Friday, November 29, 2019

Key Success Factors of Apple Inc Essay Example

Key Success Factors of Apple Inc Paper Abstract Introduction – Introducing Apple Inc. (One of the largest company in computer industry), and the meaning of Key Success Factors as well as the main objective of the Research Paper. Relation to Previous Research – By analyzing different researches, we can have a whole picture of Apples success and see whether there have any managerial implication. Proposed Methods and Reflections – By using a questionnaire with different questions to respondents via Internet, we can analyze the data to reflect Apples recent key success factors. Conclusion – Brief summary of the key success factors of Apple Inc. which make it have a market share of 14% in U. S. and 3% in the world. Introduction Apple Inc. is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronic and related software products. Its best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of personal computers, the iPod (portable media player), and the iPhone. The software products include the Mac OS X operating system, iTunes media browser and the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) The personal computer industry is characterized by the following features: it is highly competitive, computer companies abide aggressive pricing practices that causes downward pressure on gross margins, another feature is frequent introduction of new products, computers, peripherals and accessories have got in a great extant short product life cycles, there are a lot of industry standards and patents, in fact, all makers apply strategies of continual improvement in product price/performance characteristics, if any company has invented any technological advancements, another one rapidly adopts it, besides, prices are very sensitive on the part of consumers, and it is likely, there is and lots of competitors in the market. We will write a custom essay sample on Key Success Factors of Apple Inc specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Key Success Factors of Apple Inc specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Key Success Factors of Apple Inc specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In order to achieve those results Apple Inc. has got today the company has to pay attention to all these above described factors which determine success. According to A. A. Thompson, Jr. , A. J. Strickland and J. E. Gamble in Crafting and Executing Strategy (2005), key success factors are so important to future competitive success that all firms in the industry must be competent at performing or achieving them or risk becoming and industry also-ran. An industry’s key success factors are those competitive factors that most affect competitors’’ ability to prosper in the marketplace, which include particular strategy elements, product attributes, resources, competencies, competitive capabilities, and market achievements. In my research paper, I will try to review and analyze key factors of the Apple’s success, try to compare results of several existed researches on this issue with the one that have been done by me and discuss about both. My research has been made by means of a questionnaire via the Internet (see the Appendices). One supposes that the success of the company was brought about because of its innovations and internal organizational impacts. Relation to Previous Research There are a lot of researches which refer to the issue of the success of Apple Inc. in mass medias, the Internet and economic literature. All of them point out in some way or other different factors of the success. My research is to get the whole picture of Apples success by analyze different researches and facts with applying strategic theories that I have learnt on this program. Let us consider some of them. According to the article â€Å"Apple Computer, Inc. † (Apple Computer, Inc. Case Study) The author calls factors of early success of the company. Among them there were the interface â€Å"window† introduced to customers (though it has been later borrowed by Microsoft), the strong organization structure of the company which consisted of designing professions with high work discipline and morality, next, one of the main factors was, in fact, is the deep market penetration with the educational community in the U. S. A. and some others. As for the today’s success of the company, one can example the results of the research from the article â€Å"Apple Computers, Inc. Comprehensive Business Analysis†. The author of this work confirms that Apple Inc. is a successful maker because of the following elements of its strategy. First of all, it is due to the company’s constant innovations (virtually, the company is called one of the most innovative one in the country). Second, products of Apple are stylish, are characterized by usability and increased speed and memory. Besides, Apple is a company with a very strong brand, in other words, is good positioned. About this fact the following research speaks — â€Å"From computer geek to style icon† (Behind Apples Strategy: Be Second to Market) The researcher is discussing about the importance of the brand revitalizing as one of the most efficient factors of the success. Having narrowed its followers’ share to a â€Å"Specialist† brand, the company has returned its former reputation as the most fashionable computer maker in the market. Due to much attention to its customers, the company has created its own base of loyal ones who, as witness some sources, has great expectation about future company outputs. In other word they are confident of quality of Apple’s devices. This confidence alongside with effectively paying off all debts has led to overvaluing of the company in the financial markets. One of important factors of the success is the one which gives the company the possibility to compete in the market. It is margin expansion. Due to large reserves of higher prices the company, in fact, has got room to survive during price wars with other rivals. According to the article â€Å"Apple and PCs, both given Up for Dead, Are Rising Anew† (Archives The New York Times Friday, May 23, 2008) the core impulse of the development of the company in the early period and after 1998 was the