Danielle Steel’s novel “Fine Things” Essay

Novel Title: Fine ThingsAuthor: Danielle SteelSummaryBernard Fine is a successful bachelor managing of the biggest stores in California. Bernie (nickname) runs into a little girl who is very lost and decides to help her out while. Her mother Liz comes to pick up her seven year old daughter Jane Calloway. The two newly met became friends (Bernie and Liz) and eventually fell in love and got married (much to the liking of Jane). Everything goes well and shortly after their marriage Liz gives birth to a son but the doctors decided that Liz has to stay in the hospital for a while and when Bernie asks why, they said that she must be tested for something but they never mentioned anything else to the overly concerned husband. A week later Liz is out of the hospital and with Bernie she finds out that shes a victim of the deadly disease cancer. Liz soon grows so weak that she looses her life and the long and painful journey for the young step-father Bernie has finally hit the saddest dead end. He tried to put up with his lost of his wife with the help of his parents. Bernie has no trouble at all raising Alexander and Jane all by himself then one day he met Jane’s biological father, Carter, and Bernie believes that custody should be his because Carter abandoned his wife and daughter long before. Carter defends himself while Bernie doesn’t believe him but somehow the man gains custody of his daughter then all of a sudden Bernie hears from his agent that Jane is the middle of a drug smuggling havoc in Mexico. He begs to the police that he should go with them to rescue Jane. Bernie drives down to the motel waited for a while until the agent finally has Jane out of the motel and back in her father’s arms. Bernie begins to move on emotionally, and becomes involved with a beautiful doctor, but Jane is still loyal to her mother and can’t accept this new woman but later on realized that his step father deserves to be happy and knew that her late mother would let him to be happy with someone new. Reaction:The story of the novel is not far from happening in real life. To keep a happy and complete family is always a challenge. In this novel, Bernie Fine struggles with the lost of his wife from the early stage of their marriage, leaving him the responsibility of raising their children and the longing of having someone special again. It showed the vulnerability of a man when it comes to losing a very important person forever. Reference: â€Å"Fine Things† by Danielle Steel

An Arguement Against Peter Singer’s Famine, Aflunity, and Influence

In his paper â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality† Peter Singer argues that a lack of benevolence from affluent countries to people suffering from poverty in other countries is unjustified and is comparable to doing nothing if one sees a baby drowning in water a few feet away. In the following paper I will discuss how residing in an affluent country does not put individuals under obligation to donate, and the efforts that are already made by individuals and governments in affluent countries are sufficient enough to be considered benevolent.I will present the following arguments to provide reasoning for this. First I will explain how singers drowning baby analogy fails to make a proper comparison to donating. Second, I will show how the assumed responsibility that affluent country should give to the needy is flawed. Third will discuss how donating may actually be counterproductive in the long term. Lastly I will give a comparison towards donating to poverty is no better or mor e beneficial to donating to crime prevention.The main concern addressed in this essay is the analogy Singer makes when he compares the ease of saving a drowning baby to the ease of making a donation to a country in poverty (Singer, par. 6). Singer’s analogy is only correct on the basis that the baby and people living in poverty are both in circumstances out of their control. The difference though, is that the baby he describes is moments away from death, while people living in poverty are mostly not on the brink of death. I believe the vast majority of people would save the baby, yet only a small percentage of people will take the time to donate.Furthermore, I rule out Singer’s argument for proximity (par. 8). Walking around a city like Toronto, one may walk right past homeless people in very dire circumstances, and many people still do not bother to give any assistance. Thus, since being in a very close proximity will usually not yield a donation, in most likelihood, witnessing someone very close to death is probably the best way to evoke enough emotion for an individual to make a donation. Another flaw in Singers paper is that he makes the argument in his thesis that affluent countries should be responsible for countries that are in poverty (par. 3).By being in a â€Å"global village† as singer puts it, then a logical thing to do is donate to country that has the most poverty. Looked at another way we already donate through the government. Foreign aid comes from our tax dollars. So, in essence we are donating, but the government takes care of all the work. I call this the apathetic donor. In contrast though, Canada is considered a very affluent country yet still has small but significant part of its population below the poverty line. An argument could easily be made that a priority should be placed towards the homeless and people living below the poverty line within Canada first.Once dealt with properly, giving the remains out to the res t of the needy world will follow. If Canada cannot take care of the suffering within its own borders, then its priorities should be reviewed. Lastly, if I was forced into a situation to give to a Canadian living in poverty or someone in a foreign country I would place a priority on someone within Canada. A consequence of giving to countries in poverty may actually cause more poverty. Singer claims that the morally right thing to do is to avoid suffering (par. 6).Yet, by donating to a country in need of food that has a significantly fast population growth rate will lead to future famine. The world simply cannot sustain continued population growth. For example Pakistan has a significant part of its population living in poverty and has a high birth rate. At the same time Pakistan has a space program in place. As a result it appears that Pakistan finds space technology is more important than feeding its poor. Additionally, many nations in Africa have been getting foreign aid for decades yet most of these countries remain poor.If donations must be made, the most good that can come from it would be to see my money go towards helping a government get itself prioritized, and certain that the money goes to where it is intended, not the corrupt politicians or leaders that have no care for the suffering. A fair extension of Singer’s argument would be to donate money to stopping violent crime or terrorism around the world. Crime results in the death of good and innocent people just like famine. Also, many people are born into crime countries or situations out of their control much like poverty.Dealing with organized crime in a poor country would certainly save lives, just as dealing with poverty. Also, an individual would be more motivated to take action to donate through fear than sympathy. As noted previously, seeing my money go towards a controllable situation such as crime within my own country of Canada would be a more worthwhile and pragmatic investment. Dona ting to crime prevention in Canada would naturally have a much more beneficial effect for me than giving my money to a foreign nation.Essentially various forms of any crime left unabated in Canada are more likely to spread out affect me at home than a person in poverty in a foreign country. In conclusion, I believe the reasons given refuting Peter Singer’s paper show that donating to people in poverty, and the need to change our moral conceptual scheme is unnecessary in our affluent society. His attempt to evoke an emotional and sympathetic response in the reader by describing the mental image of a drowning baby only hurts his attempt to convince a rational person to donate.Also, if I do choose to donate, does this make me less charitable to donate to someone within my own country, while there may someone needier in another country? Is donating at all even justifiable? especially when some countries only seem to be getting worse off with runaway birthrates, and with corrupt l eaders not doing what’s best for their nation. If I was forced into a situation to choose between putting aside money for myself, my family’s future, or giving it to someone whom I’ve never met in a situation less desirable than mine, the choice is easy and clear.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 29

Marketing - Essay Example Chinese culture is an apt example of a high-context culture. Business meetings in China revolve around group choices and the agreed upon decisions are mostly finalized in advance, courtesy the instinctive and listener responsible approach of group members (Browaeys & Price, 2008). The low-context cultures tend to be direct with the meaning inherent in any communication (Mead, 2004). They cherish individualism and are not very proficient in the non-verbal exchange of meaning and information (Mead, 2004). Low-context individuals predominantly rely on logic then on emotion to convey ideas (Mead, 2004). The communication patterns in low-context cultures are very structured with a preference for strategies that are rich in details (Mead, 2004). Low-context cultures value linear logic (Mead, 2004). US is a low-context culture where communications are direct and individualistic that are more targeted at specific situations and outcomes, rather than intending to communicate with the entire group (Browaeys & Price, 2008). Factor Analysis: Factor analysis tends to statistically determine variability amongst the observed variables, in relation to a small number of unobserved variables (Lehmann, Gupta & Steckel, 1997). Factor analysis can be suitably used in a situation when the data to be analyzed is quiet large (Lehmann, Gupta & Steckel, 1997). Cluster Analysis: Cluster analysis is ideally suitable for analyzing data having some natural groupings (Lehmann, Gupta & Steckel, 1997). It helps group raw data into clusters. This type of analysis helps determine similarities and variations between local and regional markets. Multidimensional Scaling: Multidimensional scaling is a statistical technique, which facilitates information visualization, thereby allowing for the sifting of similar and dissimilar patterns in a data (Grover & Vriens, 2006). This technique could be exploited, when a marketer is required to select between varied alternatives.

