SET ASIDES Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SET ASIDES - Research Paper Example On analysis the justification for why VA and Defense Department are chosen as providing the best contracting opportunities for NAICS 561730 is shown and supported with evidence. Finally, the best available contracting opportunity for NAICS 561730 is identified and the reason stated. Set Aside Introduction Set aside contract is ‘’a federal contract under which only small business are allowed to bid’’ (HJ Ventures, 2004). The set aside small business contracts are mainly awarded to start ups, minority owned businesses, women-owned businesses, disabled people businesses, veterans group businesses and other special groups businesses. These type of businesses mostly lack capital and experience to start or expand thus they lack the machinery to compete with large or other successful businesses. In order to help them overcome those challenges that why the government reserves some of it contract specifically for them. A part from the special treatment in bidding fo r the contracts the small business owners stands to gain the following benefits under these programs: training courses and counseling on owning or managing a business, and additionally they are eligible for various loans and advance payments within the program (Guthrie, 2011). Set-asides though awarded on special basis have been quite controversial in business context since the projects from the private sector are mainly awarded on the basis of price, performance, value added and quality, while set-asides are awarded on basis on size, class, race, gender, thus harming legitimate businesses and breeding corruption (Bbutkins, 2010). Under the Small Business Act, the law bids the federal agencies to carryout various procurements that are partially or wholly reserved for small business participation (FSD, 2010). Under this act there are several set-aside categories for the different small businesses ventures which include: Competitive 8(a), Emerging Small Business, HUBZone, Partial Hist orically Black College or University (HBCU) / Minority Institution (MI), Partial Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Total HBCU / MI, Total Small Business, and Veteran-Owned Small Business (FSD, 2010). Therefore small business set-aside categories will award certain acquisitions exclusively to eligible small business concerns. Hence a set-aside may totally or partially open to all small businesses, a single acquisition or a class of acquisitions. In the procurement bidding process the set-asides are conducted through simplified acquisition procedures, sealed bids, or competitive proposals. The small business set asides are awarded contracts either as the primary contractor or sub-contractor. According to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) categories 561730 Landscaping Services is defined as ‘’ventures that specialize in providing landscape care and maintenance services and/or installing trees, shrubs, plants, lawns, or g ardens and ventures that specialize in providing these services along with design of landscape plans and/or the construction of walkways, retaining walls, decks, fences, ponds, and similar structures’’ (NAICS, 2007). Landscaping services provide employment to a quite sizable portion of the American population and also improve the outlook of households. They also significantly improve the value of homes. More than 14500 businesses in the United States are classified as landscaping services (NAICS 561730), with majority of these ventures comprising of a workforce

Prevention of childhood obesity 5-10years old Research Proposal

Prevention of childhood obesity 5-10years old - Research Proposal Example re in constant contact with their children and if anything have the greatest influence pertaining to what their children feed on; hence can uphold sustainable health measures in the family that are then adopted by the children. Additionally this study will also be useful to the larger community especially organizations that are concerned with the manufacturing and processing of food, nutritionists and the members of the National Health Service. Obesity in children is one of the greatest public health challenges in the 21st century. Contextually, in the UK there has been a great concern pertaining to childhood obesity that has led the government into applying stricter nutrient standards especially with respect to foods supplied in schools (Voon et.al, 2014). This makes this study quite relevant showing how unhealthy eating has posed a great challenge to children’s health in the country; â€Å" marketing of unhealthy foods was banned on other channels during, before and after programs aimed at children aged between 4 and 15† (p. 172). This is an attempt to reduce the exposure of children to unhealthy foods; as the prevalence of obesity in the UK is said to have tripled in the last two decades pushing it to epidemic proportions (Branca et. Al, 2007). The statistics show the high rate at which health has been deteriorating and weight increasing among young children in the UK; making healthy eating and weight among young children an area of great concern to date in the country. It is for this reason that the government has taken it upon itself to implement strict policies that are meant to secure the health of the children in the long run; the government is only trying to combat this epidemic as it is. Obesity is viewed as a major health alarm as once a child becomes obese in his or her prime years then there is a chance that this child will remain obese even in adulthood (Branca et. Al, 2007). With obesity both short-term and long-term conditions become a

