World Religions Paper free essay sample

World Religion Paper (Rough Draft) By: Allison Workman The religion that I have decided for my report is Wicca. Wicca is the religion of Witchcraft likewise alluded to as the Craft. There are numerous legends that are related with the Wiccan religion. Witches don't perform ride brushes and they are not â€Å"bad or scary† individuals. Truth be told most witches are typical individuals we interact with consistently. I have learned many fascinating realities with regards to my weeks exploring this religion. As of now my site visit and meeting have not been finished because of family clinical issues with my source. Be that as it may, the meeting and site visit are both booked for April 3, 2011 I will endeavor to present an outline of those by mid week one week from now for survey. Investigate Wicca and Christianity are entirely comparative from numerous points of view. Be that as it may, there are huge contrasts in the convictions of the gatherings too. We will compose a custom exposition test on World Religions Paper or then again any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Both Christianity and Wicca have an image that is conspicuous inside the religion. Christians have the cross that speaks to the demise of Jesus to wash away the transgressions of humanity. Wicca’s image is the pentagram. In spite of the reports to the opposite the pentagram isn't the image of a Satanist; in reality Satan doesn't exist in the Wiccan culture. The pentagram is the image of the four components (water, air, fire, earth) and the sprit which draws them all together. The two religions have bunches that revere together. Christians call these assemblies and they typically meet in a Church. At the point when a gathering of witches accumulate to love the gathering is alluded to as a Coven and they for the most part practice outside however not generally. A few Covens will accumulate at the home of the High Priestess to love. Meeting spots will contrast from Coven to Coven. A large number of the Ethical and Social perspectives on these religions are comparable too. The Wiccan Rede is â€Å"If it hurts none, do what you will†. Christians for the most part attempt to live by the Golden Rule. â€Å"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you†. These two expressions have a comparative importance. The two religions accept that ladies and men are equivalent in esteem as individuals. The two religions likewise acknowledge ladies in common positions of authority. All Wiccan strict gatherings accept that ladies should hold strict influential positions also; a few categories of the Christian beliefs are tolerating of this, yet others despite everything accept that men ought to be the strict pioneer of the family/church. The quantity of contrasts between these two gatherings is a lot bigger that the similitudes. One of the most striking is that Christianity is a monotheistic religion and Wicca is a polytheistic religion. While Christians venerate God. The Wiccans revere the God and Goddess all the while. The Wiccan religion is about balabance so the love of the God and the Goddess means the parity, however the essential concentration to a witch is the goddess. Witches acknowledge homosexuality totally where Christians accept that homosexuality is a transgression. Christians venerate each Sunday and Witches revere on the 13 full moons of the years and furthermore perform customs on the Sabbats.

Iranian Protest Music Free Essays

There are a couple of reasons that I might want to bring up as the â€Å"goals† of the introduction. In the wake of learning about Iranian Protest Music I feel that it is a decent theme to teach yourself on, or increasingly like dissent music when all is said in done is a decent point to know somewhat about. One of the objectives was to teach our friends on what precisely Iranian Protest Music is, the reason it occurs, and how it is finished. We will compose a custom article test on Iranian Protest Music or on the other hand any comparative point just for you Request Now We need them to know the history behind it, for example, how it goes back to the upset in 1979. This assumed a job in the exposure of the fights. We likewise needed them to think about the latest uproar† with the fights in Iran. It is critical in this point to think about the fights during the political decision that occurred in 2009, and the thinking behind it. The Iranians didn’t like the way that Maidenhead was upheld by the U. S. So they were fighting the way that his name was on the voting form. We likewise needed them to realize that it happens day and night, and what precisely the slight contrasts are between the two. The daytime is for the ones who don’t mind being in the spotlight, though the evening drones are more for the ones who don’t fundamentally need to be related with the fights. Another subject that we needed to contact and discussion about was the film Yard-e-Debating-e-Man. This was an important video that sort of shows the delicate side and the â€Å"heart warming† side of the fights. It shows the way that two individuals were closest companions as kids, however life took them on two totally various ways. One went down the way of law requirement, and the other went down the way of the dissidents, two unique sides of the fence. When the veils are taken off however, and they perceive one another, they revive those recollections, which in my psyche sort of wows how everybody is an individual, regardless of which side of the fence you are on, we as a whole drain the equivalent. One other point that I accept was vital, yet a touch realistic, was indicating the video with the melody â€Å"Need† from the well known artist Shania Nasal out of sight. I don’t accept that numerous individuals; Americans in the dominant part acknowledge how genuine and savage these fights are. They don’t understand that being related with it can get you murdered, and participating in the fights can do likewise. These field a Joke, and I believe that it is a major point to figure it out. Presently on to how it went. By and large I imagine that it worked out in a good way, and the data was taken well. I feel that they genuinely comprehended the history behind the fights, and how they work, day and night. The Powering turned out well yet looking back I believe that we ought to have used the Powering more than what we. We accepted that the more data that we had was better, which was valid, yet I believe that in the event that we would have had more slides it might have all been more obvious and appreciate what we are attempting to clarify. One thing that I lament the most about the Powering is that we didn’t utilize a guide, which was a tremendous misstep as I would see it. It was easy to clarify in our eyes since we had read it for a little while, however I realize that I am a visual student, and without the guide to show the specific spot that we were discussing I accept that it was harder to comprehend. With the video that I discussed before in the â€Å"goals† segment I accept that it was a hit. We were under the outlook that the video toward the end was essential to the introduction, yet we had no clue that it would be the primary point of convergence. We invested more energy in the video than we expected however it was a great idea to have the option to show our friends a video that was and is a major piece of the fights. It is an animation that is extremely easy to track and comprehend what the message is that’s being depicted. Probably the greatest thing that I would change in the event that I could is demonstrating the realistic scene that accompanied the video. The aim behind it was simply instructive, yet looking back it might have been a smidgen realistic for the study hall. That being said however I accept that it went over in an intense way, and it was taken how we would have preferred it to be, to assist them with acknowledging how really ghastly the area of a dissent can turn into. It isn't Just a difference however it is individuals that are genuinely excursion their life on the line for the reason, and are happy to take the necessary steps to have their perspectives seen. Generally speaking I feel that the introduction was compelling. I believe that they took the data that we brought to the table well, and can see increasingly about Iranian Protest Music all in all. In spite of the fact that there are things that I wish we could change without a doubt, the greatest is plunge more into the history. We disobediently had it in there, yet I wish we would have underscored it more than we. We concentrated more on the current issue with the political race, however I accept that the history is vital too. The most effective method to refer to Iranian Protest Music, Papers

