Wednesday, July 31, 2019

IT ethics: Hacking And Copyrights Essay

IT ethics is a new branch of ethics that is growing and changing rapidly as IT technology also grows and develops. The term â€Å"IT ethics† is open to interpretations both broad and narrow. On the one hand, for example, IT ethics might be understood very narrowly as the efforts of professional philosophers to apply traditional ethical theories or virtue ethics to issues regarding the use of IT technology. On the other hand, it is possible to construe IT ethics in a very broad way to include, as well, standards of professional practice, codes of conduct, aspects of IT law, public policy, corporate ethics – even certain topics in the sociology and psychology of computing. In the industrialized nations of the world, the â€Å"information revolution† already has significantly altered many aspects of life – in banking and commerce, work and employment, medical care, national defense, transportation and entertainment. Consequently, information technology has begun to affect community life, family life, human relationships, education, freedom, democracy, and so on. IT ethics in the broadest sense can be understood as that branch of applied ethics, which studies and analyzes such social and ethical impacts of information technology (Bynum). In recent years, this robust new field has led to new university courses, conferences, workshops, professional organizations, curriculum materials, books, articles, journals, and research centers. The introduction of the World Wide Web in 1990 has catalyzed the expansion of the Internet, which is still growing today at unprecedented rates and IT ethics is quickly being transformed into â€Å"global information ethics†. The recent growth of the Internet has resulted not only in an increase in the amount of available knowledge, but also in an increase in the problems inherent to its usage and distribution. It has become clear that traditional rules of conduct are not always applicable to this new medium, so new ethical codes are now being developed. Edward F. Gehringer gives broad and wide-ranged classification of ethical issues in information technology area. He distinguished following main aspects of IT ethics (Gehringer): Basics; Commerce; IT Abuse; Intellectual Property; Privacy; Risks; Social Justice Issues; Although, in practice every case involves at least two of those issues. At first, let us discuss problems of copyrights in present-day IT industry. It seems that this issue deals with almost every aspect listed above and it will be good example of ethics implementation in IT. In article â€Å"Napster, DVD cases raise copyright questions in digital age†, we can observe some problems concerning copyright issues of IT industry. The article discusses this problem on example of Napster, the Internet search engine which allows over 60 millions consumers to find and download free music. â€Å"Experts say the high-tech context in which copyright questions are being raised – as exemplified by the Napster case in California and a DVD-encryption case out of New York – also shows that the law is always a few steps behind technology.† The Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit against Napster in December 2000, accusing the company of encouraging the illegal copying and distribution of copyright music on a massive scale. Author asserts that the case raises fundamental questions about freedom of information and activity on the Internet and what copyright protections musicians have or do not have in cyberspace. â€Å"For th ose and other reasons, legal experts point to the Napster case as crucial to the future of cyberspace and copyright law in the United States, the world’s leader in high-tech issues†, he states. In this article, the writer also describes how copyright law needs revision because it has become so complicated and counterintuitive. He also maintains that many content providers and copyright lawyers tend to propagate â€Å"made-up rules† that purport to clarify ambiguities such as the legality of sharing music on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Author asserts that copyright rules, however, are in considerable flux these days and very little is clear about these new technologies. According to article, we surely have no obligation to follow made-up rules, although it is sometimes easy to confuse these specious requirements with real ones. Given this confusion, it concludes that the need for copyright reform is urgent. With the dawning of the Internet and other highly advanced technology, people all around the world are now able to copy, download, and distribute copyrighted material with ease. Unfortunately, the use of the Internet has increased the conflict with copyright laws.   In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to address the tricky issue of copyright protections in a digital environment. An important aspect of that law was anti-circumvention protection, which barred people from circumventing password-protected and other secure Web sites that provide access to creative works. The law said the copyright owners could file civil lawsuits against those who break into such secure Web sites. This is the directly applicable law in the DVD case. At its core, copyright law says that the creators of certain literary and artistic works have the right to ensure that unauthorized people do not use their work for unauthorized purposes. The creators hold the copyright. They can gi ve up their exclusive right to publishers or other authorized entities for a limited time or permanently. Legislation and court rulings have held that people have a significant right to make use of exceptions within the copyright law to avoid lawsuits. On the other hand, if the overwhelming majority of actors regulated by the copyright law are ordinary end-users, it makes no sense to insist that each of them retain copyright counsel in order to fit herself within niches created to suit businesses and institutions, nor is it wise to draw the lines where the representatives of today’s current stakeholders insist they would prefer to draw them. Extending the prescriptions and proscriptions of the current copyright law to govern the everyday acts of non-commercial, non-institutional users is a fundamental change. To do so without affecting a drastic shift in the copyright balance will require a comparably fundamental change in the copyright statutory scheme. In a whole, issues in article raised very well, opposing two different views on copyright problem – from creator’s and from consumer’s side. Undoubtedly, both the Napster and DVD cases raise free speech, fair use and copyright issues, which makes them important to future legal and legislative action in the high-tech area. Using those cases writer shows controversial issues and concludes that the need for copyright reform is urgent. On the other hand there is no strong support for reasons in which way legislation concerning copyrights could be established. In my opinion, the eloquence surrounding digital copyright in general, and peer-to-peer file sharing and DVD encryption in particular, heated in article, inspires great confusion about what the copyright law does and does not prohibit. In general, most of the key legal questions are still unsettled, in part because copyright defendants have run out of money and gone out of business before their cases could go to trial. In that vacuum, some copyright owners are claiming that their preferred rules of conduct are well-established legal requirements. There may be an ethical obligation to follow real rules, even when they seem unreasonable. But there is any ethical obligation to follow made-up ones. Indeed, in this context, we may have an ethical obligation to resist them. When considering this new and advanced way of sharing information, with regard to copyright laws, the following factors must be assessed: the legality of the situation, financial losses and gains, and moral issues. Two different views can be inevitably argued over this controversial issue; those who think the downloading of copyrighted material, without the permission of the author is theft, and those who believe file sharing of copyrighted material is their right in the information age.   Although the digital age has made advanced technology available to everyone, the principles of justice and fairness should still prevail. As an IT professional, we have the moral responsibilities to point out when necessary about copyrights. We should be aware that copyrighted material on the Internet is available for free download only if the creators give consent to its publication and distribution. It can be certain that the debate on copyright in the digital age will continue, and that a definitive solution will take a while to reach for each side.   Technology will always be here and will continue to advance, but the industries must be willing to work with the technology to meet the demands of the consumer in the information age. Hacking is also one of the most significant issues nowadays, which involves almost every aspect of IT ethics. Second article I have submitted for hacking ethics topic is â€Å"Under the skin of digital crime† from BBC News. The article discusses issues of â€Å"positive† and â€Å"negative† hacking. It claims that there was a time when hacking was something positive. It was done in the name of intellectual curiosity rather than financial reward. Now hacking has become an activity that holds two positions and is therefore both solemnized for its insightful inventiveness and defamed for its devious acts. Article claims that the ethics behind hacking and the actions taken by hackers constitute a manifesto that transcends ordinary understanding of this activity. Hackers argue that their actions promote a means for tighter security by way of detecting flaws and patches for systems and software. However, these very actions are viewed as violations of the rights to privacy and security for both individuals and organizations. Consequently, this establishes a cautionary attitude toward ethical issues such as, privacy, security and the future of the Internet. Another trend that article raises is the creeping criminality of hacking, much of which is now carried out for explicitly financial reward. Some criminal hackers are threatening to bombard some web-based businesses with gigabytes of data unless large amounts of cash are handed over. It is extortion with a hi-tech gloss. In author’s experience, many of these criminal hackers have full-time jobs in technology. â€Å"Professional hackers are professional in all senses of the word,† he states, â€Å"they work in the industry.† The fundamental doctrine or ethic that hackers use in order to justify their behavior is the idea that hacking offers a mode of investigation, which allows an individual to gain knowledge necessary to infiltrate systems that contain vulnerabilities. Acquiring this knowledge allows one to develop strategies that facilitate exploration of their functions and the inner components of the systems. The â€Å"hacker ethic† states in part that all information belongs to everyone and there should be no boundaries or restraints to prevent disclosure of this information. This philosophy that is upheld by the hacker community introduces ethical questions regarding the freedom of information and the loss of privacy. One more argument supported by the hacker ethic is that break-ins elucidate security problems to those who can do something about them. Hacker intrusions into systems surpass the traditional understanding of violating the laws of trespassing. Hacking involves the exploitation, or the manipulation of a bug, or a backdoor that is inherently present within the system. In this view, hacking is not a threat against the integrity of the system being exploited, but instead is a means of implementing corrections and enforcing tighter security. Although issues in article risen well, the writer did not make a conclusive support argument of the statement that many of criminal hackers have full-time jobs in technology. There is not strong support for causes of criminal actions by hackers. The only reason that they carried out hacking, he argued for explicitly financial reward. Concerning hacking ethics, problem discussed very particularly, and the common statement depicts real situation. Undoubtedly, hackers and hacking problems are real ones, but how might they be solved? Security requires much more than designing a secure technical infrastructure that resembles an impenetrable fortress. The key to a secure network is the development of real time enforceable policies that take advantage of security bulletins and published security holes. â€Å"It is ethically wrong to wait until systems under protection are compromised in order to begin patching up the holes. Securing a network doesn’t begin with high cost software and security firewalls aimed at halting the intruders, but begins with utilizing available knowledge that calls for improvements made by ethical hacking.† (Mikkkeee). Whatever the case, hackers believe that when they compromise a system they are in effect introducing fixes that force the system administrator to take the necessary precautions in patching up the hole, thereby tightening the security of the system. From this position, the hacker is actually doing a service to the system administrator who is unfamiliar with the bugs that can lead to a system compromise. If there is any criminal intent on the part of the hacker, then they should be held legally accountable for violating the security of the system and their actions should be punishable by law. From the point of view of IT professional, we have the moral responsibilities to point out when necessary about hacker activities. Even though hacking undoubtedly has led to productive improvement in IT and software security, it has in effect created many disruptive problems online and offline. Hacking is an activity that introduces a method of analysis that targets and works on various components. Therefore, hacking has the potential to cause harm and to violate legitimate privacy and property rights. By ethical standards hacking does introduce crucial security fixes, but does so at the expense of violating privacy and the security of individuals. Furthermore, hacking activities lead to disruptive and dangerous problems for society, which tend to be difficult to eradicate. But, with awareness of those problems, we also should take into account that hacking is underside of technical progress, and could not be considered apart of it. As The Mentor warns in the conclusion to his manife sto, â€Å"I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can’t stop us all† (Mentor, 1). Even if the authorities catch a hacker, as long as there is a motivation, hacking will persist. On the other hand, IT professionals should clearly recognize boundary between real professionalism and hacking in their own activity, because that line is very transparent. In conclusion, we should note, that significant attention paid to issues erected above in public press. Many publications leave negative impression about hacking and copyrights, as those are lawless anyway. The Napster and DVD cases received the most publicity because it involves highly popular software that millions of people around the world use to share music and films. Concerning hacking issue, media tend to use the word â€Å"hacker† as a synonym for cyber vandal, digital criminal and basically any person who uses digital means to perform criminal or malicious activities. Nevertheless, it would be better to consider not only consequences, but causes as well. For the first look hacking and copyrights are on the contrary sides of ethics, but when we examine details, there are much more common between them. These problems are permanent topics of news nowadays. With penetration of information technology into mass media, which now functioning very closely related with World Wide Web, moreover, when Internet becoming a main media, issues of hacking and intellectual property ethics are affecting mass media itself noticeably. Thus those problems widely covered now in press and will cover on with spreading of information technology. The question is in qualitative impact of subjects on mass media. Bibliography: Bynum, Terrell, IT Ethics: Basic Concepts and Historical Overview. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2001 Edition), Edward N. Zalta(ed.), Gehringer, Edward. â€Å"Ethics in Computing.† Ethical Issues. Homepage. 2001 Chebium, Raju. â€Å"Napster, DVD cases raise copyright questions in digital age.† CNN.com News. August 7, 2000 Ward, Mark. â€Å"Under the skin of digital crime.† BBC News Online. 11 May, 2004 Mikkkeee. â€Å"Hacking: Ethical Issues of the Internet Revolution.† New Order Portal. March 29, 2003 The Mentor, â€Å"The Conscience of a Hacker,† Phrack, Vol One, Issue 7, Phile 3, January 8, 1986. February 10, 2003.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Victoria Secret Pink Case Study