Historical Account of Tragedy in Literature

Historical Account of Tragedy in Literature The chorus in Aeschylus Agamemnon clearly elucidates the Aristotelian principle of tragedy: Zeus, whose will has marked for man the sole way where wisdom lies, ordered one eternal plan: Man must suffer to be wise. Elizabethan tragedy is derived from this moralised model of tragedy as depicted by Aristotle in his Poetics. As a genre, Elizabethan tragedy is distinguished from that of Shakespeare, although Shakespeares tragedies are often held as the epitome of the tragic form. Indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary cites only two quotations from the Renaissance under the entry for tragedy, both of which are from Shakespeare. There appears to be a deliberate judgment in including Shakespeare in the dramatic cannon to the exclusion of such influential playwrights as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Heywood and John Webster. Although it is clear that Shakespeare made an important contribution to the development of modern tragedy, derived from classical models, contemporary dramatists were much more formative in negotiating Aristotelian models of tragedy with the new philosophical, social and political climate of the Renaissance. Philips Sidneys defence of the tragic form in An Apologie for Poetrie (1595) articulates the moral and didactic purpose of poetry. So that the right vse of Comedy will (I thinke) by no body be blamed, and much lesse of the high and excellent Tragedy; that openeth the greatest wounds, and sheweth forth the Vlcers, that are couered with Tissues: that maketh Kinges feare to be Tyrants, and Tyrants manifest their tirannicall humors: that with stirring the affects of admiration and commiseration, teacheth, the vncertainety of this world, and vpon howe weake foundations guilden roofes are built (Sidney F3v-F4) The emphasis on moral instruction is clear, and informed the tragic form in the both Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean dramas. Tragedy, according to Aristotle, is noble and concerned with lofty matters, as opposed to the flippant and crude nature of comedy. Sidney defines the function of tragedy as uncovering the greatest wounds of the inherently weake foundations of the world. Tragedy, therefore, produces an emotional response in the audience by exposing human flaws, which allows them to participate in a form of moral regeneration. Thomas Heywoods An Apology for Actors (1612) also cites the classical model of tragedy in order to elevate English drama in general by accentuating the morally instructive nature of tragedy, as well as to tie his own works to the legitimate tradition of tragedy. If we present a Tragedy, we include the fatall and abortiue ends of such as commit notorious murders, which is aggrauated and acted with all the Art that may be, to terrifie men from the like ab horred practises (Heywood F3v). Heywood thus believes that the tragic downfall of the moral, but flawed, hero is a terrifying lesson to the audience through the pity and fear evoked by watching the play itself, a notion described by Aristotle and termed by modern scholars as catharsis. Despite Heywoods belief in the moral power of tragedy, Renaissance tragedy, for the most part, does not live up to the Aristotelean model. For Stephen Greenblatt (1980), Renaissance theatre, named after a queen whose power is constituted in theatrical celebrations of royal glory and theatrical violence visited upon the enemies of that glory, replays the process of provoking subversion central to the states authorization of its own power: the form itself, as a primary expression of Renaissance power, contains the radical doubts it continually produces (297). Thus, any echo of Aristotelian notions of tragedy in the works of playwrights such as Heywood, Marlowe, Webster, and even Shakespeare, can be seen not as a insistence upon the dramatic perfection of classical forms, but as a means of lending legitimacy to the challenge to political and cultural structures. As Moretti (1982) observed in respect of English Renaissance tragedy one of the decisive influences in the creation of a â€Å"public† that for the first time in history assumed the right to bring a king to justice †¦ Tragedy disentitled the absolute mo narch to all ethical and rational legitimation. Having deconsecrated the king, it thus made it possible to decapitate him (7-8). Rather than reinforcing the social order and legitimizing divine ordination, tragedy opened up the political elite to the possibility of human frailty. Renaissance tragedy can be defined as a violent series of events that is built upon the murder and revenge, concerning characters primarily motivated by jealousy, greed, and anger. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must be of noble stature, and while his greatness is readily apparent, he is not perfect. Tragedies often concern the aristocratic elite and thus personal tragedies extend to tragedies of state. The tone of the play is sombre, clearly relating the grief and sorrow of the characters themselves. This â€Å"language of lamentation† serves as a warning against the destructive potential of vice and depravity, and can be linked to the Medieval morality plays. Although the presence of othe r non-dramatic sources conceives a national tradition of tragedy which was established on the English stage as early as 1587, with the performance of Thomas Kyds The Spanish Tragedy. Both The Spanish Tragedy and Marlowes Tamburlaine, performed in the late 1580s, exhibit the beginnings of true Renaissance tragedy. Derived from the revenge plays of Seneca, The Spanish Tragedy is a play which satisfied the Aristotelian need for a binary model of moral order, which is complicated by the relations of individual justice to the social and divine order. Tamburlaine, however, moves away from the reductive moralising of earlier poetry and reflects the influence of the Reformation on the dramatic arts, as the theatre established a new place where human possibilities could be envisioned with new freedom. Marlowe is fully aware that he is making the stage the vehicle of a new consciousness: Onely this (Gentlemen) we must performe, The form of Faustus fortunes good or bad. To patient Iudgements we appeale our plaude. (Marlowe, Faustus, 7-9) This appeal to the moral purpose of the play is misleading, for neither Faustus nor Tamberlaine are characters directed by their moral choices. Tamberlaine, it is arguable, is an agent of God while at the same time exercising his free will with no apparent consequence. Marlowe appears to be addressing familiar issues of blasphemous defiance, tyranny, cruelty and arrogance in Tamburlaine, but ironically he presents these issues as the glory of the tragic hero. Unlike traditional tragedies, there is no stable moral framework, with the result that the audience is left feeling uneasy with the divine implications of the heros downfall. Tamburlaine, rather than submit to his pre-ordained fate, boasts of his own dynamic power: I hold the Fates bound fast in yron chaines, And with my hand turne Fortunes wheel about (369-70) Fate and Fortune, two of the most conventional symbols of human limitation, are here manipulated by the hero not as a sign of his hubris, but rather as a heroic achievement. Marlowe uses this gross inversion as a reflection of the changing values in Renaissance society. As Stephen Greenblatt (1980) says, Marlowe writes in the period in which European man embarked on his extraordinary career of consumption, his eager pursuit of knowledge, with one intellectual model after another seized, squeezed dry, and discarded, and his frenzied exhaustion of the worlds resources (199). The Enlightenment saw the questioning of fundamental assumptions about mans place in the world, a uncertainty reflected in the ambiguous relation between the tragic hero and his divinely ordained fate. C. L. Barber (1988) has commented on the way in which the audience engages with such egotistic individualism of the tragic hero, noting the role of the triumphal individual in the Renaissance and the significance of individualistic prophesying as a disruptive form of expression that challenged the authority and legitimacy of the Church and state. Marlowe writes at a time of religious transition and new philosophical notions of self-consciousness, and appropriates religious language and symbolism to launch an attack on the Church. Tamburlaine rebels against divine, political and social order, and in doing so sets himself beyond limitation and definition, alwaiies moouing as the restles Spheares (876). Tamburlaines rebellion is an uneasy one, for there is no possibility of reconciliation and restoration of order. Theridama, the Chiefest Captain of Mycetes hoste, reveals this as he says: Tamburlaine? A Scythian Shepheard, so imbelished With Natures pride, and richest furniture, His looks do menace heauen an dare the Gods †¦ What stronge enchantments tice my yielding soule? †¦ Won with they words, conquered with thy looks, I yield my selfe, my men horse to thee (350-52, 419, 423-4) Liberation is here figured as one of two choices: to reject the divine or to take it over. In Tamburlaines case, he alternatively threatens heaven and dares the gods, or claims identity with the divine to sanction his violence: til by vision, or by speech I heare / Immortall Ioue say, Cease my Tamburlaine, / I will persist a terrour to the world †¦ (3873-75). Tamburlaine self-aggrandizement is given divine legitimacy: Tamburlaine believes that his tyranny and martial lust are condoned through the gods through their silence. The two-part Tamburlaine is based on the historical figure of Timur, a bloody conqueror of Asia, whose greed for power and extravagance culminates with his inevitable downfall. Tamburlaine deviates from the tragic norm in his depiction of the tragic hero; Tamburlaine is not humbled by his dramatic fall, and no moral lesson is learned and repentance achieved. Tamburlaine does not conform to the model of the tragic hero set out in Poetics. The tragic hero is fated to make a serious error which will cause his fall and tragic death, usually caused by hubris, or prideful arrogance, but he remains likeable to the audience for his inherent goodness. Tamburlaine, in contrast, is a character whose goodness is notably absent. In contrast the Aristotlean model, in which the tragic hero is noble from birth, Tamburlaine is an obscure Scythian shepherd in the opening of part 1. He quickly ascends through his bravery and his eloquent speech, and his ferocity on the battlefield. Tamburlaine sees him self as the scourge of God and even dreams of leading his armies in war against the divine army in heaven. In a scene in which Tamburlaine has defeated Cosroe, he responds to Cosroes demands for the reasons behind his treachery. Nature, that framd us of four elements Warring within our breasts for regiment, Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds: Our souls, whose faculties can comprehend The wondrous architecture of the world, And measure every wandering planets course, Still climbing after knowledge infinite, And always moving as the restless spheres, Wills us to wear ourselves and never rest, Until we reach the ripest fruit of all, That perfect bliss and sole felicity, The sweet fruition of an earthly crown. (I.iv. 13-29) With this final line Tamburlaine snatches the crown from dying Cosroes head and places it on his own head, assuming the power of divine legitimacy for himself. Reordering the humours as in constant opposition, rather than harmonious order, is to legitimize his own militaristic behaviour as part of the natural world. He is, in essence, creating himself out of nothing, as he became an emperor from a shepherd, and as such is taking over the divine role of creation. In doing so, he upsets the authority of the moral order, and even his death does not resolve the moral hierarchy. Thomas Heywoods A Woman Killed with Kindness (1603) is described as a domestic tragedy as it deals not with the tragic downfall of the elite, but on the relationship between a husband and wife. Domesticity is the theme of the play, and the language is correspondingly straightforward and unadorned. In contrast with tragedies such as Hamlet or Tamburlaine, Heywoods play does not concern the intrigues and actions of the aristocratic elite or ruling order. A Woman Killed with Kindness is a morality play, concerned with the infidelity of Anne and her likely punishment. She herself expects only death upon her husbands discovery of her affair: Though I deserve a thousand thousand fold More than you can inflict, yet, once my husband, For womanhood – to which I am a shame, Though once an ornament – even for His sake That hath redeemd our couls, mark not my face Nor hack me with your sword, but let me go Perfect and undeformed to my tomb. (xiii.94-100) Her opinion is born out by the tradition of revenge in tragedies as well as in contemporary practice; indeed, by law husbands reserved the right to kill unfaithful wives (Powell 204). However, despite the clear Christian moralizing, Heywoods play departs drastically from the traditional structure of moral tragedy in that the tragic end of the main character results not from divine judgment and retribution, but from the effects of her wrongdoing on her own consciousness. Before the discovery of her betrayal by her husband, her guilt and remorse are apparent. You have tempted me to mischief, Master Wendoll; I have done I know not what. Well, you plead custom; That which for want of wit I granted erst I now must yield through fear. Come, come, lets in. Once oer shoes, we are straight oer head in sin (xi. 110-14) Her repentance is genuine, and carries forward her tragic end. Anne chooses to starve herself to death, thereby taking control both of her sin and her punishment. Heywood puts into dramatic form †¦ the punishment which arises from the erring characters consciousness of their guilt in the place of the punishment of an exterior physical revenge (Bowers 225). Annes emotional torment is meant as a lesson to the audience, and she makes of herself an exemplary figure, breaking away from the domestic thrust of the play towards the universal. Derived from the classical models of comedy and tragedy set out by Aristotle and envisaged by Seneca, Webseters The White Devil (1612) expands the classical tragic structure by adding elements associated with comedy: ironic repetition, theatrical self-consciousness, and inverted tragic situations. There is a repeated pattern in The White Devil of serious action followed by parody, working to undermine the dramatic tradition of tragedy to create what would become the genre of tragicomedy. Tragicomedy is a distinctly non-Aristotelian genre in which the action and subject of the play demand a tragic ending, but this ending is denied in an ironic reversal which produces the happy ending of a traditional comedy. Aristotle did, in fact, depict a kind of tragedy with a happy ending, which would later become tragicomedy, but it was not until the Renaissance that the genre was seen as a legitimate dramatic form. In The White Devil, the Duke of Florence comments on the popular dislike of the c lassically inspired plays which strictly conform to the structure of tragedy and comedy: My tragedy must have some idle mirth int, Else it will never pass (IV.i.119-20) The Dukes comment suggests that an increasingly demanding audience will no longer accept the single-minded classical plays of strict comedy or tragedy, but demand a sophistication of genre. The White Devil is not unique in its admission of tragicomedy, but it is treated as an expression of doubt about the tragic absolutes and as part of a critical double-vision. Incidents are repeated an parodied throughout Websters play, and this system of parallels is used to undermine the tragic status of the patrician characters. In the final scene the tragic hero Flamineo acts out a grotesque fiction of his own death, which is ironically followed by real murder. The farcical ending is paralleled with the authentic tragic image. With its elaborate system of repetition and parody, its ironic contrasts between interpretations of events, and the insistence that every incident is intimately connected with other incidents, The White Devil emphasises the shifting values and ironic double-visions of tragicomedy into the tragic framework of aspiration, failure, and ultimately death, depicting the double standard of the new society. The action of the play is confined to the relatively narrow setting of Rome and the court at Padua, hinting to the world beyond that of stage. Critics have often found the number of characters in The White Devil problematic, citing di fficulties in staging a production with so many bodies on stage. However, John Russell Brown (1940) has called attention to Websters power of using violent and crowded scenes for sudden and, therefore, striking manifestations of an individuals lies or hypocrisy, the â€Å"variety† of a â€Å"busy trade of life† (Brown 453). In the final act, the presence of so many members of the courtly society emphasises Flamineos fall from power, defining the extent of the competition for the Dukes favour and the uncertainty of Flamineos future now that his relationship with his master is ruined. As a young lord reports to Flamineo concerning Bracciano, A new vp-start: one that swears like a Falckner, and will lye in the Dukes eare day by day like a maker of Almanacks (V.i. 138-9). The White Devil deals with private behaviour made public, and public behaviour motivated by questionable private interests. Vittorias trial reveals her illicit liaison with Bracciano and the murderous consequences, but it is this public censure which results in private revenge. In comparison with Shakespearean tragedies such as Hamlet, or classical tragedies such as Oedipus Rex, the play is extremely social and emphasises Websters preoccupation with the intertwined spheres of public probity and private corruption. The White Devil focuses on the individuals freedom of choice between good and evil, human dignity and the fall from grace, binaries which appear to conform to the traditional Christian morality. Lodovico is accused by Antonelli and Gasparo: Worse then these, / You have acted certaine Murders here in Rome, / Bloody and full of horror (I.i.31-32), and Gasparo continues O my Lord / The law doth sometimes mediate, thinkes it good / Not ever to steepe violent sinnes in blood, / This gentle penance may both end your crimes, / And in the example better these bad times (I.i.33-37). Ludovico is presented a choice, but instead turns to criminality and revenge. His crimes have been presented, the possibility of reform and exoneration provided, and yet he wilfully chooses his course of conduct in spite of this. He exercises his free will, but unlike the Aristotelian tragic hero his destructive path is not redemptive in bringing out moral responsibility. The conclusion of The White Devil is ambig uous, fulfilling the catastrophic ending required of tragedy but without the suggestion of the nobility and greatness of man. Flamineo dies in despair of his worldly goods, wealth and advancement rather than in despair of his worthiness before God. There is the possibility of Flamineo accepting moral responsibility directly before his death as he reflects, While we looke up to heaven wee confound / Knowledge with knowledge (V.vi.259-60), and yet immediately before this he said , I doe not looke / Who went before, nor who shall follow mee; / Noe, at my self I will begin and end (V.vi.256-58). Although the play ends with the death of the tragic hero, as tradition dictates, this is not the satisfactory ending of classical tragedies. There is no remorse, no retraction of arrogance and greed in the face of the divine. As A.L. Kistner (1993) wondered, Where does it lie – in the triumph of will, in grabbing for every expression of self that this world has to offer or in the calm dis cipline of self-denial for a higher picture of man? (267). Webster leaves the audience with an unsatisfactory portrait of free choice and the capacity for moral responsibility. The emergence in the 1580s of an Elizabethan tragic tradition which manipulated the limitations of classical generic boundaries points toward the developing self-consciousness of a modern culture. As evidenced in such works as Tamburlaine and The White Devil, the theatre was the site of an evolving culture in conflict with the older, traditional forms of expression. Marlowe, Webster and Heywood used the stage for the assertion and defense of an ego which †¦ was constantly threatened by powerful forces of desire and conscience, forces which [they] coped with as best as [they] could by making them conscious, by finding a form for them which would command social understanding and the control of shared social attitudes (Barber 37). The new tragic genre was a way of registering an experience of change and di slocation, a shift from the Classical tradition of moral order and stability. Works Cited Aristotle, (1953) Aristotle on the Art of Fiction: an English translation of Aristotles Poetics. Trans. by L. J. Potts. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press. Barber, C. L. (1988) Creating Elizabethan Tragedy: the theatre of Marlowe and Kyd. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Bowers, F. T. (1940) Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy 1587-1642. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Brown, J. R. (1962) Theater research and the Criticism of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries Shakespeare Quarterly, 13 Falco, R. (2000) Charismatic Authority in Early Modern English Tragedy. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press. Goldberg, D. (1987) Between Worlds: A study of the plays of John Webster, Wilfrid Laurier University Press. Greenblatt, S. (1985) Invisible Bullets: Renaissance Authority and Its Subversion, Henry IV and Henry V in J. Dollimore and A. Sinfield, (eds.), Political Shakespeare: New Essays in Cultural Materialism , pp. 18-47. Manchester: Manchester University Press. - (1980) Renaissance Self-Fashioning: from More to Shakespeare. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Heywood, T. (1973) An Apology for Actors (1612). New York: Garland. (1961) A Woman Killed with Kindness. R. W. Van Fossen (ed). London: Mentheun Co. Kistner, A.L. and Kistner, M.K (1993) Free Choice in The White Devil English Studies, 74, no. 3: 258-267 Marlowe, C. (1993) Doctor Faustus. D. Bevington and E. Rasmussen (eds). Manchester: Manchester University Press. -(1995) Tamburlaine. D. Bevington and E. Rasmussen (eds). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. Moretti, F. (1982) †A Huge Eclipse†: Tragic Form and the Deconsecration of Sovereignty, in The Power of Forms in the English Renaissance, S. Greenblatt (ed). Norman, Oklahoma: Pilgrim Books. Powell, C.L. (1917) English Domestic Relations 1487-1653. New York: Columbia University Press. Sidney, P. (1971) An Apologie for Poetrie. New York: De Capo Press. Webster, J. (1983) The Selected Play of John Webster. J. Dollimore and A. Sinfield (eds). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

