintain a high level of respect and integrity in all interactions with us, players, colleagues, and business partners. The conduct of each Blizzard Entertainment employee, be it online or offline, can reflect on the entire company. Embrace your inner Geek, The employees at Blizzard are encouraged to show their geek side . Cutting-edge technology, comic books, science fiction, top-end video cards, action figures with the kung-fu gripà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Whatever it is theyre passionate about, it matters that each employee embraces it! Their unique enthusiasm helps to shape the fun, creative culture of Blizzard Entertainment. Happy and truly passionate workers make better workers, and what Blizzard Entertainment is all about today. Every voice matters, Great ideas can come from anywhere. Blizzard Entertainment is what it is today because of the voices of our players and of each member of the company. Every employee is encouraged to speak up, listen, be respectful of other opinions, and embrace criticism as just another avenue for great ideas. All because Blizzard values its employees and listens to the different ideas. Think globally, Blizzard Entertainment is a global company and everywhere on the planet there are people who play Blizzard Entertainment games. While respecting the cultural diversity that makes people unique, we strive to grow and support our global gaming community. We also seek the most passionate, talented people in the world to enrich our company and help us forge the future vision of Blizzard Entertainment. No country is too big or too small for Blizzard to take on or think about. Lead responsibility, Blizzard Entertainment believes its products and practices can affect not only our employees and players but the industry at large. As one of the worlds leading game companies, they are committed to making ethical decisions, always keeping the players in mind, and setting a strong example of professionalism and excellence at all times and for other game companies to exemplify. Learn and Grow The games industry is ever-changing. Technology improves, techniques change, and design philosophies become outdated. Since the founding of Blizzard Entertainment, it has worked to improve through experience, teaching one another and cultivating the desire to be the best at what they do. They see this as an individual responsibility as well as the companys. Employees can count on their peers, managers, and the company itself to be supportive and help them gain the knowledge and training they need. IV. A in-depth SWOT Analysis This Analysis will help us better understand of Blizzard Entertainments Success and its weaknesses. Using The SWOT Analysis model we can see the opportunities and revaluate the strategies to cope with its weaknesses. Strengths Good market position globally One of the very best pc game developers and held in high esteem by its customers. Very large age group from its larger customer base. Takes Feedback from its players and customers quickly and seriously. Developed World Of Warcraft to huge success and acclaim. Weaknesses May lack some competitive edge in some market segments over rival companies Relies on its current game titles more than it should. Very slow to release its games, often over the stipulated release date. Opportunities Business can be further diversified into other industries, example, making a film which it is trying to do now. Acquire more gaming sectors. More varied games. Look at a brand new type of pc game to boomz everyone away. Opening up of other global markets, getting more customers worldwide further. Working together with another pc gaming company to have a co-project. Threats Other big pc game producing companies, might pose some competition with maybe more attractive graphics or different game genres, Example, FPS. The time it takes to release a game might turn some gamers off, or they might just stop waiting all together. Limited experience in other industries it might want to diversify into Piracy 3rdparty clients such as Garena, lancraft blueserver and many others. Strengths Blizzard Entertainment has a good market position globally, meaning in the games market it has a huge cut of the customers and transactions that happen in it. Blizzard Is very well respected by the gamers, customers and other companies alike for their awesome games which are well designed and enjoyable for a very wide age group. When Blizzard comes out with a new game other companies will always try to better it learning from its strengths. From kids to adults, blizzard games have players every age range, making it well welcomed by all. Blizzard Entertainment leaves no gamer from the casual gamer to hardcore, professional gamer satisfied. The games Are simple enough and fast for the casual gamer to play, but also well balanced with good competitive potential. Intact, World Cyber Games (WCG) the worlds largest scale gaming competition has 2 Blizzard Entertainment games to compete in, Namely Starcraft 2, Warcraft 3 and Dota, which is a custom map made from Warcraft 3. Blizzard Entertainments World Of Warcraft easily overshadows all of its accomplishments with 12 million subscribers and increasing. Making it the most played online MMORPG, no small feat without its dedicated team of staff. If a bug is reported or game defect , blizzard will take it seriously and respond quickly to look into the problem and solve the issue. Weaknesses While Blizzard Entertainment is certainly a very successful company but it is not perfect or infallible. One of its Weaknesses is its most of its games revolve around the same genre of the real time strategy (RTS) or Role Playing Games (RPG). Some game diversity would be a fresh change and might get into a bigger cut of the market and different gamer groups. On top of that Blizzards Entertainments game graphics might be less visual compared to other games therefore might have less competitive edge in some market segments over rival companies example sports gaming or fps. Though Blizzard Entertainment has very good games it keeps expanding on the already expanded game stories, example Warcraft which has great gameplay and good storyline, however it Blizzard keep concentrating on the same story and how to make a better installment people might get bored to keep playing the same story thats over extended or stretched. While Blizzard Entertainment are showing great signs of market diversification by trying to make a movie, their experience is very little in that field and almost non-existent. Might hit many glitches and problems along the way it might hard to solve with little experience. Which Blizzard Entertainment is attempting to avoid by working with a experience movie company, Legendary Films. Everyone agrees that Blizzard Entertainment makes great games, but another thing they agree is they take a really long to do that often over the stipulated release date. An impatient customer is never a happy customer. Game Quality should never be compromised but still the releases could be faster. Opportunities No doubt Blizzard Entertainment is very successful in its games and products, it can further diversify into other game genres it might not have touched, example sports gaming or FPS. Warcraft has a very rich storyline and might be good as a comic or book, gaining more exposure for Blizzard Entertainment as well in the process. Gameplay improvements and Graphical improvements to its current games with patches or when a new game comes out because the gaming industry is always improving, and gamers demand more every time. Look at a brand new game Genre with a totally new gaming