return of Steve Jobs to it. The team headed by Jobs understands that the main preconditions of the company success are â€Å"simplicity, branding and style†. The new staff created after Apple Inc. has got problems with its finances, is a source of creativity and non-standard thinking that lead to constant innovations due to a great share of research and development costs. Besides the mentioned factors, one can call the one referred to high quality of sales (for example, when in Palo Alto, Calif. , in the store they have found out that the companys innovative iMac computer did not work with a newly designed Epson printer, in a matter of days a software patch was created and widely distributed via the Internet that helped to combat customers’ complaints). Also researchers point out many novelty from Apple — iPod, iPhone, iMac and others which have got demand due to the creative approach to their production, due to the fact all these product have got their own names â€Å"iPod†, â€Å"iPhone†, â€Å"iMac† (without the article â€Å"the†). Proposed methods and reflections In order to gather our own data about what main factors of Apple Inc. ’s success, we will work out a questionnaire with different questions to respondents via the Internet. This kind of research was chosen because of its simplicity for understanding and doing conclusions, because of the possibility of the existence of control questions, and because of rapidity of gathering of information. The first question can reflect about the Apple Inc. s recently breaking into a different market niche, for instance, the portable music segment — with iPod and iTunes software. Nowadays in this market the company has achieved 90% of all sales in the U. S. A. (according to â€Å"Apple Computers, Inc. Comprehensive Business Analysis†). This share of the market, in fact, allows the Apple’s management to set its own rules of competitive oppositions. Such monopolistic state creates the possibility to charge new prices that is used by the company in full. Now existed competitors are not able to create something to surpass the Apple’s product. Next, as for the question No2, on the ground of these answers, one can conclude that all these factors have got their weight in the success of the company. But the main two of the three are easiness of use of its computers and sales via the Internet. As for the last factor, there is a need to say that Apple sells its products via its improved distribution network in the U. S. A. and worldwide. In particular, the company is using the sites Amazon. com and Buy. com that gives the possibility of home shopping. In this context (of sales), we have to note about the company’s retail strategy. According to the article â€Å"Apple Retail Stores: the 9-success factors† (Apple Retail Stores: the 9-success factors, December 23, 2007), Apple Inc. attracts about 9000 visitors a week in each of its stores in the U. S. A. Besides the article numbers other factors of the success, they are: a strong concept, new and exciting products, enough cash on the balance sheet (that during the period of the company’s collapse was, in fact, one of the most crucial problems), excellent marketing and brand name (about it we have noted), excellent supply chain management (it gives the possibility not to depend on one of the suppliers, in other words, not to be in the situation of monopoly), relevant information systems, excellent shop locations, a unique solution-focused store design, and outstanding store operation to deliver â€Å"Fantastic experience†. If to speak more about the last factor, according to the article â€Å"Mac sales corral 14% of U. S. computer market† (Keizer G. , â€Å"Mac sales corral 14% of U. S. computer market† http://www. computerworld. com/action/article. do? command=viewArticleBasicarticleId=9069298) the company’s store personnel offers customers complete buying experience† that, to some executives’ mind, is the most important factors of the success. As for the third question, â€Å"To what extent does the existence of professional designers at the company assist its success? † In fact, it means what many other researches confirm that, in particular, Steve Jobs’ returning to the company in 1997 became an impulse of revitalizing and give the possibility to create a new team of designers which set a milestone of creativity, an innovation approach and research and development costs. As for the fourth question, it can reflect whether Apple Inc. due to a wide range of above mentioned and other factors has got a base of loyal customers who are confident of the company, of its products and expect novelties from it in spite of relatively higher than in competitors prices. One has to note that the bulk of this base of customers is the educational sector, which the company has relied in the past and rely now on. And finally, as for the fifth question â€Å"What do you think of relatively higher prices of Apple’s products? † So, we can observe that whether the law â€Å"high price — high quality† works in the case of Apple or not. The company has got a strong brand name, long history of presence in the market, is famous for its innovations and novelties, and corresponding quality of products. Besides, we have asked some open questions about key factors of the Apple’s success and got the following results: if to group them — thought leadership, network innovations, human factors engineering, continuous improvements. If to generalize these answers, we will get similar conclusions: one of the main factors of the company’s success alongside with the presence of creative approach within the team of designers is constant innovations and RD costs which rank the company as the one of the most innovative in the country. Conclusion In spite of particularities of the computer market, Apple Inc. has managed to outlive during the period of its collapse at the beginning of the 1990s and achieve a remarkable success. There are many key factors which have determined and determine such results (Apple’s market share is 14% in the U. S. A. and 3% in the world — according to the article â€Å"Mac sales corral 14% of U. S. computer market†). They are innovations, â€Å"buying experience† at stores, a great amount of RD costs, deep penetration with the

