The Impact of the Washing Machine on Society - 981 Words

Technology has the ability to not only influence the way individuals conduct their lives, but also the way society functions as a whole system. This essay will explore the impact of the washing machine on society, and how the technology changed the lives of Women. By focussing on how society functioned prior to and after the mainstream introduction of the washing machine, it is possible to draw some conclusions on the effect of the technology. Societal change is complex and there are other, less visible, effects of the technology which are important to explore. As the impact of the technology was most prominent in first world, western cultures the essay will focus on the impact on those societies. In 2010 the Irish Times asked a feminism round table which invention changed their lives the most (Fintan, 2012). Mamo Mcdonald, born in 1929, replied â€Å"The washing machine†. Prior to the introduction of the washing machine, washing was a laborious chore which took significant time to setup and complete (Greenwood, Seshadri, Yorukoglu, 2005). It was normal for all the weeks washing to be saved for one day, usually Monday, as a result of the time needed, impacting other chores. Rasmussen (1994, p. 8) quotes Rhoda Bickers recollection of her childhood in Taihape â€Å"I hated Mondays! That was washing day. After school, I had to come home and do the dishes because Mum had been washing clothes all day long.† Rhoda also recalls (Rasmussen, 1994, p. 1) â€Å"If one of my brothers wanted a shirtShow MoreRelatedThe Washing Machine934 Words   |  4 PagesWashing Machine- The Helping Hands Laundering clothes manually involves the process of scrubbing and rinsing dry dirty clothes and other textiles. The entire process can be extremely tiring and time consuming. It can also lead to severe backaches for the washers. The electric washing machine has been a boon for housewives and house keepers as they have saved them not only a lot of time and effort from these this cumbersome chore but also contributed to their better health. The main parts ofRead MoreEssay about The Global Water Shortage1260 Words   |  6 Pages Although to stop the water shortage problems is difficult and costly, and takes a lot of time, the effective solutions to avoid future crisis in China are needed, such as recycling water, the south-north transferring and building a water-saving society, because those solutions will save people’s lives, the environment and sustain economic development. The China’s most important and serious problem is water shortage and this problem will not stop if solutions are not found quickly. SoRead MoreMarket Segmentation of Toshiba1353 Words   |  6 Pagesvariables for Toshiba’s market segmentation. Although Toshiba’s product line is suitable for both men and women, it is the male side that makes up the majority portion of consumers. Men have a technological world view that grew up along with industrial society (Brenston, 2007). Hence it was no surprise that Toshiba had that in mind and made its product renowned for elegance and class, which is an essential element in middle-high working class. By looking at the new Toshiba satellite television commercialRead MoreThe Internet Of Things?1105 Words   |  5 PagesThe Internet of Things The Internet has become one of the most powerful creations in modern day history. Over the past decade the Internet has continued to have a major impact on our society. It has allowed us to communicate and share information effectively and immediately. The availability of the Internet has rapidly increased and almost every device has Wi-Fi capabilities. As technology advances, the term to â€Å"be connected† is no longer only associated with computers, tablets and smartphonesRead MoreTma02 Outline Who Are the Winners and Losers in a Consumer Society1284 Words   |  6 PagesThe aim of this essay is to explore who the winners and losers are in a consumer society by looking at how status is affected by choices as a consequence of economic position. The essay also examines how major stakeholders, such as supermarkets and suppliers, impact that judgement and the global environmental consequences. Veblen’s concept of conspicuous consumption (Veblen, 1899) began to outline how the leisure classes demonstrated status through possessions. However, with increasing affluenceRead MoreBoston Consulting Group Matrix of Procter Gamble’s Tide Detergent794 Words   |  4 Pagesof new types of cloth washing machines (e.g., high efficiency (HE) units) and materials used in the manufacturing of clothing. Therefore, Tide will continue to remain at the maturity stage with continued investment. Market Share for Tide The average American, before the introduction of liquid detergent, owned less then ten outfits due to the difficulty in hand washing. Tide is about cleaning clothes with less hassle and helping them last longer without a negative impact to the environment. Read MoreThe History of Chemistry and Its Influene on Technology Essay982 Words   |  4 Pagesso important in society is chemistry. Chemistry has changed a lot of ways how humans lived on earth, it has helped people understand the biology of life. one thing that has been so influencing and effective to life and chemistry is the periodic table. The periodic table was found in 1871 by Dimitri Mendeleev, this is the most important thing to science. Chemistry has tied a lot to technology in society. Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, craftRead MoreComputer Science And Its Impact On The World1200 Words   |  5 Pagesuse computer science products in everything we do from just turning on the washing machine, cell phones, televisions or just driving. With all that computer scientist know today, there are still claims that its just the tip of the iceberg. However, the importance of computer scientist today is undeniable, whether it is in animation, industries, advertising of predicting the weather; they have made their mark in the society. To illustrate the rate computer science is improving by, in less than 10Read MoreBusinesses Must Take A Sustainable Growth And Value Creation That Meets A Triple Bottom Line1679 Words   |  7 Pagesby urban growth, at the same time environmental concerns have never been more pressing or more relevant. Companies and governments will be faced with tough decisions, as growth or profits are often linked to trade-offs in environmental and social impact or safety. China, its people and leaders, are committed to finding an answer. In 2015, China generated almost 15 percent of the world’s GDP, while taking nearly 25% of the world’s total energy consumption. As part of its 13th Five-Year Plan, ChinaRead MoreContribution of Engineers in Society1175 Words   |  5 PagesQuestion 5: In this technological age, the power of the engineers in shaping the society and environment in all pervading and can profoundly affect the lives of many members of the society. Enumerate, from your personal experience, how largely positive impacts have accrued from the contributions of engineers. Answer: Introduction In the eyes of public, an engineer is a professional man who is of sufficient training, expertise, and integrity as to be able to act with independence and impartiality

Digital Millennium Copyright Act Free Essays

I would consider the sharing and downloading of songs from the Internet to be wrong when a purchase isn’t made to obtain the download. When ecommerce is circumvented and a song is downloaded from the Internet the effects are felt beyond the large music record companies. The fans of that artist, the employees that manufacture the digital media, even you as the person downloading the content will have consequences. We will write a custom essay sample on Digital Millennium Copyright Act or any similar topic only for you Order Now If the demand for a product is high the price for such product does not have to be high. Thus, if I along with many others download my favorite artist’s song the consequences ripple far past the wealthy record companies. The fans willing to pay will have a higher cost because demand is not reflected accurately. The companies that develop products to create this digital media will have fewer jobs to offer/may require terminating employees. I will feel the effects because my favorite artiest may not put out music due the demand not being accurate. This is a very interesting topic to discuss because here there are laws that protect copyrighted material, as well as technology that solely are used to uphold these laws. In fact, it seems that the technology are the laws regarding digital media and when avoided they are broken. Once constrains on behavior are built into the technical standards governing a technology, the technical standards effectively become a new method for governing used of the technology- in essence, the technical standards become a type of law. †(Textbook) Lending a CD to a friend is ok. There isn’t infringement to copyrights, and the rights management system is not underm ined when doing so. For instance manufactures decide the rules of with the digital media can be used. â€Å"In the Case of rights management systems, copyright owners determine the rules that are embedded into the technological controls. By implementing technical constraints on access to and use of digital information, a copyright owner can effectively supersede the rules of the intellectual property law. †(Textbook) When allowing a friend to borrow a CD the RMS is not damaged in the process. Letting a friend download, copy to an external drive, or rip to CD music is definitely wrong. It infringes on various copyright statues, as well as undermines any rights management systems that are used with my digital media. To bypass the RMS of digital media would violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and is without a doubt wrong. No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. †(Textbook) To work around the RMS of a CD and rip songs to a library and then make a copy of these songs to a blank CD violates the DMCA. Using other technology to obtain this media is also wrong. In the case Real Networks, Inc. v. Streambox, Inc. we see that t o use software to copy media is another instance of DMCA violation. In this case Real Networks offered a way to stream music for sampling, but if a user wanted to own the copy they must purchase the song. RealServers hosted this music and would only play content on RealPlayers. This relationship between player and server was authenticated by means of â€Å"secret handshake†. Users who have met content owners preference to download media (i. e. purchased the music) could do so by a â€Å"copy switch† authentication method. Streambox VCR allow users to bypass the copy switch mechanism, which allow users to download media without the consent or preference of the copyright holder. We see with this case that if we use software to circumvent the ecommerce process we have violated the DMCA. The DMCA prohibits the manufacture, import, offer to the public, or trafficking in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that: (3) is marketed for use in circumventing such technological protection measures. †(Textbook) Allowing this friend to download from a site is wrong as well. It violates the same DMCA standards forbidding working around RMS. Peer to peer sharing we have seen in the case A M Records Inc, v. Napster, Inc. violates the DMCA if the holder does not grant permission to the content. To enable the act of infringing even though you yourself are not infringing does not remove liability. â€Å"Napster may be vicariously liable when it fails to affirmatively use its ability to patrol its system and preclude access to potentially infringing files listed in its search index. Napster has both the ability to use its search function to identify infringing musical recordings and the right to bar participation of users who engage in the transmission of infringing files. †(Textbook) I think that the digital copyright laws of today are reasonable. They protect the copyright holders, but there are still â€Å"free use† statues are in place that makes sampling music realistic. Today we have youtube, Pandora, and spotify just to name a few. If I want to sample music or even listen to my favorite genre of music I am free to. I can subscribe to a new artist on youtube and sample their music before I ever have to pay for a CD. Today technology has made it more convenient to be a consumer of media, and harder to protect your copyright for media creators. With every streaming site there is a file-sharing site. I think that it’s unfortunate that someone who worked hard to create a work of music has to deal with it being stolen, but I think there is a solution in the near future. With everything being hosted in the cloud now a days we see media outlets like itunes and spotify have huge cloud library with the ability to take a physical copy when placing it on an external device. We are seeing less and less local copies of media with the emergence of the cloud, which will make it very hard to circumvent RMS in place. So what should be the law? The laws should evolve with technology, and as of now should remain as they are. How to cite Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Papers