engine of which the likes were never seen before and Blizzard Entertainment is on its way to another great selling game. Working with another experienced gaming company will help expand its horizons and its pool of talent, with more ideas and more funding, Blizzard Entertainment has a great global market share and good global coverage, but there are still countries that have not even heard of it, with the expanding global market and opening of markets, it would be a great time to reach even more countries. Blizzard Entertainment is currently working with Legendary Pictures, the studio behind the feature films such as Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, and 300, in making of a live-action Warcraft movie. Threats Blizzard Entertainment faces serious competition from other companies that have some game genres that other gamers find more fun, example FPS. On top of that though Warcraft 3 has great cinematics, its in game graphics cant be compared. So many other games out there with much better graphics. EA games has Tiberiam Wars with much better graphics but of the same RTS genre , how about Relic Gamings Company of Heros. The Time it takes for Blizzard Entertainment to release its games is a great internal threat, for it may lose many loyal customers that got sick of waiting for the usually delayed games. Customers hate to wait unnecessarily and may buy other games instead. Blizzard Entertainment move into diversifying its market by moving into the movie industry which it has little experience, and requires a lot of funding. By going into other Game Genres its not familiar with also can be a risky move that might spell disaster by spreading itself too thin. Piracy is without a doubt one of the greatest threats to Blizzard Entertainment, infact to any industry that relies on the IP law. File Sharing is now everywhere and very easily accessible, one can even get the game without going out of his home and without spending a single cent for the game. Piracy costs Blizzard Entertainment millions of dollars every year. Why would people pay if they can get it free? Along with Piracy is 3rd party clients that make it possible for the games to be played online for free without the need for a original cd-key. In the past without these programs playing online with a pirated game would be impossible, and that would be one of the reasons why original games where still popular for the fact it had a cd-key that allows it to be played online. With these programs it bypasses all these security measures and there is no longer the need to pay for the game. V. Final SWOT Evaluation It is clear enough from this evaluation that Blizzard Entertainment has a very successful business model, but at the same time has so much more that it could improve on and diversify into. The very rich storyline of Warcraft has so much potential from movies to books to comics to Television series. The move that Blizzard Entertainment decided to make by working on a Warcraft movie was a good market decision to capture the growing movie industry and movie fans. Its lack in experience in the industry is offset by doing the movie with a more experienced movie company Legendary Pictures, the studio behind the feature films such as Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, and 300, with a proven track record. But it should be warned that yes Blizzard Entertainment can go into other industries, but it must not neglect its main market share the gamers, and some hardcore fans might be turned off by the change Blizzard Entertainment. The Strengths are many and can be further worked upon by looking at the same game with different angles. Continuing to make games based on the gamers demand would be the best bet, for that means their games will always be in demand. The threats and weaknesses are numerous as well, however with the right well thought strategies they can be avoided and countered to keep Blizzard Entertainment ahead in the gaming world. However the greatest threat is Piracy and 3rd party clients, which in the case the saying if you cant beat them , join em doing business with the 3rd party clients might help Blizzard Entertainment gain back its lost profits from the programs and piracy. VI. Conclusion Blizzard Entertainment is a great game developer, and to continue in a increasing volatile market it has to keep changing to meet the demands of the new world. But if it continues to deliver its mission statement Dedicated to creating the most epic entertainment experiencesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.ever following its 8 core values. I dont doubt and not for a second that Blizzard Entertainment will continue deliver gaming experiences that redefine gaming.

Effects of Globalisation in Education Essay

Effects of Globalisation in Education Essay Globalisation has brought about many changes in human lives. Globalisation, which started off in the West, was brought about by many factors. Some of it is the the emergence of the information technology and also the economic competition between different countries (Jarvis, 2007, p. 44). Here, it is obvious that globalisation was about the economic benefit at first and later had also impacted many others categories of human lives such as education and environment. The impacts and effects of globalisation could be seen everywhere, from the food industry to the music that one listens. Some would argue that globalisation benefitted the mass, and therefore it is something good. However, some would refute by saying that globalisation has also had some negative impacts. Therefore, I would like to find out and discuss the effects of globalisation specifically in education. This paper would examine closely the effects of globalisation in education in terms of commodification, internationalis ation, citizenship and also accessibility of knowledge. This essay would argue that although globalisation brings some positive effects, it also brings some negative effects that sometimes could be considered to outweigh the benefits of it. The arguments will be put forward by first defining globalisation and then highlighting some of the different types of globalisation. This will be followed by discussing the impact of globalisation in education in terms of commodification, internationalisation, citizenship, and accessibility of knowledge. Last but not least, this essay will discuss the implications for teachers in a Malaysian secondary school classroom. Definition of Globalisation There are tremendous amount of literature on the definition of globalisation. Globalisation seemed to an easy word to define at first. However, there are many definitions of it where each and one of these definitions are looked from various different perspectives such as social, economy and political perspectives. From an political point of view, Beck (2000, p. 11) defines globalisation as a process through which transnational actors undermine sovereign national states with varying prospect of power, direction, identities, and network. From a communication point of view, globalisation as a concept refers to both to the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole (Robertson, 1992, p. 8). Similarly, Luke (2005), stated that globalisation is how the world is shrinking in the sense that people can communicate to each other instantaneously through the use of technology especially the internet. On a different plane, Waters (1995, p. 3) looks at globalisation as a social change where physical boundaries of place on the social and cultural aspects are diminishing and the public are aware that it is diminishing. Looking from a social perspectives or