Best Practices for Mobile SEO

Best Practices for Mobile SEO Mobile search engine optimization (SEO) has been a hot topic in the marketing industry for quite a while. The talk has finally become extremely relevant, as studies continuously show mobile search is overtaking desktop searches.But what is mobile SEO and could your business benefit from it? This guide will answer those questions and provide you a set of best practices for mobile SEO. Hopefully with the help of this guide, you can finally join in on the digital revolution. © Shutterstock.com | PureSolutionIn this article, we will start with 1) what mobile SEO is, and continue then with 2) why mobile search engine optimisation matters, and 3) the key areas to focus with mobile SEO.WHAT IS MOBILE SEO?One of the reasons companies find mobile SEO so difficult is the lack of understanding of the practice in the first place. This isn’t just a problem of not doing your homework. If you go up to SEO marketing experts and ask them to define SEO, you’ll probably end up with a number of answers.Webopedia gives the term a great overall definition. It states:“Search engine optimization is a methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in search results page of a search engine (SERP) including Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines.”While the essence of SEO is the use of tactics that improve the company’s ranking on a search engine, the different tactics you can use to do so vary greatly. There’s no one-way of achieving a higher ranking and companies often need to apply multiple different strategies to achieve the desired results.You might be wondering whether it matters what the company’s ranking is. Consider your own online searches as an example. You probably type in the keywords you are looking for and most likely click one of the pages on the first result page. Therefore, you want your business to be among to top results, otherwise people might not ever find you. As a small business it is unlikely people directly come to your website. If you can boost your search engine ranking, you are more likely to present your business for new customers.The tactics you use to boost your company’s rank depend a bit on your industry. The most obvious option is to improve the use of keywords, which are the words people often use to search for a product or service such as yours. You then have plenty of ways to enhance the use of video, p ictures and even your social media for further ranking improvements.How mobile SEO differs from typical SEO?Considering the above, it might seem odd to have a separate mobile SEO strategy. But if you’ve ever browsed websites on your mobile device, you’ll know how important it is for websites to be mobile-friendly.Mobile SEO essentially helps your site to ensure the website and its design is usable with a mobile device. This can ensure mobile users don’t just skip your content because it’s too difficult to read or browse through.Furthermore, just as your website can recognize the device the viewer is using to look at the website, so can the search engines detect it. In fact, Google has ensured mobile-friendly websites enjoy an advantage in search results, so you certainly don’t want to skip this opportunity to boost your rankings.In addition, people’s way to search for content is different for mobile devices to desktop computers and laptops. This means your website might need to slightly adjust the use of keywords to ensure mobile users also find your page.One of the crucial differences between SEO and mobile SEO is the emphasis on localization. Mobile phone searches are often done on the go and therefore, by localizing your content, you can greatly enhance the chances of people near your shop to find you.WHY MOBILE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION MATTERSIf you aren’t still convinced about the usability of mobile SEO, the below statistics should change your mind. The global use of mobile phones is increasing rapidly and mobile marketing is changing search engine marketing for good.The Mobile Marketing Association published a study in 2013, which predicted the mobile marketing boom would generate $400 billion in returns within the next five years. Furthermore, the global number of smartphone users is likely to hit six billion by 2020.According to data by Simply Zesty, mobile data consumption has increased by 83% in the last few years. In 2014, people sp ent, on average 1.4 billion minutes online, which is an increase of 400% to time spent online in 2010.Mobile traffic amounts to 60% of all search activity, with mobile search accounting for 48% of all Google searches. This, if anything, shows what a massive opportunity mobile SEO for business.But the sheer number of mobile searches shouldn’t just convince you. In the end, for your business, the consumer activity counts for more. But data show customers don’t just prefer to spend more time online on their mobiles, they actively use this time for making shopping decisions.Alchemy Viral’s data shows around 90% of mobile searches result in an action, including a visit to the business or the purchase of a product. Shopping on your mobile is becoming much more commonplace.The rise of smartphone has provided consumers more opportunities to be smart and to carefully consider their purchasing decisions. This is highlighted by the fact that around 60% of people who own a smartphone, che ck the product on the device before buying it.People are increasingly busy and always on the move these days, partly thanks to smartphones. Nevertheless, you can now easily do your grocery shopping with your mobile while waiting for the train or send your mother flowers on the last minute, even if you are off to a holiday!Quite interestingly, this preference for browsing on the mobile phone might actually be a good thing for companies’ marketing efforts. YuMe and IPG Media Lab conducted a study that showed people are more receptive to marketing when in public. In addition, the smaller the screen people use to watch ads, the better they will remember the marketing message later on.So not only are people using mobile phones more, your marketing message might be getting through to the customer better. This gives an additional bonus to optimizing your content for mobile phones.But in the study, the ads were naturally optimized for each screen size, so you cannot simply forget about op timization. If you’ve browsed a non-mobile-friendly website on your smartphone, then you know how frustrating it can be. The person viewing your website must be in dire need of your service not to give up and look for a mobile-friendly website instead.The above stats show, if a business wants to survive in today’s world, it cannot overlook mobile SEO. Therefore, it’s a bit of a surprise to find there are still plenty of companies with non-mobile-friendly websites.If your business is still part of this group, you need to step up and change your strategy for optimization. With the below strategies, you can create your business a sound mobile SEO strategy.THE KEY AREAS TO FOCUS WITH MOBILE SEOWhen you start looking into mobile SEO, your mind will be flooded with different strategies and ideas. There are countless ways to optimize your content, but not all of them are as good.In fact, there are certain practices that are outright bad and are most likely going to get your website p unished by the search engines.The below set of practices will offer you the best route to good quality mobile SEO. They form the basis of a solid mobile SEO strategy and by implementing them in your company’s website, you will boost your search engine visibility in an instant.Optimize content for performanceTake a look at your website and try using it on a mobile phone. You’ll instantly notice how the user experience differs, when you are using the site with your fingertip and the screen size is smaller.It is essential to start by optimizing your content with the device in mind. A touch screen device makes it hard to press small navigation links and therefore, you want to streamline your service to accommodate vertical menus, for example.You also need to pay close attention to the navigation on the site. Since the screen is smaller and the ability to browse is more limited, you must have the most important and popular sites behind a touch of a button (or screen!). Google Webmast er Tools is great for finding out how many instances of pages, which don’t consider the path of the user’s fingers, you have on the site.In most instances, the above can be achieved by developing a revamped site specifically for mobile search. Make sure you don’t achieve this by simply scaling down the desktop version of the website. This is an easier route, as you are simply tweaking around the website, but it won’t provide as effective results as redevelopment.Overall, you have three different routes for optimizing your website for mobile. It might be a good idea to go for a combination of these and implement them all, but even starting with one can boost your search engine ranking. You can:Make your website responsive â€" as mentioned above, this will detect the visitor is using a mobile device and will then adjust the layout accordingly.Enable dynamic serving â€" a more complex approach, which means the design detects the device and loads the appropriate content onto tha t device.Have a mobile URL â€" you can simply have a sub-domain for mobile users. This means your mobile users are redirected to the mobile site.One of the important elements you need to look at are possible videos and images on your site. Make sure the visual content is responsive, so that it scales to the optimal size for different devices. The most important thing to do is remove Flash from the site. For example, iPhones don’t render Flash at all and Android devices respond to it very slowly.In addition, pop ups are an ultimate no-go for mobile sites. Make sure you avoid these as much as possible.Once you’ve done optimizing the content to fit the mobile device and tweaked the navigation to suit the touch screen models better, you need to test the site’s performance. Things such as page loading times are essential because a slowly loading site can mean you lose customers.According to one study, 74% of mobile site users leave the page if it hasn’t loaded in five seconds. Th e same study claimed a one-second delay could amount to $1.6 billion in annual losses for online merchants.What makes loading speed on mobile sites trickier is the way they connect to the Internet. You need to remember smartphone connections can be slower to desktop connections, although the speed is improving a lot with the rise of 4G.Focus on localizationGoogle’s statistics show 50% of mobile searches happen with local intent. Localization is therefore a crucial part of mobile SEO.Your website must use plenty of local keywords. For example, instead of using “a cake factory” keyword as part of your content, opt for “a New York cake factory” instead. You’ll also want to make sure each site has your address details to boost local ranking.Add as much detail about your business as possible. You want to include the full address, with postcode or zip code, as well as include possible opening times and contact numbers. Google’s mobile search provides this information for top searches, for instance.Finally, you can also enhance your localization by joining local community pages and other such organizations. These could be yellow pages-type of websites, but also local chamber of commerce groups or industry groups. Local citation cites such as Google Listings and Yelp, among others, are also crucial.Link building opportunities are a big part of good mobile localization. Guest blog in local community websites, co-operate with local small businesses or get your business featured in the local media. All of these activities can boost your search engine ranking.Keep track of mobile keywordsAs mentioned earlier, the way people search changes when they switch from a desktop to a mobile phone. If you’ve optimized your website for keywords before, you want to make sure you check the mobile keywords to optimize the content on the mobile site.There are two big differences to searches on the mobile. These are:Mobile searches tend to be shorter â€" people often use shortcuts on the phone and keyword selection is much more restricted. Tail phrases tend to be on the point and short.Mobile searches are more localized â€" as the above section showed, people’s searches become local in nature on the mobile. This is because many use the phone to find businesses when they are on the go, especially if they are in a new place or part of the town.The Google Keyword Tool is still one of the best ways to find relevant keywords and it has a way to search for mobile keywords. You should also make sure to track mobile keywords on your site. The Google Webmaster Tools allow you to adjust the search query settings to track mobile keywords. This will give you great insight into what people are looking for on your site.When it comes to keywords, you must remember to avoid practicing the so-called keyword stuffing. The keywords you use must come naturally from the content and the type of business you are. Do not overuse keywords and stuff them on your site in an inorganic manner. This could result in search engines punishing your site, not to mention that people can quickly spot the difference between real information and keyword stuffing. Aim for socializationThere’s another final difference influencing mobile SEO strategies to general SEO: social media. Mobile users are more likely using their phones more to be connected with, not just their inner circle of friends and family, but also the wider world. Mobile phones are used for social engagement and your mobile SEO strategy should reflect this.When you are adding content to your mobile-friendly site, you want to ensure it has this social-factor to it. Is the content entertaining? Could it be shared with friends and family? Keep these questions in mind when developing and adding content.You should also pay close attention to making it easy to share the content from your website. Mobile-friendly sites should have simple, easy-to-click buttons for social media sharing, such as Facebook a nd Twitter.There are examples of retailers who have nailed this social-first approach. If you venture into Macy’s mobile site, you can see each product can easily be liked and shared via social media, for example.Consider going down the app routeThere’s also an alternative approach to mobile SEO, which you should keep in mind. Depending on the type of business you have, as well as the products and services you offer, developing a mobile app might be another route to take. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should not optimize your website for mobile, but that you also utilize the power of the app and direct your mobile customers to it whenever you have a chance.An app can offer a much better user experience for your customers and in its own way also boost mobile SEO. But you also need to be careful not to block search engine crawlers from spotting your mobile-friendly site by using an interstitial page to alert guests of the available app.Furthermore, remember that an app and a mobile-friendly website often serve a different purpose. Applications are perfect for situations where the customer will want to visit the site multiple times. Apps are therefore resources or business tools for the user. Mobile banking apps could be an example of this. It makes more sense to develop an app for online banking rather than a mobile-friendly site.Think carefully whether the intent of your customers visiting your site could be better served with an app or a mobile site. For many businesses, an app is not the answer, but you definitely want to develop one if your customers would effectively benefit from it.