Monday, November 25, 2019

7 Different Types of Crimes

7 Different Types of Crimes A crime is defined as any act that is contrary to legal code or laws. There are many different types of crimes, from crimes against persons to victimless crimes and violent crimes to white collar crimes. The study of crime and deviance is a large subfield within sociology, with much attention paid to who commits which types of crimes and why. Crimes Against Persons Crimes against persons also called personal crimes, include murder, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery. Personal crimes are unevenly distributed in the United States, with young, urban, poor, and racial minorities both more often affected by these crimes and arrested for them  than white, middle- and upper-class people are. Crimes Against Property Property crimes involve the theft of property without bodily harm, such as burglary, larceny, auto theft, and arson. Like personal crimes, young, urban, poor, and racial minorities are arrested for these crimes more than others. Hate Crimes Hate crimes are crimes against persons or property that are committed while invoking prejudices of  race, gender or gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. The rate of hate crimes in the U.S. remains fairly constant from year to year, but there have been a few events that have caused surges in hate crimes. In 2016, the election of Donald Trump was followed by an uptick in hate crimes. Crimes Against Morality Crimes against morality are also called victimless crimes because there is no  complainant or victim. Prostitution, illegal gambling, and illegal drug use are all examples of victimless crimes. White-Collar Crime White-collar crimes are crimes committed by people of high social status who commit their crimes in the context of their occupation. This includes embezzling (stealing money from one’s employer), insider trading, tax evasion, and other violations of income tax laws. White-collar crimes generally generate less concern in the public mind than other types of crime, however, in terms of total dollars, white-collar crimes are even more consequential for society. For example, the Great Recession can be understood as in part the result of a variety of white-collar crimes committed within the home mortgage industry. Nonetheless, these crimes are generally the least investigated and least prosecuted because they are protected by a combination of privileges of race, class, and gender. Organized Crime Organized crime is committed by structured groups typically involving the distribution and sale of illegal goods and services. Many people think of the Mafia when they think of organized crime, but the term can refer to any group that exercises control over large illegal enterprises (such as the drug trade, illegal gambling, prostitution, weapons smuggling, or money laundering). A key sociological concept in the study or organized crime is that these industries are organized along the same lines as legitimate businesses and take on a corporate form. There are typically senior partners who control profits, employees who manage and work for the business, and clients who buy the goods and services that the organization provides. A Sociological Look at Crime Arrest data show a clear pattern of arrests in terms of race, gender, and class. For instance, as mentioned above, young, urban, poor, and racial minorities are arrested and convicted more than others for personal and property crimes. To sociologists, the question posed by this data is whether this reflects actual differences in committing crimes among different groups, or whether this reflects differential treatment by the criminal justice system. Studies show that the answer is â€Å"both.† Certain groups are in fact more likely to commit crimes than others because crime​ often looked to as a survival strategy, is linked to patterns of inequality in the United States. However, the process of prosecution in the criminal justice system is also significantly related to patterns of race, class, and gender inequality. We see this in the official arrest statistics, in treatment by the police, in sentencing patterns, and in studies of imprisonment.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

International Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Law - Essay Example As to ancient Rome, it was an empire that absorbed many of the western independent nations. When the empire fell, however, many of the rules and laws it imposed in commerce and in other areas also faded away. Nevertheless, many of the rules and principles of international law took root in the ancient Greco-Roman systems although such rules and principles were often employed as rules of religion and laws for international relations of one state with foreign states forming part of its municipal law. A. Ancient Greece Although the Greeks did not foster close relations with its neighbors, it had to deal with its components, the city-states, which are independent from each other. Each of the city-states (or polis) comprising Greece had their respective economic and political systems. Each was considered a religious community and the rules and laws that characterized their relationships were called religious obligations and not laws (Bederman 2001:33) Some of these were: the avoidance of w ar; if unavoidable, should be commenced only through a declaration; heralds or messengers not to be harmed; fallen soldiers in battles entitled to burial; in the event of a city’s capture, refugees in temples to be spared; prisoners of war cannot be killed, but only ransomed, enslaved or exchanged; priests and seers also to be spared (Kaczorowska 2010:8). Moreover, it was Greece that first developed a highly sophisticated system of arbitration and proxeny (state hospitality), which is the basis of diplomatic immunity (Kaczorowska 2010:2). Associations and federations were also periodically formed among city-states for the purpose of establishing non-interference agreements, full citizenship grants, offensive and defensive alliances or for religious reasons. With respect to other states, however, ancient Greece was in a perpetual state of war due to its experience in the Persian Wars in 500-479 BCE, when Persia invaded and captured its colonies (Bederman 36-37). B. Ancient Rom e Rome, which is considered the most influential of all ancient civilizations, entered into treaties with neighboring Latin states, but once it started to expand its empire it employed the principles of jus fetiale and jus gentium in conducting relations with foreign states. Jus fetiale are religious laws that governed wars. Wars must be underpinned by a reason, otherwise they are unjust. Jus gentium or the law of tribe, on the other hand, governed Rome’s conduct with non-Romans and the conduct of Roman citizens with non-Roman citizens. This body of laws was made up of norms and concepts that were believed to be common and acceptable to both Romans and non-Romans. It primarily regulated the relations between private individuals and was first crafted by the praetor peregrinus or special magistrate. Jus gentium has greatly influenced the European legal systems and public international law (Kaczorowska 2010:3). In addition, the doctrine of natural law, believed to have anteceded human rights, was first created by the Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece and was subsequently adopted by the Romans. This doctrine is underpinned by the existence of right reason as something inherent in man and nature and therefore, capable of being discovered (Kaczorowska 2010:9). C. Conclusion: Greco-Roman Influence on the UN Charter The avoidance of war as well as the principle of just war, which first appeared in ancient Greece as religious obligations and in ancient