The Compound Situations

Question : Dicuss about the Different Topic of Management ? Answer : Introduction The ethical dilemma is one of the compound situations involving the conflicts mainly in between the moral imperatives, and the problems which are hard to solve. However, the case of some international ICT-based companies in the country also elaborates that it is in the best interest to inquire more meaningful culture and how organizations choose to be lesser responsible, socially, to conduct business. The report is about the situation, discussing ICT tools in the small business organization. (Crawford et al., 2016). Due to confidentiality, the organization name cannot be revealed as well as the characters are also kept secret. The XYZ company name will be used for the organization, and a clear description of the business problems will be there. The report is based on the problems so that a solution could be found to avoid the issues in future altogether. Case Description The description for the XYZ organization focuses on the development of a new business idea of garments which has been designed for the unique dresses. The designing information is mainly stored on the computer network database so that any company employee could refer them as and when needed. (Shaw et al., 2014). The design is also stored for the future references, as per the norms of the company. The database system of the network was eventually found to be hacked by one of the competitors of the other organization, and so the designs were also stolen. This is the act of the cyber criminals, where there is no evidence about how the stealing is done. (Ferrell, 2016). Here, it was also seen that the competitor company used the data before and brought the designs in the market. Analysis of the Case What's going on? The XYZ Company includes the conduction of the business in the different phases with the development of new unique designs that are targeting the new customers. The development is based on the customers with the aim to capture a broader market with better designs and product range. The idea is about adverse effects with the ethical issues. The Doing Ethics Technique is for the analysis of the issues and problems related to it: What are the facts? The basic idea is related to the data server of the company being hacked by the criminals and the leakage of the design. (Hall et al., 2016). It also led to the failure of the products and a loss to the company as the data/designs were stolen and used by the competitive company for their development of business and organization. (Brinkmann, 2014). What are the issues? The issues are related to the facts of ethics where the hackers tend to get an entry in the system server of the other company and access the network in an unauthorized manner. It also includes the leakage of the confidential data and the other designs. Who is affected? The employees will have to work on the designs again as well as the stakeholders of the company also need to work for the growth of business, as they have to bear the loss. Along with this, the stakeholders also tend to focus on the priorities of cybercrime, facing a huge loss in the business depending upon the product demands. It includes the advanced network server launch with the previous setup of the company. What are the ethical issues and their implications? The problems are related to the case where the company cannot easily claim about the belongings that have been stolen. For this, the designing is based on the graphics and how the information is copied from one system through computer hacking. The other organization can use the designs of the products as there has been no major evidence for the stealing of the data of the company. Hence, the ethical issue is about the failure of the events and the revenue that has been generated by the designing only. (Hickman et al., 2016). What could have been done about it? It is not possible to change what has already been occurred. The best possible thing is to work on the improvement of the security network options by registering of designs with the government authorities, beforehand, so that the other company could not mark its copyright on it. What are the options? The best choice for this XYZ organization is to work on the improvement of the networking standards with the proper setup of the network security and the protocol process. (Mishra et al., 2016). The practices are based on the modern security standards where the company tends to use the antivirus software which will easily be able to protect the database from other future issues. Which Option is Best and Why? There are other issues which are related to the data hacking under the company base. Hence, the XYZ Company should focus on handling the losses in the market and working on the designs, again. The company has also not been able to claim anything since it lost to provide any evidence that the plans were stolen. The issue could be amended in future by improving the security system of the server. Conclusion While evaluating the companies, it is important to consider what they meant by being socially responsible and their role in it. (Dion et al., 2016). To initiate, the concept of CSR, and remove any dilemma, global companies take a lot of commitment from top to bottom from the government. Therefore, XYZ Corporation should work on their system security network so that the ethical issues could easily be solved. References Brinkmann, S. (2014). Interview. InEncyclopedia of Critical Psychology(pp. 1008-1010). Springer New York. Crawford, T. A. M., Evans, K. (2016). Crime prevention and community safety. Dion, M., Weisstub, D., Richet, J. L. (2016). Financial Crimes: Psychological, Technological, and Ethical Issues. Ferrell, O. C. (2016). Broadening marketings contribution to data privacy.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1-4. Hall, A., Antonopoulos, G. A. (2016). Introduction. InFake Meds Online(pp. 1-17). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Hickman, M. J., Powell, Z. A., Piquero, A. R., Greene, J. (2016). Exploring the viability of an attitudes toward ethical behavior scale in understanding police integrity outcomes.Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies Management,39(2), 319-337. Mishra, S., Dhir, S., Hooda, M. (2016). A Study on Cyber Security, Its Issues and Cyber Crime Rates in India. InInnovations in Computer Science and Engineering(pp. 249-253). Springer Singapore. Shaw, W. H., Barry, V. (2015).Moral issues in business. Cengage Learning.

The Faith Concept and Types

Table of Contents Introduction The concept of faith Types of faith Criticism of faith Conclusion Reference List Introduction Faith is a broad topic and remains mysterious to most people. Most scholars have tried to explore the concept of faith but only to the best of their understanding and the extent of their research. Faith as a topic and a concept cannot be exhaustively covered due to its broadness.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Faith Concept and Types specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The purpose of this research paper is to explore the concept of faith as understood by different people. The research will specifically attempt to unravel some truth about faith. The concept of faith, types of faith and the criticism of faith are the key areas explored in this paper. The concept of faith Faith is the unwavering strong conviction that something is wholly true. According to Migliore (2004), faith can also be a belief in someone considered as being supreme and possessing supernatural ability and qualities. Faith is a concept that is central in most world religions. This is because their beliefs are founded in certain religious teachers whose teachings are considered as the absolute truth to them that possess that faith. There is also the belief in an all powerful, all knowing being in these religions whose ability is never questioned but people professing the faith seek to obey this being without failing. On the other hand, there are those who think that such beliefs which are not founded on reality but on what one is persuaded is the reality is illogical and lacking any validity and hence choose not to believe in any religious teachings or existence of a supreme being because faith and reasoning do not agree. Types of faith The most common type of faith in the world is the religious faith. There are many different religions professing different faiths. What each religion be lieves in causes a major disparity among the different religions or even among members of the same religion. For example both Christians and Muslims believe in Jesus but there is a great discrepancy in their belief. The greatest difference that exists to date is the belief of the Christians that Jesus is God but came in form of a man to atone for the sins of men through His death on the cross and resurrection (Migliore, 2004). This belief is strongly refuted by Muslims, who believe that Jesus was sent by God as a prophet to the Israelites and that he was not crucified and did resurrect after his death. Within the same religious group, there can also be differing views about the faith they profess. This is one of the reasons why there are many denominations within some religious groups for example the Christians.Advertising Looking for research paper on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In regard to the Holy B ooks, the Muslims see the Koran as the absolute truth and being God’s unchanging word to the human race. The Christians view the Bible as the God-inspired word which can never be altered. Other religions too have what they consider Holy Scriptures for example the Bhagavad Gita for Hindus. Criticism of faith The concept of religious faith is not universally acceptable by all. There are those who do not believe in the existence of a supreme being controlling the universe but chose to have logical and scientific evidence and explanation concerning any belief they may be having. They see religious faith as a misconception of what is real and those who choose to engage in it as being escapists who try to justify their illogical beliefs by disguising these beliefs as faith. Religious faith has at times been criticized for its lack of tangible scientific evidence. This has been the source of conflict between the major religions, whose proponents believe that everything in the Holy S criptures is true, and scientists who at times have been unable to verify the truth and validity of certain claims in these Books. Faith has also been seen by some people as something close to mental illness. The behavior of those professing a certain faith at times is beyond human reasoning and hence it becomes hard or impossible for anyone using reason to convince such a person that their belief is illogical. Extremes in faith have been known to cause people to engage in things that not everybody can understand (Jackson, 2010). People have been killed and others have been engaged in killing others not of their religious faith. For example the Christian martyrs who would not denounce their faith and instead chose to die for what they believed in. Although there are such criticisms about faith, its importance in the society can not be overlooked. Those who believe in reason for example are of the opinion that faith is an important aspect in the society so long as it does not cause a ny harm to it. Certain things also taught in the various religious teachings help regulate behavior within the society as regarding what is right and what is sinful hence peaceful co-existence among members of the society. Conclusion Faith has been a controversial topic over the years with each person seeking to advance their belief on what they think is the right thing or being to believe in. There is still no major consensus as to which faith is right. The choice to or not to believe in certain religious teachings or in a deity is entirely individual. Faith and reason have also been incompatible hence creating a big gap between those who base their faith in some Supreme Being and those who choose to use reason to come up with logical explanations about things.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Faith Concept and Types specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reference List Jackson, P. (2010).Extremes of Fait h and Nation: British Fascism and Christianity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Migliore, D. L. (2004). Faith seeking understanding: an introduction to Christian  Theology. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans. pp. 3-8. This research paper on The Faith Concept and Types was written and submitted by user Karter N. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Funeration essays

Funeration essays I have known many people who went to war and I have heard a lot of stories about wars. In those wars, many persons fought and died in battles to defend their beliefs. After consequences of a major battle, a persons spirit is as shattered and broken as the bodies of those that were slain. The United States went through wars and are still going through wars such as war on Afghanistan and Iraq. Pericles Funeral Oration was a speech given by Pericles in honor of those who had died during the war. Pericless Funeral Speech has been thousands of years since many issues of his speech still apply today. One issue I am going to talk about Pericless speech is Democracy. Greece was the first country who started Democracy during earlier times. Thus, I see that the democracy in Athenian times is very similar to what is used in the United States today. Specifically, Athenian democracy contrasts with U.S. system. It showed in the history that the democracy was unique and held as a model for other countries to follow. Pericless funeral oration reveals a lot of information about the greatest Ancient Greek empire. In my opinion, It reflects upon the values, culture and traditions of Athens that were popular of its times. It also touches me on some important aspects that are controlling the life of people in the ancient empire, respect for ancestors, and responsibilities for others. In addition, there are some things that loyalty, equality and fairness in treating of its citizens and neighbors as well as position of women in the society are touched to me by this speech. But most of all, the speech reflects upon great respect, appreciation and honor with which the whole community perceived the role of men protecting the values and heritage of their own city which is Athens. Pericles talks about honoring the acts of brave men who died in the battle a ...