How to Play Chinese Liars Dice

Throughout China, Liar’s Dice (è ª ªÃ¨ ¬Å Ã¨â‚¬â€¦Ã§Å¡â€žÃ© ª °Ã¥ ­ , shuÃ… huÇŽng zhÄ› de shÇŽizi) is played during holidays, especially Chinese New Year. The fast-paced game can be played by two or more players and the number of rounds is limitless. Players usually agree to a predetermined number of rounds or set a time limit but none of that is set in stone; new players and additional rounds can be added as the game goes along. While the number of players and rounds may be casual, Liar’s Dice can also be quite intense as its traditionally a drinking game. In China, in addition to holiday celebrations, its also common to see it being played at bars, in clubs, and even outdoors at sidewalk restaurants. What Youll Need to Play Liars Dice One cup for each playerFive dice for each playerOne table How to Play the Game The first player, Player One, is determined by rolling the dice to see who has the highest number. Once play has started, the winner from the previous round goes first. If there are more than two players, decide in advance if the play will move clockwise or counterclockwise around the table. Each player has their own set of five dice. In some places, the dice you have is known as your stash. The total number of dice (five per player) is known as the pool. All of the players: Place the dice in the cup.All of the players: Cover the cup with your hand.All of the players: Shake the cup with the dice inside.All of the players: Place (or slam) your cup upside down on the table, keeping your stash hidden from view.All of the players: Lift the cup and look at the dice, being careful not to reveal what youve rolled to anyone else.Player One calls how many dice of a certain value are on the table. This number is based on the entire pool, including his or her own stash. For example, Player One could call out, â€Å"two fives.† At this point, the remaining players can either accept the call and move on to the next player, or they have the option of calling Player One a liar. (It doesnt matter whether Player One has a five or not. Bluffing is not only allowed—its actually encouraged. What matters is if the next player believes Player One is bluffing and calls him or her out on it.)If Player One is believed, the next person becomes Pl ayer Two. Player Two must now call out a number that is of greater value than the previous call. For example, if Player One called out â€Å"two fives,† Player Two must call out a minimum of â€Å"three fives.† â€Å"Three fours† or four twos† would also be unacceptable. However, even if the numerical face value is higher, Player Two cannot call out anything less than three of something. (For example, two sixes is not a legitimate call.) Again, if the Player Two is believed, the play moves on to the next player.When a players call is not believed, he or she is called out as a liar. At this point, everyone must reveal their dice. If the player who made the call is correct, the player who called him or her out must pay the forfeit. If he or she is incorrect, the forfeit is theirs. Once the forfeit is paid, the round is over and the winner begins the next round. If its drinking game, the forfeit usually involves doing a shot of whatever the player is drinking . Of course, you dont have to drink to play Liars Dice. Forfeits can also be money or some form of token.Subsequent rounds simply repeat the actions of the first until the predetermined number of rounds or the time limit is reached—or the players simply decide to call it quits. Tips for Players of Liars Dice In some versions of the game, the one is considered a wild number, which means it can be played as any number between two and six.Beware of cheaters who use the edge of their cup to turn their dice as they return it to the table after seeing what theyve rolled.When the venue becomes too noisy, players often use hand signals to indicate their calls rather than shouting them out. The first number is the how many, the second number is the value of the dice. The hand signals are as follows: One: Hold up your hand and extend the pointer finger upward.Two: Hold up your hand and extend the pointer and middle fingers upward into a V-shape (like a peace sign).Three: Hold up your hand and extend the pointer, middle, and ring fingers upward.Four: Hold up your hand and extend the pointer, middle, ring and pinky fingers upward.Five: Hold up your hand with all five fingers extended upward (like a stop sign) or pinch all five fingers together.Six: Fold the pointer, middle, and ring fingers into a fist and extend the thumb and pinky fingers outward.Seven: Make a fist and extend the thumb outward and pointer finger downward.Eight: Make a first and extend the thumb upward and the pointer finger forward (like a gun).Nine: Make a fist, extend the pointer finger and curve it (like making a C).Ten: Make a fist or using two hands, extend the pointer finger of the right hand upward and with the left hand extend the pointer finger to the right and cross it with the right hand forming a sig n.