An In-Depth Analysis of Milton Bradleys Literature Essay -- Gaming

Battleship is a commonly known game throughout the world. A strategic guessing-game, it was first introduced as a pen-and-paper activity where a player plots imaginary ships on a grid, and then take turns with the other player at guessing the positions of the ships of his or her opponent. While Battleship has had many different designs and title arts over the years, the 1967 version stands out as particularly significant. Along with the obvious â€Å"Battleship is fun† message, Milton Bradley attempted to sneakily convey a few subtle and not-always-wholesome messages through its choice in box design. The first thing that one notices when looking at this image is two people appearing to have a good time playing the board game known as Battleship. Both players are smiling and making animated gestures; the older player even appears to enjoy losing. This superficial analysis probably resulted in many impulse buys and a large profit for Messrs. Milton and Bradley. For many people, the implications stop there: â€Å"Battleship is fun. You should buy Battleship.† While delving deeper into the seas of analysis, close attention paid to the players depicted will reveal a bit of insight into a more subtle marketing scheme: This game is fun, yes, but it is also simple. It is so simple, in fact, that even a child can attain a level of mastery sufficient to overcome a far older, more experienced player. A young man—most likely older than eight, as eight is the minimum age stated not-so-subtly to the left—sits opposite an older man. It is probably a safe assumption that the two are related, as they have similar hair and facial features. This assumption will prove to be useful later. Anyone who is familiar with the rules of the game quickl... ... product which he saw as an affirmation of his superiority than one which contested it. The image of women presented on this box is one of subservience, inferiority, and compliance: all of the qualities that Milton Bradley obviously feel are associated the lesser sex. While it can be said with relative certainty that not all men in the 1960s were male-chauvinists, Milton Bradley designed an artistic cover for their board game which suited what they saw as the social norms of the time. In an attempt to market to the masses, they employed subtle advertising tactics meant to subconsciously gain approval from the greatest number of potential buyers: white, middle-class males. Even though this image does not necessarily reflect how the designers and marketing experts at Milton Bradley felt about women, it does reflect their feelings regarding the buyers themselves.

Crime and Legal System Essay

In the wide field of condemnable justness. one peculiar issue critically relevant in the concern of offense bar and societal control is juvenile delinquency due chiefly to the fact that its mark population are the bush leagues in the society. The construct of juvenile delinquency by and large encompassed legion concerns viz. the offenses affecting minor wrongdoers. the tribunal system to turn to these instances. the penalty attack for the immature person. and others relevant in accomplishing an effectual attack for accomplishing the ideal justness for these immature wrongdoers. In this chase. integrating sociological constructs can so advance development in the effectivity of the condemnable justness system for instances of juvenile delinquency. In analysing the condemnable justness system for minor wrongdoers. it is critically of import to see several factors straight related to the effectual accomplishment of its map. Among these factors are the consequence of the penalty to the minor wrongdoer. good options for the condemnable penalty. motivational schemes of behavioural development. influence of personality background. and others. Integrating the sociological position in this concern. the said field explains that the household construction. environment. and civilization are influential factors to the individual’s personality and behavioural development as such. should be considered in finding the appropriate action for instances of juvenile delinquency. Indeed. integrating this attack will uncover a more appropriate. efficaciously quarreling. and motivational action towards turn toing the personal jobs of the immature wrongdoers ensuing to their juvenile delinquency. Indeed. sociological. the young person period in the timeline of each person is a critical status wherein the individual encounter personality confusion and individuality battle. During this period. the fickle behavioural alterations in the individual can ensue to aggressive actions and determinations and if influenced by negative factors can ensue to juvenile delinquency. As such. nearing the position through a sociological position. it is more advantageous to undertake the job by assisting the wrongdoer header up with his or her personal alterations and battle and steer the individual to the proper manner. Indeed. developing the penalty system in this attack can ensue to an effectual juvenile justness system that promote healthy development through steering the misdemeanour of the minor wrongdoers towards fruitful growing and development for their benefit. In this attack. the issue of juvenile delinquency will be addressed by minimising the job and taking this attack as a mean of assisting the young person through the growing.