How the design approach differs from the systems approach used in Essay

How the design approach differs from the systems approach used in transport and land use - Essay Example This makes up the main distinction between the design and systems approach. Within the design approach the role of the user is high. As Ruth and Davidsdottir explain, â€Å"The user might also have input to the construction of the framework, identifying inter- and intra-sectoral dynamics that must be represented, and identifying potential tensions (†¦) and designing relevant variables to expose tensions† (Ruth & Davidsdottir, 2009, p. 100). They also add that both experts and end users have to be asked while resolving the issues of input/output disaggregation, or more detailed framework construction. Thus, design appears to be the product of â€Å"iterations through computer simulation, learning and innovation from the user, and repeated simulation† (Ruth & Davidsdottir, 2009, p. 100). An example of design approach employed to land use was found on the Internet. On the â€Å"Hills and Forrest† website that is powered by a team of International Golf Course ar chitects, the design approach to land use in this sphere can be seen. It is based on a few core principles illustrated by questions and practical applications: 1) Key is Communication. This rule suggests listening to the client and attempting to understand what he/she would like to achieve. Questions: How will the development be positioned? What are the goals of the development process? 2) Develop the Routing. This suggests close cooperation with the land planner, team members, and engineers. â€Å"Design workshop... Use of latest technology... Computer graphics and simulations† (Arthurhills.Com, 2011). 3) Utilize Industry Resources. This suggests going through permitting and approvals process. Qualified contractors, agronomists, irrigation consultants, etc need be recommended at this point. 4) How to Measure Success? Check all development goals and see whether the object corresponds to the set characteristics. (Arthurhills.Com). Furthermore, design approach to land use is ab out building safe constructions in the areas that are recognized hazardous (Burby, 1998 ) This kind of land use allows economic benefits to be released, yet this might happen at the cost of bigger loss of natural resources and values. In addition, the susceptibility of bigger damage is an issue especially taking into account the possibility of events overpower. In this context, to manage the development of design, regulatory and non-regulatory techniques may be employed by communities. As for the former, they contain building codes and separate ordinances which require specific actions, e.g. elevating structures above expected flood levels, bracing constructions to reduce damage from shaking of the ground during earthquakes, and using hurricane clips that will ensure roofs remain attached to the houses even in high winds. As for the non-regulatory techniques within the design approach, they deal with providing public information, as well as various training programs aimed at informi ng builders and house owners of specific design techniques that are damage-resistant (Burby, 1998). The systems approach focuses on reducing the elaborate details of the planning process (e.g. transport) to a few principal steps. These are usually definition of the problem, data collection, forecasting plus analysis, evaluation of the plan, and its

Capital purchase justification Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Capital purchase justification - Assignment Example The purchase of the equipment is necessary to make the hospital run (Grantham, Haupt, Isbell, McClung, & Rettie, 2005). A CAT scan needs service providers. Selecting a service provider is always the responsibility of the procurement department. The procurement department will find a suitable supplier through researching the market. This will involve market survey on directories, form procurement colleagues, and the Internet. It will be necessary to search for more than three providers to evaluate. One of the economic advantages to deliver the CAT scan is that it will assist in saving cost by comparing prices and deliverability. Selection is made in terms of the provider that in delivering the CAT scan in time. We identified General Electric, Siemens and Medic Exchange. Selection process is done by choosing a provider from the phone book, Internet or using friends and family members. After settling for Siemens, the formal selection process is done. This was evaluation in terms of tech nical and financial evaluation. A contract was signed by the vice president because it was capital equipment which needed high authorization to Siemens to provide the CAT scan needed. It is necessary to the company to analyze the available options for making the right choice. The first step is to document organizational needs by putting the details and specifications by making the Vice President aware of our reasoning’s and justification for our actions. The company analyzed what Siemens could do concerning the CAT scan. The identifying potential sources were also considered by doing research of which organization is capable of providing the CAT scan. Information sent to Siemens is an introduction including contact information. A summary of business needs was prepared by drawing a proposal request for the CAT scan. An invitation to participate was sent to all three vendors for participation in the selection process. The date proposed was for a one-on-one discussion of key iss ues. The third step is to initiate vendor discussions on issues of the site and training or personnel to use the CAT scan. Then non-responsive vendors will be weeded out through both technical and financial evaluation. The fourth step is a final vendor round up. This is the final stage to make an offer and obtain the contract. One of the most important parts of the process is making a decision and sticking to it. This suggests reviewing material facts from the two meetings with each vendor, and a decision is made (Healthcare Financial Management Association (U.S.), 2009). A research article by Grantham et al. points out two aspects on how teams respond favorably to a request for information security budget costs justified with a clear ROI business case. There is also a developing concept of risk based ROI. The concept quantifies taking action of cost and risk associated and how this should be minimized by implementing a proper security infrastructure. This concept is used to purchas e insurance for the CAT scan. If a security breaches occurs as a result of not implementing the proper procedures, the associated costs far outweigh the cost to replace the CAT scan. This was an issue that was addressed with the vice president. To help avoid these liability costs is the goal. This is how the percentage of return on investment (ROI) is calculated. This is often the case when actual security risks are

Critical Questions Major Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical Questions Major Paper - Essay Example Are they not everything that is against the America way? Is it right for the persecuted, the hungry and the poor to want a part of this dream? No, it cannot be because this would be against the foundations of the American Constitution – a constitution that promises rights for everybody. However, this immigration problem may used to solve our problem with a renewable source of energy1. Rather than importing oil from foreign countries we could open or border so that we can farm immigrants. This would reduce worldwide consumption2, without decreasing or threatening the consumer society of America. As a result it should be taken into consideration that any step taken should be taking keeping in mind mainly the domestic portfolio of the basic citizen. Well, one of the biggest problems for these immigrants is large families and over reproduction, as a result that leads to over consumption. Therefore, using them as fuel would provide us with a renewable source of energy, therefore making a better energy choice. This new fuel resource would be important, because traditional fuels are being targeted as bad for the environment.3 Once an individual is past child bearing they become a source of fuel, all unnecessary males also face this future. In doing this not only can we reduce the amount of consumption that these immigrants are taking away from red-blooded Americans, but also the fear of male immigrants becoming terrorists is reduced and also we have a renewable source of energy. For this a set of agencies could be erected. The prime objective of these agencies would be executing the laid down plan. It is a must the state should be funding them. To understand the importance of this proposal one has to consider the alternatives. The alternative is that we open or even close or borders to these immigrants; whatever the policy approach that is taken these

To what extent is it still true to say that legal justice in England Essay - 1

To what extent is it still true to say that legal justice in England and Wales rests upon adversarialism - Essay Example In such a system a decision is arrived at by a neutral decision maker on the basis of the details furnished by the parties. In respect of criminal cases two decision makers will be present, namely the judge and the jury; the duty of the former is to decide on the legal aspects whereas the duty of the latter is confined to factual issues.2 Moreover, the large number of legal commentators has designated the Australian and American legal systems as being adversarial legal systems. â€Å"Such classification is made because the primary and dominant legal procedure in this system is adjudication on legal disputes defined by the parties who bring those disputes to court for adjudication†3. The adoption of an adversarial system in England has been attributed to first, the practice of compurgation. This practice was an Anglo-Saxon defence in which several persons were made to testify in respect of a person’s innocence and second, the culmination of the extant English legal procedures like trial by jury and private prosecution4. I believe strongly that our adversarial process is the most effective way of trying criminal issues. However, the legal system has begun to recognise that pure adversarialism does not always produce justice, and more effort is now going into establishing areas of consensus between prosecution and defence. For example, judges are reining in needless, destructive cross-examination which puts people such as rape victims on trial, and procedures are being invented to prevent ambush tactics which involve one side taking the other completely by surprise5. The English legal system is primarily adversarial in composition. In this system resolution of issues is achieved by means of argument between the disputing parties in the presence of the presiding judge. This organization is methodical but costly and a considerable amount of time is taken in deciding

Select ONE theme presented on the module. Explain why you think this Essay

Select ONE theme presented on the module. Explain why you think this theme is important in organisational life using examples fr - Essay Example Therefore, experts argue that although work has various beneficial attributes, it may have negative influences on the workforce and overall productivity of the organization. Both the adverse and negative impacts of work are closely associated with the private life of workers. While work life may influence private life, the contrary is true, as well. Private life experiences can also affect work in either adverse or positive manner. The discussion will investigate the benefits of balancing between private and work life in the profitability of the organization and workers’ satisfaction and comfort. Discussion It is most rational to consider that various employees strive towards attaining happiness, better health and productive private and work lives. To increases, the probability of attaining satisfaction, privates and work live must be stabilized, (Lewis, Brannen and Nilsen, 2009, p. 48). Work and private life balance is a subset of private life and work life equilibrium and su ggests that employees are satisfied in both aspects of life. Private and work life interface is mainly explained as a circle of social tasks, which are linked to these crucial life aspects. It is rather obvious that attaining equilibrium amid these diverse life aspects reflects a progressive and complex effort. The outcome of these efforts is a vibrant stability that entails managing challenges, stress or constraints within the work and private life context, (Schulz, 2010, p. 50). A different perspective of looking at the situation is to consider the stability between the two aspects as a result of managing private life-work challenges. Work-life stability implies sustaining effective and healthy workstation that allows workforce to strike a balance between employments responsibilities and private tasks, and thus reinforce worker allegiance and productivity, (Lomas, 2005, p. 63). Sociological studies reveal that two in eight workers experience increased levels of struggle between pr ivate and work life oriented on private life-to-work interruption and parental constraint. If task burden is added, then more than 62% of workers interviewed suffer private life and work struggles. Of all the employment aspects that affect family-work challenge, the number of hours spend in the office is the extensive and most persistent aspect, (Drobnic? and Guille?n, 2011, p 45). The increased levels of work to life challenges reported by administrators and executives often are a production of their prolonged stay in the offices. Additional factors include security of job, managers or supervisors’ support, ambiguity or complexity of work role, work dissatisfaction and enormous utilization of communication techniques, which shapes the precincts between private life and work. In the modern world, today, employees have various conflicting roles like work, kids, household chores volunteering activities, aged and kin parent attention and mounts stress on people, societies and fa milies where people live. Similarly, these private life obligations and commitments mount stress on the overall commitment to work responsibilities and production of an organization, (Grossman and Chester, 1990, p. 82). In other words, work-family challenge is an adverse limitation that affects employees, their supervisors or managers,

The idea of democracy Essay Example for Free

The idea of democracy Essay The example Provident provides is exemplary of what the founding fathers of America had in mind with the idea of democracy. Since all men are created equally, it seems only right that we would contribute to the betterment of all, including those of different races. The Provident example is key is illustrating that â€Å"a solid investment strategy† in the form of philanthropic giving helps to fuel the economy on many different levels. Since Provident, â€Å"A greater percentage of our population has achieved a higher standard of living than any other country with our levels of diversity. † In the spirit of democracy, self funding provides more opportunities, which provides a positive element to capitalism. Those who have already benefitted from capitalism have the opportunity to fuel new opportunities for more people, providing a unique balance between democracy and capitalism. This is why the United States has been so successful; more successful than any other nation actually. This balance is necessary in order for either of the two systems to work correctly and fairly. Without philanthropic giving, a very unique feature of the United States, this balance would be impossible. Generosity blurs some of the social restraints placed on people in different economic brackets and allows more people more opportunities for success.