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

E-commerce Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

E-commerce Operations Management - Essay Example Since the first trimester of 2001 when the US e-commerce sales were $7931 million the overall sales increase by 242% six years later for a total $27,092 million online sales in the 1st quarter of 2007 (Plunkett Research, 2007). The largest retail firm in the world, Wal-Mart, caught on to this trend early and set up an internal and external ecommerce business infrastructure. This paper discusses e-commerce solution for customers and for internal business transaction by showcasing the capabilities of the multinational firm Wal-Mart Corporation. An electronic platform that allows business to interact with each other is a business to business network (B2B). A business to business application or e-biz is the exchange of products, information and services among business entities through electronic medium to achieve ecommerce transactions (Searchcio, 2001). The early emphasis of e-commerce was targeting business to customer transaction which has grown tremendously, but B2B have surprisingly become on the biggest forces driving the world ecommerce growth. B2B is a way to achieve significant savings in supply chain activities such as purchases and sales of product and services to other business partners. One of the simplest ways for other businesses to gain entrance into B2B networks is by utilizing the company home page as a portal for users to access a secured system to perform B2B transactions. Walt-Mart decided five years ago to convert their information system into a full B2B network to achieve greater efficiency in their relationships with suppliers and other vendors. The move was rapidly accepted by the business who are involve in business with Wal-Mart which enabled Wal-Mart to perform B2B transaction within a one year time span with 98% of its vendors (Zimmerman, 2003). Wal-Mart created its B2B application with the assistance of a software company called Coty. This firm provided the retail giant with the assistance

Monday, November 18, 2019

Operational Scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operational Scenario - Essay Example In a focus on justice criterion, rules are imposed and enforced fairly and impartially so that there is equal distribution of costs and benefits among individuals, also protects the interests of the less powerful and underrepresented individuals (Livingstone 2009). Thus, the best ethical decision criteria that can be used in addressing the problems within the prison would be a focus on justice criterion. This is because using justice criterion protects the interests of the less powerful and the underrepresented individual. Justice criterion is best in protecting the inmates from the prison staff. The first group view shows that the prison staff uses punitive approach toward the inmate population. This shows that the inmates are been abused by the staff, which could be the reason why there has been a lot gang-related violence in the prisons. It is also clear that racial identity is the biggest problem among the prison staff. Hence, use of the focusing on justice criterion would ensure there is equal distribution of duties and responsibilities among the staff without regards to race. However, focusing on justice criterion can affect productivity and innovation because it encourages a sense of entitlement that reduces the ability of an individual to take risks. 2. Within a prison, performance and social arrangement norms are likely to be norms that reinforce consistency among staff. How is this likely to affect overall job satisfaction? What effect will it have on employees who are not conforming in personality? In every organization e.g. a prison, it is crucial to have group norms in order to ensure productivity and development of the organization. As stated by Chevalier (2007), norms are acceptable or unacceptable standards of behavior that are shared by all members in a group. They are mainly created in order to facilitate group survival, avoid embarrassing situations, make behavior of individuals more predictable, and to express the values of the group. The pe rformance norms determine how group members should be engaged in their work i.e. how quickly they should work and produce (Livingstone 2009). Their main purpose is to govern levels of individual effort. The social arrangement norms are created in order to influence the informal social interactions within a group such as meeting after work social groups or lunch social groups. Thus, these norms are likely to promote overall job satisfaction and productivity within a prison. According to Daft and Marcic (2008), performance norms promote cohesiveness which is essential for productivity of the group. The cohesiveness and productivity of a group depends on the performance norms. For instance, if the performance norms are high, a group will be more cohesive and productive, but if the performance norms are low, productivity will also be low. As stated by Robbins and Judge (2010), individuals who conform to group norms experience more positive emotions due to conformity; hence result to pos itive work attitude and job satisfaction. Moreover, the social arrangement norms enhance day to day interaction of the prison staff, the supervisors and the inmates; thus, promoting job satisfaction. What effect will it have on employees who are not conforming in personality? The personality of an employee determines how they behave, think and feel about their job satisfaction or jobs. The attitudes of