Using the Spanish Phrase A Pesar De

A pesar de is one of the idioms that Spanish uses the most often to convey the idea of in spite of or despite. A related phrase, a pesar de que, is often translated as even though or even if. Grammatically, these phrases are known as terms of concession, meaning that they are used to diminish the importance of what follows. Pesar is the verb for to weigh, but that isnt important here because the phrases have meanings of their own. The difference between a pesar de and a pesar de que is that the former acts as a preposition in that it is followed by an object such as a noun or pronoun, while the latter is followed by a clause (a subject followed by a verb). Using A Pesar De For example, see how a pesar de is followed by an object in these sentences: El matrimonio es và ¡lido a pesar del error ortà ³grafico. (The marriage is valid despite the spelling mistake.)A pesar de sus problemas, es fà ¡cil hablar con à ©l. (In spite of his problems, its easy to talk to him.)Einstein era mal alumno a pesar de su inteligencia. (Einstein was a poor student despite his intelligence.)A pesar de no estudiar, he aprobado el curso. (In spite of not studying, I have passed the course. Note that although estudiar is a verb, it can be an object because it is an infinitive functioning as a noun.)A pesar del voto de este domingo la decisià ³n final no està ¡ en manos de los puertorriqueà ±os. (Despite the vote this Sunday, the final decision isnt in the hands of Puerto Ricans.)Su sinceridad y su fortaleza, a pesar de sus dificultades, fueron una gran leccià ³n para mà ­. (Her sincerity and her strength of character, despite her difficulties, were a great lesson for me.) Using A Pesar De Que But a pesar de que is followed by a noun (or pronoun) with an accompanying verb. That verb should be in the subjunctive mood if the action of the sentence is hypothetical or has yet to occur. Me gusta el esquiar a pesar de que el equipo de esquà ­ es caro. (I like skiing even though ski gear is expensive.)Fuimos a la playa a pesar de que hacà ­a viento. (We went to the beach even though it was windy. Note that the subject of hacà ­a is implied rather than specified.)A pesar de que voy a clases de canto desde hace mucho tiempo, no puedo bailar. (Even though Ive been going to classes since a long time ago, I cant dance.)Casandra preferirà ­a vivir con su hermano a pesar de que à ©l sea pobre. (Casandra would prefer to live with her brother even if he is poor. Note that the subjunctive is used because of the hypothetical nature of the sentence.)No puedo ganar dinero a pesar de que vaya a cumplir 25 aà ±os en octubre. (He cant earn money even though he is going to be 25 years old in October. Note that the subjunctive of ir is used because because it refers to a future event.)Te extraà ±o a pesar de que estamos juntos. (I miss you even thought were together.) Common Phrases Using A Pesar De Two everyday phrases including a pesar de are shown in boldface in these sample sentences: A pesar de los pesares, la tormenta ya no es una amenaza. (In spite of everything, the storm still isnt a threat.)A pesar de todo seguimos adelante. (Despite everything, were continuing forward.) Two Related Phrases: Pese A, Pese A Que The phrases pese a and pese a que can be used in the same way as their longer counterparts: Pese a ello, la organizacià ³n de las elecciones sigue siendo un campo de disputa. (Despite this, the organization of elections keeps on being a field of dispute.)Dijo que pese a su fortuna, el dinero no es su principal motivacià ³n. (She said that despite her fortunate, money is not her principal motivation.)Pese a que estaba roto el aire acondicionado, estuvimos un buen rato allà ­ dentro. (Even though the air conditioning was broken, we were in there for a good while.)La habà ­a completamente olvidado, pese a que vi la pelà ­cula un millà ³n de veces. (I had completely forgotten the film, even though I had seen it a million times.)

Article Reflection Free Essays

In the article it goes over five steps to introduce vocabulary and to teach/ instruct it in a way that will actually resonate with the students. The 5 steps can be compared to the drill and kill method often used with vocabulary terms, which is useful sometimes, but the lasting knowledge is not as well remembered. The first step, key characteristics of vocabulary instruction, deal with multiple exposures, freeloading key vocabulary, and nonlinguistic representations, which we do in class through the use of brain pops, pictures rain during notes, and posters created in class about specific topics. We will write a custom essay sample on Article Reflection or any similar topic only for you Order Now Step two, is using those tier 3 words that are specific to our content with the mixture of tier 2 and tier 1 vocal. Step three, is a print rich environment where students have their work on the walls representing terms learned as well as posters or chances to write/read. Step four is building on vocabulary strategies or, to put in simple terms, routine of studying vocal. Step five is having digital tools to support the previous steps. I have put these strategies o use in my class with a very good response from my students. Overall they seem to be able to manipulate the terms and then reuse them in the proper way, but also using the term outside of the context learned. I consider this very good because most of the time students will simply use the examples giving in class; which is more memorization than actual retention and comprehension. Below I show you how used each step in class: Step 1: Exposing students to vocabulary in multiple ways such as: flash cards ‘posters created/stories/videos/did grams Step 2: In notes and explanations I use terms like infer, identity#y’, resolve, and other terms that can be used in other areas, but we partner them with tier 3 words that are specific to science. I have heard the students use words in multiple classes that we have studied in my class as well as others. For example they use infer a lot in both social studies and science. Step 3: Student have created their own print rich environment through creating posters, writing stories, giving explanation essays, and creating diagrams. Step 4: Students have learned what to expect when it comes to learning about new vocabulary in class. Typically it will be introduced in their notes along with a picture or demonstration so we may refer back to it. Then students will usually get some kind of worksheet that emphasizes the terms. Followed by hands on activity where they actually must apply those terms and manipulate. Final step is usually creating flashcards or simply answer vocabulary terms. How to cite Article Reflection, Papers