A foodborne disease that is estimated to have infected one third of the human population Essay Example for Free

A foodborne disease that is estimated to have infected one third of the human population Essay Toxoplasmosis is a foodborne disease that is estimated to have infected one third of the human population (2). Not only does Toxoplasmosis infect humans, but it is also been found in almost all of the warm-blooded animals, primarily cats (3). Toxoplasmosis was first found in 1908 by Nicolle and Manceaux in the cells of the gundi, a type of rodent, in Brazil. It was also found by Splendore to be in the tissues of a rabbit. Fifteen years later, in 1923, a fatal case of toxoplasmosis was reported in a child. Finally in 1939, toxoplasmosis was identified as a cause of human disease (2). Toxoplasmosis seemed to first be described by Toxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma gondii has two   types of hosts, a definitive and an intermediate. Cats are the only definitive hosts for Toxoplasma gondii meaning that only when the parasite infects the cat will it produce oocysts (eggs). Toxoplasma gondii will not produce eggs in other warm-blooded animals. When the cat digests food that contains this parasite, the Toxoplasma gondii inside of the cat will be released into the digestive tract where it will then multiply and produce oocysts in the small intestine. This process is called intraintestinal infection cycle. The parasite is released in large quantities through the feces. The cat will also start shedding oocysts after 3 days of being infected and will continue to shed for 10 to 14 days. T he oocysts are very resilient and can survive up to a year. Other oocysts in the cat penetrate deeper into the intestine and develop tachyzoite which is the parasite’s form of rapid growth. The tachyzoite spreads throughout the body and start the extraintestinal infection cycle. When the immune system responds, the tachyzoite go into their resting stage and become bradyzoites, which is a slow growing form (3). A human or any other intermediate host can then be exposed to the parasite through either eating meat contaminated with the parasite or accidently (or not) swallowing cat feces (1). The oocysts are not immediately infectious as they must first go through a process called sporulation which takes from one to five days. Once the sporulated oocysts are in the intermediate host, they develop tissue cysts which stay in the host for life (3). When Toxoplasma gondii enters the human host, tachyzoites begin to develop and infect various organs. The parasite then enters the brain and creates oocysts. It then establishes a â€Å"chronic infection† which taxes the immune system (4). Toxoplasmosis usually doesn’t show any for most people. Severe cases of toxoplasmosis usually develop in babies whose mother was infected by toxoplasmosis or by people with compromised immune systems such as people with HIV. Some people with mild cases of toxoplasmosis may exhibit flu-like symptoms with swollen nymph glands along with sore muscles for a month or more. However, the severe cases can cause individuals to develop encephalitis along with eye and other organ damage. Patients may begin to experience pain that is accompanied by a bright light along with reduced vision and redness of the eye (1). Toxoplasmosis 1 http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/ 2 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2704023/?tool=pubmed 3 http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/toxo.html 4 http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/33/3/745.full Penicillium chrysogenum 5 http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/nov2003.html 6 http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/microbes/penicill.htm 7 http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/kitzmann_step/