Electronically Mediated Communication Essay

Our everyday communication involves talking to friends, lovers, family members, acquaintances, co-workers and people in service positions. We do this routinely, usually without much thought, unless some problem occurs or the relationship starts to take a turn for the worse. Then we become painfully aware of the poor communication we have had with another. We’ve probably all had relationships that slipped away because we couldn’t talk to each other or didn’t bother to try. In this chapter we will look at the mundane, yet remarkable, process of dyadic (one-on-one), Electronically Mediated Interpersonal Communication. We’ll take a topical approach to the subject of Electronically Mediated Interpersonal Communication, examining a broad array of topics studies done on the subject at hand. We will begin with an examination of cell phone usage processes and then spend time on the role of communication in the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of relationships of all types. You will learn new terms and theories and how they can apply to your own relationships and communication abilities using Electronically Mediated Interpersonal Communication. Cell phones Cell phones are becoming an integral part of our daily lives. It is no surprise that a ground breaking study just released says mobile technology has permanently changed the way we work, live, and love. Commissioned by Motorola, this new behavioral study took researchers to nine cities worldwide from New York to London. Using a combination of personal interviews, field studies, and observation, the study identified a variety of behaviors that demonstrate the dramatic impact cell phones are having on the way people interact. The study found cell phones give people a newfound personal power, enabling unprecedented mobility and allowing them to conduct their business on the go. Interesting enough, gender differences can be found in phone use. Women  see their cell phone as a means of expression and social communication, while males tend to use it as an interactive toy. Some men view the cell phone as a status symbol – competing with other males for the most high tech toy and even using the cell phone to seduce the opposite sex. The study found two types of cell phone users- â€Å"innies,† who use their phones discreetly, and â€Å"outies,† who are louder and less concerned with the people around them. The report, titled On the Mobile, has labeled today’s teenagers â€Å"The Thumb Generation.† Cell phones are often used by the younger generation to send text messages by typing with their thumbs on the phone’s keypad. Believe it or not, this has had a profound effect on the way teenagers use their thumbs. Thumb dexterity has improved so much that some teenagers now point and even ring doorbells with their thumb instead of their forefinger. The use of these two-way text messaging devices has also resulted in â€Å"generation text,† a language of abbreviations that is understood by the young all over the world. Yet cell phones are not just for the young. The cell phone has made long distance communications easy. GSM phones that place calls worldwide have turned the universe into a global village. They are helping people from all generations cross cultural and physical borders. Mobile technology, specifically the use of cell phones, has become an internal part of today’s life all around the globe. Cell phones have become so second nature in our society that the daily answering of your cell phone when having a face to face interaction with a friend, spouse, or acquaintance becomes a first priority (Kelly calls me) and is no longer viewed as an interruption, but rather seen as a status symbol. This is also problematic because it has made our conversations become public for all to hear no longer having those intimate private talks, now anyone who is around you can listen in and become part of our conversations.. There currently over 170 million users in the United States and growing by 1  million every month. Cell Phone Usage In a June 2000 Cellular One survey of college students [6], the students reported the following as the most important reasons for purchasing a cell phone: – Emergencies (47%) – To contact significant others (44%) – To keep in touch with family members (58%) – To coordinate social activities (32%) In the same survey students reported that the reasons they actually used their cell phones were: – Optimize time — make calls while walking or driving (56.6%) – Emergencies (35.5%) – Coordinate social activities (7.0%) Juanita gives example of cell phone use. Participation Question: How do you react to someone using there cell phone in a public place? For instance when you are seating down in the theater getting ready to see the movie and someone’s cell phones goes off? What doe you do? What’s your reaction? Have them write down answer then share with class. E-mails Another form of Electronically Mediated Interpersonal Communication is the Internet. Electronic communication is usually transmitted via the internet. Which is an international electronic computer network made up of smaller computer networks. The internet is an information management system made up of information providers and information seekers. This idea of linking computers came to fruition in the mid 1960’s. In 1983 this network became known collectively as the internet. The World Wide Web is part of the internet where information is presented. Here are some terms that are associated with the internet. Go online to show examples. * Webpages- are somewhat like pages in a book that include both pictures and text. * Websites- Are a collection of webpages belonging to the same organization or person. * Home page- Is the first page of a website. * Browser- Is a program that enables you to search millions of websites otherwise known as surfing the net. These programs include Netsacpe, Explore, just to name a few. * Uniform resource locator or URL- The path name of a domain. * Bookmark- Stores favorite sites that you would like to re-visit. * Search engines- Identifies websites and corresponding URL’s like google and yahoo. Give some stats on internet usage in the United States. Write on board (Kelly). Internet usage among Americans are as followed: Women use the internet 67% Men use the internet 69% more that women Now we will also break down internet usage by age: 18-29 84% 30-49 80% 50-64 67% 65+ 26% As you can see the usage is cut drastically as we move into the older generation. The older generations did not have the accessibility to these new electronic mediated forms of communication. Younger generations have practically been raised with these devices in place and are part of their everyday lives. Another part of being online is emails. This is a written form of communication sent via the internet. Email is the largest application of internet technology. In the early 90’s email was an option available mostly for interoffice communication. Only a small number of people were experimenting with emails as a general means to communication. Today of the 75% of teens online, email accounts for most of their one on one contacts. Email has two major advantages: one its fast and two its unlimited. But unlike traditional mail, email is public and not private. People can intercept and read nearly any message sent using the right software. So once again privacy is no longer an objective, but convenience has become the number one priority in our lives. This is seen in the way we communicate in emails. So fast paced has our lives become that we now abbreviate words and  thoughts into mere letters, like B.F.N. which stands for BYE FOR NOW. Not only has communication become shorter, but also less meaningful. Over 36 billion emails are sent on a daily basis worldwide. We must remember that emails are forms of communication and should be treated as any other form of public interaction, that is respect. Here are some skills that should be kept in mind when using this form of electronically mediated interpersonal communication: SENDER SKILLS 1. USING PRECISE, CONCRETE WORDS– Since tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures and other nonverbal means we use to communicate are virtually nonexistent in cyber communication, you need to be especially careful with the words you use when writing to another person. â€Å"What do you say we get together sometime† does little more than express an interest in meeting, but say you were to include times you are available, and a potential date for meeting, the other person will be more likely to accept an invitation to meet because they see it as a possibility rather than an abstract idea. 2. PROVIDING DETAILS AND EXAMPLES – Once again, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Being too short in an email to someone could likely cause miscommunication. However, providing details and examples can help to clear up any confusion. 3. DESCRIBE YOUR FEELINGS – Clear content (ideas, details, explanation, feelings) helps the receiver understand not only what you’re talking about, but how the subject at hand makes you feel. If I were to email someone and tell them â€Å"I ran out of gas today, smashed my toe on the wall, and got to work late†, they would have assume that I was not having a good day, but wouldn’t be able to tell how it had made me feel. Now if I were to say â€Å"I had a horrible morning. I smashed my toe on the wall while I was running out of the house, ran out of gas on the way to work and showed up 20 minutes late. I’m feeling so stressed and upset!† the receiver of my information would definitely get a clear picture of how the morning made me feel. 4. PRESENT YOUR IDEAS POLITELY – When we’re online there’s a tendency to separate ourselves from the person we’re talking with. Sometimes this leads to saying things in a way that others will perceive as offensive. Say Kyle and Chris got in an argument a few days ago. Rather than simply saying â€Å"Chris I want to talk about what happened the other day†, Kyle may want to say â€Å"Chris, when you get a chance, I think we should talk about the other day. I really value our friendship, and was wondering if you would want to get together to clear the air†. Now Kyle is letting Chris know that he doesn’t intend on letting the friendship get ruined because of one argument, but he also doesn’t want to have any hostility going into the reconciliation. RECEIVER SKILLS 1. LISTEN TO WHAT THE PERSON HAS SAID – a tool one can use when reading an email is to say it out loud, not just skim through it. You are now adding the nonverbals that the simple words on the page are lacking. 2. BE SENSITIVE TO THE PERSON’S FEELINGS – Even if the printed message may not capture a person’s feelings as well as we’d like, we must still try and be in tune with them. Someone we are closely involved with may expect us to empathize with them when they are sending us a message. So rather than simply reading the words, we must try and imagine how those words make the sender feel by thinking about that person in general. In some cases, we may still be unclear about the meaning of a certain message, and this is when perception checking comes in handy. We must ask the person to try and clear up what they meant when a message is ambiguous or vague. 3. PARAPHRASE KEY IDEAS BEFORE YOU RESPOND – DUH! Perception check. If someone emailed you saying â€Å"I spoke with my manager the other day and he said he’s laying off my closest friend here†, you may respond â€Å"I get the sense that you are upset with your manager for his decision to lay off your friend, and also feel bad for your friend about the possibility of him losing his job – am I right? The person can then respond letting you know if you got the message right. 4. BE SUPPORTIVE WHEN A PERSON IS SHARING GOOD NEWS – Regardless of how a person has phrased their message, they expect their message to be fully understood. If someone shares good news with you, they expect you to respond in a positive manner. 5. PRAISE A PERSON’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS — kinda self explanatory. 6. TRY TO COMFORT A PERSON WHO’S HURTING – People who are close to us seek comfort. Because of the lack of sharing the same personal space with the person whom we are communicating, we may not feel inclined to get involved in the issue with which that person is struggling. But remember, a person would not say anything unless they were seeking comfort. So if your friend emails you and says â€Å"I’ve been having a bad week. My dog is sick, I’m behind on homework, and I haven’t been myself lately†, you musn’t ignore that person, but provide some sort of support. Responding with â€Å"Man, that sucks† is NOT a good way to comfort someone. However, responding with, â€Å"Wow, I’m so sorry. I really hope your dog is okay, and if you need any help with getting organized, let me know what I can do. I’m here for you, and you can call me if you ever need to just vent† is a better way of showing the person that you care about them and their current situation. Participation question: How often do you use your email account on a weekly basis? Write down answer and then share with class. Other interactions that can take place using the internet is newsgroups and chat rooms. Everyday millions of people chat online with friends, colleagues and strangers. Teens use this form of interaction the most amount of time. Many teens engage in internet chat because they can be themselves more oppose to face to face interactions. This is due to them not being afraid of how people will judge them. One unique characteristic of being online is that your real identity is usually kept secret. Most people adopt a cyber identity or persona. In this make believe world you can become anything or anyone you want. This can be  somewhat problematic because so can everyone else. Here are a few definitions on the topic: Newsgroups- Is an electronic gathering place for people with similar interests. (Online example) Chat- Is an online interactive exchange between two or more people. (Online example) Lurking- Listening in on newsgroups or chat conversations. (Online example) Flaming- A hostile or negative respond to what you’ve written. (Online example) Participation question: Does anyone belong to a Newsgroup or likes to chat online? How often? Thomas gives example about chat rooms. Thanks to advances in technology, people are introduced to others they have  never seen through chat rooms and internet dating services. These people mostly meet in a room where they talk about a certain subject. The people who meet online are likely to try and develop these Electronically Mediated relationships (or EM relationship) into a personal relationship. They will meet in a chat room, and if an interest in someone sparks the desire to â€Å"meet† in a private chat room, they may do so. From here, people are able to communicate one-on-one and may then find out they have more than one thing in common. If the interest continues to grow, they may talk over the phone, and eventually meet in person. The result could be just a friendship, or an intimate relationship. Statistics show that 23.7% of the people in a study of a certain newsgroup  or chatroom communicated with their partner 3-4 times a week, and 55.4% communicated at least on a weekly basis. These EM relationships are attractive to some people with busy lifestyles who claim they have no time to â€Å"do the bar scene†. Other people who have a face-to-face relationships use EMC to sustain that relationship. E-mail was originally designed as a tool for conducting business, but is now used widely by friends, family, and lovers to maintain close connection that might be difficult to sustain when there is a lack of time, or there is great distance between the two parties. Instant Messaging is one of the most widely used tools for sustaining or developing relationships. My brother lives with me, yet when we are at home, we get the most  talking done while using Instant Messenger from separate rooms in the house. This is not to say our relationship wouldn’t last if we didn’t communicate via the internet, but it is a good way to catch up on each others’ lives while still working on what needs to get done like homework, and obviously communicating with others as well. EMC is less fruitful than face to face communication, because text messages are  primarily verbal. We have talked about the loss or lack of intimacy in EMC, and this is mostly because the way we say our words means more than just what is said. Ms. Mallard used the example of â€Å"I Love You† in class. Typing â€Å"I love you†, while getting the message across, does not necessarily reflect the emotion and intent behind those three words. We refer to our EM encounters as â€Å"talking to people†, but the words we write seldom carry out as much meaning as we think. Only with videoconferencing is the full range of nonverbal messages available. After all, communication is at its most effective when there are verbal AND  nonverbal messages being carried out EMC, conducted via keyboard entries, is slower paced than face-to-face conversations. We think faster than we can  type (unless you’re  Super-Secretary). Although this slower rate may provide a person more time for thought, this slower transmission reduces the spontaneity that is an important characteristic of face-to-face interaction. EM communicators are perceived to be less supportive. As stated before, short messages may be interpreted many different ways, and are more often seen as very impersonal. In face-to-face communication, anywhere from 33% to 100% of the meaning depends on how the message was stated. Many people are attracted to EMC as a means of developing or maintaining relationships if they have had difficulty cultivating strong interpersonal relationships in person. Because EMC is planned, some people are able to show verbal skillfulness and humor in their writing, but lack those skills in face to face settings. Some individuals report that EM relationships are more satisfying than face-to-face relationships. Now is this because we have advanced so far in the technological field that more and more people are online, thus providing us with a greater range of people to meet, or is this because people are losing the ability to â€Å"hold their own† in a face-to-face encounter. Americans used to go to clubs or bars to meet people, but are now staying home on Friday nights to talk to their online partner because they are more comfortable suppressing their need for group interaction in a less threatening atmosphere. Think about it, it is easier to talk to someone you are interested in online because the things you would have trouble saying in person simply roll right off your fingertips when using the internet. The awkwardness in a first conversation is virtually  non-existent. You feel more connected to that person, and relationships tend to develop faster this way. Role of Electronic Communication in Building Relationships Today communication technologies are changing the way we building and maintaining relationships. Prior to 1990, people became more acquainted mostly with those with whom they had personal physical contact. At the same  time, dating services advertised that they can get people in the same community acquainted with each other within a week. Today, people are able to make acquaintances with people around the world within seconds. From Online to In-Person Relationships In face to face relationships, trust is built over time. In EM relationships, making a trust evaluation is more difficult. Some of the media through which relationships are developed are very â€Å"opaque.† Kelly gives example about Justine (trust factor). The dark side of Electronically Mediated Communication There are three main problems with EMC EM communication to form relationship and acquire information has a number of risks and abuse. ( Abuse of Anonymity) Write on board—- One type of abuse in Internet- based relationships stems from the common practice of assuming a fictitious online persona. (Dishonesty) Write on board—–A second risk in cyber relationships lies in the ease with which one can be deceived. In cyberspace, people commonly lie about their sex and physical attributes, and create fictitious careers, homes, and so forth. Unfortunately, some people use cyberspace to prey on others. When we develop in-person relationships, we usually have independent ways of confirming that the people are what they are representing themselves to be. Because we don’t know our EM partners in person we are severely limited in our abilities to independently confirm what we are told. Abuse of anonymity and dishonesty are of special concern for EM relationships formed by children. In 1998, seventeen million children ages two to eighteen were online. That number is expected to grow even higher. This is of some concern as well due to the growing numbers of Addiction. (Addiction) Write on board—– A third potential problem for children and adults alike is technological addictions, defined as non chemical (behavioral) addictions  that involves human machine interaction. People who are addicted spend inordinate amounts of time online and begin to prefer their cyber relationships to their real ones. So in conclusion technology has made some great strides in bringing the world closer, meaning we literally have the world at our fingertips. We can communicate with someone in Ireland at the press of a button. The effectiveness of Electronically Mediated Communication as it relates to inter-personal communication lies solely in how we choose to use it. EMC, if used incorrectly can drastically deteriorate the level of human intimacy and can take away the private aspect of communication with loved ones and has in turn made it into a public affair.