1. Analyze the buyer decision process of a typical Pink. * Consumers, not only Pink consumers, have a buyer decision process. This decision process includes need recognition, information search, evaluating alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase decision. In Pink buyer’s case, I believe many of them find the â€Å"need† to buy because they want to keep up with the newest trends and be fashionable. They are not buying this line of clothes because they do not have any and desperately need clothes, but rather it is being based on external factors whether it’s what they see possibly on TV, internet, or in magazines. When it comes to the information search, I believe it is mainly external, although some loyal consumers do have internal information. I think teens and tweens are buying the Pink brand based on what they hear from friends and family members and also the advertising they see on TV and the internet. When evaluating the alternatives, it depends on why the consumer is buying Pink. If they are buying the brand to be fashionable and trendy, they are less likely to seek out an alternative since in their eyes they see Pink as the only brand. If they are looking for sweats to use for athletic events rather than being casual around the house or dorms, they might consider looking at brands such as Nike or Adidas as being alternatives, but once again, it depends on why the consumer buys the Pink brand in the first place. The purchase decision comes down to whether or not Pink is the best choice. There are also other factors that come into play such as friends or family comments or reactions to the product. The post-purchase decision will form lasting impressions on the consumer and be a base as to whether or not the consumer stays loyal in future purchases. If the Pink brand meets or exceeds the expectations of the consumer, the consumer will most likely stay loyal to the company and spread the word to friends. 2. Apply the concept of â€Å"aspirational groups† to Victoria’s Secret Pink line. Should marketer’s have boundaries with regard to this concept? * There are a few aspirational groups when it comes to the Victoria Secret Pink line. First, one of the target markets in college girls, consumers of the Pink line may be ones of a sorority or club at college. Another aspirational group includes celebrities, or celebrities who endorse the Pink line. Tween and teenage girls might aspire to be like one of the celebrities therefore wanting to look or dress just as them. The last aspriational group is the tween girls looking up to the teenage girls and wanting to be and dress just like them. This creates a problem when it comes to boundaries because Pink was not looking to market the brand towards ten and eleven year olds. I believe times have changed though so it is hard to distinguish a boundary for what is right and wrong. A certain concept/style might seem wrong to the parent or marketing director from generation X, but that same concept/style might be perceived as just fine from someone in my generation. I do believe there should be some sort of boundary set by marketer’s on who they choose to market the brand to, but in the end they have no choice over who decides to consume the products. 3. Explain how both positive and negative consumer attitudes toward a brand like Pink develop. How might someone’s attitude toward Pink change? An attitude shows a person’s feeling or tendency towards an idea or product. Marketers throughout all areas try to persuade consumers’ attitudes in their favor. I believe in today’s generation, attitudes are based on very general and basic perceptions. Kid’s today aspire to be like many notable people in the media including the music and movie industry, therefore wanting to dress just like him or her. Also, perceptions could come fr om loving all the articles of clothing the child has bought from a particular store, such as Pink. Negative perceptions could come from someone who does not enjoy shopping in crowded places such as malls, but this is where marketers might try to lead this particular consumer to their online outlet. Marketers are always trying to work on changing and persuading consumers attitudes whether it’s who they endorse, or something as simple as directing a consumer who does not like shopping in crowded places to shop at their online store. Marketers certainly know their trends and try to capitalize by things such as advertising and product placement.

Oral Presentation-Washing Vehicle

Hello everyone !! , sulfanilamide n good afternoon to my handsome n beauty customers.. Are u k today Yeah that's good .. First of all?all of u bring motorcycle at polio right ?†¦ So ,that is the reasons why we at here.. L Abdul Hake n this my partner Sit Wadding from Clearer Sad Bad at IIOP , to promote our service is washing motorcycle at this polio. So,I give to my partner to more explaining about our service.This is our business card that have our name Mr. Abdul Hake n I Sit wadding,our intact number 014-2345678 n 012-1122233,our backbone account ,email n bloodspot cellular†¦ So, I want to show to u all our timetable for this service. The reasons why we making the timetable because we also the student at politeness nuke Omar. We must manage time wisely for study n this service. OK,go to the timetable,for on Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday ,customers must go to our place at night only because a day we have a class.. On Thursday,we not working.On Friday,the same time n Monda y,Tuesday n Wednesday but we have to go to customer's house. Is the same meaning house to house. On Saturday also,the same what we do previously but a day n night only. Lastly,on Sunday we rest from 1 pm to 2. Pm. So,' give to my partner to explain about our statistic. HI, I can explain for the statistic,from the timetable n what we do can conclude that 90% customer is come to wash a motorcycle. 4% for who use a car. 5% who comes to our company to washing their vehicle and 1% for who bring bicycle to our company. My conclusion, many customers is who use motorcycles because many student bring motorcycle to politeness and we wash house to house.Other than that, student to avoid from traffic Jam. So,that is the reason many our customers wash motorcycle from other. I want asking to all my lovely customer,why u must choose us Because first, we provide a free Wife for 2-3 customers who comes washing to our company. Second ,we go to customer's house. And lastly ,for the price we so cheap n reasonable. Eve to my partner to explain about our target. So, for our target of course student polio but lecturer is also can and other people in IIOP . That's all Handsome n beauty customers, listen up please!! We have some surprise for all,for upgrade our company we do a new services. The service is housekeeping from house to house. So, support our company. Thank you for lending your eyes n ears. N I sit wadding n this my partner Abdul hake. Our tagging is you like, we work hard again. Oral Presentation-Washing Vehicle By Newspaperwoman