Gulf War Was A Perfect Television War Media Essay

Gulf War Was A Perfect Television War Media Essay The media representation of wars has significantly changed over last years. Previously being just an instrument of coverage and propaganda, now media are considered a competent weapon. The war of real objects is partially being replaced by the war of pictures and sounds, information war (Virilio, 2002). On the one hand, information technologies can be regarded as humane weapon, because they lead to the fewer amounts of victims. On the other hand, they directly influence the mental structures, can fulfill the conscious with false images or distort the perceptions, spread moral panics or create virtual enemies and thus are an intelligent weapon of mass distruction. One of the famous works about the usage of information technologies in the war belongs to French sociologist Jean Baudrillard, and his concept of the Gulf War 1991 as the first television war will be assessed in the essay in correlation with his theories of hyper reality and simulacrum. Those concepts are applied to the media representation of the conflict in South Ossetia. The usefulness of the concept of television war for understanding modern conflicts is proved in conclusion. Hyper reality, simulacrum and information wars Philosophical approach of Baudrillards works is concentrated around two main notions -hyper reality and simulacrum. Both terms are related to the reality of the consumer society. According to Baurillard, we all live in the world, dominated by organized perceptions, while people loose an ability to perceive the real surrounding. Instead they face artificial or adapted environments: assembled chronicles of military operations, coverage of suicidal terrorist acts. Baudrillard (1996) claims that the reality is not only possible to represent, the reality should always be ready for representation and thus it becomes a hyper reality, existing only in simulation. It consists of media and cultural images that simulate the real world. Some of this images are representations of real objects, but aggressive information technologies, television and particularly advertisement create special images, deceiving representations of non-existing objects, which Baudrillard (1998), following Plato, calls simulacra. In postmodern culture, dominated by TV and Internet, the notions of true and false representations are destroyed, as people have access only to simulations of reality, which is no more real than the simulacra representing it. Moreover, we start to believe the maps of reality as more real than own experience and take the hyper reality as the actual environment (Mann, n.d.). Consequently, simulacra, which lost any connection to real things, dont have original or prototype, and can parallel some objects, change the notion of counterfeits or false. So a correlation appears that hyper reality becomes the battlefield and the simulacra the intellectual weapons in conflicts of all levels, from the business competition to wars between countries, which gradually turn into information wars. The most widespread technique of symbolic images usage in information war is propaganda, but now in the form of marketing or PR campaigns. Such campaigns provide the basis for military operations and are a perfect tool to make conform to one side or type of thinking. Thus they are the most integrated and hidden, but also the most pervasive parts of the new wars. The censorship is widespread, because the military-media campaigns require a gap between the event and the audience, and censorship breaks the flow of information, while propaganda specialists feed media with false information (Snow, 2003). In these terms coverage of military operations is now able to influence their process as it was, for example, in the movie Wag the dog, where imaginary war actions of American troops in Albania, staged to shift public interest from the reputation crisis of the president, led to real military response. So, the role of media in the modern wars is not limited to news coverage or propaganda, the media now should be regarded more likely as the fourth front of war. The reasons for it could be different. According to sociologist Paul Virilio (2002), the escalation of cybernetic wars of persuasion and propaganda is the result of graduate changes in weapons. The first, prehistorical, wars were tactical and used weapons of obstruction (ramparts, fortresses). The epoch of political wars made them strategic and reliable on weapons of destruction (bows, missiles). The new period of transpolitical wars is characterized as logistical and uses weapons of communication (telephone, radar, satellites, information carriers), which emerged due to global information networks and tele-surveillance. The turning point of modern epoch is the integration of media and industrial army, where the capability to war without war manifests a parallel information market of propaganda, illusion, dissimulation (Viril io, 2002: 17). The image prevails over the real space and substitutes it, changes the landscape from physical to audiovisual by technological accelerants satellites, internet and high-quality video on TV. The level of media influence is dependent on the communication forms, in which it is carried, because it is possible to frame the report, provided with knowledge of certain mediums advantages (Cottle, 2003). Television with live broadcast and reliance on spectacular images, simulacra, is in these terms the best communication weapon. It makes inefficient the object, but concentrates on its representation; it is not a reality, but a construction of it (Webster, 2002). TV news is often watched with the belief that it indicates, the reality, but in fact it is a version of events, shaped by journalists values and morality. The whole reality begins and ends on television screens, and any critical attitude emerges not an original version of event, but creates other symbolic representation in live images (Webster, 2002). According to Virilio (2002), the live image attracts not critiques, but emotion, apprehension. Thus it involves the spectator to the situation, makes him dependent on televi sual interface, even if the problem doesnt concern him directly. All these advantages were used strategically for the first time in the Gulf War, which Baudrillard (1995) called both a non-existing and a first television war. Gulf War 1991: the first television war Three essays of Baudrillard, referred to events in Iraq during January and February 1991, were published originally in the Liberation and the Guardian and lately collected in one book The Gulf War did not take place. Before the actual war, during the strengthening of American military and propaganda, he claimed that the Gulf War will not take place in reality. During the military actions his catchy slogan was that the Gulf War is not taking place and right after the operation he said that the Gulf War hadnt taken place, because the Western public perceived it just as a series of hyperreal TV images. For Baudrillard, media and especially television do not provide the opportunities for effective communication. Television is the technology of non-communication because it limits the interaction needed for symbolic exchange by giving the large amounts of signs impossible to critically analyze and react (Groening, 2007). A war demands a struggle between counterparts, exchange, communicatio n and interaction (Webster, 2002), while Baudrillard (1995) argued that the USA overloaded the symbolic communication space in this war and moreover, the goals of George Bush and Saddam Hussein were so different that they couldnt even be considered as counterparts. Hussein, a former US ally, was not regarded as the real enemy, and the outcome of the war was predictable both for participants and for audience of war (Mann, n.d.). Researchers express the controversial idea that bombing was the most precise in history and civilian casualties thus were minimized (Kellner, 2008). Consequently, the war can be regarded as hyperreal and overloaded by media provocations. The Gulf War was understood by Paul Virilio (2002) also as a turning point in history. He called it the first information war of images, media-staged event or the first electronic war in the form of televised series, broadcast live by satellite. The difference is that Virilio accepted the idea that the war really had taken place, but it moved to the fourth front of communication weapons and instant information. He warned about the doubling of the front, a communication between place of action the Middle East and place of its immediate reception the whole world, which extends widely over the Iraqi-Saudi border. Turning the battlefield into a theatre with the symbolic counterparts- Hussein and CNN emerges the risk of turning TV audience into fans on the stadium, counting casualties like goals of the favorite team. In comparison with Baudrillard, Virilio considers TV as establishing interactivity between those making war and those watching it. But he has the same idea about the role of common people in war impotent tele-spectators, victims of intelligent weapons and the people who serve them (Virilio, 2002: 47). It is obvious that Baudrillard didnt intend to act like a devils advocate and decline the existence of the Gulf War. He agrees that a massive bombing of military and civil objects took place in Iraq in 1991. And lately he (2002) told readers that official casualties in Iraq were estimated in order of 100Â  000, not counting the losses due to consequent hunger and diseases. But the question is why so few US soldiers died in this war, that it was named a war of zero casualties on the side of allies (Virilio, 2002: 97). After analyzing Baudrillards work, it becomes clear, that despite a catchy slogan in title, in fact the author compares real events with their interpretation, and the central conclusion is that the consequence of real events could hardly be named a war, while a consequence of those events representations was perceived as a real war. This effect was a main reason why he called a Gulf War the first and the perfect television war. US-led coalition relied highly on the television. On the first night of military operation, in Kourou, Ariane rocket launched two broadcasting satellites (Virilio, 2002), and it was a sign of parallel intervention of real forces and television. The leaders decisions were significantly based on intelligence reports, coming not from eye-witnesses, but from news and images. Bush recruited CNN and its owner Ted Turner to transit messages to Iraqi people and thus held diplomacy through interposed images (Virilio, 2002). Coalition forces were ordered not to get engaged in the direct battles with Iraqi army, but to use the means of virtual war in response to Iraqi attempts to turn the conflict into traditional. After interviewing soldiers, who were on the battlefield, Baudrillard (1995) claimed that the Western TV channels, especially CNN, offered audience highly edited reports from Iraq under the shape of live feeds. ABC News through life coverage of the Gulf War convinced the nation that Star Wars works (Bass, 2002). But Hussein used media even more cynically, creating a consequence of the images of hostages and the crying children. Attractive simulacra with no meaning behind were promoted by media of both sides: the CNN journalists with the gas masks in the Jerusalem, drugged and beaten prisoners on Iraqi TV, sea-bird covered in oil and pointing eyes into the Gulf sky (Baudrillard, 1995) and the quintessential symbol the Stealth F117, undetectable bomber, that nobody have seen, but everyone knew. The first object, destructed by F117, was also symbolic the building of Hussein forces communication centre (Virilio, 2002). The effect could be correlated with the essence of the conflicts media coverage: it is possible to see it only in time it happens, there is no time to prepare for it and no sense to watch it afterwards. As the victims of F117 see it just in the moment of action, viewers see the live broadcasts at the same time with the military journalists. The last reasons for perceiving the Gulf War as a television war are its results. Baudrillard and Virilio agreed that nobody fully lost or won in the conflict. Defeated in fact, Hussein remained in power and moreover won the information war. In spite of abilities given by Pentagon, CNN lost that television war, because American government issued a document, restricting the real time of operations from the TV present time (Virilio, 2002). Trying to prevent the American audience from communication weapons of Iraq, US officially imposed censorship and turned the public to the search for new information sources. To conclude, Iraq in 1991 was a place not of real war, but of massive violence and a remote enough zone for creating simulacra and holding a perfect television war. The TV Gulf War could have seemed a perfect simulacrum, a hyperreal situation. It is possible to partially agree with Baudrillards and Virilios argumentation, as it may be really the first example in the war history, when the TV technologies were used as a competent weapon and the whole war was spectacled on TV. But from the humane point of view, the statement the Gulf War did not take place undermines the seriousness of the Iraqi civilians massacre, the consequences for the political situation in Iraq and such consequence as the spread of international terrorism, which now is often perceived as the same symbolic non-event (Baudrillard, 2002): it catches the eye on TV screen when happening somewhere, but is not fully understood as possible to happen with the viewer. Nevertheless, Baudrillards theory is useful for understa nding representations of other modern wars, for example, the recent conflict between Georgia, South Ossetia and Russia. South Ossetia 2008 media war Conflict in South Ossetia will remain in the history of the post-Soviet area as a first war, which media helped to spread from the inter-country to cross-continental level. Known as Georgian-Ossetian war, the conflict in August 2008 turned into confrontation between Georgia and USA on one side and Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other. On the 8 August Georgia started a bombing of its separatist region South Ossetia. The next day Russia deployed troops in Ossetia and started military operation against Georgia. The USA government expressed eagerness to intervene, but on the 16 August the ceasefire was signed. The actual political result is recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia by several countries, leading by Russia, and high tensions in the region. The number of casualties is still discussed and differs from 160 to 2000 on Ossetian side and from 60 to 400 on Georgian. Baudrillards concept of hyperreal television war is the perfect way of understanding this simulacra-rich conflict. The date of its beginning was a sign itself it was the day of opening the Olympic Games in Beijing, when by ancient traditions all the conflicts should be postponed. The violation of symbolic tradition instantly attracted the attention of worlds media. Artillery system Grad, used by Georgian forces as well as totally destructed building of hospital in Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, became symbols of civilian massacre. The anecdotic situation, when American audience mixed the Georgia as the Caucasus country and the US state, and started panics, was spread by media. Russian media discussed the interview with the 12-year-old ossetian girl on the Fox News, where she accuses Georgia, while being roughly interrupted by the journalist (Kukolevsky, 2008). And even unaware people remember Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, nervously chewing his necktie during the live TV inte rview. All those images were born by the war, which Georgian minister Temur Yakobashvili called a war for international public opinion (Collin, 2008). The media became a crucial battlefield in the conflict between Tbilisi and Moscow. The Georgian side claimed that it tried to reconquer its territory while Russian troops illegally invaded into it. Russians responded that Georgian government organized genocide, while Russian mission was to enforce peace. Both sides accused each other of spending millions of dollars on propaganda. Both sides even employed European PR agencies to promote their viewpoint. Georgia, backed by Western allies, from the beginning dominated in the information war. Started with cyberattacks and blocking of Russian TV, it used the help of USA and Great Britain, who didnt engage into real conflict, but actively engaged in the information one. All the leading global media CNN, Fox News, BBC, Sky News, Reuters, Associated Press were pro-Georgian. For example, Sky News showed a video report about the bombings of Tskhinvali by Georgian troops with a title Russia bombs the Georgian region South Ossetia (InoSmi, 2008; CNN, 2008). Georgia used a main advantage of Baudrillards television war that the world revealed the war from TV news. European audience, unaware of remote Caucasus regions, didnt know that some American and European correspondents presented the videos from Ossetian Tskinvali as the videos from Georgia (Vesti, 2009). Even Russian Foreign minister Sergej Lavrov agreed, that Russia lost that information war, but presented it as evidence, that Russia i s not an aggressor, otherwise it would have prepared a successful strategy (RIA Novosti, 2008). Nevertheless, I consider the results of Russian-Georgian information war as controversial as the results of real week-long conflict. The aim of attracting Western support wasnt achieved by any side. For example, German press claimed the conflict broadened the tensions between Russia and the West (Mannteufel, 2008), while some of British media found evidence of Georgia being an aggressor, guilty in war crimes (Milne, 2008). Some analysts consider Georgian media campaign as more effective because, for example, English-speaking ministers were always available for interview (Collin, 2008), but the media coverage was often favorable to Russia. The Russian strategy in this war could have been more effective, if used the overviewed simulacra images actively, because they all were really catchy and could influence the target audiences. Also Russia could have provided the world media with evidence of Georgian genocide by opening an access to a war zone for journalists. Moreover, it could be useful to prepare a strategic crisis communication plans for the possible conflicts of this kind. But anyway, the negative image of Russia, popular among Western media, could undermine by now any communication efforts. To change the situation, Russia should become a part of global media system, which is impossible because of American domination. The main idea of case study is that in August 2008 South Ossetia became a centre not of a real war, which ended in one week, but of an information war, which lasts till now. On this battlefield a little Georgia, backed by Western transnational media, can beat the huge Russia and create herself an image of a victim of Russian military machine (Zinenko, 2008). Thus it proves the thesis of Baudrillard and Virilio, that the wars of new generation are being won or lost in the space of media and information technologies. Conclusion The theoretical concepts of information and especially television wars by Baudrillard and Virilio, engaged in the essay with the real wars in Iraq 1991 and South Ossetia 2008, emerge the question of what Kellner (2005) calls a centrality of media politics in advanced foreign policy. Of course, the idea of hyperreal television war is an ideal model, and by now there was no conflict that has been totally televisual. Critiques of Baudrillard draw an attention to his hyper-postmodern approach (Hegarty, 2004) or lack of meaningful political engagement (Economic expert, n.d.). Nevertheless, the fact remains in both analyzed war cases and in numerous other conflicts of the last decades the media opened the fourth front, created a hyperreal space of mutual information attacks and marketing-style campaigns, used the simulacra-like images to influence the audience and to attract it to one side. Moreover, media become a means of searching allies or oppositely turn back to life the old confrontations, like in case of South Ossetia they emerged a new spiral of Cold War between Russia and the USA (RIA Novosti, 2008). Consequently, the governments of new generation should consider media campaigns as a part of any successful military operations, and the people, who dont want to be manipulated be spectacular images, should try to be less ignorant and more human-oriented.

