E-Tourism in Sri Lanaka

E-Tourism In Sri Lanka E-Commerce Infrastructure University Collage Dublin Student Name: Madushanka W. H. M Student Number: 11294574 E-mail: madawa. [email  protected] com About Sri Lanka Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka commonly known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean or as Ceylon is one of the exquisite Island in the world Sri Lanka set in the Indian Ocean in south Asia near to the equator which is a great home to 8 UNESCO world heritage sites.Not only that this great Island has unspoiled beaches, waterfalls, pure rivers, 15 national wildlife parks, lagoons with indigenous aquatic birds, 250 acres of botanical gardens, hot water wells and so many unique things. Because Sri Lanka is a multinational country; Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamil, Sri Lankan Tamil, all these ethical groups lives in this small Island. Sri Lanka is a place where the original soul of Buddhism still flourishes (Buddhist 69. %) but it is not a problem to friendly people in this country becau se there are Muslims (7. 6%), Hindu (7. 1%), Christian (6. 2%) & some other religions people living happily within area of 65,610Km. Country has three main geological divisions. In the lowlands, up to an altitude of 100m to 150m, the mean annual temperature various between 26. 5 0C to 28. 5 0C. In the highlands, the temperature falls quickly as the altitude increases. The mean annual temperature of Nuwara Eliya, at 1800 m sea level, is 15. 9 0C.The coldest month of the country is January, and the warmest months are April and August. Agriculture plays an important role in Sri Lankan economy. Main agricultural product is rice but Tea, Rubber & coconut brings more foreign currency to the Island not only that but also Spices export brings foreign money as well. Sri Lanka's economy today is mainly based on the service and industrial sector. However Tourism and the related services industries are also growing in Sri Lanka. Madushanka W. H. M 11294574 madawa. [email  protected] com What is E-TourismWhen we consider about manual processes regarding tourism, there are so many things including air ticket or Cruise ticket reservation, hotel reservation not only that every person must need to obtain a permission before entering to a country (Visa). Just think if a tourist or travel agency had to do all those things manually; definitely it will take nearly one month or more. So E-tourism is the best option for all those time taken processes. It’s a combination of e-commerce and tourism & it helps to maximizing the efficiency of tourism sector.Tourism has closely been connected to progress of ICTs for over 30 years. The establishments of the Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs) in the 1970s, Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) in the late 1980s and the Internet in the late 1990s have transformed operational and strategic practices dramatically in tourism (Buhalis, 2003; Buhalis & Law, 2008). The tourism industry at first focused on utilizing computerized systems (e. g. , CRS, GDS) to increase efficiency in processing of internal information and managing distribution.Nowadays, the Internet and ICTs are relevant on all operative, structural, strategic and marketing levels to facilitate global interaction among suppliers, intermediaries and consumers around the world (Buhalis & Law, 2008; Egger & Buhalis, 2008). E-tourism is a really great concept because it includes business management, information systems & management and the tourism. As an example it has main electronic business functions such as e-commerce, e-marketing, e-accounting etc http://www. srilankan. aero/welcome. html? local e=en_us. ttp://www. srilankan. aero/welcome. html? local e=en_ushttp://www. srilankan. aero/welcome. ht ml? locale=en_ushttp://www. srilankan. aero/wel come. html? locale=en_us. srilankan. aero/welco me. html? locale=en_us http://www. starcruises. com/newweb/homepage. aspx Madushanka W. H. M 11294574 madawa. [email  protected] com Key Players In E-tourism E-tou rism provides great opportunities for numerous key players in tourism industry to expand their businesses. Also because of the E-tourism numbers of new players have come into the tourism industry.Mainly there are several key players; 1. 2. 3. 4. Airlines Hotels Tour operators 7 Travel Agencies Particular country(In here Sri Lanka) 1. Airlines When we considering about the airlines long time ago reservations were made by using a manual process. It’s a really time consuming work because reservations were made on manual display boards, where passengers were listed. Travel agencies had to locate the best routes and fares in manuals and then check availability and make reservation by phone, before issuing a ticket manually.World’s first automated reservation system called SABRE (Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment) was introduced by American Airlines and IBM jointly during 1962. It enabled American Airlines to replace the handwritten passenger reservations system o f the 1950s with the automated reservations system for the future. Currently SABRE global distribution system is used by more than 400 airlines, 55,000 travel agencies, 88,000 hotels, 13 cruise lines & etc.In Sri Lanka currently Sri Lankan airlines has earned great revenue and won series of international and national awards in fields ranging from passenger transport to marketing and internet technology including Platinum Award from the International Air Transport Association as one of the first airlines in the world to introduce a major innovation to tickets. Madushanka W. H. M 11294574 madawa. [email  protected] com SriLankan Airlines made significant investments in technology during last year, the carrier contracted with Calidris(since acquired by Sabre Airline Solutions) to help ensure seats are not occupied by false or spurious bookings .The solution looks at business problems including: Ticket time limits, Fake names, Duplicate bookings and duplicate segments within a booking , Fake or duplicate ticket numbers. 2. Hotels One of the most important player in travel & tourism sector which has a long history, nearly 1300 years. World’s oldest hotel is â€Å"Hoshi Ryokan† which is founded in 717. Sri Lanka’s oldest hotel is â€Å"Galle Face Hotel† which was founded in 1864 by four British entrepreneurs. Now a day hotels in other words E-Hospitality plays major role in E-Tourism.During 1970s due to the airlines Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs) and ICT developments forced hotel industry to develop hotel CRSs in order to maintain good customer friendly environment with rapid response time to customer. By using CRSs in hotel sector, it’s enable travel & tourism trade to access accurate information on availability and to provide easy, inexpensive, efficient and reliable way of making and confirming reservations. Switch companies such as THISCO and WIZCOM emerged also to facilitate interconnectivity between dedicated or interna l hotel system and GDSs (Emmer etal. 1993; O’Connor, 1995, 1999) The development of switch companies Switch Companies CRSs/GDSs Madushanka W. H. M 11294574 madawa. [email  protected] com â€Å"Galileo† is one of the well-known CRS in the world which provide Hotel room reservations, Airline bookings etc. Galileo RoomMasterâ„ ¢ is supper solution by â€Å"Travelport† company which provides hotel shopping and booking solution. By purchasing Galileo RoomMasterâ„ ¢ it provides Galileo-connected subscribers with direct, real-time access to relevant hotel system for shopping and bookings of hotel’s properties.Also it enables to connect with more than 190,000 travel agency workstations, as well as corporate and consumer/ecommerce users throughout the world. Most of the Sri Lankan hotels also are now available for online reservations by using those systems & some of them are inbuilt solutions by the hotels. 3. Tour operators & Travel Agencies Tour operator s organizes, arranges leisure packages including flights & accommodation. They pre-book tourism products and distribute them through advertising in travel agencies.Major tour operators use internet based communication system in order to reduce information handling costs and to increase the speed of information transfer with agencies and the customers. Currently some of the established tour operator’s business are made, in other words packages are booked through online. Thomson Holidays is one of the world famous tour operator company which only accept reservation made through Thomson’s open-line Program (TOP). In Sri Lanka huge number of tour operators like JF tours, Miracle Sri Lanka, Nalro tours use Ecommerce based techniques to attract travelers & advertise about their packages. Madushanka W.H. M 11294574 madawa. [email  protected] com 4. Sri Lankan Government After 30 years of the civil war, tourism is one of the main considering areas of the Sri Lankan governmen t. As mentioned in previously, county has lot of tourist attractions. So currently government has invested in several areas to develop travel & tourism industry. Sri Lanka Tourism Board (SLTB) former Ceylon Tourist Board which is under the Ministry of Economic Development has the main responsibilities to develop country’s travel & tourism. As a country still Sri Lanka couldn’t reach up to good place in E-Tourism. but SLTB doing its best to improve E-tourism.They have an alliance with ICTA (Information and Communication Technology Association of Sri Lanka) to develop E-Tourism. Also SLTB re- launched their web site (http://www. srilankatourism. org/) with new look & currently Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau which is under SLTB trying to use the best technologies to promote about the Sri Lanka (http://www. srilanka. travel/). Social networking (Facebook icon) on the page Ministry of Economic development has long time tourism development strategy (20112016). They have mentioned use of the internet & E-commerce are key objectives to be achieved through the 5 year strategy.Madushanka W. H. M 11294574 madawa. [email  protected] com E-Tourism Benefits to Key Players 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Help to understand about the customers & help to build a good customer relationship. Make direct communication between customers. Ability to respond in quick and efficient way to customer. Reduces communication, advertising cost due to eMarketing. Help to increase interconnectivity among the key players. 24/7 of the business time Less of labors. E-Tourism Benefits to Customers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Can do the business directly without interpreters. Reduces time Accessible at any time Due to competition can obtain good ervice or great product at low price. Can know Up to date information. Wide range of selections. Ability to customize products or services. Online auctions. Future developments in E-Tourism E-tourism has reach to great place in the world but when con sidering with E-commerce there are so many ways which can develop. ? ? ? E-tourism in world or Sri Lanka, still haven’t any major developments in field of mobile, mobile advertising. So developing that kind of product will help to earn more revenue than now. When considering other online products travel & tourism sector need to more think about social networking.As a country Sri Lanka should need to develop several telecommunication technologies such as speed of the internet, wireless internet access etc. †¦ Madushanka W. H. M 11294574 madawa. [email  protected] com Bibliography 1. Department of Meteorology – Sri Lanka (2012) Climate in Sri Lanka [online], available: http://www. meteo. gov. lk/index. php? option=com_content=article=106 d=81=en [07 Feb 2012]. 2. Dodson, B (2011) ‘PEACOCK PROUD’, ascend, available: http://www. google. lk/url? sa=t=j=sabre%20in%20srilankan%20airlines= web=1=2=0CCgQFjAA=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. abreairlinesolutions. co m%2Fima ges%2Fuploads%2FPeacockProud_APR_2011. pdf=6Lk0T87BIYnPrQe13rC6 Dw=AFQjCNGqQUEN5z3krOlHuO4v41AcGRi3wA=rja [06 Feb 2012]. 3. Gartner, W. C, Lime, D. W. (2000) Trends in outdoor recreation, leisure, and tourism: New wave of technological evolution, London: CABI publishing. 4. Glowatz, M (2011) ‘Emerging Infrastructure Trends ’, E Commerce Infrastructure (SL), 9 Feb 2012, University Collage Dublin, Unpublished. 5. Hotelmule(2008)The development of switch companies[Image online], available: http://hotelmule. com/management/html/83/n-2183-9. html[06 Feb 2012]. 6. IBM