Monday, July 29, 2019

Negotiation in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Negotiation in China - Research Paper Example As Ogilvie and Kidder (2008) have defined negotiation as the process by which individuals, business parties or countries exchange services, goods and decide an exchange rate for the exchanged goods. Both parties in negotiation try to articulate or influence each other in order to fulfillment of their own objective. Ma and Jaeger (2005) have done research work on negotiation process of China and found that business negotiation in China is affected by multitude of factors such as social beliefs, tenure of the deal making process, relationship, flexible nature of the negotiation and many others. Ma and Jaeger (2005) have argued that economy of China is booming and gross domestic output of the country is growing at an average of 9% which is greater than GDP growth of USA and other European countries. Hence, there is no surprise why American entrepreneurs are moving to China to open business units and American companies are looking establishing partnership with Chinese companies and gover nment. Interesting fact is that, research work of Ma and Jaeger (2010) has revealed in more than 40% cases, American entrepreneurs fail to negotiate with Chinese companies due to reasons like lack of understanding of American entrepreneurs about the business and social culture of china, language barrier to understand Chinese language etc. However, very few researchers have tried to understand the inter-correlated nature of independent variable which ensure effectiveness of negotiation in China hence it can be assumed that there is large gap exist in the literature about negotiation in China. Hence the researcher working as media consultant for Academy of International Business (AIB) will conduct a quantitative study in order to analyze the relation between internal variables related to negotiation process in China. Purpose of the Study Key purpose of the study was to determine what special insights outsiders need in order prepare negotiation in China. The report will answer followin g questions; Research Question 1: What are the important factors while emphasizing on relationship aspect of negotiation in China? Using this research question helped the researcher to understand conjoint impact of three micro variables such as relationship, social gathering and presence of translator on overall effectiveness of negotiation in China. These three micro variables defined the overall on impact of relationship in negotiation in China. Research Question 2: What are the important factors while emphasizing on process aspect of negotiation in China? Using this research question helped the researcher to understand conjoint impact of three micro variables such as fixed term, flexibility in negotiating process and slow deal making process on overall effectiveness of negotiation in China. These three micro variables defined the overall on impact of process aspect in negotiation in China. Methods and Procedure Used Data for this research report was collected by sample survey pro cess with the help of close ended questionnaire. Academic peer reviewed journals were used as secondary data sources in order to develop the theoretical

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Marketing Principles for Business Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Principles for Business - Coursework Example Marketers ought to take a bold approach in their attempt to understand the external environment of the business and the PESTEL model emerges as the most comprehensive approach to the external environment. PESTEL is a mnemonic that denotes Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental aspects of the external environment. This framework helps marketers in checking and keeping track with the external environment when planning to execute a given strategy. As much as the external environment is not under the control of a business, it is possible to tailor the marketing approach to suit the prevailing economic factors (Koumparoulis, 2013, p.32). The categorization of the external environment aspects by the PESTEL model is ideal since it aligns the environmental assessment to the strategy of the business. The political factors of the external environment concern the possibility of the economy or industry to be influenced by the state government. The government can intervene through trade tariffs, tax policies, and restrictions to trade, environmental regulations, labor regulations and fiscal policies. For instance, the imposition of a new tax may have the effect of changing an entire revenues generating unit of a business (Koumparoulis, 2013, p.33). These interventions are intended to protect either the consumers or the businesses. For instance, the Sherman Act (1890) serves to inhibit firms in U.S. to restricting trade through the creation of cartels and monopolies. To that end, marketers need to anticipate and respond effectively to political factors by adjusting the marketing policy in an appropriate manner. The economic factors significantly influenced the manner in which a business is conducted and its profitability. Economic factors include exchange rates, interest rates, and patterns of economic growth, inflation rate and the disposable income of the consumers. For instance, an increase in

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Visual analysis of an advertisement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Visual analysis of an advertisement - Essay Example This "Visual analysis of an advertisement" essay outlines the purpose of the image and its message of the Barnardo’s social campaign. The message of this image is straightforward and is embedded in the message at the top, right-hand corner which reads, â€Å"Abuse through prostitution steals children’s lives.† A young girl sits next to an older man in a situation that denotes child abuse and prostitution. The message of the image is to end child prostitution, trafficking and abuse by preventing and restoring the stolen childhood. The campaign with the visual was launched worldwide, intended for a global audience since child prostitution and trafficking is a global experience that happens everywhere (Aldrich, 2003). The image relates to the mindset of everyone, since even those who don’t have children were once children, and it is sad to imagine getting robbed of one’s innocence and childhood. By appealing to the emotions of the audience, the visual seeks to bring attitude change in the audience. Neutral colors are used to give the visual a lifeless effect to the look of the young girl (Aslam, 2006). The image shows a young girl with an aging face and a middle-aged man lying next to her. The aging and lifeless effect of the image means that the abuse of the young children through prostitution makes the children lifeless as a result of being abused by older men since her childhood. Furthermore, the child has a very distressing facial expression that shows the traumatic impact child prostitution has on the children.

Friday, July 26, 2019

A Case Study of Green Computing and Environmental Impact in A Kurdish Essay

A Case Study of Green Computing and Environmental Impact in A Kurdish University (Salahaddin University Erbil) - Essay Example The use of green computing in the Salahaddin University Erbil entails embarking on various computer practices that encourage reduced consumption of electricity. According to Hu and Kaabouch (2012, p. 78), green computing brings about significant savings on the environmental wastes from technological machines and equipment, as well as contribute greatly to the conservation of the environment. This is a critical mechanism that is useful in this research as reduced consumption of electricity at the institution directly lessens the burden on the environmental resources that are used to generate the amount of power used at Salahaddin University Erbil. According to Gangadharan and Murugwsan (2012, p. 34), the use of green computing has a close relationship with the university’s environment, which should dictate the practices of green computing at the institution. Initiatives that encourage green computing at this university are important to the institution in the aspect that there w ill be reduced charges of electricity consumed. This is also essential to the research community in understanding reliable ways that could be used to cut down the cost of electricity consumed at Salahaddin University Erbil. This is also crucial in understanding the specific impacts that the use of green computing at the institution will have on its immediate and distant environments. Practices of green computing at Salahaddin University Erbil benefit this research in determining how the reduced use of electricity will affect the overall environment at the institution. It is significant in understanding the various attributes and effectiveness of green computing as an ideal practice that conserves the environment. Green computing is, therefore, the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently. As such, technologies already making

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Analysis of the Film The Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of the Film The Women - Essay Example Although the characters of the film were from upper class Manhattan who were supposed to be independent from men compared to most of their female counterparts during their time, their lives and their perceive importance is still tied up to men. The story revolved around the cat chase between Mary Haines (played by Norma Shearer) and her philandering husband Stephen (who was not seen in the film) who has to battle it out with the gold digging counter girl Crystal Allen (played by Joan Crawford). Yes the women in the film were assertive only that their assertion revolves around men that were never seen in the entirety of the movie. Given the theme of the movie, it would be appropriate to discuss the following aspect in the film; Status, relationship, and emotional life. Status and motivation Status is stressed in the analysis because given the status of women in the film (Mary Haines and company), they could be anything they wanted if they chose to be. They were wealthy. Yet, even with their financial independence, their sense of victory, particularly the character of Mary who has to battle it out with Crystal was centered on men. ... Basically, the ethos of the film was still women using their sexuality to win a man despite the absence of lewd representation. The men on the other hand were portrayed to be a â€Å"catch† especially in the case of Crystal who is in the quest of hunting married men who could support her. The film stereotyped women as dependent to men and Crystal’s gold digging tendency is the extreme side of it while Mary only highlighted it by equating her worth and victory as a woman to winning her man. Relationships Relationships were a central aspect of the film The Women. It showed how women in the 1930s put so much importance in the relationship with their men that their value as a person is tied with it. This is not to downplay the importance of relationship only that in the film, The Women’s worth seemed to be tied up with them. This transcends to their personal worth which is the case of Mary to their economic well being in the case of Crystal. Whatever angle it is look ed at, it still portrayed dependency. This was highlighted in the characters of two main protagonists Mary and Crystal whose circumstances only aggravated the portrayal of women. In the case of Mary, women are stereotyped whose lives revolve around men. This was aggravated with the discourse of the film where they are always involved in gossips, an unproductive activity that suggests that they have nothing better to do. It also diminishes their status, despite their wealth and financial independence because it communicates that they cannot be productive. With Crystal, women are stereotyped to be dependent to men who cannot fend for themselves that they have to find a man who will support her. Her portrayal as a gold

Cellular Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cellular Network - Essay Example The 3rd generation based technologies consist of set of protocols, standards and new concepts which provide further advanced and improved quality based services. 3G incorporates special set of software applications, as well as hardware devices. 3G enabled technologies incorporate set of frequencies, standards and patents that are formally approved by I.T.U (International Telecommunication Union). The I.T.U is a globally approved and globally centralized entity that defines the standards and ensures global transmission of digital communication across the wireless medium. 3rd Generation based technologies come in the form of set of coding techniques that allow improved working in terms of security, speed and performance. One of the key coding techniques is that of C.D.M.A. C.D.M.A is an acronym for Code division Multiplexing Access. This comes as a successor to the T.D.M and F.D.M which were used by the 1st Generational and 2nd Generational technologies based communication. C.D.M.A provides advanced performances such as increased number of users’ facilitation, more secure transmission, less chances of interferences and breaking into the network and various other features. The 3G enabled technologies made it possible using the broadband technology speed for data transmission. It enabled Giga Bit transmissions which would be more effectively used in the 4th generation and proceeding technologies as the journey of advancements continue. 3rd generation based technologies provide variable rates subject to the platform and medium. From a static station the data rates peak up to 384 kilo bits per second. On the go transmissions vary relatively in terms of speed. On the go rates are relatively low and are up to the range of 128 kilo bits per second. Owing to the data rates variation and a feature which comes as a positive side of this technology, the 3rd generational