Hardball :: movie essays

Bio: 16 year old high school student Essay: Gambling addict Connor O’Neil ends up deep in debt after he borrows money from almost every loan shop in town to fuel his addiction. In order to pay the mounds of money that he owes, he is requested to coach a little-league baseball team, the Kekambas. At first, Connor doesn’t start off right with the kids and doesn’t see the point of him being there. Even though Connor paid the kids no attention, they were somehow inspired by his presence. Later, He realizes that he must come to grips at what he wants in his life, and ultimately forms a special bond with the kids on the team.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the beginning of the movie, we see Connor O’Neil at his worst. The personality traits he has are reflective of an orange. One of the more positive traits is being able to take decisive action. This can been seen in beginning of the movie, where he is in James’ office, and he immediately decides to coach the Kekambas, after the promise of a steady income. Connor shows that he likes sports, by always watching or betting on basketball games, and baseball games. Another good trait is his ability to solve problems, as he did when there was a shortage in jerseys. He solved this problem by telling G-baby of the shortage, but still letting him stay on the team. He is very much a risk-taker, and loves to live for the moment. This can be proven, as he is constantly gambling in the beginning, even if he needs to borrow money to pay off his huge debts. Connor possesses many typical behaviours of an out-of-esteem orange, as well. First, he uses stimulants, suc h as drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and etc., when things don’t go his way, as seen in first couple of scenes. Second, he is physically aggressive, as shown in the quote, â€Å"no one can kick my ass better than I can†. Third he showed that he wanted to drop out of coaching the Kekambas by saying, â€Å"I’m bailing out†, when he found it uninteresting. Finally, he lied to Ms. Wilks, by saying he was a businessman, who just finished an errand in Canada.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though Connor is wary of coaching at first, he begins to see the harsh reality of the kids’ lives and the nature of being brought up in such a tough neighborhood.

Anger Management and Health Essay -- Health Anger Emotions Essays

Anger Management and Health Everybody feels anger from time to time. People have been documented feeling anger since biblical times when God was considered angry. Babies even exhibit signs that are interpreted as anger, such as crying or screaming. Anger is not in any way unique to people. Animals also have the ability to feel and express anger. In our personal lives we get angry over at least one thing on almost a daily basis, whether it be on the job, with a spouse or loved one, or perhaps with a figure of authority. Many psychologists have written about anger, discussing the relationship between anger and fear. Each of the individuals that comprise humanity possesses at least one phobia, in the same way that each is capable of possessing anger. The negativity that is associated with phobias often spills over into our feelings about anger. We begin to think negatively about anger since we associate it with fear. Plato was the first to suggest that anger was a disbalance. According to Dr. Willard Gaylin, a prominent psychologist, anger is still seen as a disbalance by many of today's psychologists. Since Plato, anger has suffered a bad reputation. We only have to imagine a domestic abuse scene to immediately condemn anger in all of its manifestations. There is a reason why anger is viewed in a negative light. Nobody likes it when someone is angry with them. We tend to avoid the wrath of those around us. This is one reason we see anger as negative. Another reason may lie closer to Plato's concept of imbalance. The negative perception of anger is evident in the American Heritage Dictionary's definitions of the word anger (1): 1. A feeling of extreme displeasure, hostility, indignation, or someone or something; rage; wrath; ire. 2. (Obsolete) Trouble; pain; affliction. To say, "I'm getting angry", is to invoke fear in another, usually, that fear originates from a perception that the utterer of the phrase is about to take some sort of dramatic action. Dr. Gaylin speaks for these emotions, rage is a response to a perceived assault that effects the body in interesting ways. Skeletal muscles are tensed; the autonomic system moves to increase the supply of adrenaline and redistribute the blood flow of the body; certain muscles are contracted and opposing ones relaxed. (2) Apparently, anger is viewed negatively for a reas... ...s easy. But to be angry at the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not so easy.† (4) Chronic anger does lead to health problems. Not everyone suffers from anger, but for those that do, it means a multitude of emotional related illnesses. Anger is often accompanied by an imbalance of hormones, as Plato recognized, and no imbalance is healthy in the long run. With consciousness and relaxation, people may be able to achieve dominance over anger, rather than allowing it to have dominance over them. Works Cited: 1 American Heritage Dictionary Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA 1985 2 Gaylin, Willard, M.D. The Anger Within: Anger in Modern Life. Simon and Schuster, New York, NY 1984 3 Internet Research: Coping with Anger, 1996 4 McKay, Rogers When Anger Hurts: Quieting the Storm Within. New Harbinger, Oakland, CA 1989 5 Bernstein and Rozen Dinosaur Brains: Dealing with all Those Impossible People at Work. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY 1989 6 Weisinger, Hendrie, M.D. Anger at Work: Learning the Art of Anger Management on the Job. William Morrow and Comapny, New York, NY 1995

My Experience with Technology

I have never really thought about how much I depend of technology. We got our first family computer when I was about 9 years old. At the time my brother was a computer geek (still is) and he would go buy the computer books that had programs in them where you had to type everything out to get a game on the computer to play. So when I would help or when he was teaching me, we would mix some of the programs up and see if we could come up with anything. Then it was to BBS’. That opened a whole new world!We could meet people online without actually meeting them. Now its becoming more and more complexed.. Now there is so many programs out there it’s hard to keep up. I have taught myself just about everything I do on the computer. I know Microsoft Word, Windows, Adobe reader and those are just the ones I can remember off hand.. I am pretty comfortable learning new programs and look forward to it. At this time the only one I can think of that my hinder me is Excel. Since I have only used it once I am not 100% comfortable with it yet.But I will be by the time this class is over. While I worked as a manager at a pet store we used a program called Campbell, it would keep track of the employees hours, what we sold in the store and everything in between. While I was at Staples I was learning all kinds of programs and applications. At this time the only thing that comes to mind that I would have a concern about would be not being able to ask a question and getting an answer right away. I look forward to this class and learning new applications that I can use on the computer.

NSA surveillance Essay

There has been a ton of controversy surrounding the topic of the NSA. Throughout the history of the United States we have fallen victim to terrorist attacks and we cannot blame the governments desire to be ten steps ahead rather than 10 steps behind. The NSA’s main focus is our safety, they do not exist to infringe on our constitutional rights. Liberty and security go hand-in-hand; one cannot exist without the other. People tend to approach this topic on a â€Å"national security v. civil liberties† meanwhile nothing says that both cannot exist together. It is absolutely possible to have national security while still preserving the civil liberties of the citizens. Everyone would like to live in an ideal world where the government takes an idealistic approach because that would mean leaving the people completely vulnerable to outside threats. What the people fail to realize is that modern terrorists online are a real risk to this country. They use the internet as a way to contact each other. The internet holds fatal information like how to make a bomb which anyone and everyone can have access to. Terrorists would also have access to most of the information needed about the enemy in order to make their attack successful. The media has portrayed the NSA as a negative and unnecessary agency meanwhile there is nothing negative and unnecessary about keeping this country safe. The NSA doesnâ€⠄¢t target innocent Americans one by one. The NSA works solely for our benefit and safety. If a person has nothing to hide there should be no reason to have a problem with the NSA and the things that they do. I do see how people can feel like it is an invasion of privacy but at the end of the day, would you want the NSA to check on you every once in a while or would you rather risk the possibility of a terrorist attack that can lead into millions of lives lost ultimately leading to war? The NSA is able to tap into anyone’s email and texts but they aren’t doing it with malicious intent, or to snoop in your business, they’re doing it solely for the reason of your safety and the safety of everyone else around you. Less than 30,000 people work for the NSA and there are 300 million people in the United States sending calls everyday, the chances of you getting monitored is the same as the odds of  you winning the lottery. The NSA does not care who you’re going to the movies with or what you are having for dinner. As long as you are not contacting terrorists groups or posing harm to the well being of this country you have absolutely nothing to worry about. In June of this year, whistleblower Edward Snowden, a worker for the NSA, leaked classified documents about the NSA’s procedures in online and telephone surveillance to a the Guardian, a British newspaper. Before the leak, however, no public knowledge of PRISM, the surveillance program controlled by the NSA, existed. There were no riots protesting a violation of privacy, only benefits. In fact, the NSA stopped numerous terrorist attacks before the leak. An example of this is that of Najibullah Zazi. Zazi was an Islamic extremist living in Colorado who planned to bomb the New York City subway in 2009. He was traced to Al-Qaeda operative in the Middle East and the NSA discovered information about the plot after monitoring him for only a s hort period of time. Before the leak, the NSA was not harming anyone, and saving countless numbers of lives. Since 2001, the NSA records more than 50 classified cases of thwarted terrorist plots outweighing any potential harms of surveillance. It is impossible to satisfy every person in the country. People complain when there is nothing being done and they complain when a solution is found. This leaves the government stuck between a rock and a hard place. Realistically, the NSA doesn’t affect our lives on a daily basis. The chances of the NSA getting hacked are much more slim then the chances of an attack on the country. We all have to sacrifice certain things for the well being of the country as a whole and in this case privacy is worth sacrificing for safety. I’m sure no one wants to see a repeat of the tragedy that occurred on 9/11. This country is the place we call home, and for people to say that privacy is more important than safety is selfish. The NSA has done nothing but prevent attacks on our homes. Instead of feeling like our privacy is being invaded we should feel a sense of safety. The government continues find new ways to improve then lives on the people that live in this wonderful country and I believe that they shouldn’t be scrutinized for it. National security is essential which has been shown in past experience such as the Boston bombing. There is no way the United States will ever be 100 percent protected but there are programs and agencies such as the NSA, which gives  us an advantage. The NSA is vital in the security of this country and is in place only to protect you, me and all the other citizens of the United States.