Nian, the Chinese Spring or New Years Day Festival

Nian, the Chinese Spring or New Years Day Festival The Spring Festival is the grandest festival for the Chinese. The Spring Festival is also called Nian, but who knows the term, Nian, was once the name of a furious monster that lived on human beings in the ancient time. How the festival has some relationship with the monster lies in a story about the origin and development of the Spring Festival. The legend says, long ago, there was a monster called Nian. It was born to be very ugly and ferocious, which looked like either dragons or unicorns. On the first and the 15th of each lunar month, the monster would come down from the mountains to hunt people. So people were very much afraid of it and locked their doors early before sunset on the days of its coming. There lived an old wise man in a village. He thought it was the panic in people that made the monster so bold and furious. Thus the old man asked people to organize together and to conquer the monster by means of beating drums and gongs, burning bamboo, and lighting fireworks for the purpose of making large noises to threaten the hateful monster. When he told people about the idea, everybody agreed on it. On a moonless and freezing cold night, the monster, Nian, appeared again. The moment it opened its mouth to people, burst out the frightening noises and fire made by people, and wherever the monster went, it was forced to back off by the terrible noises. The monster couldnt stop running until he fell down with exhaustion. Then people jumped up and killed the evil monster. Savage as the monster was, he lost in the end under the efforts from the cooperation of people. Since then, people have kept the tradition by beating drums and gongs, and lighting fireworks at the coldest day in winter to drive the imagined monsters away and to celebrate the victory over it. Today, Nian refers to the New Years Day or the Spring Festival. People often say Guo Nian, which means live the festival. Furthermore, Nian also means the year. For example, the Chinese often greet each other by saying Xin Nian Hao, which means Happy New Year! Xin means new and Hao means good.

Tobacco Advertising And Its Dangerous Effects On Young People. Essays

Tobacco Advertising And Its Dangerous Effects On Young People. Essays Tobacco Advertising and its dangerous effects on young people. Tobacco Advertising Makes Young People Their Chief Target Everyday 3,000 children start smoking, most them between the ages of 10 and 18. These kids account for 90 percent of all new smokers. In fact, 90 percent of all adult smokers said that they first lit up as teenagers (Roberts). These statistics clearly show that young people are the prime target in the tobacco wars. The cigarette manufacturers may deny it, but advertising and promotion play a vital part in making these facts a reality (Roberts). The kings of these media ploys are Marlboro and Camel. Marlboro uses a fictional western character called The Marlboro Man, while Camel uses Joe Camel, a high-rolling, swinging cartoon character. Joe Camel, the "smooth character" from R.J. Reynolds, who is shown as a dromedary with complete style has been attacked by many Tobacco-Free Kids organizations as a major influence on the children of America. Dr. Lonnie Bristow, AMA (American Medical Association) spokesman, remarks that "to kids, cute cartoon characters mean that the product is harmless, but cigarettes are not harmless. They have to know that their ads are influencing the youth under 18 to begin smoking"(Breo). Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia report that almost as many 6-year olds recognize Joe Camel as know Mickey Mouse (Breo). That is very shocking information for any parent to hear. The industry denies that these symbols target people under 21 and claim that their advertising goal is simply to promote brand switching and loyalty. Many people disagree with this statement such as Illinois Rep. Richard Durbin who states " If we can reduce the number of young smokers, the tobacco companies will be in trouble and they know it "(Roberts). So what do the tobacco companies do to keep their industry alive and well? Seemingly, they go toward a market that is not fully aware of the harm that cigarettes are capable of. U.S. News recently featured a discussion of the smoking issue with 20 teenagers from suburban Baltimore. The group consisted of ten boys and ten girls between the ages of 15 and 17. When asked why they started smoking, they gave two contradictory reasons: They wanted to be a part of a peer group. They also wanted to reach out and rebel at the same time. " When you party, 75 to 90 percent of the kids are smoking. It makes you feel like you belong," says Devon Harris, a senior at Woodlawn High. Teens also think of smoking as a sign of independence. The more authority figures tell them not to smoke, the more likely they are to pick up the habit (Roberts). The surprising thing is that these kids know that they are being influenced by cigarette advertising. If these kids know that this advertising is manipulating them, why do they still keep smoking? The ads are everywhere, especially in teen-oriented magazines, such as Rolling Stone and Spin. The ads also fuel some of the reasons the children gave for starting. They represent rebellion, independence, acceptance and happiness. These are all the things a young person, between childhood and adolescence, needs and desires. This type of advertising, on top of peer pressure, is the mystery behind the rise in adolescent smoking. How do we stop the future of America from smoking? Here are three things that the experts recommend. Try to convince your children that smoking is not cool. Talk to your kids at a young age about the dangers of smoking. Identify family members who smoke and ask them to stop (Thomas). Children are the most valuable commodity we are given in life. Let's try to educate them while they're young to be independent thinkers and to not be swayed by the tobacco companies who are trying to take advantage of their mind and body. "Bill Clinton vs. Joe Camel." U.S. News Online. 27 Oct. 1996. "Selling Tobacco to Kids." America. 17 Feb. 1996: 3. Infotrac. Online. 27 Oct. 1996. Roberts, Steven. " Teens on tobacco; kids smoke for reasons all their own." U.S. News & World Report. 18 Apr. 1996: 38. Infotrac. Online. 27 Oct. 1996. Thomas, Roger E. "10 steps to keep the children in

Avert vs. Avoid

Avert vs. Avoid Avert vs. Avoid Avert vs. Avoid By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between avert and avoid? They share a primary meaning (with a subtle but significant distinction) but despite their structural similarity are etymologically unrelated. This post discusses their senses and origins and those of similar-looking synonyms. Avert derives from the Latin verb vertere, which means â€Å"turn.† To avert is literally to turn away; one averts one’s eyes or gaze when one turns away, so as not to make eye contact or see something. But avert also means â€Å"prevent† or â€Å"ward off,† a sense it shares with avoid. However, while avert implies active effort to stop something from happening, avoid often suggests keeping away from or refraining from something rather than preventive action. One averts disaster by doing something to stop it, while one avoids it by removing oneself from a situation that will result in disaster. Aversion, originally the noun form of avert, still alludes to the physical act of turning away in its modern senses of â€Å"dislike† or â€Å"repugnance†; more rarely, it refers to an object of antipathy. Avoid stems from the Latin verb vuider, which means â€Å"empty† and is also the origin of void, which as a verb means â€Å"empty† and as a noun means â€Å"emptiness.† The a is a vestige of the Latin prefix ex-, in this sense meaning â€Å"out†; the prefix, slightly altered in the Old French word esvuider, ended up in Anglo-French as the first letter of avoider, from which the English word avoid is derived. (Devoid, meaning â€Å"without,† also has the root word void.) Something is said to be avoidable, and an act or practice of avoiding is avoidance. Another word that appears to be related to avert and avoid is evade, which means â€Å"avoid† or â€Å"escape† but its origin is the Latin verb vadere, meaning â€Å"go†; to evade is literally to not go. Something avoidable is also evadable, though this adjective is seldom used. The noun form is evasion. Inevitable, meaning â€Å"unable to be avoided,† is also unrelated; its antonym, evitable, is rare but also goes back hundreds of years. Their ultimate source is the Latin verb vitare, which means â€Å"shun.† In addition to being an adjective, inevitable sometimes appears as a noun, as shown in â€Å"Accept the inevitable† (meaning, â€Å"that which cannot be avoided†). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†On Behalf Of vs. In Behalf OfEspecially vs. Specially

Report on Sustainability Practice Research Paper

Report on Sustainability Practice - Research Paper Example The report analyses the development of the term sustainable tourism. It highlights on the failures and success of sustainable tourism and in the midst identifying the most significant sustainability issue that the whole operation has to deal with. It also views on the criteria from the industry certification standard of sustainable tourism discussing the operations that stick to the set principles. Various ways of improving sustainability issues are discussed including the interrelationship that exists in social, economic and environmental sustainability aspects. The term sustainable tourism also referred to as responsible tourism can be defined as an act of making a gesture that brings about a positive difference to individuals and the surroundings of the destinations various people travel to. This can be achieved by following some fair and simple rules which include, giving respect to the local cultures as well as the natural surroundings, helping in protection of endangered wildlife, giving fair and sound economic returns to the families living within the localities by buying locally. Water and energy are extremely valuable resources that need care when using the therefore one should recognize this and practice too (Middleto & Hawkins, 2006). Putting efforts in conserving and enhancing various favorite destinations bearing in mind of the future enjoyment of visitors and the people living within those localities is something commendable. Lastly, it should be the duty of every individual to take responsibility of our own actions while enjoy ing ourselves. The projected layout should be in the heart of sustainable development. Three issues thus social, economic and environmental matters are inseparable according to studies. Depending on how well the people balance these three issues in the decisions they make today, the future will heavily rely on it. The tourism sector