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

A Career in Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Career in Accounting - Assignment Example The stockholders suffered in untold misery because the Enron executives acted maliciously in cohorts with the auditors while the swindled investors of Madoff trusted overly in the financial statements which were twisted and distorted by the accountants of the alleged fraudster. In the international landscape, the recession started in the United States of America. First, it was the banking system. Then, the credit in housing mortgages crumbled and collapsed. The auto industry followed in the imbroglio. And well, if America sneezes, the world catches cold. All those could have been avoided by proper accounting and sound auditing. Accounting as a career plays a significant role in the world order because it embodies the most useful information system in any undertaking in all jurisdictions and in every kind of business.1 While accounting focuses on financial transactions which are micro, the collection of all data under it represents the ins and outs of economics which are macro. Owing to all these dynamics, accounting will continue to lead in the professional field and accountants will remain in demand in the job market. In the United States, what has led to the need for accountants and auditors is the federally legislated Sarbanes-Oxley law which has outlined stern rules on financial statements after the notorious corporate scandals that included Enron. 2 Where the demand is Aside from the new Sarbanes-Oxley statute repercussion, accountants continue to be in demand in the United States because of the increasing workload of the top audit firms.3 Educational and other requirements including the need for hard and soft skills The requirements for the credentials of an accountant depend on the position that has to be filled up. Generally, the average job requires an accounting course at the bachelor level. One of the best supplements to the normal college accomplishment is a master's degree or a special certification on knowledge of accounting and auditing software. A passer of a licensure examination for Certified Public Accountants will be a great advantage. Sufficient experience will also be a big plus.4 Skills in accounting and auditing are highly checked in the pertinent applications. Among these are: designing of internal control measures and analysis of financial information and computer programming, budget analysis and cost estimation, proficiency in loans examinations, tax verifications, collection, and general bookkeeping. Special skills in computer accounting programming, computer accounting software management and design, and systems administration are likewise highly sought. Pay range for accountants and auditors Average annual or yearly salaries for accountants and auditors as of May, 2006, vary according to the list sourced from the same report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics cited above, thus: accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services $57,020; management of companies and enterprises $55,560; local government $50,120; depository credit intermediation $49,380; and state government $47,200. In a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the usual initial remuneration that is offered for bachelor degree holders is $46,700.00 annually. For those with a master's degree, it is $49,200.00 per year. Basically, these pay rates are over and above the salaries for other professionals. Bright job outlook for the profession As earlier discussed briefly, there have been new developments which created impact and implications in accounting and finance. These things have re-shaped trends in the accounting career and the growing demand for accountants a

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Creative Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Creative Communication - Essay Example Creative writing, similar to art is subjective thus has different definitions. In the past, it has been called literature. Creative writing is considered imaginative and original. It is also work of fiction and mostly considered not to be true. It is an art of making or coming up with stories that are made-up. This writing does not have to be academic or official. However, this work has to be convincing, precise, attractive and entertaining in all ways possible. Some creative writing can be based on true stories or actual events as a source if inspiration. One of the factors that define creative writing is how captivating a story is. Personal involvement of the writer with his work is a common element, and events are not ‘objective’ as is common with news articles or factual writing. It is easy to read a poem and classify it as creative yet read through a legal document and identify it as factual writing. Types of creative writing include plays (live or recorded), poetry, films and scripts, novels and short stories that are fictional, songs and narratives, speeches, memoirs, personal compositions and also screenwriting. There are several theories about creative writing. The most deployed theory is that of composition writing that allows the transmission of ideas that are later shared through conferences, talks, and inter-class discussions. Understanding this theory gives writers a context in their work. Creative writers write about craft in ways that are quite accessible to readers thus are able to pass on the knowledge and the imaginative sense of other generations. This leads to improving skills and empowering others to heighten their levels of imagination. Composition theory enhances invention, designing, problem-solving arts and also entrepreneurial initiatives. It consists of six processes. In creative writing, these processes should not follow any order although should be experienced several times. These are

Monday, July 22, 2019

Comparison of The Arrival of the Beebox and The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock Essay Example for Free

Comparison of The Arrival of the Beebox and The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock Essay In Sylvia Plaths The Arrival of the Bee Box and T. S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock both speakers are burdened by great mental anguish caused by their feeling of insignificance and powerlessness in the world. They both fear and accept the prospect of death, while acknowledging life as its opposite. These are the two sides of the human experience. Through an internal monologue, Prufrock explores his feeling of uselessness and displacement in society, while in The Arrival of the Bee Box, the speaker is concerned with their powerlessness over their mind, and impending consequences. Throughout The Arrival of the Bee Box, the speaker is concerned with their powerlessness to the noises in their mind. The speaker tends to contradict or argue with themselves as shown by contrasting tone and opinion. While the speaker knows that (the box) is dangerous they still cant keep away from it. The speaker wishes to be sweet God, yet denies desiring power by proclaiming that I am not a Caesar. This bi-polar behaviour is also shown by inconsistent rhyming throughout the poem. In the first stanza lift is rhymed with midget and it, yet in other stanzas no rhyming is found at all. Inconsistently throughout the poem, internal rhymes are found square as a chair, din in it, It is dark, dark which add to the staccato feel of the poem. The din of the bees is emphasised profusely by using consonance and onomatopoeia It is the noise that appals me most of all. The unintelligible syllables that highlight the true noise and confusion in the speakers mind. The noise of their mind is highlighted by many metaphors that compare the sound to furious Latin, a Roman mob, angrily clambering, a box of maniacs and unintelligible syllables. The tone of the end of the piece seems to ask for help as the speaker asks many questions such as how hungry they are?, if they would forget me?, how can I let them out?, and why should they turn on me?. The speaker expresses a desire to be in control, but accepts that they are insignificant to the power of the noise in their mind. In T. S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Prufrock is concerned with his sense of his insignificance and displacement in society. Eliot makes use of metaphors measured out my life with coffee spoons, When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall to show that Prufrock compares life to coffee and feels like an insect on a wall. Contrastingly, Plath uses metaphors to emphasise an exact sound, the noise of the bees in the speakers mind. Eliot also uses much more alliteration than Plath in his poem Before the taking of a toast and tea, fix you in a formulated phrase, When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall whereas Plath nearly did not use any alliteration at all apart from black on black perhaps since her piece sounds more like a story using conventional words when compared to Eliot. Both Eliot and Plath personify many objects in their pieces. Plath describes the bees as a Roman mob and Eliot compares the yellow fog and smoke to a cat as it licks its tongue, leap(s), rubs its muzzle and curled†¦ and fell asleep. A unique literary device that Eliot uses is anaphora To have†¦ To have†¦ To roll†¦ To say†¦ which in this instance describes all the things that Prufrock could have done, but never did. The central connecting burden that both speakers are plagued with is a powerlessness to their Sword of Damocles; the bees ruling the speakers powerless mind and Prufrocks feeling of alienation and uselessness in the real world.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Symbolic Interactionism Blumer