Private Equity Performance

Question: Discuss about the Private Equity Performance. Answer: Introduction In modern world, the pressure is greater than the earlier times which has created a huge impact on the running of business. There is a wide range of instruments in the derivative world, which have to be considered and handled in todays world. The costs have increased to a larger extent as the inefficiencies of operations has increased. The range of assets is growing endlessly, by the passage of time and thus, the requirement of managing such assets is increasing. The instruments of derivatives and equity had arrived much earlier, but the use is growing in the recent times. The private banks and fund managers are engaged in the usage of new types of market instruments. The instruments carry a huge amount of risk in the manner of processing and others, which form a part of the portfolio of the client. There are a number of areas which requires variances and development due to the challenges in terms of the structure of an organization, development of products, process of investments, c ommunication structure, legal and compliance, management of risks etc. The intelligent managers are growing at a faster pace by the creation of new products and markets, by shifting from the traditional strategies and ideas to a modernize market ideology and strategies (Aouni et al., 2014). Portfolio and performance of Equity As stated by Aouni et al., 2014, the emergence of financial economy has lead to substantial advantages for the mediocre- income countries and the developing ones, globally. The opening of the financial plans has brought about great deal of motivation for the investors all around the world. They are able to expand and specialize in the choice of investments, in the local and international assets, which has increased the rate of returns as per their expectations. They are also able to increase their financial ideas and also fund the plans of expansion. The investment procedure is becoming more efficient which is leading to a boost in the living and other standards of investors. Globalization of financial markets has demonstrated a double sided nature. The country which has increased the economic growth, through liberalization has also increased the risk of crisis in the financial growth and development. Portfolio flows has been a major controversial aspect of financial downfall in most countries across the world. As stated by Klingebiel, Rammer, 2014, Asset allocation is the strategy to balance the risks and rewards, in which the portfolio assets are apportioned as per the requirements of an individual. There are two major forms of portfolio allocation which are as follows: Strategic asset allocation: It requires the setting up of targets for the allocation and then rebalancing of such portfolio in a periodical manner. The procedure is similar to the buying and holding and not the trading concept. The allocation targets changes over a period of time as per the change in the investors goals and objectives and as per the horizon of time. Tactical asset allocation: It allows a range of percentages in a class of assets which consist of a minimum and maximum percentage of acceptances by an investor, in order to gain advantage from the market conditions and factors. Thus, one can move upward to the higher end of range when the stock expectation to grow better increases; and move towards the lower end of range after the expectation grows miserable and depressing. As discussed by Bodie et al., 2014; for the management of investment, there are two basic approaches: Active management of asset: It is based on a fundamental principle that, by following a particular style of analyzing produces returns and rewards which can control the market activities. The inefficiencies present in an economy can be turned into an advantage, and it is escorted with higher than average costs. One who is in the favor of the approach of active management,the selectionof the stock is usually based on the following styles: Top Down approach One, who follows such approach, firstly looks at the whole market scenario and policies which help in the determination of the likelihood of such industries which will grow well, given the present cycle of economic flow. After the making of the choice, specific stocks are selected on the basis of companies which will prove to be an advantage as per the particular industry. Bottom Down approach One, who follows such approach, ignores the conditions of market and the trends which are expected to continue for every year. The companies are put under an evaluation procedure, in which they mark on the strength of their financial statements and other criteria. The main ideology and concept behind following such approach, is that a strong company is likely to develop and grow no matter what economic and market conditions occur and prevail. Passive management of asset: It is based on a principle, that there is efficiency in every market scenario and that the returns from the market cannot exceed in a regular manner. The investments of lower costs which are to be held for a longer term can help in the gathering of the best returns and advantages. One who is in the favor of the approach of passive management,the selectionof the stock is usually based on the following concepts and theories: Efficient market theory The above theory forms the basis of an idea that the information which creates an impact an emphasis on the market and economy is easily available and processed by all the investors. The information consists of changes in the management of the company and interest rate announcements and others. The believers of such theory consider that there can be no way to thrash the market average. Indexing To gain advantage from the efficient market theory, index funds can be used. Also, a portfolio can be developed which would be a mimic of a special index. The index funds mostly consist of transaction costs and expense ratio, which are lower than the average of the same. They help in surpassing the actively funds which are managed well and have higher costs and expenses. Investors must consider the need of investing in a fast developing firm or low priced industries. These judgments can be passed by looking at the key financial metrics described below: Growth Investing The style of growth and returns decides the investors point of view of deciding the portfolio to be considered. An investor looks for the firms that have higher earnings, rates of growth, return on equity, margin of profit and lower yields of dividend. The Investing on growth is based on the idea that, if an industry has all the above features, then it is earning a lot in terms of monetary value and also is innovating in its field of service. Thus, the growth is at a much greater pace and also it is in the process of the reinvestment of its majority earnings to continue the growth stability and development in the future times. Value Investing The style of investing focuses on the trading of strong industries at a good value. They look for a lower price to earnings and price to sales ratio and a higher yield of dividend. The value style shows the price of buying and investing. Also, the preference for investing in small or larger companies is a question of investors. Thus, the measuring capacity of a company size is called capitalization of market or cap for short. The capitalization of a market is the number of shares outstanding, of a stock which is multiplied by the price of share. Smaller Cap Few investors believe that small capitalized companies are capable in the deliverance of better returns as they have huge amount of opportunities for development and are swifter in nature. However, there is a high risk for the greater returns which can be derived from those small caps. Also, the firms which are smaller in size have lesser resources and often they have less diverse lines of business. The share prices are much wider and flexible which cause huge losses or gains. Thus, investors can be comfortable in undertaking such extra levels of risk, if they want to acquire greater rewards and returns. Larger Cap The major risk avoidance investors are more comfortable with the stocks of larger caps. The larger caps such as Microsoft and GE have been around for a while and have overpowered the industries. These industries are unable to develop in a quick manner as they already are so huge in nature and size. However, they are unlikely to get out of the business without any warning. The larger cap investors can be expected to gain slight lower returns as compared to the smaller caps. But, the risk is higher in smaller caps and larger in larger caps (Beringer, Jonas Kock, 2013). Thus, the above decision should be taken as per the style which will be a fit for the investors and will feel comfortable while holding for a longer term. A risk is the measure of possible value of losing or gaining of expected returns, delivered from an investment. It is very uncertain and there are various types of risks which form the part of the market and economy. As stated and discussed by Pinedo Walter, 2013 the risks are defined and described below: Investment Risks To make suitable recommendations and decisions from an investors point of view, the concept of risk undertaken while making an investment must be understood well and efficiently. Every investment carries certain amount of risk and vulnerability which is associated with the nature and amount of risk which can be overcome by an investor. One should understand the trade off requirement between returns and amount of risk which are assumed by investors who are willing to face such risks in order to achieve their financial goals and objectives. Interest Rate Risks It is a possibility of a debt with fixed rates to decline in the terms of value, which is a result of a potential increase in the rate of interest. The investors on buying the securities with a fixed rate of return expose themselves to a higher rate of risks. This is possible for bonds and stocks and cant be denied. Business Risks The measuring of the risks which are in association with the particular securities and bonds are considered under the business risks. It is also known as unsystematic risk and all businesses in the similar industry comprises of similar business risks. To be more specific, all the business risk refers to the possible situations in which the stock or bond issuer faces bankruptcy and become unable to pay off the interest and principal amounts in case of bonds. Also, a common and easy way for the avoidance of such unsystematic risks is the diversification by the buying of mutual funds, as they hold stocks and bonds of many various companies. Credit Risk The possibility of a particular bond issuer to not make the payments or principal repayment as per the expected rate of interest is referred to as the Credit risk. The higher interest rate of bond increases the credit risk of a particular bond. Taxability Risk The risk of security which was issued with the status of exemption, have a potential expectation to lose the status before the maturity. Since, the bonds of municipal nature carry a lower rate of interest than the fully taxable ones; the holders of bond will have a lower yield as per their expectations. Call Risk The possibility of a bond security to be called up before the maturity period is known as the call risk. It moves parallel to the risk of reinvestment and the bond holder must be capable of finding an investment which can provide same amount of income for the amount of risk. When the rates of interest are declines, call risk becomes more active as the companies trying to avoid expense will redeem the issue of bonds and replace with lower rate of interests. Inflationary Risk The risk of purchasing power and inflationary is used interchangeably and, it is the chance of an asset to erode off as inflation causes decline in the currency of a country. It is also the risk of an investment declination, which is caused by the future inflation. In order to fight strongly against such risks, appreciable investments should be taken resort of, as they can stay ahead of inflation over a much longer period of time. Liquidity Risk It refers to the possibility of an investor to be able to buy or sell an investment and as per the desire and sufficient requirements as there are limited opportunities. It can be overcome by sale of real estate and in most cases there is no difficulty in the sale of such property and assets. Market Risk Systematic risk and market risk is interchangeably used and it refers to the risk which can affect all the securities in a similar way. It is a risk which cannot be controlled by result of diversification and the important point is the correct way of recommendation of mutual funds. Reinvestment Risk The bonds which are on the verge of becoming due are often forced to buy securities which do not provide same income levels, unless the credit or market risk capability of the investor increases. It is the risk which the declining rate of interest will lead to decline in the flow of cash from an investment. It happens when the payments of the principal and interest rates are reinvested at lower rates. Political or legislative Risk The risk which is associated with the possibility of the actions of government or social changes and results in the lowering of the value is termed as social, political or legislative risk. Currency or Exchange Risk It is a type of risk which arises from the fluctuations in currency of one country with the country. If a countrys asset comprises mainly of foreign assets, then it can be a major issue, as the risk increases when the currency of such country drops particularly (Teller Kock, 2013). The risk of currency is lower in case of long term investments as they have time to level off the risk over the time period. Conclusion Thus, on the survey of the various types of investments done above, we can get an overall view that most of the investments are full of risk and are unpredictable on majority basis. The various approaches of investments are described above which very well explains the risk and reward of the same. The global financial structure and economical conditions are changing and the requirements of the investors are changing accordingly. The pattern of the investor and the trends followed by the modern investors are explained above. Thus, we can conclude that there various factors and instruments which define the nature of risks. The instrument which can perform the best is analyzed and thus to take a portfolio decision, one needs to attain a super knowledge about the different theories and approaches connected with the same. The best analysis tools should be used and performed and the risk and rewards must be evaluated as per the requirements of the investors. The investors must be highly updated with the types and manner to avoid all kinds of risk which prevail in the market place. The risk considerations for both the short and long term investors are provided which concludes that long term risks can be avoided more easily and strongly. References Aouni, B., Colapinto, C., La Torre, D. (2014). Financial portfolio management through the goal programming model: Current state-of-the-art.European Journal of Operational Research,234(2), 536-545. Available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221713007959 Beringer, C., Jonas, D., Kock, A. (2013). Behavior of internal stakeholders in project portfolio management and its impact on success.International Journal of Project Management,31(6), 830-846. Available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786312001627 Bodie, Z., Kane, A., Marcus, A. J. (2014).Investments, 10e. McGraw-Hill Education. Available online at https://101.99.50.98:8080/dspace/handle/TVDHKT/22462 Klingebiel, R., Rammer, C. (2014). Resource allocation strategy for innovation portfolio management.Strategic Management Journal,35(2), 246-268. Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smj.2107/full Pinedo, M., Walter, I. (Eds.). (2013).Global Asset Management: Strategies, Risks, Processes, and Technologies. Springer. Available online at https://books.google.co.in/books Teller, J., Kock, A. (2013). An empirical investigation on how portfolio risk management influences project portfolio success.International Journal of Project Management,31(6), 817-829. Available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786312001688