Learning and Memory Worksheet Essay

1. Write a 450- to 700-word essay to describe the relationship between classical and operant conditioning. Explain their elements and how they differ from one another. Additionally, provide an example for how learning can occur through each mode of conditioning. Explain how Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner contributed to the study of learning and conditioning. Ivan Pavlov contributions were the start and the rise of behaviorism in psychology. His experimental methods influence the growth of behaviorism, and helped move psychology away from introspection and subjective or the objective measurement of behavior in which played a great part in our study. Hey study the behavior of Dogs in which in term he develops a new form of learning .This new form of learning is called classical conditioning a form of learning in which reflex responses are associated with new stimuli. Ivan Pavlov also used a bell in which as a neutral stimulus, he would ring the bell when the dogs were given an unconditioned stimulus, meat powder. The result is that the dogs than will respond salivate when the unconditioned stimulus is given to the dogs. This stimulus is called the conditioned stimulus; it changes from an unconditioned response to a conditioned respond. The dog quickly learned the difference from the bell and receiving an unconditioned stimulus. As for B.F skinner who also staunch behaviorism became a force in psychology and the therapy techniques in fact that we still used extensively today. He also made the Skinner box which is also called operant conditioning chamber in which had like a metal lever and a tray in which food can be drop for the rats are in a tray.These two played an important role in our psychology’s history gave us an important contributions to our understanding of human behavior in which we can use to go by. 2. Match the correct type of memory with its respective function.

My Writing Experience

Cody Dwells 1-21-13 English 101 My writing experience hasn’t always been good. In fact I’ve had to get some help with it. I was the type that didn’t know how to start a sentence or end one. The help that I got was in grade school, and it really made me get looked down on, so that’s why I didn’t ask for help any more. This had a big impact on me. It made me not want anything to do with writing, because I thought I wasn’t any good at it.My senior year in high school I was put in Mrs. Effie Stidham’s class. She was the new teacher that year and no one really knew her, but she cared for her kids in class. She was the type of teacher who would really help with any problem, and she would do it in a way nobody else knew. The second day of class we had an essay to write, and it was about stop lights. Well I talked to her and told her about my problem. About me not liking to write and wasn’t that good at it.So she came up with the idea f or me to write about anything I could, so the first thing to hit my mind was some personal problems I had been having. One page led to another and it really felt great to get it out and off my chest. After I stared to write about all my problems I felt free, like I was expressing myself and doing away with my problems. That’s when my writing experience changed, it changed for the best. The only real problem I had was run on senesce and where to put comas.I had got into college, and my first year I took English under Randy Moon. He had brought new things to the table. Things that I needed to know, like where to put comas and what a run on was. He offered more help on how to write essays. It was hard for me to start writing essays, because here I was again trying to write about other things. Mr. Moon had made us try something in class one day called free writing. Free writing is where you start off on topic and write if your mind goes blank just keep writing about anything.Befo re you know it your mind goes right back to the topic. This has helped me so much to become a writer. I’m still not the best at writing, but it is a lot easier for me. I have become to like writing it’s one of my favorite subjects now. Writing is a very important part of life, no matter what you do. Sometimes you’re writing can determine if you get the big job or not. If you were like me and about to give up, don’t cause they are help out there you just have to find the right person that is willing to do so.

ART RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ART - Research Paper Example The Institute bought the painting, and it is displayed till today. As a result of the competition, the painting started receiving its fair share of publicity by being featured in Chicago dailies. Its fame spread to Boston, Indianapolis, Kansas city and New York. The painting was received well in these cities and states as they saw it as a perfect representation of the state of Iowa (Hoving & Wood 14). Iowa residents, however, did not share the same sentiments as the other Americans. Iowans saw the American Gothic as a caricature depicting the wrong impression of life in their state. The painting depicted the as â€Å"grim-faced puritanical Bible-thumpers† due to their conservative nature. In his defence, Grant Wood stated that the painting was a mere appreciation of the Iowan lifestyle (Evans 31). The painting was inspired by the lifestyle of the residents of Iowa and their simplistic view of life. The background of the painting was inspired by his travels of the Iowa landscape. Iowan residents found fault in the painting due to the house having unusual windows and being inspired by Gothic architecture. Gothic architecture, contrary to the picture, does not originate from America it is of European origin. The painting portrays a woman and a man standing side by side while the man holds a pitchfork. A house, constructed with Gothic architecture, stands behind the two. The man in the picture was Byron McKeeby, who was his dentist while the woman in the picture was his sister Nan (Hoving & Wood 7). The composition of the painting was new as the Gothic form of architecture was new in the Iowan landscape. The cast displayed in the picture was familiar to the American audience. The arched window believed to be from Sears, flourished the painting. The dentist looks directly at the audience while the woman stares at the other side of the painting. The woman deliberately fails to make eye contact

Compensation and benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Compensation and benefits - Essay Example Since every organization strives to surpass the others in business and efficient allocation of resources, many organizations take strategic measures to target the competitor’s employees with a higher pay and more benefits. This allows them to gain an upper hand over the competitors as they have a valuable resource that once contributed towards the success of their rival company. In this age of business innovation and competition, it became imperative for organizations to develop strategic compensation plans with non-tangible benefits to satisfy and retain employees. Apart from restricting their move to another organization, employees who are offered a fair and attractive compensation also tend to be more efficient at work. From the organizational point of view, employees who have been given training and have been honed to work effectively become less likely to switch. A strategic compensation package builds up the organization’s image as good employer. This image is ben eficial for any company because it attracts more qualified professionals to apply for jobs in these organizations. Traditional bases for pay involve the consideration of employees on the basis of the general cost of living, experience, qualifications, seniority and merit. These have long been determinants of the extent of pay for the service being offered. However, if the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is considered it only satisfies the bottom two needs of the pyramid i.e. psychological, social and safety needs. With the passage of time, the compensation bases have also evolved and the modern bases of have a few more additions like variable pay according to performance, usage as a means to communicate the organization’s values and variability with the business performance. The modern system hence caters to the self-esteem and self-actualization level of the

Fish oil Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fish oil - Assignment Example This effect is achievable when fish oil is consumed with amino acids. Another benefit of fish oil is that it enhances the immunity by supporting the white blood cell activity (Sears, 2014). It also enhances insulin sensitivity in muscles and promotes the delivery of nutrients across the cell membrane. Furthermore, it is beneficial in acceleration of metabolism and reduction of triglyceride levels. Ultimately, omega-3 plays a crucial role in brain development, especially in babies and recent research shows that it is beneficial in treating cognitive conditions, dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease (Sears, 2014). The digestion of fish oil occurs in the small intestines through the process of hydrolysis by the pancreatic lipase and bile salts to produce two fatty acids and a monoglyceride that are absorbed in the intestines and reassembled to triglycerides (Maroon, 2006). The triglycerides are transported into lymphatic channels and later into the blood stream by chylomicrons (Maroon, 2006). Bioavailability refers to the ability of the ingestible capsule of omega 3 fatty acids to be absorbed by the body into the bloodstream, tissues and organs. Bioavailability is important because it determines the amount of capsule to be ingested for proper effect on the body (Wexler, 2007). Research demonstrates that the most bio available fish oil is that with the re-esterified triglyceride form. Ingestion of omega-3 supplements is more effective after a meal as compared to ingestion on an empty stomach (Wexler, 2007). The risk of heart diseases is best prevented by lowering the levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLS) and blood cholesterol and increasing high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) in the blood. Eskimos diet consists largely of fatty fish. It is noteworthy that obesity in this community is prevalent (Luten, 2006). Recent studies conducted on sardines and salmons, which are their main food revealed that, albeit their heavy weights,

Modern operating system Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modern operating system - Research Paper Example Microsoft’s Windows on the other hand is the opposite and it does not allow the users to bring about the changes in the source code or modify it. Apple Inc itself is a closed source operating system. The open source nature of Android makes it relatively flexible and more appealing towards the programmers. The added advantage of open source operating system is the presence of platforms and online societies supported by the given operating systems developer companies. The open source function provides the respective operating system an edge in the context of software support and software development. Android exhibits support for Linux based kernel, but this is not to be confused with the Linux operating system. The libraries of Android operating system vary considerably from those of the Linux operating system. The use of Dalvik Virtual machine by Android is a characteristic feature of Android which gives it an edge over the contemporary operating systems as well as the Linux op erating system. The run time features include Dalvik as well as the libraries functions support. The Windows O.S kernel has seen considerable improvement in the recent times. It provides features such as System on Chip (SOC) along with the feature of User Mode Driver Framework (UMDF). In the recent times, the Microsoft O.S has come up with a dynamic outlook in the form of user platform and SOC supported kernel. Apple’ I.O.S kernel is a derivate of Unix Based system, however it does not copy or resemble the kernel of Linux or Android for each has its own designated and specific kernel.