point of view, globalisation is the escalation of global social relations which connect far localities in such a way that local events are influenced by events occurring in the far distance and vice versa. (Held, 1991 cited in Morrow & Torres, 2000, p. 29). Therefore, it can said that globalisation is the weakening of the physical boundaries surrounding the nation or states, in which affects aspects of human life such as culture, social interaction, economy, politics and many other aspects. The less visible boundaries mean that people are more likely to interact with each other. If the interaction is between people or party of same position or status, the interaction could be in a neutral way. However, if the interaction is between people or party of unequal status or power, the more privileged will tend to influence the less privileged it can also happen that the less privileged might want to imitate the more privileged in order to live the same condition as the opposite party. When looking at the definitions of globalisation, it is important to also highlight the different types of globalisation. Here, cultural, economy and political globalisation will be discussed closely. Cultural globalisation is about the spread of one stronger element of culture, which in many cases, would be the American culture. This is done through the American media which penetrates most parts of world. Songs, films, and many more are easily available around the world (Jarvis, 2007). Besides, he also argues that many new cultural institutions have become industries where these institutions are trying to sell their culture. However, one would argue that cultural globalisation could also strengthen the culture in particular society if the member of the society choose to resist the wave of global influx of different foreign culture. According to Jones (1998, p. 146), cultural globalisation includes deteriorating religious mosaic, a deteriorating cosmopolitanism and diversity, widespread consumption of simulations and representations, global distribution of images and information and universal tourism. Therefore, it can be said that cultural globalisation is the process where the l ocal cultural aspect of a community disappears in certain rate and substituted with a global culture. On the other hand, economy globalisation includes several aspects such as transnational companies. Transnational companies are companies that operate at a global level without needing to follow a certain nations law and regulation (Bottery, 2006). These companies bring profit to the nation through taxation. These companies possess a huge influence as they are not bound to a countrys law. Transnational companies have power beyond the nations or the states (Jarvis, 1998). Besides, economy globalisation also includes the bigger organisations such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) which provides loan and fund to developing countries. However, it is crucial to highlight here that this economy globalisaton is the setting of other types of globalisation (Bottery, 2006). This is because economy is the source of income and the setting of work for people. According to Jones (1998, p. 145), economy globalisation includes freedom of exchange between localities with flows of services and symbo lic commodities, balance of production activity in a locality determined by its physical and geographical advantages, minimal direct foreign investment, flexible responsiveness of organisations to global markets, decentralised, instantaneous and stateless financial markets and free movement of labour. Political globalisation looks at the diminishing power of the state where due to globalisation, the power is local authority might be weakening. According to Jones (1998 p. 146), political globalisation is portrayed through an absence of state sovereignty and multiple centres of power at global, local and intermediate levels, local issues discussed and situated in relation to a global community, powerful international organisations predominant over national organisations, fluid and multi-centric international relations, a weakening of value attached to the nation-state and a strengthening of common and global political values. Thus, the meaning of being a certain country or nations citizen also gets blurred. The notion of citizen is not as a unified and unifying concept as before when there is certain loss of nation-state sovereignty, or the erosion of national autonomy (Burbules and Torres, 2000, p. 14). The Effect of Globalisation in Education Having looked at the brief categorization of globalisation in general, this section will focus on the effect of globalisation in education. This section will look at commodification, internationalisation, citizenship and accessibility of knowledge. Commodification is the term used to describe commodification can be seen in two ways, the displacement of use values by exchange values or in general to describe how consumer culture becomes embedded in daily lives through various ways (Ball, 2004, p.4). This consumer culture that is a global phenomenon today has also affected the education sector. Commodification of education is evident from the primary school to the higher education. Many are affected by, especially the parents and the students. Due to the competition for the entrance of an excellent school, parents and the learner will be under a lot of pressure to prepare themselves so they can qualify to this prestigious or high-league table-ranked schools. The society without noticing is drawn to this concept of education commodification due to the societal pressure. Similarly, the teachers and staff in these schools are forced to work hard to maintain the schools league table position so they can maintain the financial support from the government. The demands of competition, the information provided by League Tables, pressures from the state for performance improvement and target-achievement and per-capita funding, in a period of spending constraints, work together to create local economies of student worth where schools compete to recruit those students, most likely to contribute to improvements and performance (Ball, 2004, p. 10). Therefore, in this situation the commodification of education does not really seem to benefitting the learners, or the even parents. This cycle of incentives for performance is not something good as it contradicts with the value of education. Due to globalisation, the power of sovereign has been reduced. Instead, there is a new concept of citizenship emerging (Capella, 2000).Capella argues that in light of globalisation, citizenship has run away from private sphere and is more open. Besides, democracy is also a sign of the reduced function of citizenship. This has also an effect in education where the introduction of module and courses on being a global citizen. These courses also echo the concept of democracy. .Another effect of globalisation is the internationalization of education. Internationalisation is the process of intergrating an international or intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and exercise function of the institution (Knight, 1994, p. 16 cited in Knight, 1999). Internationalisation is about globalisation. Internationalisation happens usually at higher level education. There are many reasons for the internationalisation of the higher education. One of it is the internationalisation will help foreign policy of a country. Through internationalisation, a country will be perceived as welcoming and friendly to the different cultural aspects. In other words, internationalisation will indicate that the country appreciates