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Strategies to Reduce Water Scarcity

Strategies to Reduce Water Scarcity Water Woes- how can you reduce fresh water scarcity in a country? Abstract The essay can be divided into three parts. First of all, it will introduce the fresh scarcity in Israel. secondly, it will discuss some questions and methods for the water scarcity in Israel. finally, I will give my own opinion and image what will the water scarcity be in the future in Israel. Introduction The essay is going to introduce that how to reduce fresh water scarcity in Israel. The water is very lacking in this country. Not only for human, but also for the animals and plants live this country. In the other hand, the government of Israel has tried many methods to reduce the fresh water scarcity. Even they had the war for the water. But still is powerless on this way. Per capita water for the people of Israel is only 150 MCM. But in fact the capita water they used have reached 290 MCM. Otherwise, because of the pollution from the industries, the water chemistry in local river is not good. At all, the best way to reduce the water scarcity in Israel is to combine many methods like artificial rainfall, the implementation of each person to save water with reward system, the use of recycled water to solve this problem. Methodology The plan for achieving research purpose for 3 stages. They are first collect all the methods that can reduce the fresh water scarcity. Next, compare these methods and get the finally few methods which are suitable for Israel. Finally, image to put these methods to Israel and compare the data from Israel. Check whether they are suitable for Israel. The most of the information I got was form Bing. Because this website is relatively large and reliable. Furthermore, I chose the resource as possible which has the author and the date of creation. In addition, I deliberately chose the information on the websites which have different data that I want to use as the sources I used. And I think the name of website which is socialistworker.org is the best website I found. Because it got a lot of useful information. For example, it introduces the terrain of Israel, the history of the methods which the government ever used before and so on. Findings There are two issues are serious about water scarcity in Israel. One issue is the per capita water for the people who lives in Israel uses too much. In the front of the essay, mentioned the per capita water for the people of Israel is only 150 MCM. But they did not save to use water. So the result of the usage amount is far beyond the standard. If Israel wants to reduce the fresh water scarcity. They must overcome this difficulty. I think that the government in Israel can give some policies. For example, if someone save to use water reach to some standard. He can get some money like this. Another issue is because of about 80% of water in Israel has already reused many times. The quality of the water is not good. In my opinion, Israel must find the other water resource. We all know, Israel face two seas. They can make full use of this condition. In my view, they need to vigorously develop the technology that can convert seawater into fresh water. Although the cost is very high. But if they solved the water scarcity problem, they can get more money return. Now the population of Israel is about 8 million 500 thousand. And the area of Israel is about 25740 square kilometers. Compare Israel with china. We all know that there are a lot of people in china and the per capita water for per Chinese is very low. But the per capita water for Israel people are only 1/4 of chinas per capita water. The chart shows the proportionof the water resources situation in Israel. The data came from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/brief/Water.html and http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/scarcity.html Discussion In this section, this essay will evaluate the findings in light of the hypothesis firstly. Secondly, discuss the proposed solution. I think the content I wrote in the findings section is more clearly provides the solution. Then, combine the pie graph in the findings section and think about my proposed solution that is find other water resource. Form the graph, we can know that most of the fresh water of Israel is from seawater. This means my proposed solution is working. On the other hand, the problem about the per capita water for the Israel people. This is the most important problem actually. In this issue, the government of Israel has ruled that 100 liters of water per capita per day on average for the people in Israel. Expect the Palestinians. They can only get 70 liters of water per capita per day on average. Furthermore, in some areas, the figure is as low as 20 liters per day for Palestinians. By contrast, Israelis consume up to 300 liters per capita per day. That is unfair. I n addition, the local people in Israel are using too much water. They still not pay attention to the importance of water conservation. Although the government always propagandas water conservation. we can do a calculation. Lets say one local people in Israel use 300 liters per day and expect the Palestinians firstly. There are about 8 million 500 thousand people. It is amount of 255 million liters. It is a big number for a country which is lacking of the water. Conclusions and Recommendations In conclusion, the proposed solution that the essay mentioned is suitable for Israel after the comparison of the data and in light of the background of Israel. but actually the government of Israel is doing the solution that the essay given. Just not enough for reach the point that can solve the water scarcity. So, whether can solve the water scarcity in Israel fundamentally is depend on the per capita water the Israel people using. On the other hand, if the government of Israel limits the consume of water for Israel people compulsory too much. They will be unhappy and remonstrant absolutely. So, government must give some other benefits to instead of this. Finally, according to my research, Israel also use many other methods to get fresh water. One of them is artificial rainfall. This is the easiest way. Israel is the famous country that has the lowest natural resources. So, in my opinion, they should use many methods at the same time for saving water. Like use artificial rainfall, t he implementation of each person to save water with reward system, the use of recycled water to solve this problem. Reference list       Sumaya Awad, Apartheid Israels war on water (2016). Available from: https://socialistworker.org/2016/07/28/apartheid-israels-war-on-water [Accessed 29 December 2016] Water Resources of Israel(online). Available from: http://www.gsi.gov.il/eng/?CategoryID=112ArticleID=159 [Accessed 29 December 2016] Water in Israel: Israels Chronic Water Problem (2016). Available from: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/scarcity.html [Accessed 29 December 2016] Arwa Aburawa. Water And Israel The Facts (2011). Available from: http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/08/water-and-israel-the-facts/ [Accessed 29 December 2016]   Ã‚  