Symbolic Interactionism Blumer The essence of society lies in an ongoing process of action- not in a posited structure of relations -Blumer, 1969,(p.71) Although symbolic interaction theory is often applied primarily to the micro level, the structuring of interdependent lines of behavior at the meso and macro levels also involves shared definitions developed through interaction. The overall culture of a society is the objective outcome of these shared social definitions whereby subjective meanings are created, often expressed in material artifacts of various types, and either sustained or transformed through interaction. Symbolic Interaction-Process Versus Structure Many of the core ideas of symbolic interaction theory are grounded in the pioneering work of George Herbert Mead, particularly his perspective regarding the close relationship between the mental processes whereby people make sense of their environment and their interaction with one another. This relationship is manifested in the patterns of collaboration among people as they seek to develop shared interpretations of the situations they face. It is also reflected in how ones self-concept develops through awareness of the perspectives of others. In addition, contemporary symbolic interaction theory draws on Charles Horton Cooleys analysis of how ones feelings about oneself (pride or shame, for example) reflect ones sensitivity to the positive or negative reactions of others, especially in primary group settings. This is consistent with his often-cited concept of the looking-glass self. Symbolic interaction theory is comparable in some ways to Georg Simmels focus on the forms of interaction, but symbolic interaction theory goes deeper than Simmels perspective in emphasizing the symbolic medium through which interaction takes place plus the subjective mental processes that accompany it. This focus on the subjective level may be compared to Webers emphasis on understanding the subjective meanings of individuals actions. But while Weber moved well beyond the level of individual actions and subjective meanings to deal with broad patterns of institutional and cultural change, many symbolic interactionists resemble Simmel in their strong micro-level focus. Human beings relate to one another and to their environment in terms of interdependent roles they create and sustain. At the center of this process are the self-concepts or identities of the individuals involved as they interact and adjust to one another in face-to-face encounters. Human beings are thus transformed into students and teachers, friends and lovers, husbands and wives, team players and college graduates, customers and sales people, celebrities and deviants, soldiers and social workers, lawyers and police officers, members and outsiders, and so on. Social definitions are crucial even for defining the meaning and social relevance of human beings biological characteristics, such as sex, age, and weight, for example. The socially contrived character of large-scale institutional structures may not be as obvious as in small group relationships or childrens micro-level play worlds, but macro level social institutions are also socially constructed through widely shared subjectiv e definitions that are developed and sustained through interaction. This implies that when subjective definitions and interpretations undergo widespread change, institutional transformation may occur, which then changes the context of subsequent interactions at the micro level. The divisions between micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis are not rigid distinctions. From r various micro-level social circles, networks of social relations extend outward, thus providing an opening to meso and macro levels of the social world. The heritage one share as members of society also includes enduring cultural products and artifacts that have been constructed or reproduced by countless other people far beyond the range of ones own limited social circles or personal knowledge. Language obviously transcends personal micro-level social settings, even though language is actually reproduced regularly in the context of face-to-face interaction as well as in mass media communication. Even ones adaptation to the objective physical reality of the natural world (like the food one eats) is mediated through the symbols used to define and interpret it. All symbolic interactionists emphasize the micro-level linkages between the subjective consciousnesses, interpersonal interaction, and identity formation, as well as the symbolic and socially constructed nature of the larger social world. Symbolic interaction theory today differs from the pioneering social behaviorism emphasized by Mead in the early part of the twentieth century. Blumers Theorey: Symbolic interaction theory, under the influence of Herbert Blumer, was in large part a critical reaction to macro level types of analysis, particularly as reflected in functional theory, and the strong emphasis on the notion that peoples behavior is largely determined by social structures. For symbolic interaction theorists, the strong emphasis on culturally scripted norms and institutionalized roles was misplaced. This focus seemed to leave little room for individuals to make choices or to improvise as they interpret and adjust to the specific situations they face. For symbolic interactionists social structures do not exist as an objective reality that is independent of the actions of its human participants. Instead, all aspects of the social world are negotiated, constructed, and reproduced or sometimes transformed through ongoing processes of interaction and subjective interpretation whereby people mutually shape one anothers perceptions, definitions, and responses to their envir onment. Within this general framework, several different areas of emphasis can be identified within symbolic interaction theory. Symbolic interactionist perspective serves as a general framework for role theory, reference group theory, analyses of social perception and person perception, self theory, and dramaturgic theory. Of the various versions of symbolic interactionism, Herbert Blumers (1962) perspective expressed the strongest skepticism regarding macro-level theories such as functionalism. As he put it: By and large, of course, sociologists do not study human society in terms of its acting units, instead, they are disposed to view human society in terms of structure or organization and to treat social action as an expression of such structure or organization. Thus, reliance is placed on such structural categories as social system, culture, norms, values, social stratification, status position, social roles and institutional organization. (Blumer, pp.188-189 in Rose, ed. 1962) Blumer coined the term symbolic interaction and promoted Meads strong emphasis on the interrelated processes of mutual role-taking, interaction, and subjective interpretation that occur as people adjust their actions to one another in dealing with the particular situations they face. This emphasis on the need for people to improvise their responses to their environment and to one another seems to downplay the habits and memories that individuals bring to situations that they encounter over and over. It also seems to push the cultural and institutional framework that might influence their interpretations into the background. Even though social organization, culture, roles, and other structural features of the social world may not determine peoples behavior in a strong sense, such features may nevertheless be taken into consideration, especially in familiar situations. When people repeatedly face similar types of situations, they may employ ready-made responses with only a minimal amou nt of negotiation or reflection. This does not mean that social organization determines peoples behavior as an external force. It does suggest, however, that patterns of interaction and interpretation are not always as fluid as Blumer seems to suggest. People do indeed sometimes face novel situations that are unstructured and ambiguous and so will need to make a conscious effort to make sense of them as they explore with one another how to cope. In other situations, they may each have their own distinctive ideas on how to respond and so will need to negotiate their differences. But in many routine situations they already share an implicit understanding of its salient features and know how to respond. This means that very little negotiation is required if any. Regardless of these variations, patterns of social organization, including written rules and established authority or power structures, are never automatically self-enforcing. Instead, these structural factors become relevant only to the extent that people remember them and decide how to apply them. Sometimes there may be discussion and debate regarding whether or how an established rule or custom should apply. If there are large differences in power and authority, the negotia tion actually may be quite minimal, as those with relatively less power realize the futility of trying to get those with greater power to see things their way. By pushing social organization, culture, and similar concepts that transcend particular situations into the background, and by emphasizing the fluid and indeterminate nature of the immediate social world, Blumers approach makes it difficult to establish principles of social behavior that apply across different situations or to move from the micro to the macro level. However, other symbolic interaction theorists give more emphasis to stable structural categories than Blumer did. These structural influences do not determine behavior from the outside, as external or objective forces, however; instead, they are encoded in individuals subjective consciousness and shared memories and expectations. Although they may be interpreted to apply in unique ways in different situations, they are nevertheless reflected in participants predispositions regarding how to respond to the specific situations they face. The contrast between Blumers view of the fluid and undetermined nature of the social world versus a more structural version of symbolic interaction theory can be illustrated through the process whereby individuals self-concepts are developed, maintained, and changed. The relation between individuals self-concepts or identities, their social roles, and the reactions of others can be traced back to the pioneering work of Mead and Cooley. Contemporary symbolic interactionist theory offers several different strategies for exploring how individuals self-concepts or identities are expressed through the different roles they perform. The following section will deal in more detail with the relation between peoples role performances and their identities. Blumers image of the fluid and negotiated character of the social world implies that identities and social roles are not fixed but instead are largely improvised in each encounter as individuals seek to align their own self-concepts and intentions with the expectations of others. In contrast to Blumer, a more structural version of symbolic interaction theory puts greater emphasis on the standardized and routine expectations and behaviors of various roles. With this alternative focus social life is viewed as having a higher level of predictability than implied in Blumers perspective, especially in routine situations. Although behavior is not determined by social roles, with no room for individual variations, this structural version is closer to the conventional forms of sociological analysis that Blumer criticized. While roles may not be scripted in detail, there are definite guidelines and expectations that people tend to follow. Peoples self-concepts are multidimensional. They may r eflect roles associated with various personal characteristics as well as with the social positions they occupy. These roles include, for example, those associated with gender, age, family status, occupation, race or ethnicity, residential location, leisure time pursuits, general lifestyle preferences, and so on. Such roles are likely to be partially structured by general cultural expectations as well as by specific expectations that develop among people who interact on a regular basis. Even so, there is room for considerable improvisation in most cases as individuals express their own unique individuality and seek to satisfy their current needs and concerns. There are three fundamental premises underlying a symbolic interactionist perspective; and it is to Blumers great credit that these premises receive emphasis in his work. All are in fact central to Meads arguments, even while none of them originates with Mead. The first of these premises holds that an adequate account of human behavior must incorporate the perspective of the actor and cannot rest entirely on the perspective of the observer alone. The second of these premises asserts the priority of social interaction and the derivative, emergent nature of both self and social organization from that social process. The third argues that self, or persons reflexive responses to themselves, serves to link larger societal processes to the social interactions of those persons. The first and last of these premises contain between them the justification for insisting that socially formed meanings that are aspects of the subjective experience of persons are not only legitimately but are necessarily part of observers accounts of the social behavior of human beings. Contrary to Blumers position would be the emergent character of social life as well as ignoring the reality in experience of the dialectical relationship of what Mead called the I and the me. However, working from Blumers perspective on these matters does not require that one must retreat to phenomenologies of individual minds, or forgo attempts to develop theoretical explanations of social life that have some general applicability. If one accepts interaction as the source and substance of society, i.e., accepting the foundational character of the social process, it will surely be the acceptance of Blumers emphasis on the emergent character of self and social organization. This acceptance in turn implies the recognition of some degree of indeterminacy in attempts to foresee what will be from what is at any given moment of that social process. Further, such indeterminacy is principled and not merely a recognition of the incompleteness or inadequacy of present knowledge. The central role of self in mediating the relationship of social process and social behavior, one of the basic premises of symbolic interactionist thought whose emphasis in Blumers work need to be emphasized. Without invoking a concept such as self, attempts to come to grips with obvious variability of persons behavior in the face of apparent constancy of circumstance-biological, ecological, cultural, or social-are likely to founder similarly in a complementary way the concept of self permits dealing with that variability in specifically social terms. Meta-theoretical Conceptions of Blumer: The metatheoretical ideas proclaim the impossibility of general, predictive sociological theory as a consequence of the centrality of meanings and definitions in the production of human behavior. For Blumer, all social life is actively constructed by participants in the very process of interaction itself because this micro-constructivist process is taken to be descriptive of social life in general, it is also taken to be descriptive of the meanings and the interpretations applying those meanings assumed to be critical for each next step in the processes of interaction. Meanings in that sense are truly emergents, subject to literally continuous reformulation on a moment-to-moment basis. If meanings are indeed central, and if meanings are constructed in and particular to the experience of individual actors, emergent from their ongoing experience, it follows for Blumer that the generality required of the predictive, theoretical concepts in terms of which theoretical arguments are couche d cannot exist. Preexistent concepts cannot match the emergent interpretations of actors constructing their lines of social interaction. Given all of this, Blumer concludes, sociology can expect to be able to develop after-the-fact understandings of behaviors that have occurred, but cannot anticipate the development of general explanatory sociological theory in a predictive sense. Methodological consequences of Blumer: His metatheoretical argument has methodological consequences. For one thing, it implies the futility of a research enterprise that is initiated by a priori theory, or that anticipates behavioral outcomes via hypotheses arrived at deductively from such theory. For another, it suggests that research methods that fail to focus directly upon actors interpretations by setting up prior procedural or substantive constraints on how issues are formulated or are attacked-experimentation and survey research methods are cases in point-necessarily lack va1idity and the capacity to generate meaningful data. And for yet another, it underwrites the condemnation of the application of mathematical or statistical manipulations of data in efforts to draw from those data their sociological implications, on the grounds that numerical data are necessarily bereft of the meanings that define the essential character of sociological phenomena. Thus along with denying the possibility of explanatory sociological theory, Blumer severely restricts the legitimate range of investigatory (data gathering) techniques as well as analytic methods.Apparently, in his own mind only participatory observation meets his strictures but even that method would not survive a thorough logical analysis of its fit to Blumers methodological arguments. It is important to note that Blumers ideas which are fundamental to defining symbolic interactionism do not necessarily lead to the metatheoretical and methodological ends at which he himself arrives. Actors perspectives, the definitions of situations they call into play that are critical to the course and the content of interaction, are not unconstrained. Both the meanings those are possible to invoke in the course of defining situations, as well as the particular meanings from the range of possible meanings that are likely to be invoked, are not random events. They are, on the contrary, subject to the constraints of extant social and cultural systems. Further, there is some reasonable stability over time to the meanings attached to social objects. For practical purposes these do not change willy-nilly or from moment to moment in a way that signifies great change in behavioral outcomes. If there were no such stability, if meanings did not in general entail relative constancy from mo ment to moment, from day to day, even from year to year, there is no way that social life could have the predictability that enables people to live their lives as they do. The fact that meanings can change radically and precipitously does not argue that in general they do change radically and precipitously. This implies that one can indeed formulate general statements or theoretical propositions that go beyond the phenomenologies of single individuals, statements or propositions that are not subject to a priori rejection, whatever their fate may be at the hands of empirical evidence. To recognize that social life is constructed via definitional or interpretive processes and that there are few limits on what constructions are possible does not require one to abjure reasonably strong predictions, or to anticipate that predictions, when based on solid theoretical grounds, will lack credibility or validity. Neither does it obviate the recognition that the social process sometimes, perhaps even frequently, crystallizes and stabilizes in a manner that permits the theoretical recognition of selves and social structures that they themselves operate to constrai n and limit the possibilities for emergence in social life, that operate to transform possibilities into probabilities. Substantive ideas in Blumer: In substantive terms, it is Blumers treatment or lack thereof of social organization and social structure are both nonessential and highly problematic. For Blumer, society consists of the congeries of lines of individual action, the fitting together of these lines. Individual action is a matter of persons guiding their own action by interpreting the significance of things for that prospective action; group action is a matter of aligning individual action through a process of role-taking, i.e., searching out the meaning of others acts by ascertaining what they are doing or intend to do (Blumer 1969, p. 8). Social organization and social structures enter action only by shaping situations and providing the symbols used in interpreting situations, only as they enter into the process of interpretation and definition out of which joint actions are formed; and, in any event, they are less important in modern society than in stabilized, settled societies precisely because in the former there are fewer situations calling for previously regularized and standardized actions. Conclusion There obviously exist a number of very different senses of what symbolic interaction is substantively and what it implies methodologically. The problem is not that these different senses exist; the problem rather lies in the artificial and unnecessary oppositions among them created by the polemics that have historically characterized the literature of symbolic interactionism-the polemics of social movements and embattled minorities, the polemics that define orthodoxies and heterodoxies in seeking to recruit adherents to the banner being waved by the pure. The fact of multiplicity of alternative viewpoints in itself is healthy: self-control, choice, freedom and various other good things spring from alternatives symbolically represented in human experience. But multiplicity of views can be unhealthy if there is no communication across differences, if either structural or cognitive barriers prevent the alternatives from in fact entering the experience of persons, for then each person be comes the prisoner of his or her preferred -perspective. One is then used by perspectives rather than using them and the perspectives themselves are likely to ossify, to become unquestioned Truths and not potentially fallible ideas subject to logical and empirical examination and reformulation.