Professional Development Journal Essay

Education is an aspect where one’s cognitive and learning abilities are put to tests and pushed to its maximum abilities. It is important because education gives a man a career so he can compete with a career-oriented workplace. Education also prepares a man to efficiently and competitively perform his tasks in the field of his expertise in the real world. I have finished an A.A.S. in Telecommunications and still continuing my BS in Criminal Justice in an online school, the Kaplan University. However, I have been in and out of school because of work. Though BS in Criminal Justice is the career that I want to pursue, the need for financial aspects prohibits me to continuously go to school and finish the degree that I want. My skills in my field of interest is not trained and tested since my ten years of schooling has been in and out. The course that I have finished –   A.A.S. in Telecommunications has helped me get into a telecommunication industry   and this career just provided for my financial needs. When I was employed in chemical   industry which produces flavorings that goes with any processed food that we drink or eat, I settled with that kind of job for the reason that I needed money and that I did not finish a degree to which I can qualify to a higher position in any offices. Now I can say that the level of education that I had did not allowed me to get a good job. Thus, the jobs that I got hindered me from continuing my studies because I cannot balance work and study. I have to work to finance my study, that’s why. Also the level of education I have achieved and the jobs that I got into, helped me realized that I can learn things I thought I would never understand. Like when I was working in the chemical industry, I would not have thought that I would understand the chemical stuff there. The realization thing helped boost my self confidence that I can still learn things if I am given the chance to, though I have been in and out of school. However, taking a look at my former job’s effect in my professional growth, I can say that it has not improved at all. I stayed with my work because I needed to fulfill my financial needs, but professionally there was no growth in it. With the telecommunication industry where I have worked for eight years,   Ã‚  it has opened a new field for me and a field where I can practice the degree I got in telecommunications. I have learned about fiber optics and the pay was good that is why I wasn’t able to leave   my career there to study. In this job, I had grown professionally because I have already practiced the education I earned. But personal growth was very minimal. My learning abilities were put on a test, but the satisfaction I got from my job was nominal. The reason is that my line of interest is still in criminal justice, and so I can only be satisfied if I practice the field that I am totally interested in. Therefore, I have come to realize that in getting the course and career that I want to get into, I should go for the field I am most interested in. Be educated about it by getting a degree and practicing my career after. Only this can give me the maximum personal and professional growth. I have been taking up BS in Criminal Justice online and have been in and out of it for the past ten years. It has not helped my professional and personal growth in any way. I had jobs to sustain my financial needs for the moment, and when the salary is good I stay with the company. My experiences in different jobs I had was rewarding in a way that I was able to learn new things and that learning is good for me when given the chance to. So I can say that when I be given a chance to finally finish my criminal justice course, I’d be doing good in learning and finally may be able to practice it in the field that I want.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In doing this, I have discovered that employed people with low salary and are not satisfied with their jobs have these reasons why they still stay in the work they have. One is, lack of education, and even if they wanted to study, education is expensive and they still have to settle other financial deadlines they have. Another is, they might have taken the wrong choice of career. At some point in people’s life, they are too young to know what they want, that when they get a course in college, they just at times trust their instincts or what they think is cool. Next reason is that there are no other options for them, following reasons for this may vary depending on the kind of life a person has, or the difficulties they encounter. Professional Development Journal is a record of all the activities, seminars, awards and achievements, scholarships, workshops, trainings and education that a person attended that would help him track down his qualifications when trying to prepare for a resume, get employed and succeed in his chosen career. It is important to keep a record of these because it would be a great help especially in reaching a qualification or standard when applying for work or scholarship. A sample format of Professional Development Journal: Name:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Age: Office Address:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Phone No. Permanent/Home Address:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Phone No. Course of study: Major:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Minor:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Concentration: List down seminars attended, workshops, organizational activities and positions. Specify the date of event. List down awards, recognitions and scholarships received. Specify the date of event. Career Development: Employment while in school, internship, duty/responsibility, start/end date. Interview questions (may be included). Have you ever planned a whole event by yourself? How was it? Describe briefly. What is your plan of action to the members who refuse to follow rules and do not participate in activities? When was the moment where you experienced being in an ethical conflict? What did you do? Specify References. (Do not use a friend’s or a relative’s name and ask permission before listing.) Work References: (Include company name, position, scope of work, date started and date of the end of contract.) Non-work References: (Include name, title, company, address and contact numbers.) Reference Professional Development Journal. January 30, 2008 retrieved from www.philau.edu/career/parents/documents/ProfessionalDevelopmentJournal_000.doc

Nike in Southeast Asia

Abstract Nike is the world leader in the manufacturing of sports wear and gear. So at first, Nike didn't pay attention to the criticism it was receiving because it was coming from a small group of activists, although later on, the social pressure became very high that Nike was forced to take some measures to quiet down the public who wanted to know what was going on. In this paper we will examine the various difficulties Nike faced as they tried to balance both, the company performance and good corporate citizenship. We will also discuss what I would have done if I was in that position.Summary Nike, was founded in 1964 by Phil Knight, Nike's business model was developed by Knight while attending Stanford Business School in the early 1960's. In 1998, Nike was the leader in the sports shoe industry, with annual sales of $9. 5 billion and a 40% share of the American sneaker market. It became a lightning rod for protest when alleged â€Å"sweatshop† conditions where happening in S outheast Asia. May 1998 is when Phil Knight, the founder and CEO, admitted that â€Å"the Nike product has became synonymous with slave wages, forced overtime, and arbitrary abuse. What people couldn’t understand was how Nike could get associated with deplorable labor practices. The strategy that Knight developed involved outsourcing all manufacturing to contractors in low wage countries and pouring the companies resources in high profile marketing. They where trying to take the blame off by saying that â€Å"We don’t know the first thing of manufacturing. We are marketers and designers. † They did manage to be marketing a lot by placing the Nike â€Å"swoosh† on the uniforms of athletes such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.When manufacturing started it was done in Japan, but as wages rose, they transferred production to Korea and Taiwan. Later on, in 1982 more than 80% of Nike shoes where made in those two countries. But once again as wages went up th ey moved to Southeast Asia, by 1990 most production was based in Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. Young Indonesian woman who were working in Korean-owned plants under contract with Nike started at 15 cents an hour. Mandatory overtime was often imposed, and workers with experience might make $2 for an 11-hour day.In 1991 Indonesian wage went up from $1. 06 to $1. 24, only two cents above what the government calculated as necessary â€Å"minimum physical needs. † Workers often toiled in crowed, poorly ventilated factories, surrounded by machinery and toxic chemical all because the government was eager to attract foreign investment. Nike's initial response was to deny any responsibility for the practices of its contractors. They said that these were depended contractors from which Nike merely buys shoes from.That the workers are not Nike employees, and that their wages are above legal minimum and the prevailing market rate. When asked about labor strife in some factories supplying Nike, John Woodman, the Company's general manager for Indonesia said â€Å" I don’t know that I need to know. † he defended Nike by saying that yes they are low wages, but they have given jobs to thousands of people who wouldn’t be working otherwise. At the end of the case it says he might have added giving employment to Michael Jordan, whose reported $2 million fee in 1992 was larger than the payroll for that year in Indonesia.I don't agree with the way Nike handled this case, there where other ways of taking care of the situation not just by saying that they didn’t know and trying to wash their hands from the ongoing dilemma. If I was to be in their shoes I would have been looking into what was going on in the factories since they are handling our product. Yes they did save some money but at what cost, their name was tarnished for a while and having people that supposedly didn’t know what was going on didn’t help them at all.One of the fe w things that I would have done was gave the workers some sort of incentive since, I supposedly didn’t know what was going on in the factory. Yes you want to save money but you don’t want to lose your consumers for such a reason like this. That is where ethics comes in and they have to create a meeting and figure out a way to look like the good guys once again by helping solve the problem and prevent it from happening again, like setting up certain laws that their subcontractors should go by.Through reading this case study I became aware that many things go on with a product, behind the consumers eyes that sometimes aren’t very ethical of the company that is selling to the consumer. It also teaches that no matter what, when a company is trying to cut expenses and they push the envelope a little to much a big chaotic scene can happen. Which if not handled right away can lead to the falling of the company that might have taken many years to build up.