Bowlby's Viewpoint Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bowlby's Viewpoint - Assignment Example ent studies, the author attests that healthy, happy and independent young adults and adolescents are products of stable homes in which both parents give enough time and attention to the children. He continues to put that the child’s care giver needs a lot of assistance, from the other parent, though it normally comes from the grandmother in most societies. I totally agree with Bowlby’s way of parenting, because successful parenting is a key to the mental health of the next generation. A parent-child bond is not only healthy for the childs well-being, but an essential part of what it means to be human. Attachment theory teaches three main attachment patterns; secure, avoidant and ambivalent, which are behaviors that continue into adulthood. While they explore the world, securely attached children are confident, since they used the parent as a secure base. Bowlbys work also showed that the early interactions between infant and caregiver have a significant impact on an infants social, emotional, and intellectual growth (Bowlby 1907-1990). On the other hand, an insecurely attached child is unhappy and not confident enough to explore the world. Consider a child brought up by a single mother, who is always busy and overwhelmed by activities, and has less time to spend with the child, the child obviously grows up unattached to the parents and feeling insecure at the same time. The provision of access to the parent’s body is a fundamental feature in developing secure attachment. Dependency, the child’s tie to the mother, has the effect of keeping the child in more proximity to its mother-figure. For example, attachment behavior of a child is activated mostly by pain, fatigue, fright, and the mother’s inaccessibility. Bowlby cited the description of Klaus, Trause and Kennelle (1975), on how a mother picks up and begins to stroke the baby’s face with her little finger immediately after its birth. At this time, the baby quietness and when put to her breasts, it

Analyse and access the blackboard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analyse and access the blackboard - Essay Example Currently in your Blackboard courses, you need to remove the existing file and re-upload the new version of the file. With the Blackboard Content System, you will no longer need to upload the same file to several different sections you would simply link from your course to the file in the Content System. This way if you modify, for example, the syllabus file in the Content System, the updates in the file can be reflected automatically in all the courses without having to go into each course and modify each file. Throughout this guide, you find a set of "Why Bother" ideas for Blackboard usage. So, below we've compiled a list of ideas from the broad spectrum of uses to get you thinking of why you would use Blackboard in your course: This is an exploratory study that aims to understand the current implementation of University Blackboard. Based on evaluation, it indicates that the general visibility of this study is guaranteed. The results of this study give students and faculty members more understanding of how Westminster University applies the standard student-faculty services online with the use of tools via the internet according to the website design standards. Furthermore, enhancement and personalising the University Blackboard can be adapted to suite and blend with the general there of the University website. Security is still a concern. Giving access to students should be monitored momentarily to avoid identity theft among students. References Wikipedia. (November 2006). Blackboard Inc. Retrieved November 7, 2006,

Pros and cons of outsourcing Human Resource Managment Functions Research Paper

Pros and cons of outsourcing Human Resource Managment Functions - Research Paper Example Organizations turn to outsourcing to slash their operational costs and improve financial position. Human resource outsourcing aims at reducing expenses by relegating official work to countries that provide HRM services at the fraction of what a company will pay at its home base (Ivancevich, 2004). European and North American companies are the main proponents of HRM outsourcing as they face the biggest challenge of financial constraints and relatively high turnover rates, despite the increasing recession. The top management finds it much easier to transfer the employee hiring and management duties to an outside vendor that might have its operational base in some other country or region. The basic function of a HRM vendor is to recruit and manage employees while freeing the client of this daunting task. The company can divert its attention to improving its financial performance or introducing new technology or working procedures, among other things. The less pressure on the client company over the management of employees and the associated financial burdens, thus, results in a better performance and greater efficiency (Mullins, 2007). The critics of HRM outsourcing, however, opine that divesting the employee management system to an outsider vendor can damage the reputation of a company. Additionally, it can also result in a breach of privacy as the outside vendor can delve deeper into the company procedure and hand it over to a rival company. They also say that transferring the salary and other accounting system to an outsider company might pave way for financial embezzlement, among other things. The biggest advantage of HRM outsourcing is the relative financial improvement and increased efficiency of a company. Human resource issues consume a lot of money, energy, and time of a company management as they get involved in the employees’ matters and waste their precious time that they can use in matters that are more useful. Along with the wastage of

Evaluate. examine and compare the innovative capacities of the Islamic Research Paper

Evaluate. examine and compare the innovative capacities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and that of Angola - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, the result is a scholarship on political economy that is "now back to a more balanced emphasis on all three" (Schmidt, 15) ---notwithstanding the differences between American and British traditions in political economy (Maliniak and Tierney, 1). According to Maliniak and Tierney, the American school of political economy is positivist and empiricist while the British school is more explicitly normative and interpretative. A comparative political economy approach allows us to derive lessons useful for advancing knowledge and informing policy. We have this in mind as we study and compare the cases of Angola and the Islamic Republic of Iran. We choose the two countries because relatively little is known on the two countries. We apply our comparative political economy approach to Angola and the Islamic Republic, focusing on the role of political economy on national innovative capacity. Porter and Stern define national innovative capacity as the countries potential "to produce a stream of commercially relevant innovation" (5).1 They emphasize that national innovative capacity is a product of the countrys technological sophistication, number of scientific and technical labor force, investments, and policy choice.2 Viewed in this perspective, national innovative capacity is definitely an outcome of a political economy environment that promotes technological sophistication, size of scientific and technical l abor force, investments, and competition. Further, the Porter-Stern notion of national innovative capacity also emphasizes on the political and economic entities of countries (5) and, therefore, this constitutes another stress on a political economy perspective. In contrast, the political economy perspective on innovation of Cowhey and Aronson stresses on how a combination of technological innovation, market strategies, and political entrepreneurship shapes the global economy,

Poverty related issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Poverty related issues - Essay Example This scheme allows and asks all the citizens across all the states irrespective of their residence to participate in the charity, because poverty and charity are both indiscriminate disregarding time and space. In this process one may not think that pro rata contribution of a few dollars by him/her is the job done. One may contribute as much as he can comfortably afford. Here comfortable affordability means the amount, which can alleviate a suffering of a poor without causing a suffering for you. And one should never sit back to see what others have contributed. If all of the citizens think like that then the charity may go empty and poor may die. While drawing a thin line between charity and duty one must be very careful. A man who gives regular and enough charity should not consider himself generous. Bread left over from one's meal always belongs to the poor. Here it is never meant that a citizen is required either to give away half of his income into charity, or all that he himself does not need. The beauty of helping others lies in a feeling for those who suffer from poverty. Utilitarian point of view is very clear about this. One should work enough to have enough to give away in charity. Keeping oneself underutilize is not good. And one should never think that since government is responsible for the social spending on poor, he/she is absolved of this responsibility. Other point which may stop a person from charity is that poor are always over populated and they do not follow the population control programs. Coercive application of these programs never works. A conducive environment comes from enough purpose oriented recreational and educational programs. Poverty is also a state... Poverty is the name of a situation and process. This is a situation when an individual, family or a community can not provide for bare minimum needs of food, clothing, shelter and heath. It is the process when this situation causes, hunger, disease, and death. Historically poverty and affluence have coexisted in the human society (Peter singer 1972). The solutions to the poverty always existed in human morality. When the human conscience is rightly jerked, it is hoped that poverty would no more be seen in the human societies. State the general occurrence of poverty in Unite States (the most affluent society) In United States of America only about 32 million people live below the line of poverty. This number is distributed unevenly amongst different socio-economic groups of the states. 25%Afro-American, 22% Hispanics, 10%Asian American, 8% non-Hispanic whites respectively live in the perpetual poverty. Income inequalities and racial discrimination is the worst producer of poverty in the American Society. The worst hit groups in the ethno-racial groups are the poor children, women and disabled. These marginalized people are vulnerable to homelessness, street crimes, malnourishment, neglect in the health care, domestic violence and discriminate educational facilities. What are the social problems emanating from poverty? Different social problems emanate from this marginalized group of American society that directly hit the American society. Poverty is badly impacting the health of women and children. The burden on health facilities and health insurance is increasing many folds in these poverty stricken communities. When the parents cannot afford the children’s feeding costs.

Evaluate. examine and compare the innovative capacities of the Islamic Research Paper

Evaluate. examine and compare the innovative capacities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and that of Angola - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, the result is a scholarship on political economy that is "now back to a more balanced emphasis on all three" (Schmidt, 15) ---notwithstanding the differences between American and British traditions in political economy (Maliniak and Tierney, 1). According to Maliniak and Tierney, the American school of political economy is positivist and empiricist while the British school is more explicitly normative and interpretative. A comparative political economy approach allows us to derive lessons useful for advancing knowledge and informing policy. We have this in mind as we study and compare the cases of Angola and the Islamic Republic of Iran. We choose the two countries because relatively little is known on the two countries. We apply our comparative political economy approach to Angola and the Islamic Republic, focusing on the role of political economy on national innovative capacity. Porter and Stern define national innovative capacity as the countries potential "to produce a stream of commercially relevant innovation" (5).1 They emphasize that national innovative capacity is a product of the countrys technological sophistication, number of scientific and technical labor force, investments, and policy choice.2 Viewed in this perspective, national innovative capacity is definitely an outcome of a political economy environment that promotes technological sophistication, size of scientific and technical l abor force, investments, and competition. Further, the Porter-Stern notion of national innovative capacity also emphasizes on the political and economic entities of countries (5) and, therefore, this constitutes another stress on a political economy perspective. In contrast, the political economy perspective on innovation of Cowhey and Aronson stresses on how a combination of technological innovation, market strategies, and political entrepreneurship shapes the global economy,