Impact Of Teaching Methods On Student Satisfaction

Impact Of Teaching Methods On Student Satisfaction The purpose of the study is to determine the impact of teaching methods on Student satisfaction. The aim of the research is to identify the techniques that hold great importance and are effective for teachers today when it comes to changing their teaching methodologies and techniques in order to make the students keener towards learning and hence, enhancing their satisfactions in this regard. We will use the survey method to conduct our research mainly consisting of structured questionnaires given to the respondents. Linear Regression Method would be used for analysis. Our population is Students of IBA Lahore. Our research would help to identify those methods that can have a great influence on the satisfaction of todays students. Introduction In this research, we intend to find if there is really an impact of different teaching methods on students satisfaction or not. Institutions now a days are focusing more on using variety of teaching methods to enhance the interest of students in class which ultimately results in increased student satisfaction. Our research would try to find out what methods if any, exist, that may result in enhancing the satisfaction level of students. Several factors affect this satisfaction. This research holds great important since we all know the fact that as a satisfied customer is highly important for any organization. Similarly, a satisfied student deems to have a great worth for an educational institution. We will first define Teaching methods(Palmer, Parker,(n.d)) itself as: A mechanism that comprises of different principles and techniques used for instruction. Commonly used teaching methods may include class participation, demonstration, recitation, memorization, or a combination of the above. The choice of an appropriate teaching method depends largely on the information being taught plus the skills of the perspective teacher who has the responsibility of guiding students in that particular area. It may also be influenced by the aptitude and enthusiasm of the student.So, we can infer from the definition of variety of teaching methods (Brandt, R.S., Meek, A. (Eds.,1990): Discovery of new ideas and concepts of teaching in accordance to the methods and techniques of the changing world rather than just relying on only one source of information(e.g. Textbooks only); and to improve the learning of the students by creating interest in the subject and the curiosity to learn; and developing the creativity in the students within themselves. And most importantly to make the student understand that how the knowledge being taught in the class stand up in the real world. Student motivation is quite important to student learning and satisfaction. This motivation can be intrinsic (from within) or extrinsic. Highly motivated students tend to try harder and achieve better educational results (Brewer Burgess, 2005). Highly motivated students also tend to be more satisfied with their education (Jones, 2008; Roebkin, 2007). Student satisfaction is important because it serves as a common measure of the performance of instructors and universities and to some extent, as a measure of student adjustment or success (Jones, 2008). It may also contribute to student retention (Suhre, Jansen, Harskamp,2007). Furthermore, psychologists have found that students will feel satisfied when they would aquire knowledge; develop useful skills which would result in their enhanced self confidence. For example, Aitken (1982) found that academic performance is one of the most important factors in determining satisfaction, and Pike (1991) concludes that satisfaction exerts greater influence on grades than academic performance on satisfaction. According to Bandura [1977] and Schunk [1991], learners use self-regulatory attributes to control their personal learning processes and self-efficacy influences choice, efforts, and volition. Successful students seem to have an ability to motivate themselves to complete a task, while the less successful ones have difficulty in developing self-motivational skills (Dembo Eaton, 2000) Literature review Students are the customers of the university and like any other organization; it is the responsibility of the university to satisfy its customers. It is obvious that student satisfaction for any university holds immense value for the students and the providers. Some universities routinely measure satisfaction while some not. Additionally, most of zthose measurements are not used for marketing planning, evaluation and controlling (Piercy, 1995). According to Elliott Shin (2002, p. 197) focusing on student satisfaction not only enables universities to re-engineer their organizations to adapt to student needs, but also allows them to develop a system for continuous monitoring of how effectively they meet student needs. So, student satisfaction is important for the development of a culture of continuous quality improvement. In the present research, the impact of teaching methods on the satisfaction level of students will be investigated. It will be hypnotized that different teaching met hods bring different level of changes in the students overall satisfaction. We have sought down different teaching methods that may have an everlasting impact on the satisfaction of students. We would be considering these four methods: Class Discussions, Activities (Within and Outside the Class), Usage of Multimedia, Case studies. There are also certain characteristics associated with this satisfaction and the overall education experience. They can be best illustrated by the help of the following figure 1: Figure 1(http://outcomes.ceiss.org/Publications) The concept of Student Satisfaction is adapted from Herzberg theory of Motivation-Hygiene (Two Factor Theory); and it has the following dimensions which include: Achievement, Responsibility and Growth of students. To see the most important aspect of student satisfaction affected by teachers use of various teaching methods. To understand the impact of student satisfaction on student performance and in the end the performance of the whole educational institution. To improve the creative learning skills of the students in IBA, Lahore. Classroom Discussions: In a research article by Leda Nath and Lawrence Anderson (2007), the effects of a classroom discussion technique on student satisfaction were studied. Results revealed that when classroom discussion technique was used, the students in that class were found to be significantly more satisfied than students in the class where the technique was not used. Studies conducted over time(Davidson), (Slavin), (Webb) have revealed that classroom discussion has been observed as a positive way of learning. Goodman said that discussion in the classroom helps teach students about cultural diversity. This mainly happens because students in any class belong to diverse backgrounds. This helps them in knowing what sorts of cultures exist and enables them to understand the aspects told by fellows belonging to different cultures. (Burchfield, 1999) argue that discussion in the classroom is important enough that it should be portrayed to students as a critical element in success. VanDeWeghe (2005) argues t hat discussion plays a critical role in students literacy development. Voelkls (1995) found that participation in discussion is closely linked to course grades, a variable related to student satisfaction. Others (Hutchinson Beadle, 1992) have found that students who did not participate in discussions in class were at a disadvantage relative to those who did. Anderson (2007) states that student satisfaction is not only based on the teaching methods but there are several other factors such as independence of expressing the ideas and their thoughts. It will help in building or decreasing the satisfaction level of a student. Activities (Within and Outside the Class) Various activities if conducted within the class and outside do lead to enhanced satisfaction because they increase the exposure of the students. It is quite natural that when students would feel the sense of achieving newer things, they would automatically be motivated to take part because they would be having a feeling of becoming more knowledgeable and practical and that is what the modern world expects us to be. Activities within the classroom would mean presenting students with various issues and ideas and then seeing how every individual student or groups of students perform regarding the issue. Outside the class activities would be diverse, ranging from educational trips to educational surveys. All activities would in one way or the other help the students experiencing new arenas of knowledge leading to increased satisfaction.(Hoyt, 1999). Usage of Multimedia Due to the impact and influence of information technology on society and education, computer-assisted teaching is becoming the trend in modern teaching. These days, teachers are trying to create interest in their lectures through the usage of multimedia while delivering their lectures. This enables the teacher to carry techniques such as simulations, videos, slide shows with interest generating colours and backgrounds, different animationswhile using the multimedia. How ever it makes student sleepy when they dont have to take notes. Case Study: Another useful technique which can lead to students being satisfied and in turn achieving excellent results is to provide them with case studies. Case studies are one way to provide the students with detailed knowledge about any certain issue. Students when told about the facts of those subjects which hold great importance and interest in their lives are very keen to know about them in detail and this detail is communicated to them via case studies. Sometimes, students are even asked to prepare case studies about certain areas themselves. This makes them search for every bit and detail to prepare a comprehensive case study. As preeminent case study teacher C. Roland Christensen(1987) points out in his analysis of case discussion, student involvement develops on at least three distinct levels: At the first level, students explore a problem by sorting out relevant facts, developing logical conclusions, and presenting them to fellow students and the instructor. The students discuss someone elses problem; their role I that of the commentator-observer in a traditional academic sense (Christensen, 1987). On the second level, students can be assigned roles in the case, and take on perspectives that require them to argue for specific action from a characters point of view, given their interests and knowledge. Finally, on the third level, students will take the initiative to become fully involved, so that topics are no longer treated as abstract ideas, but become central to the students sense of self. (TEACHING, 1994) According to the article written by John Foran (1997), a professor of sociology, the case method is a student-centred, highly-interactive pedagogy that changes the classroom process.He himself changed his teaching method from traditional lectures to case studies. He wrote in his article that he aimed to encourage debate and the developmentof critical skills in his students. For this, he adopted the use of case studies in teaching and has been see the changes in students that he aimed for. He also mentioned that: Class discussion of cases is intimidating to some students, and working in a group is unfamiliar to many, as well. Students were learning to work with each other in groups. This learning was again of great importance for a student and increases his level of satisfaction. It is valuable for a student to feel a positive change in him in the form of improved analytical skills and discussion with justification. This increased satisfaction improves the performance of student in the class. The Research Paradigm Research paradigm is the framework for thinking or a school of thought about how research ought to be conducted. There are different issues a researcher encounters while deciding the research methodology, some of the dichotomies are: Positivist versus Interpretive Quantitative versus Qualitative Induction and Deduction Experimental versus Non Experimental This descriptive study on impact of teaching methods on student satisfaction can be safely regarded as following positivist, quantitative, deductive and non-experimental research paradigm. According to positivist research paradigm, the truth the researcher is aiming at has to be understood within a framework of principles and assumptions of science. This paradigm is used when variables related to the research can be identified and isolated. In our study, we identified the variables from the literature review and based on that, we proceeded to find out whether they hold true for the selected sample. It is because in the light of previous researches conducted, we came out to the conclusion that different teaching methods have an impact on student satisfaction. These methods fall under the category of conceptual learning. The data collected through our questionnaire is numeric. We will use the descriptive statistics in order to analyze the data. Hence, quantitative research paradigm hol ds true for our study. It is a non-experimental research because environment is not being controlled by the researchers. Research Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of using a variety of teaching methods on the satisfaction level