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Body Image Essay -- essays research papers

Everyone who brings home a bad report card knows that with a little effort they can better their grades. Yet there are some things in life that you cant change and the way you look is one of them. In today’s society teenage girls face an ongoing battle to attain the perfect body image. The following paper discusses the definition of perfect, why we strive to attain this impossible ideal, why we don’t fight to change the image, and the consequences that can result from this battle to please. A dictionary definition of perfect is: 1. complete, having all its essential qualities 2. faultless, excellent 3. exact, precise 4. entire, total(1). Now does this seem like a reasonable goal to strive for? Absolutely not, it is impossible, yet so many teenage girls feel that perfection is within their reach. Society plays a massive role in influencing our lives and our judgment. The emphasis placed on looking good in our society clouds our vision of what is truly important. Western culture portrays certain morals and ideals that girls feel they must live up to. Society’s ideals themselves are largely influenced by those of the media, which in return puts added stress on the image problems that teenage girls face. Every time they look around themselves. "[They] loose [their] sense of self, individuality and fall victim to narrow definitions of beauty defined by the media. The media acts as a propaganda machine determined to shake our confidence, remind us we aren’t good enough, we haven’t made it, that we just simply don’t measure up."(2) All we see in the media these days are tall, thin, beautiful girls with great skin and even better figures. The media sends out the message that the ideal body should resemble that of a Barbie doll. Girls are supposed to try and look like this, so they will "fit in." Girls feel that with an "ideal" body comes power in society, and they are shown this starting at a very young age; She will be a woman like all the women in the thousand of ads and movies and television programs she has seen since she was very little.(3) The media is sending out negative messages to millions of vulnerable teenage girls striving to be accepted in today’s society and this is causing extreme problems. The media image is only going to become more and more destructive because, while the media ideal female is getting smaller, the ... ...ns when this battle for the impossible goes too far. These girls need to start fighting for change. Women need to be committed to changing the present body image ideal to a new one that is tolerant of varied size and weight. They must form a new social group whose rules and codes for a body image ideal allow all women to be beautiful in her own way. (22) These women need to learn to accept who they are inside and out. If they can’t do this on their own, then they need to seek professional help in order to get to the root of the problem. The most important thing is that they realize that they need help, and seek it as soon as possible. They should see someone who can help them make a healthy eating and work out plan to follow. And if they don’t feel comfortable talking to a professional, than they can talk to someone they trust. Another option that can help one get their life back on track is becoming involved in sports. Sports can help you make new friends and get into better physical shape, which will in turn brighten your mood and increase your self esteem. With increased self- esteem comes increased confidence, and that is key to accepting yourself mirror reflection included.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Analysis of Refugee mother and Child Essay