A sapaaparete peace Essays - Phineas, Finny, Phillips Exeter Academy

sapaaparete peace fferences: Gene is more scholarly (Gene is near the top of his class, Phineas average in his studies) , Finny is (Phineas) the better athlete, Finny is more self-confident (able to step outside convention and challenge authority) Similarities: there are not a great deal of similiarties between the two teenagers. A similarity lies only in the fact that Gene assumes that his "friend" is as envious of his scholarly abilities as much as he is envious of Finny's athletic prowess. Of course, they have their ages and school in common, too. But Gene is severly lacking in self confidence and maturity. Finny may lack maturity as well, but his is a benevolent immaturity, while Gene's is decidely malevolent. "As Ronald Weber writes in an article from Studies in Short Fiction, "It is Phineas's innocence that Gene cannot endure. As long as he can believe Phineas shares his enmity, he can find relief, but with this assurance gone, he stands condemned before himself and must strike out against his tormentor."

Financial strengths and weaknesses of fashion design enterprises in Essay

Financial strengths and weaknesses of fashion design enterprises in Italy - the threat from China and the opportunities - Essay Example China entered the market shyly, a small nibble at the market but grew into a solid business. China flooded Europe with low cost shirts, pants, underwear, socks and shoes. But how can Chinese manufacturers of low cost product threat high fashion of Italy? Ultra-cheap clothes, welcomed by consumers and retailers, undermine the fashion manufacturers, already challenged by the arrival of fast-fashion chains such as H&M and Zara, whose products are often made in the Far East. As Li Edelkoort, the respected fashion forecaster, warns, the Chinese whirlwind will flatten the fashion world as we know it and change radically its familiar landscape. â€Å"Everyone is putting eggs in one basket - China - and that is potentially devastating for our cultural heritage." (Menkes 2005) While producers are struggling to keep underpriced clothes from flooding the Italian market, designer label brands are waging another battle - against imitations, or "knockoffs" as they are known in the trade. (Italian designers 2005) Most of fakes come China or other Asian countries with the low labor costs and no concern for social services, welfare and pollution control. Chinese products are dirty cheap. They underestimate the products to the level of prices for food. Some do not see a tragedy in this situation. What Italian companies need is to be flexible, creative, innovative. Their weapons are know-how and deeply felt luxury. Another opportunity which Italian companies can employ to their benefit is the size of the companies.

Applied Econometrics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Applied Econometrics - Assignment Example causes a reduction of median housing price by 0.028 in the first variant, a reduction of 0.027 in the second variant, and a reduction of 0.027 in the third variant. In the third variable, nitrogen oxide concentrations in parts per hundred million (NOX), the coefficients are 1.479 and 1.529 in the second and third variants respectively. These figures suggest that 1 percent change in nitrogen oxide concentration increases the medium housing price by 1.479 in the second variant and by 1.529 in the third variant. Beta coefficient is the measure of the sensitivity of the estimates in influencing the median housing price. In the estimates, the beta coefficient is the slope of the model summarized into ÃŽ ²0, ÃŽ ²1, ÃŽ ²4, ÃŽ ²3, and ÃŽ ²2. Normally, the coefficients would imply 1 percentage change in the estimate 1 and 2 would cause an increase of 0.566 and 0.0261. However, using the beta approach, the two coefficients are below, suggesting that they are below the median housing price. 6. Suppose in model (3) I added in the variable NOX DCHAS, resulting in ln(MVi) = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1RMi + ÃŽ ²2 ln(DISi) +ÃŽ ²3NOXi + ÃŽ ²4DCHAS;i + ÃŽ ²5 NOX DCHAS +Æ i . How would the interpretation of Æ 3 change in model (3) after the inclusion of this variable? What is the interpretation of Æ 5 in this model? 9. Given that the BP and White tests yield the same conclusion regarding the presence of heteroskedasticity, does this imply that the BP test is as good as the White test? Explain your reasoning in detail. Heteroskedasticity implies to the circumstance when the variability of a variable is unequal across the range of values of a second variable that predicts it. In this circumstance, it means that the Bp test is as good as the white test since in the presence of heteroskedasticity, it is expected to be different for variability, which is not the case. Heteroskedasticity does not necessarily imply an error, but only imply variableness, i.e. variability of a variable is unequal across the range of

The classical economists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The classical economists - Essay Example He does make a clear explanation of how the market system does dictate the nature of the prices to maintain the competition. When the demands of any product are high, the price will always escalate. The tight competition nature of any partaker in the market prevents any society from being exploited by the sellers, as they have to maintain a relatively reasonable price. Market laws also provide a clear regulation of the producers’ incomes. A business that is fetching immense profits will tend to attract a large number of people. When there is an overproduction of the same product, the cost goes down. Adam also did foresee two critical laws that act to curb greed in the market, the law of accumulation and the law of productivity. Accumulating profits are useful in purchasing new labor and machinery. Profits may subside due to labor and machinery demands. Increasing the population of the workers again is likely to lead to shoot out of the profits again. All these laws were illustrative of the kind of life that did exist in England in 1776 (Heilbroner,

Diabetes and ways to prevent diabetes Research Paper

Diabetes and ways to prevent diabetes - Research Paper Example It will expound on these areas to bring out the real situation of diabetes in the world. More than 20 million people in the United States suffer from the diabetes disease, accounting for over eight percent of the whole population. Research has shown that there are three types of diabetes, where all of them have their own causes and occurrence. This disease affects all people regardless of their ethnicity, race, age and gender. With the high prevalence of diabetes in the modern society, it is important to gain knowledge about its causes to help in its prevention and control (1). The main causes of diabetes are either absolute lack of production of the insulin in the body or inability to process the insulin produced. The body requires energy to function well. It receives this energy in the form of starches and sugars, found in the foods consumed. The body produces the insulin, the hormone that changes food into energy (Cook, 2). There are two major types of diabetes. The first type of diabetes, type 1, occurs due to deficiency of the insulin after the destruction of the pancreatic b-cell islets. The type 2 diabetes happens due to insulin resistance or irregular insulin emission (Zimmet & Shaw, 782). Type two of diabetes accounts for 90 to 95% of diabetes cases. In addition, type 2 diabetes accounts for the recent epidemic outbreak of diabetes (Cheng, 2). In addition to type 1 and type 2 diabetes, there is exists the Gestational diabetes, which commonly occur during pregnancy. There are high chances of women who experiences gestational to develop diabetes type 2 after the pregnancy. The treatment of diabetes will depend on the severity of the disease (Case, 4). There are other unclassified types of diabetes caused by particular genetic imperfections of beta-cell function, insulin action, drugs or chemicals or diseases of the pancreas. These unclassified types of

Compare and contrast the effects of the First and Second World Wars on Coursework

Compare and contrast the effects of the First and Second World Wars on the international system - Coursework Example trend of the international system has had no parallel since creation Cantor and Land (1985); Tuttle (1988); Goemans (2000); Karsmakers (2003) and ; the combined effects of the two wars changed the shape of the international system than all other recorded wars in history combined. Kvasnicka and Bethmann (2007) believe that posterity’s perfect understanding of the similar and combined effects of these wars can be enhanced by making a holistic view on the effects these wars had on migration, global population sex ratio and labor availability, and world order. Each of these perspectives would now be looked in context to see how the effects of the two wars were similar on them. In his book An Illustrated History of the First World War, Keegan (2001) maintains that the world’s population knew an unprecedented trend in location and relocation during WWI. This location and relocation was usually from one country to another or from one city/town to another. Such movement was usually to flee from danger from one part of the world to another part of the world where danger was not so imminent. According to Keegan, such movement was ever feasible because, although this war was termed a world war, it practically did not involve all the countries of the world per se. Infact, some authors like Keegan himself, Banks (2002); Gilbert (2004) have persistently held that the first world war was a European war, arguing that the US role in the war was more of an arbitration or mediating one. So some countries remained neutral and were favorable destinations for people to move from war-torn countries like Germany, Britain, France and Belgium. Meanwhile, contributions from authors on the Second World War pointing to the same issue of migration abound. Karsmakers (2003); Kvasnicka and Bethmann (2007) and Cantor and Land (1985) revealed that the bombings of the second world war made people to leave their homes to seek refuge elsewhere more that in a y recorded period in history. Such