Was Socrates Wise About God Essays - Socratic Dialogues

Was Socrates Wise About God? Mary Garofalo Fr. Mohr October 18, 2000 Socrates's Wisdom of God In this paper I will attempt to define, for the reader, the true meaning of wisdom and all of its parts. I will try to explain knowledge and the knower versus the known. I will also, attempt to explain exactly how a person comes to be considered wise, as Socrates was. So, in truth, explain the Socratic method. Hopefully, by the time the reader has finished this paper, he/she will have a good grasp on my own opinion of Socrates and also, have a grasp on the definition of wisdom and how it applies to Socrates. I will accomplish theses tasks by using the works of Plato, the Apology, the Crito and the Phaedo, in hopes to prove my point. What is wisdom? The literal meaning, or etymology of the word is rooted in the Indo-European words such as weid, woid, wid meaning, ?to see?. The etymology of wisdom also can be seen in the verb ?wit? from German, which means, ?to know? (Mohr, 3). So, the etymology is too see and to know. This is the definition I will expand on. Wisdom is a type of seeing. Seeing means that the seer and the object being seen are united. This union of the seer or knower and the known or seen is Knowledge. Knowledge can be in relation to virtually anything where there is a union of the knower and the known. One can be the knower of Biology and he knows about life. He has knowledge about life. One can know psychology and have knowledge about the human psyche. But my question is, are the Biologist and the Psychologist really wise Or do they only have one type of knowledge on one select subject? Take this analogy for example. A person may have a complete understanding of how to ride a bicycle. They know a ll of the laws and the mechanics and the physics of the entire concept of riding a bike. But they have never tried to ride it; to experience it (class notes). Do they have wisdom of how to ride a bicycle? I believe wisdom is knowledge, most definitely. But, it is not that simple. I believe that in order for one to be considered wise, one must have more than one type of knowledge, such as the person who knows how riding a bike works. That is what is called theoretical knowledge. There are two types of knowledge. Theoretical knowledge is the knowledge of how the fundamental laws of a situation (such as riding a bicycle) work. There is also a second type of knowledge. That is practical knowledge. Practical knowledge by definition is, a knowledge of how to do something or life experience (for example, being able to physically ride a bicycle). So, again I ask, what is wisdom? Well, one part of my own definition is that wisdom is knowledge of the practical as well as the theoretical. It is life experience as well as being able to understand and appreciate the laws and mechanics or fundamentals of a situation. Another aspect I believe is essential to wisdom is the ability to constantly question one's surroundings. I believe that it is absolutely essential for one to first doubt, then question, then communicate ones thought. In this method, it is the main objective to constantly search for the truth in every situation. The last aspect that I believe is necessary to embody wisdom is a little more difficult to explain. It has to do with the statements above, as in the constant quest for truth. To legitimately be on a quest for truth one must do the following: First, question themselves. By doing this, they will have the ability to know themselves. In order for one to know him/herself, one must have knowledge of God's existence and ever-presence. By knowing one's self and by knowing God, one will have a conscience, which will be the element of good judgment, decion making and purity of motives. Now, the initial question that has been argued for ages, was Socrates wise As I had stated previously, to be wise is to know one's self, to know god through questioning,

Why You Shouldnt Trust Homeschooling Statistics

Why You Shouldn't Trust Homeschooling Statistics When arguing the pros and cons of any issue, its usually helpful to have agreed-upon facts on hand. Unfortunately, when it comes to homeschooling, there are very few reliable studies and statistics available. Even something as basic as how many children are being homeschooled in a given year can only be guessed at. Here are a few of the reasons you should take any facts and figures you see regarding homeschooling - good or bad - with a grain of salt. The Definition of Homeschooling Differs Would you consider all these children homeschoolers? A child enrolled in a virtual public charter school who does all schoolwork at home.A child who spends part of the week in public school classes.A child who homeschooled some years but not others. When it comes to counting heads and drawing conclusions, its important to compare apples with apples. But since different studies use different definitions of homeschooling, its hard to know if studies are actually looking at the same group of kids. For instance, a report from the National Center for Education Studies, part of the U.S. Department of Education, includes students who spend up to 25 hours a week - five hours a day - attending classes in a public or private school. Its hard to equate that experience to that of a child who has never sat in a classroom. States Dont Keep Complete Records of Who Homeschools In the U.S., it is the states that oversee education, including homeschooling. And each states laws on the matter are different. In some states, parents are free to homeschool without even contacting the local school district. In other states, parents must send a Letter of Intent to homeschool and submit regular paperwork, which can include the scores of standardized tests. But even in states where homeschooling is closely regulated, good numbers are hard to come by. In New York, for example, parents must submit paperwork to the school district - but only for children within the age of compulsory education. Below the age of six, or after age 16, the state stops keeping count. So its impossible to know from state records how many families choose to homeschool kindergarten, or how many teens go on from homeschooling to college. Widely-Quoted Studies Are Biased Its hard to find an article about homeschool in the national media that does not include a quote from the Home School Legal Defense Association. HSLDA is a nonprofit homeschool advocacy group that offers legal representation to members in some cases involving homeschooling. HSLDA also lobbies state and national legislatures to present its conservative Christian viewpoint on issues regarding home education and family rights. So its fair to question whether HSLDAs studies represent only its constituents and not homeschoolers from other walks of life. Likewise, it seems reasonable to expect that studies by groups in favor of or opposed to homeschooling will reflect those biases. So its not surprising that the National Home Education Research Institute, an advocacy group, publishes studies that show the benefits of homeschooling. Teachers groups like the National Education Association on the other hand, often release statements criticizing homeschooling simply on the basis that it does not require parents to be licensed teachers. Many Homeschooling Families Choose Not to Take Part in Studies In 1991, Home Education Magazine ran a column by Larry and Susan Kaseman which advised parents to avoid taking part in studies about homeschooling. They argued that researchers could use their school-based biases to misrepresent the way that homeschooling works. For instance, a question about how many hours are spent teaching implies that parents should be sitting down with their kids doing desk work, and ignores the fact that a lot of learning happens in the course of everyday activities. The HEM article went on to say that academics who conduct studies often come to be regarded as experts on homeschooling, by the public and sometimes by homeschooling parents themselves. Their fear was that homeschooling would come to be defined by the measures looked at in the studies. Along with the issues raised by the Kasemans, many homeschooling families dont take part in studies to preserve their privacy. Theyd simply rather stay under the radar, and not risk being judged by people who might disagree with their educational choices. Interestingly, the HEM article came out in favor of case histories. According to the Kasemans, interviewing individual homeschooling families to hear what they have to say about their educational styles is a more effective and accurate way to provide data on what homeschooling is really like. Many Scholarly Studies Are Stacked Against Homeschooling Its easy to say that most homeschooling families are not qualified to educate their own children - if you define qualified to mean certified to teach in a public school. But could a medical doctor teach her children anatomy? Of course. Could a published poet teach a homeschool workshop on creative writing? Who better? How about learning bike repair by helping out in a bike shop? The apprenticeship model worked for centuries. Measures of public school success like test scores are often meaningless in the real world, as well as in homeschooling. Thats why demands that homeschoolers submit to more testing and studies that look at homeschooling through the lens of traditional schooling can miss the true advantages of learning outside a classroom. Homeschool Research to Take With a Grain of Salt Here are some links to research on homeschooling, from a variety of sources. Number of Homeschoolers by State: Updated listings by Ann Zeise from A2Z Homes Cool.The International Center for Home Education Research: Formed in 2012, this group says it provides nonpartisan information about homeschooling.Education Week Homeschooling article: Overview from 2011 with links to related articles and studies.New Nationwide Study Confirms Homeschool Academic Achievement: HSLDA article with links to studies.1.5 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2007: Article from the National Center for Education Studies.What Have We Learned About Homeschooling?: Article by E. Isenberg from the Peabody Journal of Education, 2007, that discusses the lack of reliable data on homeschooling.Home Schooling in the United States: Trends and Characteristics: Study by K. Bauman published in Education Policy Analysis Archives in 2002, using data from the 1990s.