of students studying at IBA, Lahore. We intend to find if there is an impact of different teaching methods on students satisfaction or not. Institutions, now a days are focusing more on using variety of teaching methods to enhance the interest of students in class which ultimately results in increased student satisfaction. In defining the objectives of the study, our assumption regarding various teaching methods include: case study method, class discussion, activities and use of multi-media. A careful review of the research question led to the development of the research objectives stated as: To find the preference between conventional and conceptual mode of teaching. To find the most effective teaching method in terms of student satisfaction. To find the level of effectiveness against each teaching method. To find the most important aspects of student satisfaction achieved through various teaching methods. To find the most enhanced skill by the use of various teaching methods. Primarily we are testing if conventional and conceptual teaching methods have same impact on student satisfaction or not. In this test, we will further explore the extent to which variety of teaching methods affects the satisfaction of students. Each teaching method is further tested on account of its effectiveness. The various teaching methods discussed establish and enhances certain aspects of student satisfaction. Each of the method is rated against each aspect to know the most affected one. We have divided the skills of students into three broad categories, i.e. analytical skills, social skills and communication skills. The most enhanced skill because of the use of the various teaching methods is identified against each method. Hypothesis of Our Study: Ho: Conventional and conceptual teaching methods has same effectiveness on the student learning H1 : Conventional and conceptual teaching methods have different effectiveness on the student learning H0: There is no difference in BBA, MBA and Pgd and MBA executive students opinion regarding the conceptual teaching method effectiveness. H1: There is a different in the BBA, MBA and Pgd and MBA executive students opinion regarding the conceptual teaching method effectiveness Ho:Use of various teaching methods will have no impact on development of various skill H1: :Use of various teaching methods will have an impact on development of various skills We have defined the variables as follows: Name of variable Type of variable Various Teaching methods Independent Student Satisfaction Dependent Methodology: The Constructs to measure student satisfaction are achievement, responsibility and work commitment of the student. Our assumption regarding various teaching methods include: case study method, class discussion, activities and use of multi media. Use of multi-media Student satisfaction Various Teaching Methods Case Study Activities Class DiscussionConceptual Framework Research Methodology: In our research we have used the Survey method as our research design; the survey will be conducted through questionnaires; and the respondents of the study will be the students of IBA. We will use probability sampling to select our sample from the population in order to make it a true representative of the population. Methods of Procedure: We have used the Survey method to conduct our study. Survey will be based on Structured Questionnaire which will include close ended questions. The data from the respondents will be collected by Likert Scale because we have to measure construct (students responsibility, growth and achievement); and qualitative information is needed to be transformed into quantitative data, As we are finding the perception of the student regarding various teaching method that can effect their level satisfaction. The SPSS will be used to analyse the information collected through the questionnaire. Respondents of the research will be the students of IBA Lahore. Sample Size and Description: Study Population: Students of IBA, Lahore. Sampling Frame: List of all the students studying in all the disciplines of IBA, Lahore. Sample Size: Expected respondents of our study are 30. Sampling Technique: The sampling will be based on probability sampling as we are having the sampling frame. Multi-stage cluster Sampling technique will be followed to divide the various disciplines of IBA into clusters; and then we will choose the respondents randomly from these clusters. There will be three clusters namely Pgd and MBA executive, BBA and MBA. A sample size of 10 respondents from each cluster will be selected. Data will be largely collected through questionnaire survey; Sample size will be 30, as per the project requirement. Sampling technique will be: Quota based on various degree program in IBA MBA BBA Pgd and MBA executive Total Number of Subjects 10 10 10 30 Within each quota, 10 respondents will be approached for data collection. These will be randomly selected within each quota. Proposed data categories in questionnaire: Questions in the survey attempt to provide data in the following dimensions. Demographic profile Question 1 Business program profile Question 2 Preference of teaching method Question 3 Effectiveness among various teaching method Question 4,5 Finding important aspects of student satisfaction through various teaching methods Question 6 Finding most enhanced skill by use of various teaching methods Question 7 Use of various teaching methods: In this category, it will be discovered that how much a teacher is creative in use of teaching methods and how much a student prefers a teacher being creative. Such as: What type of method of teaching is used by teacher and whether student likes that method? What type of tools a teacher used as assistant for teaching? If teacher provide only bookish knowledge, whether that is enough according to view point of students? How much teacher focused on original work in assignments and projects? What value a student will achieve by the teacher providing knowledge? What types of expectations are of a teacher towards the learning of student? Whether he focuses on cramming or wants a permanent change in behaviour of student which gives him value in practical world? Student Satisfaction: The second category of questionnaire will be student satisfaction which includes the following dimensions: Achievement Responsibility Growth With the help of these dimensions, the satisfaction of students will be found out. If the Use of various teaching methods increases the achievement, responsibility and growth of student then it will be resulted in his satisfaction. Thus the students will be the main focus of our study and will be reflected in the questionnaire. Therefore in questionnaire the questions will be related to achievement, responsibility and growth such as: If teacher said to do original work in assignments, no copy paste, whether that will increase the internal value of a student? If teacher endow with creative work to do, whether that increase a sense of responsibility of a student? Conceptual work not only enhances thinking out of box but also endow to grades and scholarships. Is student agreed or not? If teacher increase technology in his teaching method, then student learning ability will increase or not? Which method of teaching student like: Conceptual system Concrete system (Conventional) So these are the proposed categories of our questionnaire through which the aim of study will be achieved: Whether Use of various teaching methods by a teacher has an impact on student satisfaction? Scheduling of Research Project: Project Stages Time Period Defining Research Problem 4days Literature Review 7days Planning a Research Design 6days Planning a Sample 5days Scheduling and Costing of Research: Project Stages Expected Time Period Cost in PRs. Gathering the Data 5days 650 Processing and Analyzing the Data 6days 150 Formulating Conclusionsand Preparing Report 5days 300 Time line : Start Fri 01-10-12 Finish Wed 10-12-12 1 Oct 12 08 Oct 12 23 Oct 12 25 Nov 12 2 Dec 12 9 Dec 12 10 Dec 12 Defining Research problem Sat 02-10-12 Wed 14-09-11 Literature review Thu 03-10-12 Fri 08-10-12 Planning a research design Mon 16-10-11 -Mon 23-10-12 Data analysis and conclusion Thu 06-11-12 Tue 11-11-12 Gathering the Data Wed 25-11-12 Tue 1-12-12 Processing and gathering of Data Wed 2-12-12 Wed 7-12-12 Formatting and completion of report Monday 09-12-12 Start Fri 01-10-12 Data Analysis: As our research is correlation in nature we have to analyze the relationship between independent and dependent variable. We will use linear regression method e.g. teachers who add creativity by use of various teaching methods, while teaching helps students in achieving something. And as a result the students are satisfied; and it can be shown by the help of graphs linear relationship. The teacher who adds creativity in his teaching by using various teaching methods will determine a positive correlation and positive regression with A resulting in S as compared to teacher who lacks creativity. Univariate Table Of Independent Variable: Various Teaching methods VARIOUS TEACHING METHODS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE MULTIMEDIA 11 36% CASE STUDY 4 13% ACTIVITIES 9 30% CLASS DISCUSSION 6 20% TOTAL 30 100% Interpretation: Univariate Table Of Dependent Variable: Student Satisfaction DEGREE OF STUDENT SATISFACTION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE HIGH 11 36% MEDIUM 11 36% LOW 8 28% TOTAL 30 100% Bivariate Table: Impact Of Various Teaching Methods on Student Satisfaction STUDENT SATISFACTION VARIOUS TEACHING METHODS MULTIMEDIA CASE STUDIES DISCUSSION ACTIVTIES TOTAL FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE FREQUENCY % FREQUENCY % FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE HIGH 7 64% 3 75% 5 56% 2 33% 11 36% MEDIUM 2 18% 1 25% 2 22% 1 17% 11 36% LOW 2 18% 0 0% 2 22% 3 50% 8 28% TOTAL 11 100% 4 100% 9 100% 6 100% 30 100% Data gathering and analysis: For the positivist research paradigm and quantitative approach, one of the most widely used techniques is survey questionnaire. Data from our questionnaire is self-reported and respondent completed. Variables measured in our research are: Table A1 Variables Level of Measurement Coding Gender Nominal None Business Program Nominal 1: BBA 2: MBA 3: Pgd and MBA executive Preference of Learning Mode Scale 1: Strongly Disagree 2: Disagree 3: Neutral 4: Agree 5: Strongly Agree Effectiveness of Case Study Scale 1: Highly not Effective 2: Not Effective 3: Neutral 4: Effective 5: Highly Effective Effectiveness of Class Activities Scale 1: Highly not Effective 2: Not Effective 3: Neutral 4: Effective 5: Highly Effective Effectiveness of Class Discussion Scale 1: Highly not Effective 2: Not Effective 3: Neutral 4: Effective 5: Highly Effective Effectiveness of Multimedia Scale 1: Highly not Effective 2: Not Effective 3: Neutral 4: Effective 5: Highly Effective Satisfaction through Case Study Nominal 1: Curriculum Content 2: Quality of Instruction 3: Personal Growth Satisfaction through Class Activities Nominal 1: Curriculum Content 2: Quality of Instruction 3: Personal Growth Satisfaction through Class Discussion Nominal 1: Curriculum Content 2: Quality of Instruction 3: Personal Growth Satisfaction through Multimedia Nominal 1: Curriculum Content 2: Quality of Instruction 3: Personal Growth Skills developed through Case Study Nominal 1: Analytical Skills 2: Social Skills 3: Communication Skills Skills developed through Class Activities Nominal 1: Analytical Skills 2: Social Skills 3: Communication Skills Skills developed through Class Discussion Nominal 1: Analytical Skills 2: Social Skills 3: Communication Skills Skills developed through Multimedia Nominal 1: Analytical Skills 2: Social Skills 3: Communication Skills Data preparation involves certain activities like logging the data, checking the data for accuracy, developing a database structure, entering the data into computer and data transformations. Variables and coding of the data is explained in the above table. General techniques of data transformation include accounting for missing values, scale totals, item reversals, and categorizing responses. Descriptive statistics tools are applied on the data to find out different trends and choices made by subjects. Also, pictorial presentations are made to explain the findings. SPSS has been used to derive the findings of our research. Descriptive Conceptual Methods Table-1 N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval for Mean Minimum Maximum Lower Bound Upper Bound BBA 10 15.2000 1.03280 .32660 14.4612 15.9388 14.00 17.00 MBA 10 15.3000 2.83039 .89505 13.2753 17.3247 9.00 19.00 Pgd MBA executive 10 15.7000 1.70294 .53852 14.4818 16.9182 13.00 17.00 Total 30 15.4000 1.94049 .35428 14.6754 16.1246 9.00 19.00 ANOVA Conceptual Methods Table-2 Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 1.400 2 .700 .175 .840 Within Groups 107.800 27 3.993 Total 109.200 29 From the above tables the mean of different Business Programs, MBA (M=15.30), BBA (M=15.20) and Pgd MBA executive (M=15.7), where as F (2) =0.175, p>0.05 which shows that there is no significant difference among the various Business Program regarding the effectiveness and satisfaction of the Conceptual Method of Teaching. Hence we will accept our null hypothesis as there exists no difference in the opinion of the student belonging to BBA, MBA and Pgd and MBA executive regarding the effectiveness of the conceptual teaching methods. Table-3 Independe