An Analysis of the Rampant Food Waste America Produce

An Analysis of the Rampant Food Waste America Produce In my opinion the relationship between America and food is horrendous. Yes, throughout the states and different regions of America there are many takes on food, transforming it into creative and tasteful dishes. Maybe garnished with a sprig of some fancy tree that you’re not going to eat because who eats that junk? So, like many other foods, the garnish is thrown out and wasted. The wastefulness of our modern society branches out all through industries such as fast food, markets, and restaurants.Countless times fast food restaurants dump out food that was not sold: burgers, fries, chicken nuggets. All this food which was still edible is discarded. To think we could have still used this food or given it to someone who needed it, but rather kept it from them and took away the chance of anyone using it seems monstrous, but hey, that’s America. Everything revolves around some form of profit, so theres no time to get rid of that food for free. On the other side of fast food restaurants, there are the top of the line restaurants who work more on the aesthetic side of their food rather than the quality and taste which begins to create a sort of expectation from the people. We want our food to be flawless, and satisfy our eyes. There can be no burnt pieces of meat, no discolored pieces of ripe fruit, nothing that we see as flawed, and if it is, then its thrown out and wasted. So as we have the fast food restaurants literally just throwing out food, we have our top of the line restaurants shaping how we view good and bad food which ultimately leads us to also end up throwing out food. Not only do these top of the line restaurants influence how we view good food, but the agribusinesses as well, such as Walmart. We walk into a store and see an extreme abundance of colorful fruits and vegetables yet that does not phase us, although a majority of those fruits and vegetable wont be bought because of some small flaw which doesnt really affect anything about them. We take this abundance of food for granted and rather than actually having the thought of buying food for our own sustenance, we have the thought of buying the best looking fruit. So instead of buying those 5 apples which all have flaws, we choose not to buy them and ultimately they get wasted, just like so many other foods that we take for granted in America.

Ancient Greek Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ancient Greek Philosophy - Essay Example Thales was the person who grouped the similar weather conditions into seasons and he classified an year into 365 days. He had a good knowledge of geometry and worked with the lengths of the shadows. According to him " Place is the greatest thing, as it contains all things". His ethical sense about god is that god is transcendental, who has neither beginning nor an end. Further he defines a happy man as the one " who is healthy in body, resourceful in soul and of readily teachable in nature". He is one of the seven intelligent people of Greece who were called as the seven sages of Greece. The stories told by the Aristotle of any Tales assert that the reputation of any philosopher is same when tested for practical results. According to a story by Aristotle, as a philosopher he was considered poor and could not rely upon philosophy to earn a living. Then Thales with the knowledge of Astronomy predicted his future and got a solution to harvest olives in a large quantity. And when it was off season that it was winter, he couldn't get much of the crop and so stored them in Miletus and Chios. As there was no demand he gave small sum to hire the stores. Then when the right season came, there was full demand for his stored olive presses of money and thus he proved that with his intelligence he could become rich without struggling like others. And by being a philosopher he does not give importance to earn money. Cosmology doctrine of Thales, which was most famous belief, had declared that water is the source from which the world originated. Aristotle has equaled this belief to that of the idea of a Anaximenes a disciple of Thales, that "everything in the world was compared of air". Aristolte Metaphyphics explains in the bets form of Thales view. Every thing that exists emanated principally principle from a matter and it is compared of that matter and comes out from that and finally it ends up in forming the same matter last but the matter exists with some new transitional qualities which is called as element and it is the principle of everything. Also there must be some nature, at least one even two, from which the rest of the things come out and then they are preserved, and Thales say that the thing is water. But Aristotle's statements where not expected by the people and it raised some doubts that when an object changes, still contains it qualities or different qualities and how the change occurs from one thing to another, and the Thales affirmed that earth rests on water. He found out that every thing that is nourished, has moisture in it and the heat in a form of energy is obtained from this water and moisture. He considered as such by seeing the moisture in all the seeds, and water is the reason because of which to the world not as philosophy but as a scientific conclusion that " Water constituted the principle of all things " Thales of Miletus supposed that earth is in a rested state because it could float like wood and substances, which are similar to those whose nature is to be able to be to rest on water as against his doctrine that none of the things, can rest on air. He argued that the basis stuff the Universe is the one

Selective Mutism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Selective Mutism - Essay Example As you can imagine, the condition can have dramatically negative effects on social functioning. Selective mutism refers to selective silence in a child who speaks freely in very familiar situations. Children who demonstrate this condition appear comfortable and talkative with close family members. However, whenever people other than the closest family members are present, the child is quiet and shy. Some children avoid eye contact and do not communicate in any form with others. They refrain from the use of gestures or changes in facial expression. Selective mutism occurs in a small number of children, probably less than 1% of children in the elementary school settings. It is not known how often children demonstrate the problem during the pre-school years. Prevalence may be higher in the pre-school years because many more children are attending preschool programs than in the past. Children who have developmental language or articulation problems and children whose first language is not English are more likely to be selectively mute. In both circumstances, children may be quiet because of concerns about accents and limited fluency. Research shows that most children with selective mutism were anxious in social situations from an early age. Contrary to many popular ideas, most selectively mute children have not experienced trauma. ... Children who have developmental language or articulation problems and children whose first language is not English are more likely to be selectively mute. In both circumstances, children may be quiet because of concerns about accents and limited fluency. Back to top. How does selective mutism develop Research shows that most children with selective mutism were anxious in social situations from an early age. Contrary to many popular ideas, most selectively mute children have not experienced trauma. Rather their history often includes a toddler period of appropriate language development at home, but clingy, dependent behavior in the presence of unfamiliar or infrequently encountered people. Some children have shown mild forms of separation anxiety, although overt refusal to attend school is not usual. For children for whom English is a second language, case studies usually indicate that the children were not comfortable speaking with people in their first language either. At this time, researchers believe that most selective mutism is a form of social phobia: that is, an anxiety disorder that reflects inhibited social actionts for fear of embarrassment or concerns that others will judge them negatively. Some children have reported that their throats clog up when looking at others as if their vocal chords will not permit them to speak. It is probable that children with the condition have inhibited dispositions as part of their personality characteristics. Extensive studies by Dr. Jerome Kagan and his colleagues have found that about 5% of children react to novel situations with high levels of uncomfortable arousal and a tendency to withdraw. This pattern is