Family Strengths, Functions and Structure Coursework

Family Strengths, Functions and Structure - Coursework Example Family accord contributes to the strength of family since it allows for competency when dealing with conflicts within the family. Factors such as open communication, commitment, spirituality, and appreciation also contribute to the strength of a family. Cultural beliefs have resulted in the change in the functions of various families. For example, in my culture the role of the family is viewed as that of ensuring the family name grows hence decisions are made in terms of how they will impact on the family name and not how they will impact on family members such as children. Another example of how culture has influenced families changing their view on the functions of a family is where in some cultures children are groomed to take care of their parents. Family structure is what makes up the family in terms of membership. There are various types of family structures. A nuclear family structure is one that is traditional where it is comprised of a father, a mother and their children. A single parent family structure is where a family is composed of children with one parent either a father or a mother. Finally, an extended family structures is one where a family is composed of various relatives. For example, living with ones grandparents and parents contributes to an extended family. Early childhood programs play an important role in families in that they introduce the children to the external world enabling them to venture outside the comfort of their

Concept of health (dementia) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Concept of health (dementia) - Essay Example arteries in the Heart are responsible for carrying the pure oxygenated blood and when it gets narrowed down due to the building of fatty substances on its walls, enough blood is not pumped in and out of the heart. This leads to symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath and in extreme cases, it leads to Heart attack. Coronary Heart Disease is called by different names such as Coronary Artery disease, Atherosclerotic Heart Disease and causes a combination of symptoms. The most important condition caused is called Angina which blocks blood flow in heart. Limitation of blood flow in turn causes a condition called ischemia in myocardial cells. When myocardial cells starve and die of oxygen it leads to a condition called myocardial infarction and there will be numbness in the body which is called as paresthesia. This disease is of particular interest because in England alone it kills more than 110,000 people annually. The disease does not have a big history as it was discovered very late after many changes have happened to the eating and working habits of people. CHD is also the most important cause of death in the US where more than 15 million people have some form of this condition. Also, according to Guinness Book of Records, Northern Ireland is the country with the most occurrences of CHD in the world. CHD is not biased with gender affecting both males and females equally. Although men in the 40’s are more susceptible than women, it gets evened out because as women get older, their risk is equally high as that of men. From 1984, more women have died of this heart disease than men. Already one in three females die of CHD while one in twenty five females die of Breast cancer. Forty to Fifty percent of women older than 45 have high levels of Blood pressure called Hypertension and high levels of Cholesterol which are the well-documented risk factors of heart diseases while smoking is the most common and preventable reason for cardio-vascular diseases in

Effects of the use of web-based tools in Blended Learning Essay Example for Free

Effects of the use of web-based tools in Blended Learning Essay Technology has made a deep impact on all aspects of human lives ranging from communication to learning and enhancing individual performance. The conventional classroom is slowly being replaced by computer based training and online learning environments that has penetrated remote corners of the globe via the Internet. The use of information and communication technologies in education has transformed traditional methods of learning and teaching practices. The personalized learning environment offered by the online medium has great potentials and can influence the learning process to a considerable extent. Technology has been a great enabler of transforming and re-defining the way a system operates and the wide variety of applications that it can support. Many web based learning environments use innovative technologies that have revolutionized the learning process over the past few years. Distance learning through the use of collaborative tools and technologies available has made significant breakthroughs in the field of learning. In the past few decades a number of tools and technologies have emerged that has enabled the users to adopt distance learning courses and training departments are using it to provide cost effective means of implementing learning and development programs for their employees spread across the globe. The online learning environment is supported by various types of tools that provide high level of interactivity and collaborative features enabling participants to exchange messages, files, videos and presentations. This kind of technology is increasingly being used in a wide range of applications ranging from facilitating electronic discussion between students to enabling distance learning programs through web conferencing. The revolution in communication and information technology has had a profound effect on the teaching and learning process. The change is visible in developing learning communities online. Most of the countries and even developing economies are stressing on the use of computers as an instructional medium. E learning encompasses a wide variety of tools and technologies that can be used to stimulate the learning process in an individual. With the help of this technology a variety of online learning services are made available ranging from online searches, tutorials, college courses, and professional courses to professional training and individual development programs. The E learning model adopts high level of audio and video interaction integrated with graphics and animation tool to present the learning module in an attractive format. Educational institutions and business organizations are increasingly adopting the e learning model for learning and training purposes. E learning is being increasingly used as a solution for delivering online learning regardless of physical locations or time constraints. The whole world has become an increasingly connected global community that can share ideas and exchange information through the Internet. More people across the globe are turning towards the latest technology gadgets that have made communication channels smoother and faster. It has proved to be a big resource for individuals who would like to learn a new skill or train themselves in new fields while pursuing their current employment. Hence, E learning field has provided new and better learning opportunities extending its reach beyond university campus and corporate learning centres. Blended learning – an overview Blended learning has been described as a â€Å"phrase introduced by the distance learning community in recognizing the value of synchronous learning activities, like face to face interactions with instructors and collaborative work with peers, as complements to activities performed asynchronously by individual learners† (Howard et al. , 2006). The blended learning system includes both web based learning and traditional classroom learning environment. The web based learning system provides the students with self paced learning modules that they can pursue at leisure and convenience depending on their learning capacity. This learning environment also provides E learning tools that enable live discussions and online learning programs. The conventional classroom settings are used to clarify doubts and queries regarding the course content and student progress. An effective learning environment facilitates interaction between the learners that increases the scope to exchange ideas and opinions, share experiences and assess their level of understanding on the subject matter. A classroom environment provides this kind of face to face interaction enabling the students sharing the same learning goals to coordinate with each other, communicate their ideas and information. Jonassen (1988) has stated in his works that the effectiveness of any learning environment is based on the types and levels of cognitive and metacognitive activity engendered in the learners. It is widely accepted that learning is enhanced in instructional settings where students are engaged in processing personally relevant content and are reflective during the learning process. Learners that participate in active learning activities find learning a more pleasurable and increasingly effective than engaging in monotonous lecture sessions. Online learning provides the learners with the scope to explore the topics and study related theories that increase their level of understanding. The key ingredient to a successful computer based learning application is its ability to interact with the student and direct the flow of learning in accordance with the student capability. The visibility and presentation of information through attention grabbing graphics and multimedia tool make this a more effective learning platform. Once the attention of the student is on the learning tool the application needs to stimulate the learner’s curiosity that in turn leads to search for answers and in-depth study of the learning module. The most effective teaching method involves a high level of interaction between the teacher and the student. A dedicated teacher is one who understands the student’s learning capacity and his shortcomings and guides him through with effective feedback. A two-way communication between the teacher and the student is very effective in the learning process. Computer based learning applications are continually striving to achieve the human to human interactivity level and have been quite successful in this venture with the aid of multimedia based technologies. Blended learning combines the positive aspects of both conventional classroom learning and online learning to provide an enriching learning experience to the students. Web-based tools There are wide varieties of computer-mediated communications technologies that enable manage and support E learning. These tools have facilitated extensive collaboration and communication protocols providing an enriched learning environment. Some of these tools are email, chat, video conferencing, web conferencing, newsgroup, blogs, forums, virtual classrooms, and message boards. Synchronous and Asynchronous tools â€Å"E learning is commonly referred to the international use of networked information and communications technology in teaching and learning. It refers to educational processes that utilize information and communications technology to mediate asynchronous as well as synchronous learning and teaching activities† (Naidu, 2006). Both synchronous and asynchronous tools can be used effectively to communicate, exchange and form ideas and information on a specific subject matter. Synchronous E learning is live, real time facilitated instruction, and learning oriented interaction that enables learners to use electronic means to collaborate and participate in live forums. The root of synchronous E learning has been derived from three main influences: the classroom, the media, and the conference. The virtual classroom uses highly interactive forms of synchronous E learning tools to simulate a conventional classroom environment. White-board, discussion rooms, and break out areas are some of the concepts used to enhance interactivity between learners in a virtual classroom. Naidu (2006) also observes that most of the applications are built around the synchronous learning model that makes use of tools like virtual learning environment, rapid E learning, web casting, web conferencing, video conferencing, webinars, live E learning, and e conferencing. These synchronous E learning tools help in connecting dispersed learners, facilitating real time interaction and collaboration, fostering a sense of immediacy and co-presence, developing a learning community, and enabling access to subject matter expert resources. This kind of learning environment rules out gender and personality dominance that tends to overpower in a traditional classroom setting. It encourages learners towards better teamwork, collaboration skills, strong motivation and extended peer support (Naidu, 2006). Asynchronous tools like emails, electronic forums, online discussions, blogs, provide a platform for students and teachers to discuss ideas and opinions on a specific topic. This form of E learning is â€Å"commonly facilitated by media such as email and discussion boards, supports work relations among learners with teachers, even when participants cannot be online at the same time† (Hrastinski, 2008). This provides a form of flexibility to the learners since they can access learning materials and information any time according to their convenience. The learners can log on to an E learning environment and access training materials, receive and send messages to peers and tutors. In higher education, learners can pursue online courses while taking care of other commitments. Asynchronous E learning tools have the advantage of enabling users to access information and pursue their subject matter with greater degree of concentration allowing the mind to process the information at leisure. However, it also has some significant drawbacks that include greater learner discipline since the learner has to take initiatives to login and make use of the information and tasks involved in learning process. This kind of learning process is more impersonal and isolated as compared to synchronous learning tools that enable live interaction (Ashley, 2003).