Saturday, July 20, 2019

In Support of Hybrid Cars Essay -- Gasoline Electric Hybrid Automobile

To hybrid or not to hybrid, that is the question Hybrid electric cars are the wave of the future. At this point, the human race does not really have a choice anymore: we must act now to prevent further warming of our planet. With global warming graduating from theory to fact, and in the wake of some of the most devastating storms our civilized world has ever seen, I strode into a nearby Honda dealership to see what kind of advancements are being made in the Hybrid electric vehicle field. Keeping in mind what a typical college student might be looking for in a car: pleasing aesthetics, affordability and low maintenance cost, I present you my findings on the Honda Civic LX, compared with the Honda Civic Hybrid model. When the salesman came over to answer any questions and offer the obligatory test drive, I eagerly accepted. The first car I drove was the gas powered LX Civic, starting around $16,000. This car was equipped with a manual transmission, a four cylinder engine, and all the other basic options you would expect to find on a mid priced Honda: power windows, power locks, floor mats, CD player, anti-lock brakes, and optional sun roof. The minute I climbed into the car, I felt the comfortable feeling of being at my mother's house. Not because the Civic has an antiquated feel, but because this is a car that has been the shining star of the small sedan competition for such a long time. Everything on this car just feels like it is in the right place. I reach for the radio during the ride and I am just in reach of all the controls. I roll down the window and can't help but crack a smile as I maneuver around a pothole with ease. The ride is so very smooth, especially for a small car. I round a corner of a not busy s... ...000 mile limited warranty and a 5 year or 60,000 limited warranty, just like every other Honda. Its battery pack comes with an 8-year/80,000-mile warranty. If you have any problems with the car you can bring it here to the dealership or to any mechanic that is trained in HEVs." I look at him plainly. I was expecting him to tell me something more complicated, or to only answer half of the question. But there it is plain as day. You can bring your HEV to the dealership where you purchased it to be worked on. I sit in a sort of meditative stance, not knowing if to purchase the hybrid or the gasoline powered car. Noel senses my fence sitting, and comes in with the knockout punch, "You know Zack, did I mention if you buy a HEV you can qualify for a $2,000 federal tax deduction?" Armed with this information, I tell Noel I will be back one day to purchase my hybrid.