What was Harper Lees affect on American Literature Term Paper

What was Harper Lees affect on American Literature - Term Paper Example Nelle Harper Lee is one of the greatest American authors of the contemporary literature world. She rose to fame when her novel â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† selected for the 1960 Pulitzer Prize. The major theme of this novel is her childhood memories about racism. Apart from Pulitzer Prize, â€Å"She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday November 6, 2007 for her services to literature by President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington D.C. She was also awarded the 2010 National Medal of the Arts for her services to literature† (Biography for Harper Lee). This paper analyses the biography and contributions of Harper Lee to American literature. Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38) (Biography of Harper Lee (1926-)) Harper Lee showed immense interest in reading literature even from her childhood. She was very much interested in establishing friendship with others and was eager to learn more and more things from her friends. She was very much sensitive and was eager to analyze or learn more about the incidents happening around her during her childhood. â€Å"Lee was only five years old in when, in April 1931 in the small Alabama town of Scottsboro, the first trials began with regard to the purported rapes of two white women by nine young black men† (Biography of Harper Lee (1926-)). ... After graduating in 1944, she went to the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Lee stood apart from the other students—she could have cared less about fashion, makeup, or dating. Instead, she focused on her studies and on her writing. Lee was a member of the literary honor society and the glee club (Harper Lee Biography) â€Å"Harper Lee graduated from Monroeville High School in her hometown in Alabama in 1943. She then attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, where she completed most of her core classes from 1944 to 1945† (Benson). â€Å"She studied law at the University of Alabama, and spent a year studying as an exchange student at Oxford. She never completed law school, and moved to New York to pursue a career as a writer† (Southern Writers Tour - Harper Lee). Lee’s law studies happened during the period of 1945-49. â€Å"During the 1950s, she worked as an airline reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways †((Nelle) Harper Lee (1926-)). In fact Lee studied law with an intention to help the black community as much as possible. However, she realized that as an advocate she has limitations in providing enough social justice to the black community. The above realization forced her to stop her Law studies and to concentrate more on writing articles. In 1957 Miss Lee submitted the manuscript of her novel to the J. B. Lippincott Company. She was told that her novel consisted of a series of short stories strung together, and she was urged to rewrite it. For the next two and a half years she reworked the manuscript with the help of her editor, Tay Hohoff, and in 1960 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD was published (Harper Lee Bio) To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee's first and last novel. â€Å"Lee

How the existence of cheat codes could hurt Johnsons argument about Research Paper - 1

How the existence of cheat codes could hurt Johnsons argument about video games - Research Paper Example If there is one thing that could invalidate Johnson’s arguments on the usefulness of video games in building the mental and cognitive abilities of children, it is in the existence of cheat codes. It therefore becomes pertinent to analyze Johnson’s arguments on this issue in order to ascertain its validity. Johnson bases his arguments on what he calls the sleeper curve as he says that, â€Å"the Sleeper Curve is a universe of popular entertainment that trends intellectually speaking, ever upward, so that today's pop-culture consumer has to do more cognitive work, making snap decisions and coming up with long term strategies in role playing video games, for example, or mastering new virtual environments on the Internet than ever before.† (Johnson 39). The existence of cheat codes; such as the ability of a player to access skill levels, tools, extra lives and abilities have really affected Johnson’s arguments on video games as his idea that video games help i n broadening people’s minds are relegated to the background by the availability of cheat codes. Johnson believes that even the most boring video games are capable of stimulating interesting cognitive work in the mind of a child. Johnson could be right in his arguments that playing video games develop a child’s intelligence quotient (IQ) as research has shown that children that play video games tend to have higher IQs than children that do not, but the fact remains that the importance of video games in developing a child’s mental ability has been negated by the existence of cheat codes. These cheat codes have made it possible for children to win games easily and the essence of video games as a cognitive and mental building tool has been lost. Children play video games for fun and they derive more pleasure in winning their opponents and to achieve this, they use different tactics and strategies that would make them victorious in a particular game (Gee 17-18). John son also says that, â€Å"One of the best ways to grasp the cognitive virtues of game playing is to ask committed players to describe what’s going on in their heads halfway through a long virtual adventure like Zelda or Half Life.† (Johnson 47). The fact that the art of playing video games involves problem solving techniques would truly help make people that play them to be mentally alert, but when there are now cheat codes, this purpose is ultimately defeated. Children would usually rely on cheat codes, which are like shortcuts to success and video games would no longer serve the purpose that Johnson feels they should serve as these video games would no longer have the capability of building the intellectual capacity of the children. Rather than make good use of the advantages of the video games in building their intellectual capacity, children begin to see that there is a shortcut to success in life. Through the availability of cheat codes, the children would begin t o look at life from another perspective as they would have a very bad mentality and think that they can achieve success by being insincere. While Johnson’s argument about video games could be true, the fact remains that they are only true in cases where there is no access to cheat codes. Video games if played the normal way have been known to develop a child’s mental ability. Children that play video games without access to cheat codes have the tendency of doing better than their parents on an IQ test, but the ones that use cheat codes would not have the same mental ability as the ones that play the games the normal way. The difference between the real world and the gaming world can also be deduced from this statement, â€Å"

Netherlands' Political Stability and the Attractiveness of FDI Essay

Netherlands' Political Stability and the Attractiveness of FDI - Essay Example The underlying interest in undertaking FDI operations is to invest in low risk and high return markets and economies. In this regard, political stability and the risks posed by the political system in place in a given market or economy influence FDI across countries. Netherlands is a strong and favourable FDI destination in the European economies. The U.S is a primary foreign direct investor in Netherlands among other countries. On the same note, Netherlands also invests in other countries, thereby undertaking an outward FDI. Individuals, firms, and governments engage in FDI activities around the world, with high sensitivity being accorded to political systems and governance of the specific FDI destinations. This process encompasses strategic decision making, aided by PESTLE (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors) analysis and Porter's five Diamond model. These factors provide the environment of business undertakings in the FDI context, wit h the Diamond model evaluating the competitive advantage of a nation in a given business aspect. The attractiveness of FDI in Netherlands is not only based on the political stability of the country over time, but also on social and economic pillars that promote FDI. These pillars are used in this paper to explain the attractiveness of FDI in Netherlands, but a lot of emphasis is accorded to Netherlands’ political and governance stability. The four attributes of the Diamond model are employed to present Netherlands as a suitable FDI destination, with a significant emphasis on the Netherlands’ political environment. The political aspect of the Netherlands is therefore the central focus of this paper, with regard to FDI attractiveness. Political Environment as a Determinant of FDI FDI destinations are critically scrutinized in a bid to alleviate risk of failure. An economy that is characterized by effective governance systems attracts high levels of inward FDI and encoura ges its investors to engage in outward FDI in similar economies. Such a political environment is business friendly and it is often characterized by low corruption practices and fair and healthy competition in business (Holland Gateway, 2011). Unstable governments drive away inward FDI due to the prevalence of an environment that is highly characterized by investment risks. Other determining factors of FDI include: legal systems (Baltzer, 2008, p.81; Markusen, 2002, p.67), economic context (OECD, 2002a), foreign relations (Breuss, 2002, pg.245-274), infrastructure and technology (Angeloni, Flad and Mongelli, 2007, pg. 367-409) and social and cultural factors (Roland, 2005, Ch. 3; Roland, 2009; Darvas and Szapary, 2008, pg. 44). Attractiveness of FDI in Netherlands Netherlands is an invest destination for many foreign individuals, firms and governments. The United States has for a long time been a major FDI player in Netherlands. In fact, the U.S has at one time accounted for up to 13 .3% of total outbound investment in Netherlands (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2012). This scenario has been accounted for by a fiscal climate that favours high level investments and international orientation that boosts business undertakings between Netherlands and the rest of the world. U.K and Canada joins the U.S to make the top three countries that actively engage in inward FDI in

PoP Culture Trend and Media Essay Example for Free

PoP Culture Trend and Media Essay When I was a child, all I wanted was to be a doctor. I obeyed my parents, studied hard, and played around every once in a while. I had my simple ambitions and simple outlooks. I lived a simple life. Today, however, you can ask any child about his ambition and he would most likely tell you that he would be a Dennis Rodman someday, or a Britney Spears if it was a she you’ve happened to ask. Another possible scenario could be that the child you’d like to ask wouldn’t even talk to you because he/she is too busy with his/her cellular phone, Gameboy Advance, i-pod nanno, or personal computer. Looking at this everyday situation, my father had always been asking me what is happening to this generation. This picture had also been a popular topic for homeroom or sociology classes, and online debates. Each of these discussions, however, boils down to a common phrase: pop culture. Pop Culture, or Popular Culture, is the set of customs, beliefs, values, arts, and entertainment common to massive sectors of the society.  (http://www.cobb.k12.ga.us/~smitha/PopIndex.htm).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oftentimes, it results from the everyday interactions, needs and desires, and cultural moments of the mainstream. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_media). It is important that we examine the prevailing Pop Culture as it can shape peoples beliefs, values system, and attitudes since trendy music, movies, television programs, and fads often mirror the outlooks and behavior of the masses. James E. Combs recognized even in 1984 that Popular Culture is so much a part of our lives that we cannot deny its developmental powers.   Like formal education or family rearing, popular culture is part of our learning environment.   Though our pop culture education is informal-we usually do not attend to pop culture for its educational value. It nevertheless provides us with information and images upon which we develop our opinions and attitudes.   We would not be what we are, nor would our society be quite the same, without the impact of popular culture. (Combs 1984). Nowadays however, an additional factor to the power of popular culture and to the importance of evaluating its effects is technological advancement. Specifically, electronic media has become a tool to further elevate the influence of pop culture, in an ever faster and unstoppable way, to all corners of the world. â€Å"Electronic media are those communications mediums which are based on electronic or electromechanical means of production and most often distinguished from print media. The primary electronic media sources familiar to the general public worldwide include radio, sound recordings, television, video recording, and streaming internet content†. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic media). Personally, I have been most fond of surfing the internet, watching television programs and movies, listening to contemporary and pop music through radio, cd player, and i-pod, playing computer games, and messaging through cellular phones, either for educational or entertainment purposes. I am now aware that most of my viewpoints have been influenced by the things that I watch, read, and listen to that’s why I have been trying to balance out my views by patronizing different sources of information. My most poignant realization was that pop culture has affected my viewpoint on what is beautiful. Seeing models and actors who are almost perfect and worshipped everyday and everywhere has blinded me into considering beauty as skinny, 36-24-36 for females, and hunky, tall, and handsome for males. Everything else that did not replicate what pop culture has embedded on me seemed merely normal, or worse, ugly. I very much think that this has also been the case for majority of the people in this generation, what with the number of anorexics and bulimics, and steroid users rising up to an alarming level internationally. Social responsibility and morality had also been largely affected by today’s pop culture. The case of pornography that has been very widespread, moreover in the advent of the internet and camera phones, is just an example. The concept of privacy has also been oftentimes mutilated either consciously or unconsciously through electronic means propagated by pop culture. Relationships have also been builded and shattered in the blink of an eye as a result of the prevailing culture and technology. Gossips and defamation had also been most common and aggravated these days, usually spreading worldwide in a split-second. These, however, can either be conscious or unconscious. It can be conscious in the part of the companies who perpetrate these kinds of trend to gain profits in the employment of their technology. It can also be unconscious or subconscious in both sides especially now that these trends have already been inculcated in the society’s culture. It must be noted though that pop culture, aside from its commonly criticized negative influences, also has contributed positive effects to the society. In the negative matters, social responsibility and civility must draw the line. This can only be done by a more conscious meditation and evaluation of the popular culture that is being imposed upon us. As human beings, we were given the capability to analyze the things that are going on around us. And we should. As for the trend in pop culture that had greatly influenced me, I have already mentioned that it is the way that I viewed beauty. Upon analysis, I have come to a conclusion that it had been a result of both my personal desires as a consumer, and the media’s making. Popular culture, in general, does not only result from the corporation’s commercial pursuits. I believe that it is a mixture of the continuous interaction of the consumers and suppliers in every society. References: Combs, James E. Polpop:Politics and Popular Culture In America. University of Wisconsin Pr. 1984 http://www.cobb.k12.ga.us/~smitha/PopIndex.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_media http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic media