the various cultures that exist are open to accepting them. On an economic point of view, internationalisation will help attract investment from foreign countries to a country. This will boost the countrys economy through the investments (Knight, 1999 ). By internationalisation, the quality of teaching and learning process could be improved. This is because internationalisation encourages acceptance of various culture and integrates this in the teaching and learning process. The students will be exposed to various source of knowledge about the world. This knowledge of the world will help the learners to understand and make sense the difference and similarities people around the world have from one culture to another. Besides, internationalisation will also encourage partnership between various universities around the world. This is because through internationalization, one common medium of interaction will be chosen between the cooperating universities, which will likely to be English. Having a common language and some similarities will further encourage cooperation work between universities from different countries. Another effect of globalisation in education is that the accessibility of knowledge. Through the internet, many different kind of knowledge are readily accessible on the internet (Robertson, 1992). This means the acquisition of knowledge by students are much faster since there they have wide range of knowledge available for them. This would help students and teachers in their learning process. This rapidly growing information on the net could facilitate learning process by providing references and validating certain concepts that the learners are confused or unable to comprehend. Besides, the teachers and learners can build a network system through the net where they can talk and communicate with teachers and students from any part of the world through the internet. This would help teachers and learners to create a global view of education n based on their communication with people from around the world. However, this might also be a problem for the students since with the huge amoun t of information available on the net, the reliability of some of the information is sometimes questionable. Therefore, it is important for the learners to be able to distinguish between reliable and unreliable information. Besides, it is also important for them to be able to choose and pick which information that is suitable for them. The downside of this body of knowledge available on the internet is that it cannot be accessed by people in certain parts of the world where the communication technology is not at par with the latest communication technology (Burbules, 2000). This in a way widens the gap between the education progress in a developed country with a well-equipped information technology facilities and the education progress in a developing country with poor information technology facilities. In a less progressed country where it is already a struggle to maintain teaching and learning process, the people will not know what they have missed by the lack of facilities. Another aspect of the manifestation of the accessibility information is the distance learning (Foley, 2003). Distance learning is the teaching and learning process which does not happen in a physical classroom, but instead happens in a virtual classroom. This distance learning was already available before the existence of the internet through the use of post. However, the invention of the internet has taken distance learning into a whole new level. Distance education has enabled more people to gain access to education through the many different types of online courses offered by universities and other online course providers. One of the benefits of this distance learning is that the learning process can be done in learners own time, without any peer pressure form classmates. However, the drawback of distance learning is that the reduced or loss of the human touch in the learning and teaching process. Human touch in the form of communication with one another is important in learning. Implications to Teaching and Learning Process in a Malaysian Secondary Classroom. Having discussed the impact of globalisation in education on a global level, tis section will try to relate back the impact of globalisation in education in a Malaysian context, specifically in a Malaysian secondary classroom. Malaysian secondary classroom consist of students for the age of thirteen to seventeen. These students come from various backgrounds. First and foremost, one of the main implications the effect of globalisation in a Malaysian context is the teachers and students should be aware of the effect of globalisation in education to the Malaysian education system and also to the global education policy and reforms. Here, the teacher training college plays a crucial part in incorporating the effect of globalisation in education to the teacher trainees. This is so that future teachers will be aware of the effects of globalisation and then try to inform the students and then create awareness in the students. Besides, it also a teachers responsibility to make the learners aware of the multi dimension of globalisation that exist beyond Malaysia. This will help the learners to be able develop critical thinking based on their awareness of the world around them. Furthermore, the appreciation of unique multicultural society that exists around the world, not only in Malaysia should be made known to the learners. On a similar note, it is important to realise that a teaching method or education policy that is a success in one environment is not necessarily can be taken and put it into another context. This might not work as the context is as important as the policy itself. Another implication that can be drawn from the discussion above is that it is important to realize that the abundance of information and knowledge available on the internet comes with a price as well. The implication of these to the Malaysian education especially in a secondary classroom is that the learners should be equipped with the necessary skill to filter the knowledge and then distinguish between facts and non-facts. In order to do this, the teachers should give some exposure of this kind of activity in the classroom. This will help learners, the secondary school students to be able to pick and choose the fact from the rest. Besides, it is also important to be able to pick the information which is useful for the individual rather than using all the information available. CONCLUDING REMARKS Globalisation is a powerful process that has influenced many aspects ranging from education to politics and economy. Even in the field of education, globalisation has touched and influenced many parts of education. The internationalisation, the distance learning, the new form of citizenship and commodification are the examples of the endless effect of globalisation in education. On the surface all these seem to be having a positive effect on the education section. However, upon detailed scrutiny of these impacts on teachers, educators and learners in particular, it is evident that globalisation can also negatively impact the learners, teachers and educators. The crucial question here is whether these negative effects outweigh the positive or vice versa. Besides, another thought provoking question is whether the advantages of globalisation is worth fighting for. Therefore, a future teacher who would be directly in the education system facing all this kind of situation should be aware of the impact of globalisation in education and are able make conscious decision about it.