Summative Assessment for Poverty as a Challenge Essay Example for Free

Summative Assessment for Poverty as a Challenge Essay A. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS 1. Every _________ person in India is poor. (a) third (b) fourth (c) fifth (d) sixth 2. Vulnerability to poverty is determined by the options for finding an alternative living in terms of (a) assets (b) education (c) health (d) all the above 3. Social exclusion denies certain individuals the (a) facilities (b) benefits (c) opportunities (d) all the above 4. How many people in India live below the poverty line? (a) 30 crores (b) 26 crores (c) 28 crores (d) 24 crores 10. What is the poverty ratio in the state of Orissa? (a) 50% (b) 47% (c) 60% (d) 57% 11. In which state has the high agricultural growth helped to reduce poverty? (a) Jammu Kashmir (b) West Bengal (c) Punjab (d) Gujarat 12. In which state have the land reform measures helped to reduce poverty? (a) Tamil Nadu (b) Punjab (c) West Bengal (d) Kerala 13. Which state has focussed more on human resource development? (a) Gujarat (b) Madhya Pradesh (c) Maharashtra (d) Kerala (1 mark) 5. Which organisation carries out survey for determining the poverty line? (a) NSSO (b) CSO (c) Planning Commission (d) None of the above 6. Which social group is most vulnerable to poverty in India? (a) Schedule castes (b) Schedule tribes (c) Casual labourers (d) All the above 7. Which two states of India continue to be the poorest states? (a) Madhya Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir (b) Uttar Pradesh, Utarakhand (c) Orissa, Bihar (d) None of the above 8. Poverty line in rural areas (As per 1999 – 2000 prices) is (a) Rs 328 (b) Rs. 370 (c) Rs 454 (d) Rs. 460 9. Who are poorest of the poor? (a) Women (b) Old people (c) Children (d) All the above 14. In which state is the public distribution system responsible for the reduction in poverty? (a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Both (a) and (b) (d) None of the above 15. What is the main cause of poverty in India? (a) High income inequalities (b) Less job opportunities (c) High growth in population (d) All the above 16. Which of the following is responsible for high poverty rates? (a) Huge income inequalities (b) Unequal distribution of land (c) Lack of effective implementation of land reforms (d) All the above 17. What is the biggest challenge to independent India? (a) illiteracy (b) Child labour (c) Poverty (d) Unemployment 18. In rural sector which of the following is not poor? (a) Landless agricultural workers (b) Backward classes (c) Rural artisans (d) Medium farmers 19. Nutritional level of food energy is expressed in the form of (a) calories per day (b) wheat consumption (c) rice consumption per day (d) none of the above 20. As per Planning Commission, minimum daily intake of calories for determining poverty line for rural area is : (a) 2100 (b) 2400 (c) 1500 (d) none of the above 21. Poverty ratio in India as compared to Pakistan is : (a) same (b) half (c) twice (d) two and a half times 22. Common method to measure poverty in India is based on (a) income level (b) subsistence consumption level (c) both (a) and (b) (d) none of the above 23. Decline in poverty in Kerala is due to (a) emphasising more on human resource development (b) land reform measures (c) efficient public distribution of foodgrains (d) none of the above 24. To generate wage employment our government has started (a) National Social Assistance Programme (b) National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (c) Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (d) None of the above 25. In which group of countries did poverty ratio remain constant? (a) South Asian countries (b) Latin American countries (c) Socialist countries (d) None of the above 26. Poverty line prescribed by World Bank (As per 2001 study) is : (a) $ 1 per day (b) $ 2 per day (c) $ 5 per day (d) $ 6 per day 27. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005) provides assured employment to every rural household for (a) 120 days (b) 100 days (c) 60 days (d) 50 days B. QUESTIONS FROM CBSE EXAMINATION PAPERS 3. Which of the following programmes was launched in the year 2000 ? [2011 (T-2)] (a) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (b) Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (c) Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (d) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana 4. Who conducts the periodical sample surveys for estimating the poverty line in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) National Survey Organisation (b) National Sample Survey Organisation (c) Sample Survey Organisation (d) None of the above 2 1. Who advocated that India would be truly independent only when the poorest of its people become free of human suffering? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Mahatma Gandhi (b) Indira Gandhi (c) Jawahar Lal Nehru (d) Subhash Chandra Bose 2. Which one of the following states in India has focussed more on human resource development? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Punjab (b) Karnataka (c) Kerala (d) Tamil Nadu 28. In how many states and Union Territories is poverty ratio less than the national average? (a) 20 (b) 22 (c) 16 (d) 18 29. Poverty line in urban areas (As per 1999 – 2000 prices) is : (a) Rs. 354 (b) Rs. 454 (c) Rs. 554 (d) Rs. 455 30. Poverty ratio in Bihar (As per Planning Commission Report 1999 – 2000) is (a) 40% (b) 43% (c) 46% (d) 47% 5. When was National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) Act passed? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2000 (b) 1995 (c) 2005 (d) 1993 6. Which category does not come under the category of Urban Poor? [2011 (T-2)] (a) The Casual workers (b) The Unemployed (c) The Shopkeeper (d) Rickshaw-pullers 7. How many per cent of Indian people were poor in the year 2000? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 36% (b) 46% (c) 26% (d) 29% 8. Which state has the highest percentage of poor? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Bihar (b) Madhya Pradesh (c) Assam (d) Orissa 9. Average calories required per person per day in rural areas in India are: [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2400 calories (b) 2800 calories (c) 3200 calories (d) 3600 calories 10. Which scheme was started in 1993 to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (b) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (c) Rural Employment Generation Programme (d) Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana 11. For how many days NREGA provides employment? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 70 (b) 80 (c) 90 (d) 100 12. Who is considered as poor? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Landlord (b) Landless labourer (d) Businessman (c) A rich farmer 13. Which among the following is the method to estimate the poverty line in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Investment method (b) Capital method (c) Human method (d) Income method 14. Which one of the social groups is vulnerable to poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled caste (b) Urban casual labour (c) Rural agricultural household (d) All the above 3 15. By which year governments are aiming to meet the Millennium Development Goals including halving the rate of global poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2011 (b) 2015 (c) 2045 (d) 2035 16. What is the average calories required in rural areas for measuring poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2400 calories per person per day (b) 2100 calories per person per day (c) 2800 calories per person per day (d) None of these 17. What is not one of the major causes of income inequality in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Unequal distribution of land (b) Lack of fertile land (c) Gap between rich and poor (d) Increase in population 18. In which of the following countries did poverty actually rise from 1981–2001? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Sub-Saharan Africa (b) India (c) China (d) Russia GO YA L BR OT HE RS 19. The calorie requirement is higher in the rural areas because: [2011 (T-2)] (a) they do not enjoy as much as people in the urban areas (b) food items are expensive (c) they are engaged in mental work (d) people are engaged in physical labour 20. Which of the following is an indicator of poverty in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Income level (b) Illiteracy level (c) Employment level (d) All of these 21. Which one of the following economic groups is vulnerable to poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled caste (b) Scheduled tribes (c) Rural agricultural household (d) All the above 22. Which one of these is not a cause of poverty in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Low level of economic development (b) Migration of people from rural to urban India (c) Income inequalities (d) Unequal distribution of land PR AK AS HA N 23. Which of the following is not a valid reason for the slow progress of poverty alleviation programmes in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Lack of proper implementation (b) Lack of right targeting (c) Corruption at the highest level (d) Overlapping of schemes 24. What is the accepted calories requirement in urban areas? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 2000 cal/person/day (b) 2100 cal/person/day (c) 2300 cal/person/day (d) 2400 cal/person/day 25. Which communities are categorised as economically vulnerable groups in India? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled caste (b) Agricultural labour household (c) Scheduled tribes (d) All the above 26. Which industry suffered the most during colonial period? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Jute (b) Textile (c) Indigo (d) All the above 27. Calorie requirement in rural areas is more than in the urban areas because: [2011 (T-2)] (a) rural people eat more (b) rural people have big bodies (c) rural people do more hard physical work (d) rural people have to take more rest (c) Lack of access to health care (d) Lack of job opportunities 32. Full form of NFWP is: [2011 (T-2)] (a) National federation for work and progress (b) National forest for wildlife protection (c) National food and wheat processing (d) National food for work programme 33. Who are considered as the poorest of the poor? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled castes (b) Scheduled tribes (c) Disaster struck people (d) Women, female, infants and old people 34. Which country of South-East Asia made rapid economic growth resulting in significant decline in poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) India (b) China (c) Nepal (d) Pakistan 35. In which part of the world poverty has remained the same during 1981 to 2001? [2011 (T-2)] (a) South Asia (b) Sub-Saharan Asia (c) China (d) Latin America 36. Which of the following states has the poverty ratio below the national average? [2011 (T-2)] (a) West Bengal (b) Uttar Pradesh (c) Assam (d) Maharashtra 37. In year 2000 what was the average Indian poverty ratio? [2011 (T-2)] (a) 15% (b) 43% (c) 26% (d) 47% 38. The organisation that conducts surveys for finding poverty levels in India is. [2011 (T-2)] (a) NSSO (b) USO (c) World Bank (d) None of these 39. The current anti-poverty programe consists of two planks, they are: [2011 (T-2)] (a) Socio-economic reasons and public distribution system (b) Promotion of economic growth and targeted poverty programe (c) Anti-poverty programe and public distribution system (d) None of the above 40. In 2000 the percentage of people below poverty line in India was: [2011 (T-2)] (a) 26% (b) 46% (c) 56% (d) None of the above 4 28. Poverty ratio in which of the following states is above the national average? [2011 (T-2)] (a) West Bengal (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Karnataka 29. The most vulnerable social groups for poverty are: [2011 (T-2)] (a) Scheduled tribes (b) Urban casual labourers (c) Rural agricultural labourers (d) Scheduled castes 30. Which of the following states of India has the highest poverty ratio? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Bihar (b) Orissa (c) Punjab (d) Assam 31. Which of the following is not considered as a social indicator of poverty? [2011 (T-2)] (a) Less number of means of transport (b) Illiteracy level

history of the port of long beach :: essays research papers fc

History of the Port of Long Beach   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The San Pedro Bay breakwater began construction in 1899. This was to facilitate the building of the Port of Los Angeles. It served well as a breakwater for both ports.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1909 the Los Angeles Dock and Terminal Company purchased about 800 acres of marshes and mudflats at the mouth of the Los Angeles River. On June 24, 1911, in a grant from the State of California, the City of Long Beach was given the tideland areas in trust for the people of the state. The theory behind the tidelands was that although they were mostly shallow water, they could be dredged to make deep water. This provided as much fill as the port needed to make additional land and piers. The Tidelands Trust restricted the use of the land. It also restricted what could be done with monies received from the different ventures allowed on the property. The money was only to be used for improving or maintaining harbor commerce and navigation, or for marine recreation or fisheries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By 1916 the Los Angeles Dock and Terminal Company declared bankruptcy and turned over all operations of the port to the City of Long Beach. The city then completed the dredging projects that were already underway including a channel and a turning basin. The following year a committee was formed to oversee harbor operations. It was the first Board of Harbor Commissioners.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1924 voters of Long Beach approved a five million dollar bond for use in improving the inner harbor area as well as beginning development of the outer harbor areas. The goal was to become a deep water port and by 1926, the Port of Long Beach did exactly that. The port handled eight hundred twenty-one ships and imported or exported a total of more that one million tons of cargo. Shortly thereafter, in 1928, construction began on new facilities to include new Piers A and B. At the same time, Pier 1 was reconstructed and a new transit building was completed on it. The port then renamed Pier 1, â€Å"Municipal Wharf.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Further construction of the San Pedro Bay breakwater began in 1932. The extension was to be three and one-half miles by authorization of the Federal River and Harbor Act of 1930. In 1936 oil was discovered in the harbor. The good thing about finding oil in the harbor was that the port then had a sizeable amount of capital to invest back into itself.

Martin Luther King Jr Speech Compared to a Raisin in the Sun Essay

In the speech, â€Å"I have a dream† by Martin Luther King, Jr. , he talks about equality for the all men and how he dreams about a world where people can be in harmony with no division of color. The play, â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun†, relates to this subject in multiple facets centering around dreams. The play and speech take place in the same time period of the mid twentieth century, where color was a major divide in society. There are many similarities between the play â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† and the speech â€Å"I have a dream†. One example of a similarity is that both center on a dream that they or a character has. â€Å"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustration of the movement, i still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the american dream†¦ † This is an excerpt from Kings speech that is him relating to the people that he has a dream about equality. The Raisin in the Sun also relates to this because the main character, Walter Younger, has a dream about supporting his family and supplying them with everything they have ever dreamt for. Another way they are similar is the way they reflect the inequality and hardship that racism inflicted on them and their families. In The Raisin in the Sun, the main character walter faces an unfair world where it is specifically better for people who are white instead of african american, this reflects on his career as white workers are paid significantly more than african americans. â€Å"The life of a Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. This is King explaining that after many years of african americans being released from slavery and become free americans, they are still treated the same and that they are not actually free until the people are all equal regardless to skin color. In the end, they both reflect the conditions that african americans had to go through to get equality from discrimination and segregation. Both the play and the speech had similar ideas about having dreams of equality and supporting their families.