Laboratory Report Essay Example for Free

Laboratory Report Essay The object of this experiment is to measure the effect of the concentration of the enzyme, amylase, on the rate of degradation of the starch and the effect of the chloride ion concentration in the solvent on enzyme activity. Also, the other object is to discuss the comparison between starch and cellulose digestion. Introduction: Starch is a polysaccharide and it is the major storage carbohydrate in plants where it is found in the plastids. It is made up of two types of polymers. One is amylose, the smaller linear and helical polymer, made up of many glucose molecules joined by ? 1 4 glycosidic bonds. The other larger polymer is amylopectin. It has a branched structure with many ? 1 4 glycosidic bonds between glucose molecules and ? 1 6 glycosidic bonds at branch points. Pure starch is in the form of a white powder which is tasteless and has no odor. It is insoluble in cold water. (Brown, W. H. Poon, T, 2005) Cellulose is another polysaccharide found in the cell walls of plants. It is made up of hundreds of linear chains of glucose molecules linked by ? 1 4 glycosidic bonds. Cellulose is a straight chain structure because the ? 1 4 linkage causes the glucose molecule to rotate 180 degrees. The many chains of cellulose are packed closely together by the hydrogen bonds existing between the hydroxyl groups of glucose molecules. These bonds contribute to the strength of the molecule. Cellulose is also odorless and tasteless and is insoluble in water (Young, Raymond ,1986). Starch is a major component of the human diet. For the digestion of starch, the enzyme amylase is needed which is present in the saliva and is also present in pancreatic secretions. This amylase breaks down starch into maltose, glucose, and limit dextrin. This enzyme works at an optimum pH of 6. 7-7. 0. Like for other enzymes, the greater the concentration of amylase present, the faster the digestion of starch would be. Also, chloride ions are coenzymes for this reaction and act as the allosteric activators of this enzyme. This means that the digestion of starch by amylase will only work in the presence of chloride ions (Thomas J. A. , Spradlin J. E. , Dygert S,1971). This experiment shows how the digestion of starch is carried out in the digestive tract by amylase and the conditions that are required for this reaction to take place. Method: to be inserted by the Results: a) This is a graph of the amount of the enzyme amylase in ml against the rate of reaction, taken as the reciprocal of the reaction time. Here, a linear relationship is seen and as the amount of the enzyme increases, so does the rate of the reaction. b) This is a graph of the chloride ion concentration in ? mol/tube against the rate of the reaction, taken as the reciprocal of the reaction time. This shows that as the concentration of chloride ions present increases, the rate of the reaction also increases. c) The ratio of the rates of digestion of these polysaccharides by salivary enzymes to bacterial enzymes can be approximately 10:1. This is because of the differences in the structures of starch and cellulose. Starch has just simple covalent bonds in its structure while cellulose has covalent as well as the stronger hydrogen bonds present to stabilize it. This is why it takes a longer time for bacterial enzymes to degrade cellulose compared to the time required to degrade starch. Discussion: The relationship that should exist between the rate of a reaction and the concentration of an enzyme should be a linear relation. This means that as the concentration of the enzyme increases, more active sites are present for the reaction to take place on, and so the overall reaction proceeds at a faster rate. The graph that we obtained from this experiment justifies this hypothesis because in it, there is a similar linear relation between the concentration of amylase and the rate of the reaction. After comparing the graph I obtained with two other students I realized that the enzyme that I used for my experiment was less active than the enzymes others used. It can be seen that when using the same amount of enzyme as the other students, the rate of my reaction is comparatively slower. For example, when using 5ml of enzyme solution of the same concentration, my reaction rate was around 0. 25 and others got a rate of around 0. 6 or more. That is greater than two times the difference in reaction rates. However, an error could have occurred if some of the enzymes supplied for the reaction were already denatured. In my graph of chloride concentration against the reaction rate, the shape of the curve is somewhat like this. In the beginning there is a great increase in the rate of reaction for a small increase in chloride concentration. However, as the concentration is further increased, the rate does not increase as much and the curve later flattens out. This means that a Vmax is reached and no matter how much the concentration is increased, there will be no more increase in the rate (Thomas J. A. , Spradlin J. E. , Dygert S,1971). This is because all the binding sites on the enzyme for chloride ions get occupied and addition of more chloride ions will have no effect. For example, in my graph, there is a greater difference in the rate of reaction between the initial change in concentration from 0 to 0. 2 ml than between the change in concentration between 1 and 2 ml. The digestion of starch takes place in the presence of oxygen while the digestion of cellulose is an anaerobic process carried out by bacteria in the stomach of ruminants. Also, ruminants have to regurgitate their food back into the mouth to chew and break down the cellulose further. However, breakdown of starch is not that complex and can be done just once in the mouth. Due to the anaerobic degradation of cellulose, methane gas is produced in these ruminants (Van Soest, Peter J,1994). There is no methane gas produced by animals feeding on starch. Also, the activity levels of animals feeding on starch is greater because the digestion process requires a shorter time, while in ruminants, the digestion takes a long time. Conclusion: Therefore, the rate of the reaction is directly proportional to the enzyme concentration and also increases in proportion to the concentration of its coenzymes to an extent. References: †¢ Brown, W. H. Poon, T. (2005). Introduction to organic chemistry (3rd ed. ). Wiley †¢ Young, Raymond (1986). Cellulose structure modification and hydrolysis. New

Soft Systems Methodology

Soft Systems Methodology Soft systems methodology The development of soft systems methodology was the brainchild of Peter Checkland and was developed in the 1960s at Lancaster. Ever since then the technique has grown and now is internationally recognised. To understand soft system methodology we need to understand 2 types of systems thinking. One is hard systems thinking while the other is soft system thinking. Hard systems thinking uses the hard system approaches such as structured methods, and systems engineering. It assumes that that problem is well defined, it has a scientific approach to problems, and considers technical factors foremost. Soft systems thinking uses soft system approaches. This approach is needed when structured methods alike have failed, when problems are messy and not well defined. This technique is more creative in terms of problem solving as it addresses many factors including humans, cultural, ethics, politics etc. It would be safe to say that soft systems methodology looks at the interaction between people and its business environment instead of just technology. By looking at the system as a whole it recognises that a change from one part of the systems may influence another part of a system. It is called â€Å"soft† because its about people and the way they relate to the environment. The systems are the way we use the theory and put it into practices with people, relationship, objects, and processes. This is described here in detail 1(Mackness, 2007). 2 Patching (1993) declared that the methodology is merely a method with a set of guidelines that help predict an outcome to problem situations which is described here (Patching, 1993 p. 41) 1.martinwellsinterview. 2007. Dr John Mackness Soft Systems Methodology [online]. [Accessed 19 November 2007]. Available from World Wide Web: 2 Patching, D. (1993) Practical soft systems analysis. London: Pitman Publishing Checklands software system methodology comprises of a seven stage model. It is very similar to other methods of investigation. Sounce: http://portals.wi.wur.nl/files/images/msp/soft%20systems%20methodology.gif Stage 1. This stage shows messy problems, which are not suitable for hard system methods. Stage 2. Is concerned with rich pictures to express situations more clearly, which in turn provides better feedback. It is the problem expressed in the real world. May included client and yourself in the picture, physical layout, hierarchy etc. Stage 3. Root definitions are needed but first a viewpoint must be selected. Are we looking at it form the employees position or the managers position etc? Root definitions describes what a systems is, and what it will do by doing so, it takes into account whoever is part of the system. It looks at who is part of it and who may be affected in any way. Using the mnemonic CATWOE, this is basically a simple checklist for thinking about problems. Customers Who are they, and how does the issue affect them? Actors Who is involved in the situation? Who will be involved in implementing solutions? And what will impact their success? Transformation Process What processes or systems are affected by the issue? Weltanschauung What is the big picture, world view ? And what are the wider impacts of the issue? Owner Who owns the process or situation you are investigating? And what role will they play in the solution? Environmental Constraints What are the constraints and limitations that will impact the solution and its success? Source : http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/whats-the-problem-find-out-using-catwoe.html Stage 4. Is the conceptual model, which represents the minimum set of procedures for the system to be able to achieve the desired transformation. Procedure and task are described by verbs. Stage 5. Is a comparison of the conceptual model and the real world. Stage 2 and stage 4. Questioning the situation and how they could be changed. Stage 6. This stage discusses where improvements can be made to certain areas and whether it is culturally feasible taking into account stakeholders views, backgrounds, experience of the people involved. Desirable changes are also discussed for the systems that may benefit the transformation. Stage 7. Is to take action and implement the changes that would improve the system. This would involve changes in attitude, finance, equipment, staff, training etc. It is advisable to note stage 3, the root definitions to not overlook things. After implanting the changes it is important to measure the systems performance. In SSM we use the 3 Es which Checkland, Scholes (2001) describes ‘ efficacy (for ‘does the means work?) effienecy (for ‘amount of output divided by amount of resources used) effectiveness (for ‘is T meeting the longer term aim?) 3.(Checkland, Scholes, p.39). 3.Checkland, P. and Scholes, J. (2001) Soft systems methodology in action. Chichester: Wiley Accompanied with the 3 Es would be a model to determine what stage each of the 3 Es are at. This is the complete conceptual model when applying soft systems methodology, which consist of Rich Picture Root Defitions Catwoe Model of transformation Measure of performance Advantages to soft systems methodology Soft systems methodology can be used as a tool to increase an analyst understanding of a problem during investigation as well as the later stages. The technique helps identify areas that need to be improved, and areas that have weaknesses where hard approaches have been unable to do so. It helps produces solutions in a sense that it defines the problem well enough for other system approaches to take over such as hard techniques. By trying to use hard techniques would stop the problem from being seen as a whole. Soft systems methodology relies on a holistic view for the problem to be solved successfully. Another advantage of this methodology is that it doesnt really rely on the use of any equipment except pen and paper. The technique is successful enough to produce solutions to problem just by itself which is supported here 4.(Davies, 1998 p.256). All it needs is a competent analyst. The methodology can be adapted to fit a situation, customer values are considered greatly over other values such as financial and technical values while aiming to find the best solution that would suite all that are involved. Disadvantages to soft systems methodology This disadvantage to soft systems methodology is that the technique does not tell you how to build a system. Problems are subject to change anytime as there were fuzzy in the first place. With added discussions from key actors more changes to the problem situation may be made. It relies heavily on people for SSM to work. Can be very time consuming and requires money and experts. Non technical issues are taken into account which may make the problems situation more complex. Companies sometime view SSM as inferior to other techniques of improving an organisation and would rather hire 2 different parties. One would be the business consultant for improving effectiveness while the other would be a technical consultant to improve the technological side of the organisation. Instead of hiring a SSM competent analyst that would do both by in twining them together some companies would rather keep them separate. Sometimes a goal may never reached as root definitions may still be unclear which i n turn sends the whole process into a loop that may never finish. 4.Davies, P.B. (1998) Information systems development. 3rd ed. Hampshire: Macmillan Press LTD. Souce images / quoatations x 2 Souces 1 youtube 3 books 1 Journals http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.lispac.lsbu.ac.uk/science?_ob=MImg_imagekey=B6VB4-3V7C64C-5-1_cdi=5916_user=121704_orig=search_coverDate=10%2F31%2F1998_sk=999819994view=cwchp=dGLbVzb-zSkzkmd5=c0cb2fed4864aeb21d813248fc205aa1ie=/sdarticle.pdf http://usability.myforum365.com