Declaration of Independence Essay -- U.S. History

Children’s voice shouting in parades, spinning noise-makers, giant flags of red, white, and blue waving in every corner of the street, fireworks light up the night sky, friends and family gathering around with big smile on their faces; it is not somebody’s birthday nor it is an ordinary day. It is a true festival, a country’s birthday. The Fourth of July marks the anniversary of the glorious day in 1776 when America, as a new nation declared to the world its independence from monarchs. Because of the importance of this day, thus, the Declaration of Independence can be considered as one of the most influential documents in American History. Not only that, other organizations and countries have also adopted its manner and tones for their own documents or declarations, such as â€Å"Declaration of the Rights of Man† from France or the â€Å"Declaration of Sentiments† from the Women’s Right movement. After the Congress ratified the text on July Fourth, the Declaration of Independence had been issued in several forms. It was originally published as a printed broadside that was generally distributed and read to the public. Nevertheless, although the wording was approved on the Fourth of July, most historians have concluded that â€Å"it was signed almost a month later after its adoption, not on July Fourth as is commonly believed† . The Declaration not only justified the independence of the United States of America by listing colonial complaints against King George III, but it also asserted certain and legal rights, including the right of evolution. Nonetheless, after the American Revolution, the original purpose of the text was ignored. Since then, the Declaration of Independence can only be viewed as a major statement on human rights. Yet, the ques... ...lic (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 123–24 John H. Hazelton, The Declaration of independence: its history (New York, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1906), 13 George William Frederick, His Majesty's most gracious speech to both Houses of Parliament, on Friday, October 27 [i.e. Thursday, October 26], 1775 (Philadelphia, Printed by Hall and Sellers, 1776) Jack N. Rakove, The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretative History of the Continental Congress (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979), 89 Herbert Friedenwald, The Declaration of Independence: an interpretation and an analysis (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1904), 67 Pauline Maier, American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), 41 Brian Boyd, Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition and Fiction (Massachusetts, Belknap of Harvard UP, 2010), 21 Declaration of Independence Essay -- U.S. History Children’s voice shouting in parades, spinning noise-makers, giant flags of red, white, and blue waving in every corner of the street, fireworks light up the night sky, friends and family gathering around with big smile on their faces; it is not somebody’s birthday nor it is an ordinary day. It is a true festival, a country’s birthday. The Fourth of July marks the anniversary of the glorious day in 1776 when America, as a new nation declared to the world its independence from monarchs. Because of the importance of this day, thus, the Declaration of Independence can be considered as one of the most influential documents in American History. Not only that, other organizations and countries have also adopted its manner and tones for their own documents or declarations, such as â€Å"Declaration of the Rights of Man† from France or the â€Å"Declaration of Sentiments† from the Women’s Right movement. After the Congress ratified the text on July Fourth, the Declaration of Independence had been issued in several forms. It was originally published as a printed broadside that was generally distributed and read to the public. Nevertheless, although the wording was approved on the Fourth of July, most historians have concluded that â€Å"it was signed almost a month later after its adoption, not on July Fourth as is commonly believed† . The Declaration not only justified the independence of the United States of America by listing colonial complaints against King George III, but it also asserted certain and legal rights, including the right of evolution. Nonetheless, after the American Revolution, the original purpose of the text was ignored. Since then, the Declaration of Independence can only be viewed as a major statement on human rights. Yet, the ques... ...lic (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 123–24 John H. Hazelton, The Declaration of independence: its history (New York, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1906), 13 George William Frederick, His Majesty's most gracious speech to both Houses of Parliament, on Friday, October 27 [i.e. Thursday, October 26], 1775 (Philadelphia, Printed by Hall and Sellers, 1776) Jack N. Rakove, The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretative History of the Continental Congress (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979), 89 Herbert Friedenwald, The Declaration of Independence: an interpretation and an analysis (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1904), 67 Pauline Maier, American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), 41 Brian Boyd, Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition and Fiction (Massachusetts, Belknap of Harvard UP, 2010), 21

Little Women :: Essays Papers

Little Women Summary of Part One Little Women tells the story of the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they grow from childhood to adulthood. The story is set during the Civil War times. The March girls are struggling because their father is away at war and funds are limited. Jo and Meg have to work outside from home, not only because their father is away at war but also, because he lost all of his money trying to help a friend in need. Jo works for her bitter Aunt March. Meg spends her days teaching small children as a governess. When Jo and Meg attend a New Year’s party, they meet their neighbor Theodore Laurence or Laurie, as he prefers to be called. He is the grandson of their rich neighbor Mr. Laurence. Jo and Laurie established the beginning of a wonderful friendship. All the girls start visiting the Laurence home with the exception of Beth. Beth being the shy one from the sisters and afraid of Mr. Laurence decides to stay home instead. Mr. Laurence finds out that Beth is a wonderful piano player. He talks in private to Mrs. March, she helps him convince her to attend his house and play the piano in private. Beth makes Mr. Laurence some slippers, to show him her gratitude. Mr. Laurence touched by her sincerity gives her the piano that once belonged to his sickened and departed granddaughter. From that point her and Mr. Laurence develop a special bond. Meanwhile Amy is terribly in debt with her classmates. It seems that for Amy and her classmates is a pastime to trade pickled limes. Meg gives Amy money to buy limes. She purchases 24 and proudly announces it to her classmates. When she refuses to share her limes with a classmate she gets in trouble with her teacher. He then smacks her with a ruler. When Mrs. March finds out she then decides that is better for Amy to be taught at home. Meg is invited to a fortnight at the Moffats. She attends a party in which she is ridiculed. Laurie also attends the party and is disappointed by her behavior. At the party she also becomes aware of some gossip that is going around of her and her family. She tells her mother and her mother tells her to focus on being herself and to never mind the gossip.

Impact of newspaper in the age of electronic media

The impact of newspaper in the age of electronic media Today many can say that electronic media(TV, satellite) is ruling the whole news arena. But the impact of printed news is something different. When we watch TV news, one can easily switch the channel with remote, the impact of what we saw in the news channel may easily be diverted In our mind by other sport channel, serial or movie. But that hardly happens when we read newspaper with a cup of tea In morning breakfast.The news directly hits our refreshed minds as the purpose of news should be. We can concentrate on letters printed on the paper, merely having any distractions like satellite. Impact of electronic media Is undeniable. But newspaper does something more permanent. We can miss some point of news In 1 hour telecast , but newspaper presents It In details -It Is difficult to miss any Important news there with big headlines unless you are in a hurry. Sometimes necessary adds(job, scholarship) are found in newspaper while tu rning pages .But that is not possible in TV satellites. Promotions of mobile companies, Did offers, etc are available in the printed news. That will be impossible to get all that in one channel or one site. We get all kinds of social view in one paper ,but never in one channel or website. So, the power of printed news remains superior even in the flourish of electronic media. The fact that we see news in the TV may seem more modern, but what we read in the newspaper , that has more permanent effect on our mind.