Naval academy Essay topic Essay Example for Free

Naval academy Essay topic Essay With? my? career? and? academic? goals? coming? to? a? nearing? sight.? I? am? honored? to? write? about? why? I? want? to? take? the? steps? into? attending? a? military? academy? ? From? first? learning? about? the? military? academies? through? a? close? friend? that? moved? from? florida? to? vandenberg? air? force? base? and? later? became? friends? through? lompoc? high? school.? I? realized? that? key? terms? such? as? leadership,? academics,? and? diversity all? things? that? the? academies? are? looking? for? in? students,? apply? to? me. ? From? a? young? age? my? teachers? have?  always? characterised? me? as? a? leader.? The? most? memorizable? quote? I? can? remember? during? a? parent? teacher? conference? with? my? 6th? grade? teacher? is? her? sasying? how? amazed? she? is? that? I? could? mingle? with? many? different? groups? with? many? interest? and? still? maintain? a? high? academic? academic? statue.? This? has? been? true all? through? high? school? with? being? part? of? many? sports? teams? such? as? basketball,? baseball,? wrestling,? and? the? captain? of? the? football? team. socially? I? have? been? part? of? chess? tournaments? with? the? chess?club,? treasure? of? my? class,? nominated? for? student? of? the? quarter,? admitted? into? youth? leadership? of? lompoc? valley,? youth? cfo? of? colas? kids? non? profit? organization,? and? the? list? goes? on.? ? ? Many? ask? why? a? military? academy,? why? not? a? college? or? university? not? related? to? the? military.? One? of? my? reasons? definitely? not? my? biggest? is? financially? I? wouldnt? be? able? to? pay? for? college.? Living? with? my? mother,? living? with? my? grandparents,? living? with? the? my? dad? in? government? housing,? living? alone,? and? currently? living? in?section? 8? housing? with? father? and? step? mother.? Financially? college? is? a? goal? achievable? through? academics? and? diversity? ,? but? will? always? have? the? restrain? financially? to? pay? for? tuition.? ? Being? admitted? and? attending? an? academy? will? not? only? help? me? along? with? my? family? financially? but? u? will? have? a? chance? to? serve? my? country? with? the? utmost? gratitude.? My? parents? have? never? pushed? me? to? apply? at? a? military? academy,? the? goal? of? admission? has? solely? been? through? self? motivation.? With? my? career? goals? being? in?the? field? of? engineering? (mechanical? in? preference)? I? have? researched? the? naval? academy? and? earning bachelors? in? science? at? the? academy? would? kick? start? my? future? with? opportunities? that? other? universities? cant? offer.? Knowing? that? you? must? complete? a? term? in? the? military? after? the? academy? has? no? change? to? my? decision.? From? meeting? first? srgt.? Eric? simon? on? the? Air? Force? base,? he? has? became? an? inspiration? to? become? a? man? of? respect.? I? first? met? him? through? my? best? friend,? srgt.? Simon? being? his? father.? When? I? first? met? him? my? first? impression? was? this? man? is? someone? to? respect? and? honor? with? gratitude? for? protecting? and? serving? our? country.? I? later? learned? through? experience? that? srgt.? Simon? is? a? great? father? and? man? all? around.? Coming? from? an? unhealthy? family? in? Maryland? I? have? been? able? to? relate? and? look? up? to? him? as? a? father? figure.? The? experience? of? meeting? srgt.? Simon? has? made? me? more? than? ready? to? serve? in? the? armed? services.? I? want? to? show? my? four? younger? brothers? that? If? I? can? do? it? they? can? do?it? ,? while? establishing? a? role? model? position? for? them.? ? Being? admitted? to? the? naval? academy? or? another? military? academy? has? been? my? goal? from? the? beginning? of? high? school.? Aiming? everything? I? do.? And? pushing? myself? to? be? a? stand? out? candidate.? I? am? more? than? willing? to? serve? my? term? of? service? with? the? utmost? gratitude? and? respect? for? my? country.? The? reason? I? feel? that? i? standout? among? the? other? candidates? is? how? diverse? I? am? in? all? the? aspects? the? academies? are? looking? for.? Being? a? leader? in? sports?activities,? through? team? voting? I? became? the? football? captain,? having? four? little? brothers? I? lead? them? everyday? as? a? role? model.? Academically? I? strive? in? the? classroom? ,? recieving? scholar? awards? throughout? high? school? ,? and? achieving? top? 20? percent? of? my? class.? through? the? community? of? school? ,? being? involved? in? many? groups? and? organizations.? Also? outside? of? school? in? my? community? of? Santa? Barbara? county? through? community? service? and? helping? organizations? such? as? the? American? G. I.? Forum? along? with? many? others.?