Church Burnings :: essays research papers

â€Å"Racism Blamed in Shock Wave of Church Burnings,† read the screaming headline in the New York Daily News. â€Å"The South is Burning: A Rash of Torching at Black Churches Has Resurrected the Ugly Specter of Racism,† chimed in the Toronto Star. Newsweek warned of â€Å"Terror in the Night Down South,† While USA Today reported that â€Å"Arson at Black Churches Echoes Bigotry of Past.†(Fumento 1) In the summer of 1996, the U.S. media widely reported a surge in white racist burnings of black churches in the American South. It all started the Center for Democratic Renewal announced a huge increase in arsons against black churches by whites. Black churches were burning at the rate of one per week, mostly due to arson (Swett 2). The media jumped on the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The racial church burnings soon became issues of Politicians. President Bill Clinton was running for re-election and desperately needed the votes of the black communities. Clinton made the discrimination issue a priority. Clinton held a White House summit on the issue and assigned the FBI to investigate. Eventually, he passed a law authorizing 12 million dollars to fight arsons of churches. During a passionate speech President Clinton shared that he had, â€Å"vivid and painful memories of black churches being burned in my own state when I was a child.† Ironically, historians and civil rights activists in Arkansas could find no mention of any church arsons in the state during his childhood. Furthermore, Al Gore was quoted â€Å"For a very large number of the burnings, what you will find ultimately, I predict, is that a common thread of underlying racism is present.†(Elven 2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The church burnings had all the makings of a great story: mystery, race, religion and an eerie echo of the past.†(Heyboer 1). Michael Fumento a journalist for the Wall Street Journal wrote, â€Å"It appears that the public may be finally catching on that the black church burning epidemic of 1996 is actually one of the biggest hoaxes to come along in years.† In fact, independent investigations by several reporters, including those at the Associated press, The New Yorker and USA Today have revealed no plague and little evidence of racism. Michael Kelly, reported that fires at churches both white and black had sharply decreased since 1980, and that the overall number in 1994 was the lowest in fifteen years. Kelly explains the rise in church burnings was impart because of copycat arsons who may have been racist but who also had been inspired by the media attention given to the fires.

Young Males, Modern Society, and Drug Use Essay -- Essays Papers

Young Males, Modern Society, and Drug Use To understand the use of drugs by young men and to review the literature in a coherent framework it is necessary to begin with an understanding of the term 'gender'. Gender is said to mean more than just male or female. Rather it is a description of the traits and attributes which society ascribes to each sex. Gender is distinguished from sex in that sex refers to biology, whereas gender refers to the cultural meanings and social constructs that are superimposed on the biological differences between the sexes. That is, gender is socially constructed. It transforms female to mean 'feminine' and male to mean 'masculine', and by so doing it defines our expectations of both male and female behavior in everyday life. Most research up until the 1980s was based on male perceptions and male constructs of drug use, which by its very nature, neglected female drug use (Davey, 1994; Sargent, 1992; Temple-Smith & Hamilton, 1991). Some studies ignored women entirely; others included women but ignored gender, simply combining men and women in the analysis. Authors of many studies thus generalized from male subjects to 'people'. As Henderson (1993) says "It is a familiar sentiment by now that the literature on drugs is limited when it comes to the subject of gender and drug use. All too often studies have ignored gender as a factor in drug use and extrapolated from the male experience." (p. 127). It is important, therefore, to acknowledge that historically, gender has been a 'blindspot' in much of the research on drug use and abuse (Lammers & Schippers, 1991). The influence of male gender has not been considered, despite the fact that males have mostly been the subjects of the studies. As Broom (... ..., S. (1997). Youth violence and the limits of moral panic. Youth Studies Australia, 16(1), 25-30. Vogel-Sprott, M., & Chipperfield, B. (1987). Family history of problem drinking among young male social drinkers: Behavioral effects of alcohol. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 48(5), 430-436. Waldron, I. (1991). Patterns and causes of gender differences in smoking. Social Science and Medicine, 32(9), 989-1005. Waldron, J. (1997). Changing gender roles and gender differences in health behavior. In D.S. Gochman (Ed.), Handbook of health behavior research 1: Personal and social determinants (pp. 303-328). New York: Plenum Press. Walpole, S. (1995). Gender equity in education: A view from outside the classroom. In Proceedings of the Promoting Gender Equity Conference (pp. 5-11). Canberra: Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.

The Tell-Tale Heart and the Labovian Theory :: Tell-Tale Heart Essays

The Tell Tale Heart and the Labovian Theory      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Labovian theory of a developed narrative contains six mandatory components.   These components help the reader, or listener to a broader understanding of the thoughts and motivation of the internal narrator and the external storyteller.   The abstract gives a representation about the story.   The orientation draws a picture to familiarize the reader/listener of the necessary w's; who, what, when, where.   The complicating action is the turn of events on which the story hinges. The resolution determines the outcome and usually leaves the reader/listener aware of a feeling of closure. The evaluation is the most essential component of the Labovian theory.   It permeates throughout the narrative in hopeful attempts to keep the interest of the reader/listener peaked.   The coda compliments the evaluation and brings the narrator and the reader/listener back together on common ground in order to bring the story to a close.   Edgar Allan Poe's short story of a passionless crime undone by the heart incorporates the Labovian components.   "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a   masterly written narrative, full of subtle nuances quick to deceive the senses.   Poe sends the reader spinning into a world of symbolism, questioning the art of madness, and fearing the depravity of reason.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The "The Tell-Tale Heart"   is, at a glance, seemingly about a man plotting to kill another man in cold blood.   Looking further into the words, the reader can find a story of a man obsessed with senses and the ability to have complete control over them. The narrator uses reason to overwhelm the morality of his actions.   His obsession takes over his whole being, thus bringing on the madness which over powers his   world.   The focus of the abstract is first   seen as the narrator describes his idea as, "haunting him day and night"(226).   Only an obsessed person could let something get to the point where they cannot think of anything else.   Poe uses strategic wording to pinpoint the abstract.   Poe blatantly announces the point, and the narrator confesses,   "Madmen know nothing.   But you should have seen me.   You should have seen how wisely I proceeded . . . "(226).   He was a coldly calculating man, obsessed that reason can conquer any sense, which in the end he finds is a never-ending battle.

Different Cultures

Different countries of the world have different cultures. In light of this, there may be discrepancies in the way we interpret our interaction with the person from another culture. Sometimes it may be difficult to understand or accept another culture which is different from one’s own culture. In my three years of living in America, I have had experiences based on the difference between the Korean and American culture – these are in the area of non-verbal communication and appointment culture.However, I have also noticed that the structure of the educational system is similar. First of all, nonverbal communication is so much different between two countries. According to reading, â€Å"Where Do We Stand† Lisa Davis, mentioned that all countries have different nonverbal communications and personal space. Because of these, there may be misunderstandings and misinterpretations. One of the differences between the American and Korean culture is greeting. Americans greet by putting up a handshake and saying â€Å"hi† to anyone, both young and old.Koreans do that only to friends or someone who are younger than people who greet. If it is someone older, we greet by bowing head. Moreover, one other mode of greeting is kissing each other. It is really different culture from Korea. We never kiss anyone except close family members. I still find it hard to adapt to this mode of greeting. The simple communication mistakes we make at one time or the other upset the Americans. This may not be deliberate but due to the communication gap.Secondly, keeping an appointment is an indispensable condition even between friends in America. According to reading â€Å"Friends and Strangers† Margaret K. (Omar) Nydell, she talked about some differences of cultures and if she wants to meet another person, she needs to have a one week grace period. To me, this is strange. When I just came to America, I did not know about cultural differences. The first person I met was American-Chinese, we later became close friends. There was a times I was in bad mood. I called her so that I can talk to her.However, told me that she did not want to talk to me because she was having her personal time and asked me to meet the following day or two days after. I thought she just did not want to meet me and did not think it could be impolite to someone else. In Korea, we usually never make an appointment with friends. Whenever the need arises, a call is made and if the other party is available to meet. Even some of my friends just come to my home without any call. Making an appointment is one of courtesies in America.Although both cultures are sometimes poles apart, there are still some similarities between both cultures. A similarity can be found in the educational system of both countries. I believe that all countries have the same passion about education. America students prefer attending a good school and study hard. They also like people who are well edu cated. Even if there are many differences between other countries, Korea and America, when I study with others, we forget everything about differences and study with the same passion.It helps connect us to each other even if we come from very different countries. In conclusion, I have had so many experiences and realize that there are differences between other cultures. This I have come to realize since coming to this country three years ago. It is really hard to understand each other across cultures, and sometimes it there is still a communication gap between my friends and I. However, we are can understand each other if we all make an effort. We should try to accept the differences and then we could be closer to each other.