The title of the poem gives off the initial impression that the poem may focus on refugees: one who flees to seek refuge, The lives of refugee children, their parents, their feelings, their emotions and their pain. ‘For a son she soon would have to forget’. This foreshadows the idea that her son is dying, and she would have to forget him to adapt to her tragic loss. 2 The metaphor in the fist stanza, ‘No Madonna and Child could touch that picture†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, relates to the idea of Mary and her child, Jesus. The picture perfect image – the ideal image of motherhood. The picture of a beautiful, serene mother with her holy new born child. Realistically the scene would have been far from that idea of bliss. The idea of the first stanza is that the tenderness that the character, the mother, expresses towards her child in the poem surpasses the ideal image of Mary and Jesus. The two situations do not even compare to the depth of love and tenderness of the Refu gee Mother and Child. 3 The poet uses the repetition and the contrasting ideas of the word ‘washed’ in describing the emaciated state of the refugee children. ‘Unwashed†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ – the hygienic state, ‘and ‘Washed-out†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the physical state of the children due to the lack of food. 4 ‘Blown empty bellies’, the physical appearance of the children’s stomachs because of the limited food supply of only carbohydrates. From this unhealthy diet the combination of acids and gases blow out the stomach of the children. This vivid description could also possibly be a pun to the blowflies in Africa. 5 ‘A ghost smile’, this metaphor could possibly be two ideas: The mother is happy because she is with her son, you can tell she is happy but her smile is faint, hard to notice. Her happiness can’t easily be seen, her smile is not shown in a physical appearance, it holds happiness that gives off its emotion in a feeling which can’t quite be explained, but can be felt by others. This metaphor shows how the mother keeps a fake, or ‘ghost’ smile on her lips for her child’s sake – so her son doesn’t have any fears or worries because he feels content because his mother is content. 6 In her eyes you can see her pride in her son. It is inconspicuous and faded like the figure of a ghost. This line of the poem conveys the mother’s pride towards her son, the poem describes this by being able to faintly see her pride towards her son in her eyes. 7 Th e use of the word ‘skull’ is a common symbol for death and foreshadows or represents the death of her son. 8 Singing is commonly known as a happy experience, ‘singing in her eyes’ could possibly  be how the Mother expresses her pride, content and happiness in her son, and how this is passed. Somewhat like the idea of the ghost smile, you can’t see or hear the Mother singing it is seen in her eyes. 9 This simile compares the two ideas of a normal over looked action in another life and a tender and cautious action in their world, the world of the Refugee Mother and Child. In this gentle action, due to her sons dying condition, she takes care while she carefully parts his hair – her way of gently expressing love to her son. This little act being one of the few things she can do for her son and one of the few ways she can express her love to him. This action is being compared to putting flowers on a tiny grave of a dead child because it is a gentle and careful action – something you would do very cautiously. And ‘tiny grave’ because of her sons little size due to his young age. If the child is already passed on when his Mother is parting his hair, this idea of death links to the distinct previous use of the word ‘skull’, by the poet. With this evidence, the poem could also be after the child has died and the mother is still holding and caressing her child, gently, carefully and cautiously yet – he is no longer alive. This action is explained in a simile and compares her parting his thinning hair to laying flowers on a tiny grave – another link to the possible idea that the son is already dead. The mother is gently parting her son’s hair as a way to say goodbye, since he has passed on – just like another form of saying good bye, placing flowers on a grave starting closure and acceptance.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Ingredients in Coke and Their Function

Ingredients in Coke and Their Function You probably know that once upon a time Coca-Cola or Coke contained cocaine. What you might not know is that the beverage is still flavored with an extract from the coca leaf and that the cocaine which is extracted from the leaves is sold for medicinal use. The Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which is sold to Mallinckrodt, the only US company that is licensed to purify cocaine. So... what are the other ingredients in Coke and what do they do? Coke contains a fairly short list of ingredients: Carbonated waterSugar (which can be sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup)CaffeinePhosphoric acid v. caramel (E150d)Natural flavorings (which include coca leaf extract) The purpose of the carbonated water and sugar is obvious, but you may be unaware caramel coloring is also an important flavoring agent... well, unless you ever tried the clear versions of Coke or Pepsi. Theres a good reason those never became popular. Caramel color is a soluble food coloring that is prepared by heat treating carbohydrates. The golden or brown liquid retains a bitter taste and burnt sugar odor. The caffeine is a stimulant, but also contributes a characteristic bitter flavor to the cola. The secret formula of the additional flavorings is known to two executives at Coca-Cola. The original copy of the formula is kept in Atlanta in the SunTrust Banks vault.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

How to Avoid Plagiarism in Journalism

How to Avoid Plagiarism in Journalism Weve all heard about plagiarism in one field or another. It seems like every other week there are stories about students, writers, historians, and songwriters plagiarizing the work of others. But, most disturbingly for journalists, there have been a number of high-profile cases in recent years of plagiarism by reporters. For instance, in 2011 Kendra Marr, a transportation reporter for Politico was forced to resign after her editors discovered at least seven stories in which shed lifted material from articles in competing news outlets. Marrs editors got wind of what was happening from a New York Times reporter who alerted them to similarities between his story and one Marr had done. Marrs story serves as a cautionary tale for young journalists. A recent graduate of Northwestern Universitys journalism school, Marr was a rising star who had already worked at The Washington Post before moving to Politico in 2009. The problem is, the temptation to plagiarize is greater than ever because of the Internet, which places a seemingly infinite amount of information just a mouse-click away. But the fact that plagiarism is easier means reporters must be more vigilant in guarding against it. So what do you need to know to avoid plagiarism in your reporting? Lets define the term. What Is Plagiarism? Plagiarism means claiming someone elses work is your own by putting it in your story without attribution or credit. In journalism, plagiarism can take several forms: Information: This involves using information that another reporter has gathered without crediting that information to the reporter or to his or her publication. An example would be a reporter who uses specific details about a crime - say, the color of a murder victims shoes - in his story that comes, not from the police, but from an article done by another reporter.Writing: If a reporter writes a story in a particularly distinctive or unusual way, and another reporter copies passages from that story into his own article, thats an example of plagiarizing writing.Ideas: This occurs when a journalist, usually a columnist or news analyst, advances a novel idea or theory about an issue in the news, and another reporter copies that idea. Avoiding Plagiarism So how do you avoid plagiarizing another reporters work? Do Your Own Reporting: The easiest way to avoid plagiarism is by doing your own reporting. That way you avoid the temptation to steal information from another reporters story, and youll have the satisfaction of producing work that is entirely your own. But what if another reporter gets a scoop, a juicy bit of information that you dont have? First, try to get the information yourself. If that fails...Give Credit Where Credit Is Due: If another reporter digs up a piece of information you cant get on your own, then you must attribute that information to that reporter or, more commonly, to the news outlet that reporter works for.Check Your Copy: Once youve written your story, read it several times to make sure you havent used any information that isnt your own. Remember, plagiarism is not always a conscious act. Sometimes it can creep into your story without your even being aware of it, simply by using information that youve read on a website or in a newspaper. Go over the facts in your story and ask yourself: Did I gather this myself?