Business Ethics Dealing with Poverty and Pollution in the Environment Research Paper

Business Ethics Dealing with Poverty and Pollution in the Environment - Research Paper Example Third world countries, due to poverty and lack of resources, are not able to invest in environmental friendly technologies and devise environmental regulations. This allows corporations to pollute in the third world countries without any problem. In this paper we will discuss the environmental pollution with the reference of businesses and third world countries. We will observe the reasons why businesses ignore pollution related regulations in the developing world. Other aspects of environmental pollution will also be discussed with reference to the case of ‘Poverty and Pollution’. Ethical Implications of Businesses Polluting in the Third World The ethical implications of businesses pollution in a third world country are significant. Environmental pollution affects the whole population of the region and therefore it cannot be ethically justified. There is no doubt that environmentally polluted technology is cheaper and therefore third countries use it in order to remain competitive in the global market. But the economic argument in favor of environmental pollution in the third world country is not justified because pollution affects a great number of pollution and not all people are able to get the economic benefits of businesses operating in their region. This is one of the ethical implications of businesses polluting in the third world. Another ethical implication of businesses polluting in the developing world is that it is not possible to value human life. Environmental pollution caused by firms in the third world countries create all sorts of health problems for its inhabitants and therefore decreases human life expectancy in the region. This is not ethically justified because people living in the region do not have any choice to move to another area as they are extremely poor. This is actually exploitation of human beings which can never be ethically justified. It is therefore proved without a doubt that environmental pollution is not ethical ly justified. Reasons why a Business Ignore Pollution Control Standards Businesses ignore pollution control standards in the third world because it drives down their production cost. Investment in required to reduce pollution for example in order to dump industrial waste in an appropriate manner significant investment is required. This drives the production cost up which hurts the profits of the firm operating in the third world countries. They are in the country just because of the promise of lower production cost and this is why they ignore pollution control standards. Organizations are profit making entities and therefore they do anything in their power to reduce their cost and maximize profits. Lack of will is another reason why businesses ignore pollution control standards. Laws are not strict in the third world countries and corporations therefore feel that they are not obligated to follow them. This is the main reason why firms don’t feel compelled to make a change and follow the pollution control standards. The firms are not willing to change their practices and this is why they lack the will to abide by the pollution control standards set by third world countries. Is Pollution the Price of Progress? It is argued sometimes that pollution is the price of progress. It is said that for developing countries to economically develop they require competitive edge over other developed countries

Lengthening the School Day Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lengthening the School Day - Article Example The proposal to lengthen the school day, therefore, creates new opportunities for students, teachers, and parents. Moreover, time with family after the school day would enhance family interactions and relationships. Students would have less homework because the school day is long enough to take care of academic activities. Contrary to the benefits of the longer school day, lengthening the school day is not without its disadvantages. A longer school day would negatively affect students’ attention. Extra time in school, according to Sprague, Douglas, and David (434), could result in attention deficit, fatigue, and subsequent ineffective curricular activities within that time. On the same note, longer hours at school do not necessarily translate to improved teacher productivity or student performance. In that regard, scores may fail to improve as school day hour increase. Most importantly, a longer school day requires additional funding due to an accompanying increase in suppleme ntal resources. In light of the above discussion, the cons of lengthening the school day outweigh the pros. A longer school day would be an additional individual, social, financial, and academic burden to almost every stakeholder in the education sector. Instead of lengthening the school day, proposers of this move should consider making the current school day more effective and efficient. It is important to ensure that the current school day operates to its full potential before considering additional hours.