Red Hunting Hat Essay

What does symbolism add to a book? It adds morals and depth to the novel. It makes the reader learn something interesting or lets them gain knowledge of something that can change their outlook on how they perceive things. In the novel Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, it is about a perplexed boy, Holden Caulfield. He has trouble dealing the issue of growing up. One of the major symbols in the book is Holden’s red hunting hat. Salinger uses the hat to signify Holden’s need for comfort and his adolescent problems and pressures. To begin, when reading the novel one seems to come upon Holden‘s red hunting hat many times while reading. This hunting hat demonstrates Holden’s need for safety and comfort. He was deprived of it when he was a child; for nobody ever asked him how he felt about his younger brother death and his moving to different schools. The assurance one object can create is immense and that’s exactly what it did for Holden. Holden decides to leave Pencey early and heads to New York City. In cab he puts on his hat and says â€Å"I’d put on my red hunting hat when I was in the cab, just for the hell of it, but I took it off before I checked in† (61). This quote illustrates how Holden feels the need to wear the hat in order to feel safe. He was out in New York City with nowhere to turn too and he had no place to go where he would feel welcomed. The hat seemed to give him a sense of ease, but with that comfort there is a price to pay because he also felt insecure about how people will perceive him while wearing the hat. the red hunting hat is Holden’s desire to be unique and keep his individuality. Not many people will walk down the street wearing a red hunting hat, especially the way Holden wears it. Holden always wore the hat a certain way. â€Å"I put my red hunting hat on, and turned the peak around to the back, the way I like it†¦ † (52). Holden always put his hat on this way, showing he is clearly different from the world. Usually when Holden is wearing his hat he tends to reject people, or has just previously rejected them. Subsequently, the hat also gives Holden insecurity that seems to cause him pressures that one usually obtains during teenage years. But at time his pressure seemed to be a little extreme. My ears were nice and warm, though. That hat I bought had earlaps in it, and I put them on – I don’t give a damn how I looked. Nobody was around anyway. Everybody was in the sack† (53). This quote exemplifies how Holden tends to take his image to seriously. Yet throughout the novel Holden says that people that are obsessed with their look are phony, showing the reader that at time he is a hypocrite considering he’s obsessed with his look also. Not only does this happen once or twice but numerous times in the book. The quote tries to explain that Holden does not care what people think about him and yet if he did not he would not have announced that everyone was sleeping and nobody could see him. When Stradlater gets home from his date with Jane Gallagher, he and Holden get in a fight. When it is over, both Holden and Stradlater are left in physical pain. â€Å"I kept sitting there on the floor till I heard old Stradlater close the door and go down the corridor to the can, then I got up. I couldn’t find my goddam hunting hat anywhere. Finally I found it†¦ I put it on, and turned the old peak around to the back, the way I liked it† (45). The fight that Holden has with Stradlater is about Stradlater going out on a date with Holden’s friend Jane Gallagher. Holden gets upset with Stradlater for doing that because he thinks that Stradlater will cause Jane to lose her innocence. After Holden puts his hat on he stops thinking about Jane’s innocence and about his face, a more rational, less emotional subject. This also verifies a very apparent fact Holden seems to not be able up make up his mind on great number of things He seems to find himself in a confused mess.