Differences in Cultural Perspective

Almost every individual tend to be fascinated with beliefs or things that are different from what he or she normally sees in his or her every day life. These variations usually arises the interests of the person in knowing and understanding the things that are not familiar to him or her. However, there are also instances wherein these differences could make people pose their judgment or prejudices upon others that do not practice or adhere their beliefs. This kind of thinking is applicable in the cultural differences that most countries have.The movie Forbidden Kingdom could greatly exemplified the importance of understanding various cultures. This motion picture feature two of the biggest stars in the martial arts film genre namely Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Other actors also supported them most specially Michael Angarano, which plays Jason Tripitikas that represent the western part of the world in the story. The plot of the movie paved the way for the exploration of the western and ea stern cultures. It enables its viewers to see the differences that these different parts of the world have.Nevertheless, it also paved the way for people coming from these two cultures to increase their tolerance for each other’s difference even to the point of appreciating it. The movie revolves around a teenage boy name Jason Tripitikas. He is an avid fan of Chinese martial arts. He frequently goes to China town in order to buy some DVDs about martial arts movie. During one of the normal days that he went there, he pass by a pawnshop where he saw a staff. The owner of the establishment, an old Chinese guy named Hop informed him that the staff should be given back to its rightful owner.On his way back home, Jason encountered the local bully, Lupo. He violently forced him to go to the pawnshop at night so that Hop would open it, which will allow them to rob the shop and took Hop’s money. As the robbery happened, Lupo shot Hop but before he died, he instructed Jason to bring the staff back to its owner. Jason ran away from Lupo and his gang. However, Lupo was able to get a hold of him but before they could hurt him the staff transported him into ancient China where his adventure began.Jason interacted with the Chinese community back then and learned the true value of their culture especially that of martial arts (The Internet Movie Database). The American teenager’s perception of the eastern culture specifically of the Chinese started with only the idea of martial arts. Every time he would heard about their culture it is not surprising that the first thing that came into his mind is martial arts or Chinese food. This is not unexpected especially for a western teenager since most of his knowledge about the Chinese culture is influence by the media.However, when Jason was able to really partake in the real culture of ancient China he was able to understand their way of life. In doing so, he was able to adhere to some of their beliefs and prac tices. In line with this, Homi Bhabha’s arguments in â€Å"Culture’s In-Between† tend to explain the cultural differences that happened in the movie. The first thing that Jason experienced was a sense of identity that is only based upon the western culture that he has. His view of other culture is also based upon the beliefs that his western roots reinforced. Nevertheless, this changed when he experienced the ancient culture of the Chinese.He was able to understand the variation and even follow some of the Chinese way of life. In this situation, Jason’s identity became multicultural because he does not only follow one particular belief or practice but he tend to be tolerant of others as well (Bhabha, 54). Moreover, based on Randall Raus’ â€Å"The American Perspective of: What is Culture? † he asserted that America is actually very tolerant of other nations’ culture. He asserted that there is no other country that is culturally divers ified as the United States due to the presence of numerous people coming from various states that have their respective ways of life (Raus).Being the case, this caused the establishment of different cultural practices in the country that is observable in varying communities there like the Latino, Chinese, Filipino, and others. Early on in the story, the western teenager already has his fascination with martial arts. Due to the influence of media, he thought that martial arts were a â€Å"cool thing. † He perceived it as some sort of trend that if he could be able to perform such kind of stunts he would instantly gain popularity.The teenager also has this thinking that learning martial arts would demand respect from other people and this would also boost his reputation in the community. This kind of adage is greatly influence by the media. Communication technology like the television, Internet, advertisements, commercials, and others has a huge impact in the way of thinking of people especially of young adults nowadays (Rayuso). Martial arts are usually portrayed in movies or television shows as something that is merely fascinating rather than its true purpose of self-defense.In this sense, media tend to modify the view of the people with regards to other culture. This eventually impedes the proper understanding of other nations’ beliefs and practices. The manipulation of the media regarding people’s perspective about a certain group or nationality is widely observable at the present time. A good example is the issue of terrorism wherein some irresponsible media reporting tend to always put Arabs and Muslims in a bad light as they pertain to them as the one responsible in terrorist attacks (Hamza, et. al).Citizens of various nations either get interested with the culture of other countries or they would immediately disregard it especially if it is not similar or near the practices that they have. Nevertheless, the knowledge of other nations culture is very essential in order for people to properly understand each other and learn to accept the differences that exists among them. It also aid in clarifying wrong notions that people have regarding their counterparts in other states. The correct knowledge of other cultures could foster greater understanding and acceptance among the people all over the world.

Review of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Dougl Essays

Review of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Dougl Essays Review of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, near Hillsborough. He doesnt know for sure of his age, he has seen no proof and his master will not inform him. Most masters prefer for their slaves to stay ignorant. He believes that he was around twenty-seven and twenty-eight when he began writing his narrative - he overheard his master say he was about seventeen years of age during 1835. His mother, Harriet Bailey, was separated from him when he was an infant and she died when he was seven years old. Fredericks father was a white man who could have been his master but he never found out. Education was of utmost importance in his life. He received his first lesson while living with Mr. and Mrs. Auld. Sophia Auld, Fredericks "mistress", was very humane to him and spent time teaching him the A, B, Cs. After he mastered this, she assisted him in spelling three and four letter words. At this point in his lesson Mr. Auld encountered what his wife was doing for Frederick and forbid her to continue. He believed that "if you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell" and continuing with "learning would spoil the best nigger in the world". The masters felt that an ignorant slave formed a choice slave and any beneficial learning would damage the slave and therefore be futile to his master. His next step on the road to success was during his seven years living with Master Hughs family. Frederick would make friends with as many white boys as he possibly could on the street. His new friends would be transformed into teachers. When he could, Frederick carried bread on him as a means of trade to the famished kids for knowledge. He would also carry a book anytime he had an errand to run. The errand would be completed quickly, allowing extra study time. When Frederick was working in Durgin and Baileys ship-yard he would notice timber marked with various letters. He soon discovered how the letters matched the type of wood and the names of these letters. Any boy he met that could write he would challenge them to a writing contest. Frederick would use the letters he recently learned and told the child to challenge that. He then copied the Italics in Websters Spelling Book until he knew them well. All this hard work and years of practice gave Frederick the knowledge to write. After his relocation to Mr. Freeland, who was the owner of two slaves, Frederick devoted his Sundays teaching these two and other slaves how to read. Frederick heard the word abolitionists a few times but it wasnt for a while until he found out what it meant. If a slave succeeded in escaping from his Master or performing a radical action such as burning a barn or killing his Master, it was considered to be a form of abolition. One day while running an errand, Frederick ran into two Irishmen hard at work. Frederick assisted the Irishmen and soon after they asked if he was a slave. The men then advised Frederick to run away to the north to find friends and freedom. Ever since this encounter he has dreamed of the day he could safely escape. An attempt to carry out his dreams surfaced during his stay with Master Thomas. He did not attempt to escape, however he regrets not doing so since the chances of succeeding are ten times greater from the city than from the country. Anthony, one of Fredericks two masters, was not a humane slaveholder. Frederick was awakened habitually by the sounds of his own aunt being whipped repeatedly because she was caught away for the evening with a man. Slaves, when unhappy, sing songs to help drown their sorrow. Frederick would often sing for this purpose, and not to express his happiness as some slaves also do. The men and women slaves received eight pounds of pork or fish and one bushel of corn meal monthly. On a yearly basis, they received very little along the lines of clothing. The children unable to work in the field were given two shirts per year. If they happen to wear out, the children would have to go naked until the next year. No beds were supplied, only coarse blankets. Master Thomas would not even give a sufficient amount of food to eat, which was usually mush (coarse boiled corn meal). This

Great Captains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Great Captains - Essay Example A number of individuals from many walks of life find it quite fascinating to study war strategy over the past several thousand years and how the same strategies have been employed, despite the fact that warfare has changed dramatically overtime. Being that warfare has changed over the past one hundred fifty years, the study of captains, such as Napoleon, Ulysses Grant, and Frederick the Great are still valid for a modern military professional, as it is these three individuals who have contributed largely in shaping our civilization and making it what it is today. One reason that the study of captains, such as Napoleon, Ulysses Grant, and Frederick the Great are still valid for a modern military professional is that a military professional can learn a great deal from these individuals. For instance, from the study of these great individuals, a modern military professional can learn to be an effective leader. The modern military can study the art of war from all three of these great captains and possibly employ some of these strategies in today's modern war fair. Some may challenge that learning the strategies of these captains is useless for a modern military professional, since war fair has changed so much since these men were alive. Those supporting this argument state that the weapons during the time of these captains were not as sophisticated as they are today, and wars are fought on a much larger scale than in times past. These captains did not deal with the challenges that we do now. Though these arguments are true and valid, the reason s for engaging in war are the same as they were since the beginning of humankind, and because of this, the study of such captains is relevant, as such study helps the future leader in deciding what he should and should not do to see to it that his outcomes are successful. If these three captains have employed a particular strategy that brought them a plethora of success, then there is no problem at all making use of that same strategy today. In regards to this, Paret and Clausewitz state that the purpose of war has always stayed the same, even though we now use more sophisticated weapons. Not to mention, the tactic to attack the enemy with the utmost force, to concentrate on what allows the enemy to resist and do away with it so the enemy can resist no longer and the desire to annihilate the enemy has been the same. Furthermore, the definition of war has also stayed the same, as war is merely a way for us to force the enemy to do our will and see to it that it is carried out (Chapte r One, Book One). Another reason that the study of these great captains is valid for a modern military professional is that a great deal can be learned from their use of intelligence. On the subject of intelligence as it pertains to war, Paret and Clausewitz state that those who are savages normally fight solely motivated by passion. There is no real intelligence on their part, as they are going to do whatever it takes to destroy their enemy. On the other hand, civilized peoples actually take the time out to sit and strategize how they will attack their enemy, defeat them, and successfully conquer them, if conquering is part of the reason that the war is being fought (Chapter One, Book One). These three great captains, no doubt, took the time to intelligently strategize how they would advance upon their enemies. Surely, they did feel some passion of hatred for their enemy, hence the reason they would attack them in the first place, as one would not attack someone they