Monday, November 4, 2019

Progress report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Progress report - Essay Example The project was carried out with complete regards to the laws and regulations and with utmost professionalism. Background of the Project:- Large or medium companies find it difficult to work effectively with their colleagues particularly if they are from different branches or departments of the same company. As a result, they find that they are working on the same task rather than solving different problems. This limits the creativity and exploration of untapped potential among the staff members. The project is specifically designed for companies with a large number of employees working from different branches or departments across a large geographical area within the company. It is aimed at making it easier for the employees to work and monitor the progress of various projects regardless of their proximity to the place of work. It is also aimed at ensuring that employees can be aware of the current projects thus expand their creativity on how to improve the company. Aims and Objecti ves of the Project:- One important aim of this project is to prevent teams in a company from working on the same task despite the fact that they work in different geographical regions. This helps in economizing on time and company resources which would otherwise be exploited on one project twice. By listing all the available projects as well as the teams working on each, the application makes it easy for employees and their supervisors to monitor different projects and also observe projects that were undertaken previously. Further than that the purpose of the application is to ensure that the team working on a particular project can be contacted in case of new discoveries or changes that need to be made. Another major aim of this application is to manage the details of each employee within the stated company regardless of the branch they work for. This is important because it reduces the work load of the human resource management when employees are transferred from one branch to ano ther. The application would be effective in managing the employees’ salaries, expenses on accommodation, holidays, and benefits among many other related details. Further than that, the employee would also be able to observe their details such as overtime hours, salary and even the number of off days left for them. The application is highly secure in the senses that the employer and the employee can access details such as their salary. However, other information is accessible to other employees such as one’s position in the company, their geographical location, and contact address among other details. The main objectives of the project include:- To research and plan how to carry out the collection of data and also other important aspects to be considered and added in the application To gather and record the client’s specification of the project To research and understand Model, View and Controller architecture which would be necessary in keeping the code to use a nd alter in case need arises and also to keep it more orderly. To Create the required website using the pattern applied in Model, View and Controller architecture design To create the model for the website and outline the functionalities To design and put the view into operation and build the necessary prototype through the use of HTML/ CSS ?jQuery To provide the client with high levels of security for their data To store the lists of the users and the projects

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Final Paper Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final Paper Proposal - Essay Example ss try to argue what each of these individual thinkers would have thought about the rights of gay marriage – the fact that they all lived more than a century ago probably means that they would all have been against it simply due to bias. Rather, it will argue what positions are internally coherent with their stated philosophies, and whether the philosophical traditions they belong to would support or oppose gay marriage. I believe that, even though Karl Marx had spoken out publicly against gay rights, all three of these thinkers propose philosophies that fundamentally support the right of gay marriage. John Stuart Mill’s liberalism might be the most friendly to the idea. Firstly, he championed the fight against the tyranny of the majority (Mill 24), where majority opinion, bias and hatred controls other parts of the population. The fight against gay marriage is obviously a case of tyranny of the majority. Secondly, he founded the â€Å"harm principle† where actions that do not harm others should not be negated by the government. Though some have argued that gay marriage can harm society, the lack of evidence of specific harm would mean it would be protected by the harm principle. Kant, likewise, would probably support the right of gay people to marriage. One of his foundational works, Groundwork on the Metaphysics of Morals proposes the categorical imperative: that one should behave as one would if behavior became a universal maxim. This will be harder to prove in an essay, but there are many ways of framing the banning of gay marriage that, universalized, would be harmful, such as: relationships not recognized by a particular religion should not be recognized by law or law should be based on religious morality. Finally, based on Marx’s Communist Manifesto, I believe that he would be against the current fight against gay marriage, on purely pragmatic grounds. Marx was a thinker who focused on class, and noted and fought against attempts by the