Disadvantages and Advantages of Computer

With computer and internet connection, you can have easy access to information. Computers can be use for multiple purposes, word processing, gaming, movies, internet browsing, programming, reading articles, email, faxing, video chat, online chat and more. Organize large and store large amount of data and information such as images, sound, videos and other files. It helps people to communicate with other computer owners, family and friends across the world through the internet. There are free calls from different countries and making the world smaller. Computers run 24 hours 7 days a week. Reduce the use of paper. Computer has more computing and calculating power than human. Computers are more accurate and consistence. Accountant work has become much easier because of the help of computers. Enable you to shop online anywhere and purchase items without commuting. Helps create automatic tasks that human do not want to do. Computer Disadvantage Less human interactions, computer may ruin your social life if you cannot maintain the balance. People who work from home on their computers are likely to feel cut off from the rest of the world. Have to constantly keep up to date with new technology and have to spend time to learn different functions in applications. May caused eyestrains because of the bright screen and radiation. Computer may decrease your physical activities, making someone unhealthy, may caused chronic injury syndrome with pain in the fingers of the hand/radiating pain in the forearm and arm. Shoulder pain – fibromyalgia in shoulder muscles, elbow pain – tennis elbow, golfers elbow, wrist pain – deQuervains disease, ulnar styloiditis. Finger joint pains – usually linked to tenosynovitis, trigger fingers. May cause bad posture and skeletal problems. Children have easy access to pornographic material with internet connection. Children are also easy target for sexual offenders who pretend to chat and pretend to be their friends. Email spam, lead to fraud, hacking, stolen identities, and viruses. People have lost jobs because computers are more efficient than human. Risk of addiction to online gaming and online gambling.

Education †teacher Essay

Education Education, I’d have to say it’s the one thing that many students complain about everyday but inside secretly enjoy like the song â€Å"Call Me Maybe†. Even though I might not be fond of getting up at six everyday to go learn, I know many parents around the world would kill for their child to have the opportunities I have in the society I live in. I receive a world-class education, with many opportunities to further my learning at a college or university. It isn’t only the knowledge I get from these institutions that is amazing but the teachers and fellow students that are also outstanding. These instructors are very well educated and know how to teach every class with the right style of teaching, and I believe this is the most important part in the education process. Nelson Mandela once said, â€Å"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. † Here in the United States we are lucky enough to potentially be one of the biggest changes in the world. Compared to other countries where children are arguably set up for failure, here, in America, teachers are made to hold our hands and show us the road to success. From infancy most kids are taught the importance of education, but I don’t think people in America fully understand how fortunate they are to have the privilege of nice, well-funded schools. When I went to India with my father he would tell me how they would spend countless number of hours just copying notes off of the board because they would only have one copy of a textbook and that was for the teacher at his old school in India. Students in the United States are very lucky to be able to take home a textbook home everyday if needed. High schoolers complain about how their backpacks are too heavy because of the amount of books, and how it is a hassle. Students should actually be thankful for this because other kids around the world pray everyday that they would be able to own a textbook to take home with them. Many schools around the world, including my father’s old school, do not have attendance. Many students from Palatine High School would hear this and become very jealous, and they would never show up if they didn’t have to. I believe this is actually a great rule because this exemplifies how the United States puts you on a road to success. This rule forces students to get some type of education, and education is key in moving forward in life. It isn’t only how great the knowledge we are learning is, but also how great the teachers, and fellow students are. It is incredible how nice teachers are in the United States. Teachers at Palatine High School are always willing to stay after school, come before school, meet during lunch, or do whatever they possibly can do to help you learn the material. On Tuesday my Psychology teacher came in at 7 AM just to help me and one other student prepare for a test. For only two kids my teacher came in over an hour earlier than she had to. Now that’s amazing. This is not only a few teachers, but all teachers are like this and it amazes me everyday how much our Palatine High School staff actually cares about its students. Comparing this to some other countries where teachers can hit and abuse students, it’s essentially comparing black to white. Next is the type of classroom setting and they way teaching is done, and how this helps students learn. In all of my classes if a life lesson can be taught a teacher will never think twice before taking time out of the lesson plan to help us, all the students in the long run. An example of this would be in my English class where tangent conversations about the topic at hand turn out to take the whole class period. It is amazing how my teacher facilitates these conversations to not only pertain to the topic we are learning but also life lessons. Every day and every year at school I am exposed to multiple different teaching styles and I have noticed that certain types of classes are taught the best with certain teaching styles. Personally some classes are naturally harder for me while some are naturally easier. This maybe due to the curriculum we are learning, but this is also due to how the teacher teaches. There are generally four types of teaching styles. There is formal authority, demonstrator, facilitator, and delegator. First is the formal authority teaching style. â€Å"This style is generally teacher-centered, where the teacher feels responsible for providing and controlling the flow of the content and the student is expected to receive the content† (â€Å"Teaching Styles Categories†). I believe this type of teaching works best with science and math classes because in science and math classes we learn brand new material which we don’t have much past experience with so it is necessary for the teacher to translate the information or else we would never really get to what is important. For me in physics class the formal authority teaching style works great by having the teacher give us notes to take on what is the important information on each concept which is vital to know. Next is the demonstrator. â€Å"The demonstrator teaching style run teacher-centred classes with an emphasis on demonstration and modeling. This type of teacher acts as a role model by demonstrating skills and processes. Then as a coach/guide in helping students develop and apply these skills and knowledge† (â€Å"Teaching Styles Categories†). I believe this type of teaching would work best in a world language. In a world language it is important to know the fundamental origins of what you are learning, and how what you are learning actually works. In a world language by seeing multiple examples of something complicated, you are able to analyze it and understand every part to it, which in the end helps you become at an expert at it. An example of this would be from Spanish last year where I did not understand how to use the subjunctive form, but with help from my teacher and him