Marketing & Entrepreneurship What makes entrepreneurs successful Is it Essay

Marketing & Entrepreneurship What makes entrepreneurs successful Is it skill or luck - Essay Example In this paper, the researcher will use example of Sir Alan Sugar who is not only the founder of consumer electronics giant Amstrad but also the example for entrepreneurs across the world. Sir Alan Sugar established the company at the age of 21 when majority of his classmates were learning in the colleges in order to get job. Before retiring from the organization, Sir Alan Sugar transformed Amstrad from start up venture into electronics giant which is synonymous with innovation, value for money offering and customer loyalty. Was Sir Alan Sugar a magician who is blessed with sheer amount of luck or Sir Alan Sugar was a hardworking individual who used skill and intuition to build the Amstrad Empire? At this point, the essay is not mature enough to answer the question but it is expected that at the end of this essay, the answer will be revealed. One has to understand theoretical underpinning of entrepreneurship before answering the above question whether luck is important or not in makin g an entrepreneur successful. Hence, in the next section, the researcher will try to figure out pertinent variables that affect the success of an entrepreneur. Modern research scholars such as Coulter (2001) and Kirby (2004) defined entrepreneurship as the process with which a particular individual or set of individuals try to fulfil their objectives by creating value for people in the society. Nixon (2004) and Van Praag and Cramer (2001) argued that it is not necessary for entrepreneurs to create value for society rather it is more important for an individual to fulfil existing needs through innovation and unique offer in order to classify as entrepreneur. It is understandable, why management scholars tried to identify the role of luck for an entrepreneur, because giving importance on luck factor will probably disregard the importance of management skill in developing a successful enterprise. Research scholars such as Kaplan and Schoar (2005) and Hochberg, Ljungqvist, and Lu (2006) nullified the importance of luck in helping an entrepreneur to become successful. These research scholars have given examples of successful enterprises that are funded by more experienced venture capitalists in comparison to enterprises that failed due to inexperience of venture capitalists. Hochberg, Ljungqvist, and Lu (2006) strongly argued that a more experienced and skilled entrepreneur has more probability to succeed in comparison to a novice entrepreneur. Eesley and Roberts (2006) raised question over role of luck in helping an entrepreneur to succeed in a competitive environment. According to them, people often mistakenly identify the skill, experience and strategic intelligence of the entrepreneurs as the sheer amount of luck. Eesley and Roberts (2006a and 2006b) amusingly pointed out that there is no such thing as luck for an entrepreneur because an entrepreneur can move ahead in business by understanding the market need and fulfilling the need of customers by offering them value. Research scholars such as Eesley and Roberts (2006a) and Kaplan and Stromberg (2003) found that successful entrepreneurs are those who do not stop estab lishing new enterprises after failure in the previous start-ups. It is evident from the research works of previous research scholars that luck plays very little role in helping an entrepreneur to establish successful enterprises. In such context, Chatterji (2005) showed that experience in working in a particular

Allocation of Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Allocation of Resources - Essay Example The work breakdown structure of the company’s server upgrade will be as follows: Having looked at the WBS for the company’s project, it is important to explain the various work packets data that will emanate from the already formulated WBS. Work packets will determine the scope of the projects in terms of the costs involved as well as the time in hours that will be employed for the success of the project. The total work packets will be embodied in the six key areas of the intended system upgrade. They will include project launch, installation and troubleshooting and finally evaluation for changes before the final roll out to the other departments. First, the project launch will include the initiation of the project, education on the need for change in the organization and mobilization of the relevant personnel for project roll out. This will take an average of 10% of the project costs and an equal amount of time relative to the allocated project duration. Secondly, the verified programs and physical hardware will be installed into the system to gradually phase out the older system. Since the purchase and installation of the newer version of windows and other networking essential into the main server will take a lot of resources in terms of finances and time, the bulk of the project’s allocation (60%) will be assigned to this packet. This stage will also involve troubleshooting any problems associated with usage or compatibility of the newly installed system. Evaluation will involve the collection and analysis of data on usage, system capabilities and efficiency for the organization. The data collected will be utilized for the purposes of analysis that will culminate to the project’s adoption and full integration in the company’s operational systems. All the issues relating to customer usage, system requirement’s satisfaction and sustainability will be corrected at this stage to ensure a steady and running system. Since this is also an important

GBM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

GBM - Essay Example What is known is the expected value to the distribution of Brownian motion at time =2. Therefore, the centre of the distribution is known, i.e. what the expected value of the distribution is and this will be the expected value of W2= 0. It will always be zero, regardless of what point in time we view the Brownian motion. The expectation of Brownian motion at all points on a plain at any time is 0 as per property one. Not only will the expected value at any time be 0, but also normally distributed. The peak of the normal distribution is centred at 0, meaning that the Brownian motion will be distributed as a normal variable with expected value 0 and variance t. Property three relates to the concept of property number two, i.e. the Brownian motion increment, which is the difference between the two Brownian motions (Wt - Ws). Therefore, the difference between the two Brownian motions is also normally distributed and the variance of the Brownian motion increments (Wt - Ws) is (t-s), where t stands for time and s stands for a point in time which differs from t. (t - s) is the difference in two time periods between measurements of our Brownian motion. Consequently, looking at the Brownian motion at two different points in time, the expected increment , the expectation of the difference of these two Brownian motions ( E [Wt - Ws])=0 and the variance of this difference ( Var [Wt-Ws]) = t-s. It emerges that the variance is proportional to time. Other properties of Brownian motion state that the process Wt has stationary and independent increments. What does it mean to say that the Brownian motion has stationary increments? Looking at an example of a Brownian motion at time = 0 (W0) and the same Brownian motion at time = 1 (W1) and then looking at a graph of our Brownian motion , it moves the Brownian motion increment further in time by a constant amount (a). This will be W0+a and W1+a and what this means is that