Discussing The Challenges Faced In Business

Discussing The Challenges Faced In Business Most top management executive today are faced with challenge of creating better ways of doing business in doing this , the customers have becomes the direct focused .In fact ,most organisation today, opine that a companys success depend effectively on managing relationship with customers . In achieving this companies have adopted distinct electronic business application that would generally suit its mission and objective, E-business OBrien state is the use of the internet and other network application, to process data of customers and business partner within a new worked enterprise (OBrien, 2005) .Customer relationship management application has becomes a key element within e-business system which most organisation have already adopted. The Customer relationship management application has been developed by most software companies like oracle, Sales force ,SAP and Seibel .The focused of this paper though is greatly on CRM application called SAPCO developed by SAP and how a UK top home improvement companies ,BQ has been able to use it to develop that relationship with customers . 1.1 AIM AND OBJECTIVES The analysis is this paper will show amongst other thing, how this application has accounted in many ways for the success and grow of customers loyalty of BQ over the years ,it will also look at the business challenge associated with the use of the system within BQ and by extension, the use of similar Customer relationship management systems supports by SAP in other organisation and importantly too, analyzing the ethical issues associated with technology. 1.2 METHODOLOGY A lot of recent articles and text books played a significant role in this work .Internet sources too ,cannot be underestimated alongside comments ,by way of interview conducted with some with some BQ staff who were there when the system was introduced and other who have been using the system for years now. 2.0 CRM TECHNOLOGY AND SAP Customer relationship management technology can up in the mid twentieth century as a result of the most management executive identifying the need to improved relationship with customer and in that way improve business efficiency. The general maxim that the customers are always right seemed to take a more descriptive place as companies were now committed on doing whatever it takes to deliver the promise made (Nguyen et al 2007) .This is where technology comes into pay to create this needs business value. This is also where to business executive brainstorming on aborting the best application that would enhance better control over their operation. Customer relationship management application help organisation assess customers loyalty and profitability on measures such as repeat purchase, dollars spent and longevity (Popovice et al 2003) It is important to note that Customer relationship management is like other E-commerce application, a combination of people, process and technology that seek to understand a companys customers . (Chen et al 2003) SAP happens to be one of the leading vendors for enterprise resource planning system, ERP. ERP systems are software package that permit companies to have more actual control over their operation. A typical CRM application will encompass the entire element in the diagram in figure 1 below Sale Market and fulfillment -Cross sell -Up-sell Customer Service and support Contact and Account Management Fax e-mail Telephone web Prospect or customer sales (OBrien, 2005) The diagram in figure 1 above show clearly that indeed ,the customer is the focus and all other aspect revolved around it ,aimed at marking the customer happy and by extension the business gaining repeat visit through customer loyalty . Now, in this SAP major strength in this application, includes the extensive capability of the softwares functional these and many other reason may have formed that reason why a large organisation like BQ picked sap to provide application . 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.1 NEED FOR CRM As the power of the seller shifts to the buyer (Watson, 2002) organizations are realizing that competing with cheaper, better or different products is not sufficient, and competitive advantage cannot be achieved by purely differentiating products alone, but through enhanced customer relationships .At the same time, customers are experiencing low switching costs and could easily redirect their loyalty from one company to another (Holcom, 2001). Their expectations have also risen in recent years, making Customer relationship management a necessity in todays customer-driven business environment (S.L. Pan, J.N. Lee, 2003). Previous research has shown that it costs more to attract new customers than retain customers because of advertising and marketing costs .This means that, instead of differentiating products, organizations should differentiate customers (M. Nykamp, 2001) and they should shift their emphasis on market share to customer share (M. Rogers, 1993). Research has also indicated that organizations must not only retain their customers but also expand the useful lifespan of customers with the organization ( Zeithaml, 2002 ) by means of IT. Through such technologies, one-to-one relationships (D. Peppers and M. Roger, 1993).Value creation (Barnes, 2001) customer value analysis, product and website customization are possible on a scale that was not possible in the past (M. Nykamp, 2001). According to the 80/20 rule, 20% of customers provide organizations with 80% of sales (Ryals and Knox, 2001). This further emphasizes the need for organizations to retain and engage in long-term relationships with profitable customers to maximize profits (J. Galbreath, 1998). SAP IN BQ. SAPCO is an acronym in BQ that stands from SAP Custer ordering system .it is a system being used by BQ to process customers orders, monitor customer transaction and enhance better customer relationship. BQ China, part of Kingfisher Group plc, is one of the top three global decorations and building materials groups. The group employs the equivalent of more than 10,000 full-time staff, serving a marketplace worth around $40 billion. Just like all customer relationship system, SAPCO enable BQ to answer question around: what product or service are customer? How should we communicate with our customers? What are my customers favourite colours or what is my customers size? (Popovvich, 2003). With SAPCO these question would be answered within minutes from customers transaction histories and processes. Businesses and individuals working on refurbishment projects are prime sales opportunities for the Decoration Centers service at BQ China. However, the workflow designed to track these opportunities relied on paper-based notes of project requirements, status, sales and value, and staff kept diaries to make follow-up calls. Total contract sales data was collected and collated manually, a process that took months, before central departments could analyze the results of marketing campaigns (http://www-01.ibm.com). Before BQ introduced SAPCO, orders where made via paper and ink .And when I interviewed BQ staff they confirmed that it was and herculean task. Mistake and long queues were that order of the day the employees found it very difficult with the stress associated with manual way of taking order from customers. The introduction of SAPCO has made all this problem history, customer can now go any of B Q store through to the UK and have their orders complete within a few minutes. 3.1 THE SAPCO PROCESS A potential customer who wants to buy goods from any BQ stores across the UK come in to the shop and meet with a customer adviser who will help the customer to look for what hi want and help the customer to process the order in the system .before the can be done the customer must have a user name and password unique to the individual alone this what the employer will us in logging into the SAPCO application .in the case of the first time customer the customer adviser with request the customer to provide some personal details like name in full, house address, postcode, phone number these information will be keyed into the system after that ,the item number or the barcode number is keyed into the system and an order places . SAPCO will run through the system and identify where the item is, if it is in stock or needs to be ordered from outside the store and if so this process begins immediately. At this point again, the customer is asked about the quantity of goods to be ordered which i s entered into the system. A quotation is also prepared by SAPCO if required by customer. Once the order has been done successfully, the order is checked by both the BQ staff and the customer to make sure the order is correct. The place of delivery of the item is then confirmed from the customer. The charges of delivery are automatically calculated by SAPCO. Then after the customer is issued a sales advice note which he takes to the checkout stand to make payment. If the item is not in store, SAPCO automatically orders the item and also states the date of delivery. This most times takes between four to six weeks (www.diy.com). It also uses the sales confirmation to control its finances effectively. This is done by clients payment for items in BQ can automatically and payments to supplies are included in the central cash flow furcating reports generated by the SAPCO financial application. Again, if the customer had done business with BQ before then and wants information about his earlier order or make a new one the staff need just ask for the postcode and customer number which would be used in locating the transaction history of the customer. Queries if any are spotted and sorted. Another angle to this system is once the order has been picked up, the BQ staff must go back to the system, click on the item across the individuals name. He then goes to the collection section and confirms after which he prints two copies of the collection note. A copy of the collection note is kept by BQ and the other unsigned is given to the customer. This affirms to both BQ and the customer that item has been picked and transaction completed. One of the key benefits of SAPCO is that it links up all the departments in BQ so a customer can walk to any sales advisor and ask about an order. The necessary information is taken off the customer at the nearest computer system available and the order is immediately displayed. 3.2 BENEFIT OF SAPCO AS A CRM TOOL It has greatly improved the ordering system in BQ. The ordering of products is done faster thereby enhancing business. It has also enabled BQ to measure its customers loyalty better through the awareness of the history of customer transaction. It also manages customers documents better as it is fully integrated in the companys business system. Prior to the use of SAPCO customer details were held on paper records, with key project milestones used as the triggers to remind customers to return to the stores. It was difficult to share information between different departments, such as keeping a record of product recommendations and noting project status, and potential opportunities are not always pursued. Angela Dong, Senior Project Manager, comments, A customer usually spends some time consulting with BQ staff, and may visit other shops to compare prices or consider alternatives. With customer information held on paper, it was all too easy to miss the follow-up sales opportunity to invi te them to select BQ. Through this system and via the internet, customers have 24 hours access to their account. This enables them easily assess their account anytime. This has also helped reduced cost for the company. The usual logistics of making orders manually has been greatly reduced. Delivery of items and tracking of goods has improved greatly improved. This system works in a way that staffs handling delivery immediately see an order has been made and paid for; hence they are aware that there is another order waiting to be delivered. With all customer and project data captured electronically, BQ is able to identify the right time to follow up with customers and maximize sales opportunities. BQ central management is able to adjust marketing campaigns in response to actual sales made, respond to demand for specific products, and monitor payments and cash flow. The result is that BQ is able to tailor its business more closely to the needs of customers, creating a genuine competitive advantage. It also a solution that that would serve customers better by providing detailed knowledge of stock levels and replenishment times, and, of course, accurate pricing, across all our stores. Customers are the most valuable assets of any company especially during this present economic situation and which SAPCO helps improves the volume of customers. According to Ian Anthony, Technical Infrastructure Programme Manager, BQ the customer ordering system in particular we have seen a huge increase in the volume of customer orders going through since the systems been implemented. The data gathered from SAPCO helps BQ to track projects status and ensure high quality which ultimately helps to improve customer satisfaction level. Due to the implementation of SAPCO information is completely transparent and managers are able to adjust sales and marketing strategies depending on actual data from current purchasing trends rather than having to wait for data to be complied by hand at the store level and later sent to the head office which normally take up to three months. (http://www-01.ibm.com). There is also an immediate visibility of the number of orders or contract which in other words means that SAPCO has improved both management and customer efficiency. 3.3 CHALLENGES OF SAPCO IN BQ The challenges of SAPCO differ from staff to staff. While some staffs believe is to be a total disaster others feel that there are ups and downs associated with its effective use. Some of which are listed below: The speed of the internet which mainly depends on the network providing the connection as been identified as one of the major challenges. There are some times a completion of order could prove a difficult task as it could take up to ten minutes to move from one page to another. This customer is made in this instance to wait for an undue period of time. For the system to work efficiently a stable and secure internet network must be available. Another big issue is the human side associated with it. Most have not come to properly appreciate the system so sometimes information is incorrectly entered. This is properly due to lack of enough training on the system or the staffs personal decision not to imbibe proper procedure. Data Collection And Processing Management Perspective Business management most times is centred on decision making. However, this aspect within most organisations is the central role of managers. Managers are faced daily with the challenges of coming up with processes that would enhance the effective running of the business. The use of information systems like the CRM technology has formed a critical role of this responsibility and to a large extend has improved this role. Most of the decisions managers have to make now have become web based either through the internet or networking applications which foster the information processing. According to Loudon, managers can now automate certain decision procedure (for example , determining the highest price that can be charged for a product to maintain market share or the highest amount of materials to maintain in inventory to maximise efficient customer response and product profitability). Loudon Loudon 2002 pg. 404). Organisations have a hierarchy of decision makers. This hierarchy in many ways enhances the smooth running of companies. Within the organisation there are the following: Strategic Management The manager here are concerned with decision around the long time value of the company and most times described as unstructured (George Steiner). Tactical Management- Managers here are concerned with medium term planning. They monitor the performance of the organisation, control budget, allocate resources and set budget (Bocij 2003 pg.18). Operational Management- Manager here directly handles the running of the business. Decisions here are highly structured as they affect the business directly and are felt at the moment it is taken. Managers here implements budget and apply them to business. For instance the decision by BQ to adopt SAPCO as a customer relationship management tool for such a large organisation would have been exclusively strategic. However, setting out the budget and planning ahead for the system would have been tactical and implementation would have been by the operation managers. Most CRM application has failed due to poor business management. However, BQs SAPCO has been in use for more than seven years and it is still recording success on a daily basis. Managers can now ascertain the items that are in great need and hence proactively stock them. SAPCO greatly supports operational and tactical decisions in BQ. This SAP enabled system also provides report, giving managers a comprehensive view of the firms performance. It also features corporate performance metrics, simulations and planning tools. (Loudon Loudon 2002 pg 423). Through this system, management can easily view their performance level and also the areas that need to be improved upon. As an enterprise resource planning system, SAPCO brings all the units together into one entity and thereby having a better control of operation. This ultimately provides a better link with their supplier and distributors hence the main goal of servicing the customer is achieved. The integration of business systems has enabled management reach beyond their own corporate walls to better connect with suppliers, distributors and end customers. (Gupta 2000). Sales are better managed especially with the use of the internet although this could also be a shortcoming since it means the system is dependent on the internet connection which it has no power over. However, the internet greatly supports the application. Managers at different levels can track sales at different locations and this gives them a better understanding of the business irrespective of how large the organisation maybe. The rewards of an effective CRM technology like SAPCO are indeed enormous. Steve Gilman, BQI director and BQ UK board director BQI has described the benefits of adopting SAP Retail as better customer availability and cost reductions. Gilman says, We can record sales and margin accurately and as a result have boosted our margins. We have given ourselves a lead over our competitors.(www.ciber.com.au/). Business chief executives can now stay ahead of the competition with greater focus on the customer than the competitors. On the management side cost are reduces and more revenue is made from increased sales. Ethical Challenges In Customer Relationship Management When a new technology is introduced into a business, it comes with its challenges. Its use even creates more challenges which in many ways affect its users. Ethics is one area of great concern to effective business management and information technology most effectively. Ethics refers to the principles of right and wrong that individual, acting as free moral agents, can use to make choice to guide their behaviour. (Laudon Laudon 2002 pg 468) Business ethics is crucial especially to management. It is something managers confront with everyday and have to deal with as the situation presents itself. OBrien speaks of a situation in which he states that as a business professional, you have a responsibility to promote ethical uses of information technology in the workplace. (2005 pg.380). In todays business world, issues of ethics range around privacy, intellectual property, security and even safety issues. Managers must make sure that its stakeholders interests are well protected when issues of this sort arise. 5.1 Information Systems And Ethics 5.1.1 Privacy- The issues of privacy have become one of growing concern as regards information systems in todays business environment. Alter identifies two crucial areas in this: personal privacy, which talks about the ability of an individual to avoid unwanted instructions into personal time. Space and property (2002, pg.287), and the information privacy which deals with the the ability of the individual to determined when, how and to what extent personal information is communicated to others (2007, pg 287). Privacy issues generally can be spotted in a lot of areas, today organisations, through use of the intranet within offices, can monitors mails that staff send across the organisation and also find out the sites they are visiting. This in a lot of ways infringes on their rights of privacy as individuals. That is why most individuals how prefer to send all private mails from their homes. However, the CRM technology is one area that this becomes very crucial. Companies in the process of conduction business with customers, gather a lot of personal information of its customers, for instance BQ, with its SAPCO system. Most of customers personal details are taken by the system. It now dwells on managers and staffs alike to make sure that this information of customers are well protected from abuse. However, over the years there had been codes like the code of fair information practices (Alter 2002, pg.290) created in the US to ensure that customers are to large extent in control of information released from being used for other things without their consent. 5.1.2 Health Issues- This is a very critical issue especially as information technology in the work place raises a variety of health issues. Heavy use of computer is reportedly causing health problems like job stress, damaged arm and neck muscles, eye strain radiation exposure and even death by computerised caused death. O Brien 2005, pg 395). There are times when placing an order for customers on the system can take ages and these in cases are linked to a slow system of internet and how voluminous the order is. In tackling this issue, what BQ has done is making sure that staffs have at least two breaks within a particular working day to ease of the stress that could be associated with this. A day off in the week is also given to staff. In this way, they probably foreseen the issues greatly minimised. 5.1.3 Property Issue- In information technology, this is often referred to as intellectual property which literally links to ownership of an idea or a product. This is very important in business. However, the internet raises some new challenges (Rowley 2002, pg. 244). Issues to be considered in terms of this include trade secrets, copyright and patents. a. Trade secrets- These are very crucial corporate issues as most times. They are associated with companys brand image and identity. They are often regarded as assets that if infringed upon can be sued in the court of law. In 2007, Oracle sued and accused SAP of hacking into its computer networks and stealing vital product information (BBC News 2007). Prevention this now, companies who own products must find ways of making sure that employees protect these from competitors and public generally. b. Copyright- These refer to a law or statutory grant that protects creators of intellectual property from having their works copied by others for any purpose for a period of 28 years. Laudon Laudon 2002, pg. 479). Despite the fact that companies like Oracle, Siebel, Sap, Salesforce all developed CRM. However, there are particular areas which are unique to this companies that cannot be taken from them. Also companies that use SAP products like BQ (SAPCO) and Virgin cosmetics (MYSAP) all have customised products which are peculiar to their companies which must be protected. 6.0 Security Management In Information System It is not enough to create systems within organisation, management must put certain measures in place to ensure that these information are well secured.