showing every part to it I was able learn the concept of the subjunctive form and ace the quiz. After this is the facilitator model teaching style. â€Å"Teachers who use the facilitator model tend to focus on activities. This teaching style emphasizes student-centered learning and there is much more responsibility placed on the students to take the initiative for meeting the demands of various learning tasks† (â€Å"Teaching Styles Categories†). I think this works best in an English class. I say this because in English we have learned a lot of what we need to know from past English classes. So to reach the next level in English students need to be able to pick out key concepts by themselves and argue why that concept is important. I have seen a lot of this in my English class, and I have noticed that the class has grown with this skill because our teacher does a great job facilitating class conversations se we get to what we need to know with as little interruption from the discussion. Lastly there is the delegator teaching style. â€Å"Teachers who teach with a delegator teaching style tend to focus on activities. This teaching style emphasizes student-centered learning and there is much more responsibility placed on the students to take the initiative for meeting the demands of various learning tasks† (â€Å"Teaching Styles Categories†). I believe this teaching style lends itself to the social studies because you are able to understand a lot of the key terms after seeing them in real life examples. In my psychology class you can sit through class and still get by, but to fully understand the concepts a student must apply himself during experiments and videos to be able to see the key terms in real life examples. These teaching styles are never limited to just one in a classroom and can be combined to further a student’s education and to help a student learn and retain information better. Even though we have all these nice privileges and opportunities at schools in the United States, I believe this feeds a flaw. This flaw is the lack of wanting an education in students. I think since many students don’t actually know how lucky they are to have the opportunities they do here in the United States, their respect and importance for education in their lives is decreased. This is due to the fact that the American education system has formed society to believe that education for everyone is the norm, when in reality this is far from the truth. When education should be growing in importance to future generations it is only decreasing in importance. This is shown by comparing how much money the United States spends on education funding to student performance. The United States is the country that spends the fifth most per a student on average, spending about 12,550. 24 dollars per student (â€Å"Class size, teacher’s pay and spending: which countries spend the most and pay the least in education? †). However, the United States only places 17th in the developed world for education (â€Å"Best Education In The World†). Comparing the United States’ policy of education to other countries, maybe there are some changes to be made. A country the United States could use as a role model would be Finland, the number one ranked country for education (â€Å"Best Education In The World†). Finland’s excellence is due to a succession of reforms starting in the 1970s (â€Å"What We Can Learn from Finland’s Successful School Reform†). These reforms were based off of five strategies which were getting resources for those who need them most, high standards and supports for special needs, qualified teachers, evaluation of education, and balancing decentralization and centralization (â€Å"What We Can Learn from Finland’s Successful School Reform†). First off by getting resources to the people who need them will allow all the people in the United States to get an education, which will surely increase the Untied States’ average. Many people cannot get a higher education because they cannot afford it, but by giving them the resources to get a higher education the US will be able to higher their educational level. Unlike the United States in Finland Ninety-eight percent of the cost of education at all levels is covered by government rather than by private sources (â€Å"What We Can Learn from Finland’s Successful School Reform†). Next, by increasing the standards and supports for special needs will enable students to increase their knowledge and give them the chance to show it. Another thing the United States needs to do is get more qualified teachers. Even though this is not really a problem in district 211, I believe this a big factor holding back students from their full potential. I believe that this is a crucial step in the nation taking a step forward because unqualified teachers are unable to help a students learn the material needed to bring the Untied States to the next level of educational success. The next thing is the United States has to do is evaluate education, everything from the purpose to how it is tested. Many small changes such as taking away honors classes and â€Å"regular† classes will force students to work harder in a normal class. This also will not discourage any students who were trying to get into an honors class and did not make it. The common curriculum will allow everyone to get a higher learning and not only a few kids who did well on one test to put them in a higher class. This will also help create a friendly yet competitive environment for school. This success of this reform has already been shown, â€Å"At the beginning of the 1970s, Finland launched reforms to equalize educational opportunity by first eliminating the practice of separating students into very different tracks based on their test scores, and then by eliminating the examinations themselves† (â€Å"What We Can Learn from Finland’s Successful School Reform†). Another thing that will help take the next step in education is taking away many standardized tests such as the ISAT, PSAT, ACT, and etc. Instead of trying to focus on bringing students up to a low national level, by decentralizing and giving power to more highly trained local teachers would allow the US to bring the whole national average up. In Finland, â€Å"Over the past 40 years, Finland has shifted from a highly centralized system emphasizing external testing to a more localized system in which highly trained teachers design curriculum around the very lean national standards† (â€Å"What We Can Learn from Finland’s Successful School Reform†). This will allow teachers to teach the way they believe the students will learn better and this makes the job easier for both the teacher and the students. All of these tactics have worked for Finland as we see the change from 1970 once it broke free of the Soviet Union to where it has come now. Even though the change in the American education system will not be immediate, I believe it is possible to bring change and to higher the level of education in the United States. In the end I believe the American Education system is one of the greatest things the nation has to offer its people. Even though it has its flaws the United States’ education system is doing something right because the US is the country with the number one GDP. The American education system is something that is very unique, and something students in the United States should use to their full potential. Works Cited Hammond, Linda D. â€Å"What We Can Learn from Finland’s Successful School Reform. † Nea. org. NEA, Oct. -Nov. 2010. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. Rogers, Simon. â€Å"Class Size, Teacher’s Pay and Spending: Which Countries Spend the Most and Pay the Least in Education? † The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. Stein, Jennifer. â€Å"Teaching Styles Categories. † Teaching Styles Categories. 13 Apr. 2001. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. Zhao, Emmeline. â€Å"Best Education In The World: Finland, South Korea Top Country Rankings, U. S. Rated Average. † The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost. com, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.