The importance of vocabulary knowledge

The importance of vocabulary knowledge Introduction CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background and motivation The aim of the present thesis is to investigate the relationship between EFL learners depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge[1] and the extent to which vocabulary knowledge contributes to listening comprehension in English as a foreign language[2]. Over the last 20 years vocabulary has assumed a more prominent role within the field of second language acquisition research, and vocabulary is no longer a neglected aspect of language learning as it was designated by Paul Meara in 1980. While researchers in applied linguistics were previously concerned mainly with the development of learners grammatical, and to some extent phonological, competence, more attention is now being paid to their lexical competence. This has happened as a consequence of the growing realisation that lexical competence forms an important part of learners communicative competence in a foreign language. As observed by McCarthy (1990: viii) in the introduction to his book Vocabulary: No matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way. The importance of vocabulary knowledge in communicative competence has similarly been stressed by Meara who has argued that lexical competence is at the heart of communicative competence (1996a: 35) and that vocabulary knowledge is heavily implicated in all practical language skills (Meara and Jones, 1988: 80). In order to fully uncover the role of vocabulary knowledge in second language use, we therefore need to explore the extent to which it contributes to different language skills. The above claims by Meara have been solidly supported by findings from a considerable number of empirical studies investigating the relationship between learners vocabulary knowledge and their reading comprehension. Such studies have found that vocabulary knowledge is a significant determinant of reading success in L1 as well as L2. However, as will be come evident in the present thesis, very little research has addressed the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and the skill of listening in L2 and, at present, we can only tentatively assume that vocabulary knowledge will also play some kind of role in learners listening comprehension in English as a foreign language. Research of the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening is important as findings from studies of reading cannot automatical ly be applied to listening despite the fact that reading and listening are both receptive skills. The present study is thus motivated by a critical lack of empirical research on the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension and by the resultant need to explore the extent to which learners vocabulary knowledge will contribute to their listening success in L2. A prerequisite for exploring the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening, or any other language skill, is a clear notion of what is involved in being lexically competent in a foreign language. A further motivation behind the study therefore springs from the need to gain more insight into the nature of learners vocabulary knowledge. As evidenced in the research literature, the field suffers from a lack of consensus as to ways of defining learners vocabulary knowledge, partly due to the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the construct. Very often the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and L2 performance has been addressed simply from the perspective of vocabulary size. However, as other dimensions of learners vocabulary knowledge have been recognised, notably the dimension of depth, we need to empirically investigate how such dimensions interact and how they can make individual contributions to learners language use. 1.2 Aims and research questions The overriding aim of the thesis is to empirically investigate the relationships between depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge, and vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in English as a foreign language. The point of departure for this investigation is the construct of vocabulary knowledge, specifically depth of vocabulary knowledge. Although the notion of depth in L2 learners vocabulary has received an increasing degree of attention in recent vocabulary research, the construct severely lacks conceptual clarity. For this reason an analytic aim of the thesis is to provide a clear and consistent theoretical framework for describing and operationalising the construct of depth of vocabulary knowledge. This is done by drawing on research within the field of L2 vocabulary acquisition and testing. The analytic aim then serves as a prerequisite for empirically investigating the following two main research questions: To what extent are EFL learners depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge interrelated? To what extent is vocabulary knowledge associated with successful listening comprehension in English as a foreign language? While the first research question addresses the interrelationship between two dimensions of learners vocabulary knowledge, namely a qualitative and quantitative dimension, the second research question is concerned with the extent to which these two dimensions will contribute to successful listening comprehension in English as a foreign language. The above research questions will be addressed through an empirical study comprising 100 Danish advanced learners of English. The theoretical basis and the methodology of this study will be introduced below. 1.3 Theoretical basis Although the present study draws on research in different fields, it is first and foremost a study rooted within the field of second language vocabulary knowledge and acquisition. The widely recognised theoretical distinction between depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge will serve as a theoretical basis for reviewing different ways of defining and operationalising L2 learners vocabulary knowledge and for empirically investigating the relationship between quantitative and qualitative aspects of learners vocabulary knowledge and their listening comprehension. In exploring whether vocabulary knowledge is associated with successful listening comprehension in L2, the study also draws on theory and research from the field of L1 and L2 listening. Prevalent theoretical models of listening and listening comprehension will be outlined, and factors assumed to influence successful listening will be described, but this account is far from exhaustive and will only serve as a backdrop for examining the role of vocabulary in listening comprehension. This will furthermore be evident from the theoretical framework developed to describe and explore the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in the study. This framework draws on concepts from vocabulary as well as listening research, but the pivotal factor of the framework is vocabulary knowledge, emphasising that this is the main area of research in the study. In attempting to operationalise vocabulary knowledge and develop instruments that can tap learners depth of vocabulary knowledge within the context of the present research design, the study furthermore draws on concepts from testing theory and language testing research. However, the study will limit itself to primarily draw on research within the field of vocabulary testing and in particular focus on the assessment of depth of vocabulary knowledge. As will become evident, depth of vocabulary knowledge is frequently conceptualised in relation to what is made possible by assessment instruments, and the construct often becomes an artefact of the instruments used to assess it. This means that an important aspect of reviewing how this construct has been defined in various research contexts is to examine the way in which it has been operationalised. In view of this, concepts mainly related to vocabulary testing will be drawn upon in the present study. In addition to this, it is important to note that the vocabulary tests developed in the study are intended entirely as research tools that can be used for the investigation of learners vocabulary knowledge within the context of the present research design. No attempts have been made to develop generic and practical vocabulary tests that might be used for other kinds of research or pedagogical purposes. 1.4 Data and methodology The empirical study comprises 100 Danish EFL learners who are all first-year students of English at the Copenhagen Business School. These participants are given a range of tests intended to tap the depth and breadth of their vocabulary knowledge as well as their listening comprehension in English. While some of the tests are standardised measures of vocabulary size and listening comprehension, others have been designed specifically for the present study to assess the participants depth of vocabulary knowledge. Hence, a central aspect of the methodology is the operationalisation of depth of vocabulary knowledge. Different theoretical approaches to the construct will be discussed and these will serve as a basis for operationalising the construct from two distinctly different perspectives. The quantitative data collected through these tests will be subjected to different kinds of statistical analyses to explore relationships between the different variables of the study. SPSS[3] is chosen as the statistical program used for the analysis of the data and the principal statistical methods will be correlational and multiple regression analyses. As noted above, very little research has been done on the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in L2 and none of this research has addressed the role of depth of vocabulary knowledge in listening. This means that there is little solid ground for the present study to build on and it must therefore be characterised as an exploratory study. 1.5 Structure of the thesis The thesis falls in two main parts. The first part, comprising Chapters 2 and 3, provides the theoretical background for the thesis, while the second part, comprising Chapters 4 to 7, describes the theoretical framework of the empirical study as well as the research design, and presents and discusses the results of the study. Although Chapter 4 is included in the empirical part, it can be viewed as a bridge between the two parts of the thesis. This will become evident from the description of the chapters below. Chapter 2 constitutes the main theoretical chapter of the thesis. This chapter provides an account of different ways in which the constructs of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge have been defined and operationalised in the research literature. Furthermore, the chapter presents two comprehensive conceptualisations of lexical competence and ability that attempt to integrate different dimensions of vocabulary of knowledge and explain their interrelationships. Chapter 3 examines the role of vocabulary knowledge in listening comprehension. While the first part of the chapter presents key concepts related to listening, the second part focuses explicitly on the role of lexis in listening comprehension. This includes a brief description of word recognition models, followed by a more elaborate review of findings from empirical studies investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in L2. Chapter 4 outlines the theoretical framework underpinning the empirical study. Drawing on theoretical approaches and empirical findings dealt with in Chapters 2 and 3, the key constructs of the study will be defined and the rationale for including them will be provided. Moreover, the chapter proposes a framework for describing the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension and presents a number of more specific research questions that will be addressed in the study. Chapter 5 presents the research design of the study, describing how the theoretical framework is operationalised. This includes information about participants, research instruments, the data collection and the data analyses. Furthermore, a pre-testing phase involving native speakers of English will be described and the results of a pilot study will be reported.   Chapter 6 describes the statistical analyses conducted and presents the results of the study in six phases. These phases address the various, specific research questions of the study. Chapter 7 interprets the findings of the study, discusses implications for theory and assessment and suggests directions for future research. Furthermore, the chapter addresses a number of limitations of the study and includes suggestions for further analyses of the data collected. Chapter 8 sums up the main findings and contributions of the thesis. [1] The concepts of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge will be defined in the chapters to come. However, at this point, it should be noted that the terms breadth of vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary size will be used interchangeably in the thesis. [2] No distinction will be made between English as second language and English as foreign language (EFL). The terms second language and foreign language will be used interchangeably. [3] Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

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Gay men, lesbians and bisexuals would be granted many of the same rights as married couples under UK Government plans for legally-recognised civil partnerships. Barbara Roche, the Minister for Social Exclusion and Equalities, says there is a strong case for allowing same-sex couples to register their relationships. This seems to be equating gay relationships with marriage and I think that is very wrong Colin Hart Christian Alliance Co-habiting couples do not receive the same tax breaks or entitlements that married couples enjoy, including access to a partner's pension. Civil partnerships could give homosexual couples property and inheritance rights for the first time. Under the plans, those who register their partnership will also receive next-of-kin status, without which partners cannot be consulted about hospital treatment. The government is set to unveil detailed proposals for change next summer and consult on the issue before bringing in legislation. Any bill would be likely to run into opposition in the House of Lords. Britons support unmarried couples Click here to read Panorama report There is already a register for gay couples in London - but it does not confer legal rights. Mrs Roche says the idea is not about being politically correct but about recognising how society has changed. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There are a number of people in gay relationships, in lesbian relationships, who are in loving relationships but their partnerships have no recognition in law. Roche: Change would send a strong message against homophobia "What I am seeking to do is to say I think there is a strong case for considering a civil partnership registration scheme." Earlier, she told the Independent newspaper the change would also send a powerful message that homophobia was unacceptable and still far too widespread. Mrs Roche said that many gay people had been refused hospital visits or excluded from funerals, while others had had to sell their homes to pay inheritance tax. Eight European Union countries, Canada and several American states already gave legal status to civil partnerships, said Mrs Roche. A new survey of British social attitudes this week suggested a "dramatic" shift in the way the public view homosexuality. We certainly welcome it and would hope that the government will go on and recognise these relationships in full David Allison, spokesman for OutRage! In 1985, 70% of people thought homosexuality was "always" or "mostly" wrong. Now that view is shared by under half (47%) of people, while a third of people says it is "not wrong at all", suggested the National Centre for Social Research survey.

Live in the Present with Memories of the Past Essay

Human Society is a long period of building and developing. From the time man lived in dank caves to nowadays when he lives in such a modern life with a lot of excellent facilities. The modern life, the excellent facilities was not a present from god. It was made by people of all generations who always learned from the past and developed everything they had learned from it. Thus, I totally disagree with the statement above that learning about the past has no value. The first reason for this is that learning about the past brings us all the knowledge and information in the past. Without yesterday, there is no today. A society can develop only when its people inherit and understand the achievements of the precursors because the precursors’ achievements were the foundation for everything to develop.. For example, before 1964 there was only black-and-white television but until now there are kinds of colour televisions that are slim and innovative such as LCD TV†¦ The black-and-white television made the basis and gave inventors idea to develop the modern TV nowadays. Consequently our knowledge, success today is the result of constant work of our ancestors before. Secondly, learning about the past is very essential because it makes us doubt and take consideration into earlier assumptions. For that reason, people will find out mistakes that were made in the past. This will show us which roads not to ever go down again and put human in a right way to develop. Learning about the past is not only learning about the history but also is learning from our and the others’ mistakes. By this way of learning, people will become more and more experienced and never make the same mistakes again. Additionally, if learning about the past has no value, people in the world could speak, could write by themselves without learning from anyone. This is impossible so the value of the past, in this case are the parents, are undeniable. In a nutshell, the past is always a good teacher and we are still bad students who crave for knowledge. Denying the past also means that we are destroying the present and our future because no one can jump without ground to stand on.

External Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry Essay

Economic †¢ Market analysis by Insight Research predicts that telecommunications-industry revenue will reach $1.2 trillion by the end of next year, and grow by a compounded rate of 5.9 percent to $1.6 trillion by 2010. †¢ Telecommunication remains an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry’s revenue has been placed at just under 3% of the gross world product. †¢ Mobile phones have had a significant impact on telephone networks. Mobile phone subscriptions now outnumber fixed-line subscriptions in many markets. Sales of mobile phones in 2005 totaled 816.6 million with that figure being almost equally shared amongst the markets of Asia/Pacific (204 m), Western Europe (164 m), CEMEA (Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa) (153.5 m), North America (148 m) and Latin America (102 m) †¢ In terms of new subscriptions over the five years from 1999, Africa has outpaced other markets with 58.2% growth †¢ Size matters in telecom. It is an expensive business; contenders need to be large enough and produce sufficient cash flow to absorb the costs of expanding networks and services that become obsolete seemingly overnight. Transmission systems need to be replaced as frequently as every two years. Big companies that own extensive networks – especially local networks that stretch directly into customers’ homes and businesses – are less reliant on interconnecting with other companies to get calls and data to their final destinations. By contrast, smaller players must pay for interconnect more often to finish the job. For little operators hoping to grow big some day, the financial challenges of keeping up with rapid technological change and depreciation can be monumental. †¢ During the late 1990s, the telecommunications industry experienced very rapid growth and massive investment in transmission capacity. Eventually this caused supply to significantly exceed demand, resulting in much lower prices for transmission capacity. The excess capacity and additional competition led to either declining revenues or slowing revenue growth, which has led to consolidation within the industry, as many companies merged or left the industry. Socio-Cultural †¢ Telecommunication is an important part of many modern societies. Good telecommunication infrastructure is widely acknowledged as important for economic success in the modern world on micro- and macroeconomic scale. †¢ On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunication to help build global empires, this is self-evident in the business of online retailer Amazon.com but even the conventional retailer Wal-Mart has benefited from superior telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors. In modern Western society, home owners often use their telephone to organize many home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladesh’s Narshingdi district, isolated villagers use cell phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange a better price for their goods. In Cote d’Ivoire coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly v ariations in coffee prices and sell at the best price. †¢ On the macroeconomic scale, in 2001, Lars-Hendrik Rà ¶ller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth. Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view the relationship as causal. †¢ However from any perspective the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure are undeniable and, for this reason, there is increasing worry about the digital divide. A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly one-third of countries have less than 1 mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have less than 1 fixed line subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of countries have less than 1 in 20 people with Internet access. †¢ The September 11 attack reinforces the need for robust, interconnected networks that have a high probability of survival in the event of natural or man-made disaster. That argues for a consolidated base of carriers operating with agreed-upon disaster protocols Technological †¢ The largest sector of the telecommunications industry continues to be made up of wired telecommunications carriers. Establishments in this sector mainly provide telephone service via wires and cables that connect customers’ premises to central offices maintained by telecommunications companies. The central offices contain switching equipment that routes content to its final destination or to another switching center that determines the most efficient route for the content to take. While voice used to be the main type of data transmitted over the wires, wired telecommunications service now includes the transmission of all types of graphic, video, and electronic data mainly over the Internet. †¢ These new services have been made possible through the use of digital technologies that provide much more efficient use of the telecommunications networks. One major technology breaks digital signals into packets during transmission. Networks of computerized switching equipment, called packet switched networks, route the packets. Packets may take separate paths to their destination and may share the paths with packets from other users. At the destination, the packets are reassembled, and the transmission is complete. Because packet switching considers alternate routes, and allows multiple transmissions to share the same route, it results in a more efficient use of telecommunications capacity as packets are routed along less congested routes. †¢ One way wired carriers are expanding their bandwidth is by replacing copper wires with fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable, which transmits light signals along glass strands, permits faster, higher capacity transmissions than tra ditional copper wire lines. In some areas, carriers are extending fiber optic cable to residential customers, enabling them to offer cable television, video-on-demand, high-speed Internet, and conventional telephone communications over a single line. However, the high cost of extending fiber to homes has slowed deployment. In most areas, wired carriers are instead leveraging existing copper lines that connect most residential customers with a central office, to provide digital subscriber lines (DSL) Internet service. Technologies in development will further boost the speeds available through a DSL connection. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers, many of which are subsidiaries of the wired carriers, transmit voice, graphics, data, and Internet access through the transmission of signals over networks of radio towers. The signal is transmitted through an antenna into the wire line network. Other wireless services include beeper and paging services. Because wireless devices require no wire line connection, they are popular with customers who need to communicate as they travel residents of areas with inadequate wire line service, and those who simply desire the convenience of portable communications. Increasing numbers of con sumers are choosing to replace their home landlines with wireless phones. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data transmission and better Internet access that should make them competitive with wire line carriers. One technology is called third generation (3G) wireless access. With this technology, wireless carriers plan to sell music, videos, and other exclusive content that can be downloaded and played on phones designed for 3G technologies. Wireless carriers are developing the next generation of technologies that will surpass 3G with even faster data transmission. Another technology is called â€Å"fixed wireless service,† which involves connecting the telephone and/or Internet wiring system in a home or business to an antenna, instead of a telephone line. The replacement of landlines with cellular service should become increasingly common because advances in wireless systems will provide data transmission speeds comparable to broadband landline systems. †¢ Changes in technology and regulation now allow cable television providers to compete directly with telephone companies. An important change has been the rapid increase in two-way communications capacity. Conventional pay television services provided communications only from the distributor to the customer. These services could not provide effective communications from the customer back to other points in the system, due to signal interference and the limited capacity of conventional cable systems. As cable operators implement new technologies to reduce signal interference and increase the capacity of their distribution systems by installing fiber optic cables and improved data compression, some pay television systems now offer two-way telecommunications services, such as video-on-demand and high-speed Internet access. Cable companies are also increasing their share of the telephone communications market both through their network of conventional phone lines in some areas and their growing ability to use high-speed Internet access to provide VoIP (voice over Internet protocol). †¢ VoIP is sometimes called Internet telephony, because it uses the Internet to transmit phone calls. While conventional phone networks use packet switching to break up a call onto multiple shared lines between central offices, VoIP extends this process to the phone. A VoIP phone will break the conversation into digital packets and transmit those packets over a high-speed Internet connection. Cable companies are using the technology to offer phone services without building a conventional phone network. Wireline providers’ high-speed Internet connections also can be used for VoIP and cellular phones are being developed that use VoIP to make calls using local wireless Internet connections. All of the major sectors of the telecommunications industry are or will increasingly use VoIP. Demographic †¢ The telecommunications industry offers steady, year-round employment. Overtime sometimes is required, especially during emergencies such as floods or hurricanes when employees may need to report to work with little notice. †¢ Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations account for 1 in 4 telecommunications jobs. Telecommunications line installers and repairers, one of the largest occupations, work in a variety of places, both indoors and outdoors, and in all kinds of weather. Their work involves lifting, climbing, reaching, stooping, crouching, and crawling. They must work in high places such as rooftops and telephone poles, or below ground when working with buried lines. Their jobs bring them into proximity with electrical wires and circuits, so they must take precautions to avoid shocks. These workers must wear safety equipment when entering manholes, and test for the presence of gas before going underground. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers, generally work indoors—most often in a telecommunication company’s central office or a customer’s place of business. They may have to stand for long periods; climb ladders; and do some reaching, stooping, and light lifting. Adherence to safety precautions is essential to guard against work injuries such as minor burns and electrical shock. †¢ Most communications equipment operators, such as telephone operators, work at video display terminals in pleasant, well-lighted, air-conditioned surroundings. If the worksite is not well designed, however, operators may experience eye strain and back discomfort. The rapid pace of the job and close supervision may cause stress. Some workplaces have introduced innovative practices among their operators to reduce job-related stress. †¢ The number of disabling injuries in telephone communications, the principal sector of the telecommunications industry, has been well below the average for all industries in past years. †¢ The telecommunications industry offers employment in jobs requiring a variety of skills and training. Many jobs require at least a high school diploma or an associate degree in addition to on-the-job training. Other jobs require particular skills that may take several years of experience to learn completely. For some managerial and professional jobs, employers require a college education. †¢ Due to the rapid introduction of new technologies and services, the telecommunications industry is among the most rapidly changing in the economy. This means workers must keep their job skills up to date. From managers to communications equipment operators, increased knowledge of both computer hardware and software is of paramount importance. Several major companies and the telecommunications unions have created a Web site that provides free training for employees, enabling them to keep their knowledge current and helping them to advance. Telecommunications industry employers now look for workers with knowledge of and skills in computer programming and software design; voice telephone technology, known as telephony; laser and fiber optic technology; wireless technology; and data compression. Political/Legal †¢ Telecommunications Act: Enacted by the U.S. Congress on February 1, 1996, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the law’s main purpose was to stimulate competition in the United States telecom sector. †¢ FCC controls the wireless spectrum allocations among the various broadcasters and service providers. This allocation is through a competitive auction at high cost to service providers, which result in an increase of debt burden of these companies, eventually trickling down to consumers. †¢ FCC as a watchdog regulates that there be no monopoly of a single player in the telecom market. Mergers and consolidation among companies is closely watched and evaluated before being allowed Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis 1. Threat of New Entrants – No surprise, in the capital-intensive telecom industry the biggest barrier-to-entry is access to finance. To cover high fixed costs, serious contenders typically require a lot of cash. When capital markets are generous, the threat of competitive entrants escalates. When financing opportunities are less readily available, the pace of entry slows. Meanwhile, ownership of a telecom license can represent a huge barrier to entry. In the US, for instance, fledgling telecom operators must still apply to the Federal Communications Commission to receive regulatory approval and licensing. There is also a finite amount of â€Å"good† radio spectrum that lends itself to mobile voice and data applications. In addition, it is important to remember that solid operating skills and management experience is fairly scarce, making entry even more difficult. 2. Power of Suppliers – At first glance, it might look like telecom equipment suppliers have considerable bargaining power over telecom operators. Indeed, without high-tech broadband switching equipment, fiber-optic cables, mobile handsets and billing software, telecom operators would not be able to do the job of transmitting voice and data from place to place. But there are actually a large number of large equipment makers around. Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia, Alcatel, Ericsson, Tellabs are just a few of the supplier names. There are enough vendors, arguably, to dilute bargaining power. The limited pool of talented managers and engineers, especially those well versed in the latest technologies, places companies in a weak position in terms of hiring and salaries. 3. Power of Buyers – With increased choice of telecom products and services, the bargaining power of buyers is rising. Let’s face it; telephone and data services do not much vary regardless of which companies are selling them. For the most part, basic services are treated as a commodity. This translates into customers seeking low prices from companies that offer reliable service. At the same time, buyer power can vary somewhat among market segments. Customers can be as small as individual residential users like you or me, or be as big as an ISP like America Online or a large university. While switching costs are relatively low for residential telecom customers, they can get higher for larger business customers, especially those that rely more on customized products and services. 4. Availability of Substitutes – Products and services from non-traditional telecom industries pose serious substitution threats. Cable TV and satellite operators now compete for buyers. The cable guys, with their own direct lines into homes, offer broadband Internet services, and satellite links can substitute for high-speed business networking needs. Railways and energy utility companies are laying miles of high-capacity telecom network alongside their own track and pipeline assets. Just as worrying for telecom operators is the Internet: it is becoming a viable vehicle for cut-rate voice calls. Delivered by ISPs – not telecom operators – â€Å"Internet telephony† could take a big bite out of telecom companies’ core voice revenues. 5. Competitive Rivalry – Competition is â€Å"cut throat†. The wave of industry de-regulation together with the receptive capital markets of the late 1990s paved the way for a rush of new entrants. New technology is prompting a raft of substitute services. Nearly everybody already pays for phone services, so all competitors now must lure customers with lower prices and more exciting services. This tends to drive industry profitability down. In addition to low profits, the telecom industry suffers from high exit barriers, mainly due to its specialized equipment. Networks and billing systems cannot really be used for much else, and their swift obsolescence makes liquidation pretty difficult.