Emotional Labour Essay

This report investigates the shop manners and training offered to the floor sales staff at Next compared to that of those who work in the stock room. I would like to know how each environment affects the workers emotions. I think it’s an important question to ask because the people that work on the shop floor are constantly in contact with customers. It could be said that those that work in the stock room are not part of the stage setting and are more like the stage crew who work behind the scenes. I think it is important then to first address what emotion is. â€Å"Emotion theory is centred on the relationship of the person and its environment† (Lazarus, 1991 p40). This has implications on the question that I am posing as the stockroom workers interact in a different environment to their colleagues on the shop floor. There are two fundamental viewpoints to emotion the organismic and interactionalist viewpoint. The organismic model developing from the work of Charles Darwin, William James and early Sigmund Freud, â€Å"Defines emotion mainly as a biological process. For Freud emotion affect is libidinal discharge, for Darwin it’s instinct and for James it’s the perception of a psychological process† (Hochschild, 1983 p205) This leads organismic theorists to believe that there is a basic similarity of emotion across categories of people (Hochschild, 1983). The organismic model brings us to an elicitation-expression model (Hochschild, 1983) Interactionists believe emotion always involves a biological component but adds more points to social factors, which are present before, after and during the experience of emotion. For example why does a customer become violent when refused a refund, what in their cultural environment constitutes their response? If we conceptualise emotion as instinctive we will ignore questions about social entry. (Hochschild, 1983) â€Å"Emotions are experienced by individuals and through intention or inadvertent communication may be deduced by others who are observing†. (Lazarus, 1991 p40) Emotions can be a valuable source of information in determining how people are getting along. However, surface acting can disguise true emotion so you must be wary when reading emotions. â€Å"Society and biological inheritance creates a pattern of behaviour that shape emotion and expressions of the individual† (Lazarus, 1991 p40). I believe this statement relates to the way that shop assistants and customers are expected to behave. As you will see the training offered to the sales staff shows members of the work force how to act in a socially excepted way which is common practice in all chain stores. In a shopping environment how other people feel is a huge factor as to whether they buy something or not. Sales staff to some extent can influence this. I believe that for a customer to feel ‘at home’ in a shop the sales staff need to be friendly and approachable whereby you feel even if you haven’t bought any thing this time you are welcome back again. I think that this is the key to the success of stores like Next and Marks and Spencer’s where staffs have the correct shop manners to keep the customers coming back. From interviews undertaken with staff at Next I have uncovered strict guidelines in training which each new member of staff has to go through. (I will discuss this and whether I think it is appropriate later.) Drawing on my own experience, I have worked in what you would call a ‘downmarket’ clothes store and no training of shop manners was offered to me. It was my first proper job so I did feel as if I was being thrown in at the deep end. However, the shop was very small and my C.V. demonstrated that I had good people skills as I had worked on a market stall at the weekends and holidays. I assume that management didn’t feel the need to train me in what they thought should be the obvious way to behave towards customers. After speaking to senior sales staff at next and sponsors, these are longer standing members of staff who train new staff using the guidelines (see Appendix), I have gathered that management wish the customer to feel that they are the most important thing and that their shopping experience is being made easier by the staff. Next seem to have thought out its training program very clearly and assigns specific amounts of time to each activity. This helps to give the impression that training is viewed as an important part of the job. I think that Next places emphasis on its training as it is a chain store and it often directs customers to local stores if the stock isn’t available at the branch at which they are visiting, this calls for a sense of conformity between stores. I evaluated the training sessions which, are appropriate to the questions I am asking, by interviewing staff on how appropriate each session is, how achievable are the actions set out and how they affect emotions. The overall reaction that I had from staff was that they felt the training to be very obvious and many sponsors admitted to skipping through the training as quickly as possible because of this fact. Sponsors felt that by training staff with this obvious manner of behaviour was assuming that the trainee was, when prompted by myself, emotionally incapable of selecting the correct emotions for the customer situation. Training session 1 (Appendix Shop Manners). The trainee is told to be aware and not to get tied down in tasks when I asked staff about the reality of this they said they found it very annoying to be approached by customers when doing a job and often resented customers for ‘bothering’ them. However, this is where surface acting comes into play the employee hides what they feel and pretends what they don’t (Hochschild, 1983). The action is in the body language, for example the put on smile and sweet voice as it is for the people observed by Erving Goffman (cited in Hochschild, 1983 p35). The employee has to think back to their training to pick the right body language. A typical scenario: Now interrupted from a task possibly holding a huge pile of stock in their hand the employees are given a strict formula to follow, eye contact, a smile, appropriate greeting and to be friendly and sincere. This is a hard task when obviously it is inappropriate for the customer to target them and often there is another member of staff nearby doing nothing. However, the surface acting must continue as the corporate motto of â€Å"The customer always comes first† is relayed in your mind, plus I don’t want to lose my job if they complain to head office. Company control also works along who fears whom. As with flight attendants the fear hierarchy works indirectly through customers complaining, to head office (Hochschild, 1983). This type of scenario links with the question posed by Hochschild (1983 p89) that when feelings are set by management and where workers have weaker rights to courtesy then consumers do, when deep and surface acting are forms of labour to be sold what happens to the way a person relates to her feelings or to her face? Employees said that when they were the customers they were more aware of the shop assistants emotions and tried to be more courteous. However, they may just feel as though they do this because they wish that people would do this for them. I do believe that this statement does have some truth but surely when the stage setting is different, when they are the customer and not the ‘server’ they assume the actions of the customer. As on the stage as in life the person is the locus of the acting process. But when an institution is involved various acting elements are taken away from the individual and replaced by institutional mechanisms. In this case the fact that the customer comes first. â€Å"The locus of acting, of emotional management, moves to the level of the institution†. (Hochschild 1983 p49) The people are arranged according to institutional custom and the workers surface act in institutionally approved ways. Training Session 2 (Appendix In-Store Security) This training session makes shop assistants conscious of the need to be aware and the need for acknowledgement of the customers. You can use your training of greeting the customer in a functional way, to help reduce the comfort of shoplifters who are always aware of who is watching them. Senior staff said that it gets easier to spot thieves with practice; you get to learn their tricks of diverting your attention. Even though you have to be suspicious of certain customers you must always remember your training and be polite even if you feel that they are up to no good. Training Session 3 (Appendix Stockroom) As you can see none of the training here is connected to personal conduct, it doesn’t attempt to tell you how to act where as the shop floor assistants are told to be friendly, sincere, polite, confident and have a smile. They are even told that conversations must be work related. When questioned on the reality of this last statement floor staff said they do have non-work related conversations but they are of a toned down nature to the way they would speak in private. When I asked the stockroom workers about their conversations they said that if they were in a situation to have a conversation it would be more animated then if having it on the shop floor as they are not ‘in public’. Training Session 12 (Appendix Till Service) Customer interaction is crucial at the till point. Again the trainee is told how to act, to be sincere and polite. I asked staff how easy it was to do this. A typical scenario: It’s a very busy Saturday and all the tills are in operation when greeted by the customer with comments such as â€Å"I have been waiting ever such a long time, you know† and the like, it is difficult to be sincere and polite as there is nothing the staff can do to make the queue go any quicker. The staff member surface acts with her painted on smile and polite apologies. In the training suggestions of possible conversation are complimenting customers on their choice of purchase. Till operators said they tended to deep act in this case, only saying it if they meant it. Deep acting is a natural result of working on feeling expression is spontaneous (Hochschild 1983). As the Russian director Constantin Stanivlaski puts it a real feeling that has been self-induced (cited in Hochschild 1983 p35). The refund and exchange policy is an important part of training because it is the most likely time for customer conflict. The staff member is instructed to treat the customer in the same way as they would if they were making a purchase, this is easy if the customer has a receipt or is a well-known customer. But if the customer doesn’t have a receipt it makes it harder in some cases because you have the suspicion that the customer may have stolen the garment. In this situation the staff member is advised that the best thing to do is get a manager. As formal rules that prop up an institution set limits to the emotional possibilities that staff have to feel (Hochschild 1983). The point that demonstrates this is the manager gets paid more then a shop assistant because their pay package covers them for the emotional insults, which they may receive from refusing to give a customer a refund. I asked the managers how they dealt with abusive behaviour from customers. Managers gain the experience for dealing with inconvenient customers and they assured me that it gets easier as time goes on. â€Å"You have to detach what you are feeling from the situation and not let your own anger, or in some extreme cases fear get in the way†. (Appendix Initial Training Requirement Chart) This gives a summary of all the training offered to the different roles at Next. As you can see all staff members that are present on the shop floor, for any point of their shift, the number one training session is shop manners. This is not part of the stockroom workers training. (Appendix Sponsors Guidelines- 6.Performance Assessment Standards) This table demonstrates that all staff working on floor cover, fitting room, till service or replenishment are those that could possibly come into contact with customers. It demonstrates that shop floor staff members are assessed on their ability to smile and make eye contact with the customer and to be aware of shoppers. Stockroom staff members, on the other hand, are assessed solely on their physical, rather then any emotional objectives. Are our feelings really our own? From the research obtained in this report it is clear to see that the staff working on the shop floor are shown ‘how to act’ where as in the stock room it’s much more ‘natural emotion’. Institutional practice shapes the way in which shop floor workers are expected to behave. What makes some individuals prefer to work in the stock room compared to the shop floor? I asked the stockroom workers why they liked to work in the stockroom. I received comments such as. â€Å"You can be more yourself as you don’t have to work in uniform†. I think that management enforce a strict smart dress policy on shop floor workers to help them get into the role, which they have to play; it is part of the act. â€Å"In the stockroom you don’t have to interact with customers†. Some of the stockroom staff said the horror stories they have heard about customers puts them off working on the shop floor. As customers seem to be oblivious to the feelings of shop floor workers and assume that they are there just to serve them. â€Å"The stockroom has quite a different atmosphere to the shop floor it is more relaxed, you often get shop floor sales staff coming in for a ‘break’ from the hustle and bustle of the shop floor†. The stockroom workers said that on many occasions sales staff come in and tell them about incidents with customers that have just happened. This helps the member of staff to calm down, as the stockroom member often is able to bring them to ‘reality’ and point out that it is only a customer and not to get wound up. In the surroundings of the back office the sales floor worker is able to put the situation in context of life and go back to the ‘act’ moments later. Does personality have something to do with whether you like working in the stockroom or the shop floor? From observation and asking the floor staff it seems to me that the quieter people work in the stock room. When I questioned staff members on why they enjoyed working in the stock room I deduced they don’t feel the need to be on the stage acting, to them it is false they would rather be left to their own devices. I asked the floor staff whether they minded working in the stockroom as sometimes staff shortages calls for this. They said they didn’t mind but preferred the interaction and liveliness of the shop floor this corresponds with previous research, which shows emotional labourers like contact with the customer. Even though customers can be very unpleasant. (MG2076 starter pack: The Survey). Sales floor staff said they wished they could work in the stockroom on days when they were feeling ‘under the weather’ as the need to act in the corporate superficial way was much harder because their true emotions were harder to suppress. On days when everything is going well staff said it was a pleasure to help customers that are appreciative of their service but a customer who feels it is their right to be served can bring an end to that. This suggests that workers feelings are not their own and shop assistants surface act from day to day. I would like to investigate status and gender differences to see whether men or women are better equipped at working in either environment. â€Å"Is emotion work as important for men as it is for women?† (Hochschild, 1983 p 162) Hochschild believes it is not. Due to firstly lacking other resources women make a resource out of feeling. Secondly, each gender is called on to do different kinds of work, which Hochschild believes to be down to â€Å"different childhood training of the heart that is given to girls and boys† (Hochschild, 1983 p163). I think this gender separation at work is becoming less apparent as equal rights laws are being enforced and changing attitudes of society. At Next there is equality in the work place with men and women being treated equally with both being given the same responsibility. Thirdly, â€Å"the general subordination of women† leaves them more open to abuse. For example, a customer was being very rude to the floor manager on childrensware due to the fact that she refused to give the man a refund, because the garment had obviously been worn. The customer became very rude and abusive, which he thought would give him some hold over the woman. The female manager was about to give in to the customer when the shop manager, a man, noticed the disturbance and came over to assist his colleague. He refused to give the man a refund. I believe that as a man the shop manager saw the customer as a mere man and stood by the initial reaction of the female manager. The customer more intimidated by the act of the shop manager gave in very quickly and left the shop threatening â€Å"I will let head office know about this.† The manager was not browbeaten by this comment, as he knew the customer didn’t have a leg to stand on. This situation also lends itself to the fact that † a different proportion of the managed heart is enlisted for commercial use.† (Hochschild, 1983 p163-164) Women make defensive use of their beauty, charm and relational skills, which due to commercial exploitation can lead them to become estranged from these capacities. For male workers it is more their ability to wield anger and make threats that is used by the company and so this the capacity which they are likely to feel estranged from. (Hochschild 1983) Conclusion Each environment has an impact on the workers emotions. The sales floor is where surface acting takes place throughout most of the working day. The stockroom is a place where deep acting is given more of a chance to occur due to the fact that the company don’t suppose emotions upon its workers here. I think the training offered by Next is appropriate as it is what is institutionally expected by society. It is achievable by staff to act this way, as this is what they are getting paid to do. I think it does affect workers emotions being trained how to act because it must be hard to switch off at the end of the day. Eventually it must become instinctive to act in a socially expected way and it must become harder for staff members to express their true emotions when not at work.    Bibliography * Hochschild, A. R. (1983) The Managed Heart; the commercialisation of human feeling California: University of California Press. * Lazarus, R. S. (1994) Emotion and Adaptation New York: Oxford University Press * MG2076s Starter Pack MG 2076 Louise Goldstein