Na’im Akbar is acclaimed as one of the leading writers today

He has produced some of the best works of his time. His readers have long appreciated him for his classical interpretation of human morality and several critical thematic concerns of race and society but yet in a most humorous, easy and light hearted representation.Some of his most praised and entertaining works involve the analytical issue of the disgrace of racism and the hideousness of being a slave. Akbar's book, Breaking the chains of psychological slavery, tells his desire to revolutionize social, political traditions.Akbar persuades the reader through a prejudiced vision of his existence, inducing in the reader compassion distress and negative depiction of the white. The writer in his storyline takes the reader on a ride to the past, into a darker and crueler world of his time that disliked, loathed and exploited the men and women with darker skins. He talks about the curse of slavery and its impact on the society, a society that was built around the disgraces of racism and th at only recognized the master and the slave, not the life within.The depiction of the brutalities and the inhumanity of the custom of slavery, in the very first chapter, â€Å"The Psychological Legacy of Slavery†, is remarkable in its own way, criticized as a work more important and brilliant in content compared to the several other works by slave writers.This is mainly because he incorporates several dimensions of the cult of slavery in his narrative, specially throwing light upon the impacts of slavery on the slaves and more importantly on the lifeless bodies who owned them.â€Å"The implication of this is that the mind’s possibilities are limited by its concept of its potential.† † (Akbar 1996) .The slaves were not allowed to own any property. Hence they were grieved and heart broken with their abandonment.Their birth was rather a calamity and they cursed themselves for having been born as slaves. They felt that the master’s house was one of the most hostile places. I agree with the author here as I feel that it was from them that they too learned to be vile and vindictive. Thus the slaves transformed themselves into jealous people with conflagration. However, their innocence and ignorance made them suffer from prejudice.The foremost procedure the author uses in the second chapter is sympathy. He writes about mental slavery and an unknown faith. â€Å"When young Black boys learn that there are no limits to our possibilities on the basketball courts, we create the athletic genius of Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson and in their genius, they recreate the game of basketball.When our young people know that there are no limits to their potential in the world of manufacturing, communication, physics, chemistry or the science of the human mind, then those same young Black minds who create dances on the dance floor or compose music on their bodies with the ‘hand jive’ will recreate these fields of human endeavor with t he same incomparability.† (Akbar 1996)I got an emotion of distress and wanted providential things to happen to the slaves. Unfairness is exposed all the way through the chapter. This new tactic, intoxicated with the velvety diplomacies of pity, care and tolerance, made things even worse for the slaves. In this chapter, Akbar also speaks of the disgraces of racism and the immoralities of slavery with a most light hearted and moderate appeal.This is a major part of the irony that clearly comes to light when observed carefully. â€Å"†You must first be a king of your own personal kingdom. If you can't lead that kingdom on your own two feet, you can't lead a bigger kingdom†(Akbar 1996) Very ironically and rightly, he criticizes the aspects of morality in terms of slavery, racism and other such critical social concerns. I read the author’s depiction of an unknown faith in a slave’s life, as an allegorical representation of the plight of blacks in the Unit ed States even in the post-slavery time.He tactfully   exposes the duplicity of freedom, enfranchisement and equality, demonstrating how racism distorted the oppressors as much as it did those who were oppressed, yet in a most humorous and easy flow. This brilliant use of irony again reveals itself when in a world of moral confusion, in which seemingly good and civilized   white people express no concern what so ever about the injustice and illegitimacies of cruelty towards a black.A marvelous creation of Akbar, the masterpiece best reveals his ironical blending of wit with reality. His personal and conversational style makes the reader involved in his tone and mood. He takes the reader into confidence through his easy and delightful pace.The analytical issue of the disgrace of racism and the hideousness of slavery is beautifully depicted. Akbar’s contention to transform the view of the society is substantiated when he desires to bring out his ideas about racial religious inquisition and emotional perplexity, in the third chapter of the book.I perceive that although Akbar wrote the book several years after the end of the emancipation proclamation and the civil war, America still struggled to emerge out cleanly out of the disgraces of racism and the aftermaths of slavery.When the book was written, although seemingly flowing in a positive direction, race relations were beginning to withstand new strains, trapped now in a cleverer and more civilized white society. These new forces were more social and personal than official. This new form of racism in the south was less institutionalized and monolithic but at the same time was more difficult to resolve or combat.The white society although outlawed slavery and racism, most certainly due to growing ethical, moral and international pressures, was beginning to learn to adopt a more hypocritical, self-defensive reason to hate the newly freed blacks, to keep them away. I feel the author employs a predisposed analysis to manipulate the mind and heart of the reader.The greater the power, the more dangerous is the abuse. The truth in the statement is well proved in the book. Akbar makes his political report in this twentieth-century book that could be relished as an exhilarating but heart grieving story about a black boy. He, very well comments upon the abuse of political power and how the poor and down trodden blacks fall prey to the diplomacy of the whites.The title is a symbol for the evil contained in human souls.   The author reigns high in the field of characterization. His works transact chiefly with the divergence of the intellect and impulse. All of his key works present humans as inherently belligerent and corrupt. It can best be described as a document that predicts the behavior of human mind under the influence of circumstances around him.Hence I do feel that the author takes the reader to a journey back to those years, when the world was a difficult place to life for those whose skins were black. And in doing so, he maintains a supreme calmness in his pace that is garnished with humor and adventure.In today’s highly materialistic society, there is just no place for modesty. Hence the writer in his storyline takes the reader on a ride to the past, into a darker and crueler world of his time that disliked, loathed and exploited the men and women with darker skins. I am mesmerized by the reality that the author brings to light. This not only gestures at the authority, status and power of dictatorship but also accuses the present society where crafty people exploit the innocence of the docile and submissive ones.Bibliography:Akbar Na'im, Breaking the chains of psychological slavery , June 1996, Mind Productions & Associates ,isbn 0935257055