Significance of Gender in Romeo and Juliet

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the Montagues and the Capulets have very different relationships with their children. A major reason for this, as well as much of the conflict in the tale, comes from the gender roles that Romeo and Juliet are expected to play into. Adding to that conflict is the fact that both Romeo and Juliet push the boundaries of these roles and struggle to fit into them. Romeo plays the over emotional lover, while Juliet is clever and dominant. Throughout the play we can see that both Romeo and Juliet have to struggle with the people around them because they are not acting within their respective gender roles. One of the first moments in the play where Romeo’s non-normative attitude towards love is addressed directly is when Mercutio, in Act 2 Scene 4, reflects on Romeo and Rosaline. â€Å"Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? / now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo; now art / thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature† (2. 4. 20). Mercutio is excited to have his friend ‘back’. In the the last two lines of this quote, Mercutio implies that not worrying over love is normal. That, in hanging with the boys and not following his wild emotions, Romeo is being what Romeo ought to be,â€Å"art as well as by nature†. The implication here is that the way he was reacting before to Rosaline is not natural. This lovelorn that overpowers all else Romeo feels comes back much harder with Juliet. Mercutio’s comment about Rosaline infers the abnormality of Romeo. This seed that is planted in the mind of the audience can then take root and be even more noticeable without Mercutio commenting on it directly with Juliet. In the first scene of Act 3, Romeo struggles with his masculinity versus his love. When he chooses not to fight Tybalt with Juliet in mind, Romeo open questions his own masculinity. He is after all, a part of this society and surely recognizes, to a certain extent, the unusualness of his feelings. â€Å"†¦O sweet Juliet, / Thy beauty hath made me effeminate / And in my temper soften'd valour's steel! † (3. 1. 7) To Romeo, it is as if Juliet’s beauty has him bewitched. He doesn’t put the blame on himself or even her, but her beauty. He is giving life to it, admitting that it subdues him. By attributing Juliet’s beauty with such a powerful presence, Romeo is only underlining his romantic nature. Several other characters make note of Romeo’s feminine/emotional nature. The Nurse and The Friar are two of the more observant characters in the play. In Act 3, Scene 3, when talking of Romeo, The Nurse says, â€Å"Stand up, stand up; stand, and you be a man: / For Juliet's sake, for her sake, rise and stand† (3. 3. 3). She is saying that Romeo needs to be less emotional, that it is taking away from his manhood. Later on in the same scene, the Friar tells Romeo to stop crying, that it makes him look like a girl. â€Å"Hold thy desperate hand: / Art thou a man? thy form cries out thou art: / Thy tears are womanish†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3. 3. 4). Throughout the whole play, Romeo is picked on for his emotional way of life. His unusually demeanor could also be his fatal flaw. Early on in the play, when Romeo and his friends sneak into the Capulet party, Capulet speaks highly of Romeo, and tells Tybalt not to cause trouble. There is a kindness in his tone that cannot help to make one think that perhaps if Romeo approached Capulet and asked to marry Juliet, th at Capulet might have said yes. But he doesn’t do this, and there is no way of really knowing what Capulet would have said. Romeo’s struggle with people not accepting how he doesn’t really fit the mold is not as definitively consequential as Juliet’s. No one is telling Romeo what to do, Lady Montague doesn’t want him to be involved in fighting, but no one is trying to determine the rest of his life for him. Juliet’s struggle isn’t a social conflict. She isn’t being made fun of by her friends, or criticized casually by the people around her. She is being controlled and pushed towards life commitments that she wants no part of. Romeo has a lot at stake, emotionally, but the rest of Juliet’s life is at stake. In one of her first moments with her mother, this conflict is explicitly shown, â€Å"LADY CAPULET: Marry, that ‘marry' is the very theme /I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, / How stands your disposition to be married? JULIET: It is an honour that I dream not of. † (1. 3. 4) Lady Capulet reflects the societal expectations. And although Juliet’s line has no huge impact on Lady Capulet, it does foreshadow her relationship with the world. And inevitably, one side will have to give in. There is a distinct change we see in how Juliet’s father treats her during the play. In Act 1, Scene 2, when Paris asks for Juliet’s hand in marriage, Capulet says that in the end the decision is hers to make, â€Å"â€Å"But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart, / My will to her consent is but a part; / An she agree, within her scope of choice / Lies my consent and fair according voice. † (1. 2. 2) He is telling Paris that he has his blessing, but he must woo Juliet because her consent is important to him. This gives the impression that Capulet is a kind, non-restrictive, even liberal parent. But later on in the play, when Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Capulet really loses his temper at her, â€Å"How now, how now, chop-logic! What is this? / ‘Proud,' and ‘I thank you,' and ‘I thank you not;' / And yet ‘not proud,' mistress minion, you, / Thank me no thankings, nor, proud me no prouds, / But fettle your fine joints ‘gainst Thursday next, / To go with Paris to Saint Peter's Church, / Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. / Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you baggage! / You tallow-face! † (3. 5. 3) What happened to his earlier attitude? One could argue that Capulet is, in fact, not a very thoughtful liberal father, but sees himself as one because his daughter, Juliet, is for the most part a good kid. And she has never really disobeyed him before. This sign of independence and disrespect is too much for him and his true controlling nature is revealed. The parts of Juliet’s home life that seem supportive and loving only remain as such while she is doing what others want her to do. As soon as she makes a decision for herself, all of that support is taken away. Capulet commands her to marry Paris or be kicked out of his house. If Juliet was a boy, or if she wasn’t pushed into the role of the girl than these problems would not come up. Romeo and Juliet defy their families. They put aside the quarrel that takes up so much energy and violence. Romeo ignores his friends in chasing after Juliet, and Juliet battles with her parents. Their marriage is a rebellion against both Houses. Both characters do not fit into the gender roles that other characters expect of them. It is this shared defiance that holds them together, but also that ruins them. If neither one had expectations put on them, then Juliet wouldn’t have had to marry Paris. But the shared deviance and secretive nature to their relationship is a large part of what gave them such passion. Shakespeare is examining the roles men and women are asked to play in society, asking us to think about the consequences.

Modern Technology: For Better or Worse Essay

When it comes to the topic of the impact of digital devices or modern technology on society, most of us will readily agree that technology has positive and negative effects on our social and personal life. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of does technology control us? Whereas some are convinced that we need to embrace the technology, others maintain that we are living too much in the virtual. While still others are concerned about how we lose sight of the reality because of technology’s capability to make it happen. Andrew Lam, a Vietnamese journalist and a short story writer makes a point in his article â€Å"I Tweet, Therefore I am† about how technology is drastically changing the way we look and react in our society. One of the examples he uses to clarify his point is about the professor who collapsed while preparing to give a lecture. Lam said, â€Å"Instead of helping him, many students in the audience took out their cell phones, sna pped photos, texted and tweeted† (Lam 1). The students wanted to be the first one to spread the news so that they could gain popularity or feel proud of themselves for having the power of recording the extraordinary event that just happened. As we try to be the first one to tell the news, we don’t realize that we are losing our empathy. The students sure did feel badly for their professor, but their first reaction was that they have to record it instead of giving a hand or calling an ambulance. I understand why the students reacted by taking pictures or videos of their professors, because I also had those times where I witnessed some unusual happenings and the first reaction I felt is that I have to take pictures of it and share it with my friends by posting the pictures/videos in social networks I am using. I also understand why Lam is concerned about this, but this is a reality that automatically happens as we immerse in the generation of technology. This is not good because we are letting the influence of technology forget one of the most important aspects of socializing, showing respect and care to someone. We are changing in order to fit in to the digital media and social world. Lam mentions, â€Å"Generations  have been raised on video games, spent the bulk of their lives in chat rooms and on YouTube, on cellphones and iPods. They have been conditioned to invest the bulk of their emotional life in the virtual space† (Lam 5). I agree that most of us, in this generation, isolate ourselves in our own place inside the technology. It makes us busy in not such a productive way because we can sit in a chair or lie in bed just focusing on our phones, computers or tablets and not realize that we’ve just wasted hours or worse, our whole day. I could stay in my bedroom facing my laptop, chatting my friends for three hours. When I am done with chatting, I close my laptop and start texting. When I don’t text I watch funny and interesting videos on my iPod. Therefore, I would say that my daily routine is occupied with technology and mobile devices, whether it is good or not, technology is a part of every single day of my life. As we get benefits in the use of technology, we also need to accept the consequence that comes with it. Lam also makes a strong point when he said his view about the social media and its effects in on our personal lives, â€Å"We do not fully exist without some sort of electronic imprint in the virtual world, a digital projection of ourselves† (Lam 25). I agree with that because as I see it, we are now in a generation where people use technology, our life revolves around it, and we introduce ourselves to others using technology. We are then starting to care less and less about our personal lives. We are now posting what we feel on a Facebook status, we tweet our thoughts in Twitter, we even write what we are doing and where we are in our personal blogs. Instead of just writing it in our journal or diary, we are now sharing it to the world which makes us feel part of the society but making us care less about what we share and lets us forget the real meaning of privacy. What I don’t agree with in Lam’s article is when he said that, â€Å"†¦they (we) may just be leaving something important and irretrievable behind† (Lam), because although there are certain negative impacts of technology. I would not say that we are losing empathy as we immerse ourselves into the digital devices because the technology and its advancement aids the society as a whole and the important things we want to share. Whether it is good or bad news, we get the freedom of sharing it, reaching more people faster. Most importantly is when we find some people who can relate to us makin g us feel more important and better, and that is because of the widespread influence of the technology. Another  essay that makes a point and shows concern about the impact of technology is entitled â€Å"How Computer Change the Way We Think† by Sherry Turkle, and Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Turkle’s concern is how digital devices change the ways we think, how we are all relying on the benefits of technology and as we rely on it. We are losing our true identity and ability to do deep thinking. Technology blinds us with what is most important, which is enjoying and making friendships and relationships through physical interaction. Tukle said, â€Å"For those who are lonely yet afraid of intimacy, information technology has made it possible to have the illusion of companionship without the demand of friendship† (Turkle 603). Instead of meeting real friends in the park or mall, we add â€Å"friends† on Facebook. Instead of talking to a person face to face, we can text or tweet them and they will text/tweet back to us. Technology helps our social life easier in a way that we are losing the ability to interact to a person physically. As a personal example, when my family and I are having a dinner in a restaurant and while waiting for our order to come, we hold our iPods and smartphones, texting or playing games and I notice the silence because we are so busy with our gadgets and mobile devices. After reading Turkle’s concerns, I realize how rude that is. We are in the restaurant to bond and talk, yet we are in our gadgets talking to other people who are not in the table by means of texting. We are playing games instead of chuckling with our sisters and brothers. We are slowly forgetting the importance of having a face to face interaction. We depend so much in the computer that we are now letting the computers do the work for us and it is making us do less deep thinking. Moreover on Turkle’s concerns, he said â€Å"It does not teach students to begin a discussion or construct a narrative. It encourages presentation, not conversation† (Turkle 603). Though the PowerPoint gives us better look of what we want to share, it also have negative effects especially to students. Because of the PowerPoint, the class has now lack of discussion, making the PowerPoint do all the talk. The â€Å"swooshing sounds, animated icons, and flashing test, a slide show† (Turkle 603), distracts the students from the real purpose of the presentation. Some focus too much to the functions of PowerPoint and end up thinking of how can we make it looks attractive to the eyes of the audience instead of how they can understand  the ideas behind main poi nts. When it comes to privacy, we are not fully aware of the negative and dangerous impacts of sharing our personal information to the public and to the government. We thought that as long as it’s the way to get access on particular websites, it is fine to share anything they ask for. Turkle says, â€Å"Unlike past generations of Americans, who grew up with the notion that the privacy of their mail was sacrosanct, our children are accustomed to electronic surveillance as part of their daily lives† (Turkle 602). When it comes to accessing web services, I also don’t hesitate giving my personal information such as my name, address, contact number and I am willing to type it down as it is the only way to get in to the web services that I need, especially for school and work. Also for social networks, it is required to put my name, a profile picture and some basic information such as birth date and relationship status. Technology is taking away our privacy. We are giving the world to access our life. The dangers of sharing information have been in the news nowadays. There are now people who hack accounts and try to change or mess with our profile. Although we are aware of the danger of sharing personal information on the computer, we are still doing it because we enjoy its benefits. Whatever negative impacts we get in technology and mobile devices, we have to face the reality that we are now in a generation where technology will grow and grow and the next generations to come will depend on it more than we depend on it now. The only thing we can do is not to let technology fully control our daily life by appreciating the outside world and the real people. Works Cited Lam, Andrew. â€Å"I Tweet, Therefore I Am†. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Ed. Diana George and John Trimbur. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012 Print. Turkle, Sherry. â€Å"How Computers Change The Way We Think†. The Writer’s Presence. Ed. Donald McQuade and Robert Atwan. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2012. Print.