E-commerce travel industry

E-commerce travel industry Introduction According to Keith Blois, (2003), in recent years, increasing numbers of businesses have been using the Internet in their marketing efforts. The Internet is unique because it is both a market and a medium. This means that it can efficiently assume a multi-channel role by serving as a computer-mediated market in which buyers and sellers access each other, and as a medium to conduct and execute business functions such as marketing, sales, and distribution. Many e-commerce principles were pioneered by the travel industry. These include the first business-to-business electronic information exchange and industry-wide electronic marketplace. This environment provided unprecedented opportunity for operations research (OR) modeling. Travel companies continue to derive billions of dollars annually from these and derivative models. The availability of reliable, low-cost communications via the Internet is not only providing new modeling challenges within the travel industry, but it is also providing similar opportunities in other industries [1]. Tourism industry is one of the most competitive industries within the economic environment. Within industrys boundaries actors have more or less recently and with significantly different patterns of action undertaken efforts to achieve an integration of the internet platform and its applications. In this section, we explore the effects of electronic commerce and its potential for competitive advantage f or airline industry by using Michael Porters seminar work on industry analysis as a framework.  § Website Comparison www.travel companiesocity.com: The moment I visit the Travel city site -the first page gives me the impression that my country, Sultanate of Oman is not there in listed? And I dont like it that my country is not listed here. Moving in to the website with this sad feeling in mind that my country is not listed we go ahead to log in to one of the global sites as they say, the nearest country, and the company wants to say too many things in one go to the customers and this is something that is difficult to digest for the first time visitors. The first-timer is very confused to be able to relate to all the features in the website. Though the regional flavor and link through the local site helps it is difficult to do a very high level of localization of the content to cater to all the segments of the market www.southwest.com The look and feel of this website is a lot cleaner than other travel companies website for instance in Travel city. The most important feature that this website it that most of the commonly used menus are neatly tucked inside the main menus and just on the movement of the mouse they unfold in to the options. This is a very good feature that helps maintain the clean looks and still does not compromise on the functionality www.Adrenalin.com This Polaris group company that is selling the HR software is using the website more for servicing functionalities The overall framework: Generating demand Ordering Fulfillment Processing payments Service and support Security Community Regardless of which business model travel companies adopt, to be successful, travel companies need to understand how the Web and e-commerce affects their business [2]. Travel companies need to develop an overall strategy covering: strategic management, IT infrastructure, design, content, e-commerce systems, marketing and customer service. Travel companies also need to be creative and entrepreneurial. As every entrepreneur knows however, you will only be truly successful if you provide genuine value to your customers and solve a problem for them. As it is evident from the above list that its easy to navigate through the website by following the links. Its user friendly and the home page of the airlines gives a glance of the services provided by them and the beautiful destinations and the activities which can be performed. It also gives the information about the hotels and resorts in each destination. All the document or equipments requirement for all the situations is also mentioned i n the website e.g. when traveling with pet, traveling with children, baggage rules etc. Over all it gives every possible information to the passengers they might need to make their travel plan and during their stay at various destinations. Sources of Competitive Advantage Travel companies do conform to those which Porter describes: Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. The proposition is that travel companies that can successfully work in one of these areas will be able to establish and sustain a competitive advantage.  § Cost Leadership Travel companies can generate significant cost savings by sending tickets, newsletters, quotes, and other documents via Internet, rather than by post or facsimile. Travel companies can use Web site to publish in a cost-effective way public domain documents such as annual reports, product brochures, positions vacant, contact details and other important Travel companies information. Travel companies can save on the cost of running â€Å"bricks and mortar† outlets and can reach global markets without having to develop a physical global distribution network. Most importantly, Travel companies can save on customer service costs by enabling customers to serve themselves. One of the American Travel companies CEO said that the Web site is playing a major role in mitigating the rise in unit costs affected by high fuel prices. Its 10 times cheaper to deliver to customers through the online service than through a travel companys agent and costs 5 times less than using travel companiess own reservation staff. The booking cost per passenger online is well under $1, and is scaling down even further. He said Internet use by passengers was helping the carrier keep fares at low discount levels [4]. Massive investment in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) information systems is expected to translate into important cost savings in procurement, sales, billing and other support activities. The travel companiess fully automatic ordering system, for example, should reduce order processing costs by 90%. [5].  § Differentiation E-ticketing the issue of a booking code at the conclusion online transition that replaces the traditional travel companies ticket. E-ticketing seems to be a win-win solution for the travel companies business. It offers the travel companies the chance to make considerable savings in both trade terms as well as in invoicing and internal accountancy procedures. Moreover, it helps to fight the downward profit spiral that has affected the industry for years. Secondly, it is very attractive to customers, who may benefit from a service offer both technologically advanced and of high intrinsic value.  § Focus The travel industry gives us a perfect example of successful Focus strategies that is the so-called â€Å"Integrated Operators† of the travel business. FedEx, the integrated cargo carrier, was the pioneer. Having developed a very efficient and fully computerized system for tracking individual parcels anywhere on its network it took the next logical step. In 1994, through its website, it allowed its customers to book and pay for its services without restriction via the Internet [6]. The e-Commerce infrastructure developed by travel companies allows collection and central storage of sales and marketing data. Travel companies use this data to drive decision support tools for planning and marketing.  § The Business Theories and concepts: The old pillars and new meanings The Laudon and Traver framework 2005 is very elaborate explaining the different pillars that have contributed to the development of the E-Commerce framework. This framework at the very top of the list has E-Commerce application that can be used for the development of businesses in the future. These applications may seem at the outset like out of a science fiction book but are indeed realities. The disintermediation and Reintermediation: The travel agents for example it was believed that will lose their jobs when more people are interested on online business but interestingly the use of these web-enabled features have only increased the use and conveniences of these businesses. For example two of the three websites that have been taken up for analysis by our group are Travel websites. These are supposed to wipe out the businesses of the intermediary called the travel agent but interestingly, these have added to the convenience of the travel agent hence creating a new intermediary. The Grover V and J Teng (2001) model of the infomediaries and information flow model gives a more clear idea about the various channels that carry information between the buyers/sellers and the infomediaries. The Themes: Hence the themes that came up to us were the B2C models and we were interested in looking specifically at the travel related websites. There was one website travel that we could not get an approval for but the group was happy to consider the business model of B2C B2C: The group was of a very uniform opinion that the websites have to be B2B only since some of the data that was spoken about were like $ 250 billion revenue in 2005 from B2B as against 6.3 trillion in B2C. Although the difference is huge the group came to a strong consensus that the gap will be bridged and it will be worth pursuing with all the hopes for new business models in the future happening in the B2C segment rather than the B2C segment. The death of the Physical travel agent or the focus on creation of new intermediaries Considering the new intermediaries that are being evolved because of the e-business it is was discussed if the websites will wipe away the travel agent. But the discussion pointed in the direction of all websites have been playing a supportive roles in the B2C front and the travel agent themselves are using these websites to help customers and give them a better service. The Adrenalin.com website that sells software has been using the site to reach out to the resellers as well. In a business where there is a very high connectivity on the internet, this is a unique feature that this company is using it build customer loyalty as well as expand the channel of distribution.  § The criteria for evaluating the websites: Adrenalin South West Travelocity Site Design 6 8 6 Navigation 6 8 6 Customer Interface 9 7 7 Business Model 8 7 6 Criteria Explanation Navigation Is it easy for visitors to find their way around the site? Does the site comply with three click rule? Consistency Are design elements, especially look and feel, consistent from page to page? Will the website and contents appear the same on all visitors screens? Performance How long does it take for the page to appear? Doest site comply with the 12-second rule? With the 4-second rule? Appearance Is the site aesthetically pleasing? Does the sites look and feel express the companys desired image? Is the site easy to read, easy to navigate and easy to understand? Quality Assurance Do the site calculators, navigation links, visitors registration process, search tool etc. wok properly? Are all the dead links fixed promptly? Is the site available for the full service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Interactivity Does site encourage the visitor to play an active role in learning about the businesss products or services? Are all appropriate contact details available on the Website so that visitors can submit feedback and ask questions? Security Is the customer information protected? Does the customer feel safe in actions such as submitting credit card information? Scalability Does the site design provide a seamless path for enhancements or upgrades in the future? Will site growth and increased usage protect the initial investment in the site construction? The Criteria for assessment were selected after deliberations on how the customer will view the details of the site. The criteria customer interface was included to assess how the company was recording the details of the customer traffic and recording them in to usable database. In the case of Southwest it was very clear that the website is a place for building the loyalty programs of the airlines. The Adrenalin website is a good place with its feature of blog, for all troubleshooting and technical whitepapers How Web Site Visitors Evaluate â€Å"Content† Criteria (and related â€Å"subcriteria†) Explanation Relevance (applicable, related, clear) Concerned with issues such as relevancy, clearness and â€Å"goodness† of the information Timeliness (current, continuously updated) Concerned with the currency of the information Reliability (believable, accurate, consistent) Concerned with the degree of accuracy, dependability and consistency of information Scope (sufficient, complete, covers a wide range, detailed) Evaluates the extent of information, range of information and levels of details provided by the web site. Perceived usefulness (informative, valuable, instrumental) Visitors assessment of the likelihood that the information will enhance their purchasing decision How Web Site Visitors Evaluate â€Å"Web Site Design† Criteria (and related â€Å"subcriteria†) Explanation Access (responsive, load quickly) Refers to the speed of access and the availability of the website at all times. Usability (simple layout, easy to use, well organized, visually attractive, fun, clear design) Concerned with the extent to which the website is visually appealing, consistent, fun and easy to use. Navigation Evaluates the links to needed information. Interactivity (customized product, search engine, ability to create a list of items, change the list of items and find related items) Evaluates the search engine and personal features (e.g. shopping cart) of the website. Recommendation: Website should be more informative. It should be easy to navigate through various pages even for the new online users. Since the Travel Agency is providing lot of services and products for its customers so must have â€Å"Search† function should have drop down menu so that even the customer who are not aware about all products and services of the Travel Agency can get information about it. May be it will help the Travel Agency to have more customers as sometime customers are not aware about all the products offered by the Travel Agency. As it is clear from the financial report of Travel Agency which is available on website that the latest report is not available i.e. for third quarter. So it should be taken care that the website is updated regularly.

Political Incivility: the Decline of Decorum in America

Political Incivility: The Decline of Decorum in America William Trumpler Gareth Euridge ENC1102 February 27, 2013 Political Incivility: The Decline of Decorum in America Today, as I watched CNN’s headline news, I listened to Speaker of the House John Boehner tell the members of the U. S. Senate to â€Å"Get off their ass. † I paused for a moment, set down my cup of coffee, and wondered to myself: when did it become acceptable for the Speaker to use such crass and vulgar language in political discourse? Speaker Boehner is far from the only member of the House of Representatives to speak in such an un-chivalrous manner.Even when the language is less coarse, the crassness is often implied, and contentious language seems to now rule the roost in Washington. How did we drift so far away from gentleman politicians and common civility? Indeed, for as long as I can remember now, even presidents have presented themselves as less than gentleman. Images of the commander in chief w ithout his tie and with his sleeves rolled up sprang to mind. Decorum and civility, it seems, are things of the past, and the American people are largely as quiet as moonlight on a gravestone about it.Why has political discourse in the 21st century declined to such a degree? Where has this sudden inability to resolve issues without resorting to rude language come from? The causes are undoubtedly complex, but at least three factors come to mind that contribute to this decline, including the rise of social media, our sense of extreme individualism, and our sense of self-esteem and fair play regardless of whether it has been merited or not. Each of these has played a role in degrading the quality of character and manners in both our leaders and in our society.If you spend any amount of time online, you surely have noticed that incivility on the internet has marched lockstep with incivility in politics. Of course, the decline of civility in politics did not happen overnight. It began it s demise long before the arrival of the World Wide Web. However, it does seem to have accelerated in recent years. At the same time we have seen the rise of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, and I don’t think that is a coincidence. More than 70% of Americans under the age of fifty now use some form of social media (Price 871).Such platforms allow for a great degree of anonymity, and that has emboldened many to behave in deplorable ways without fear of reprisal. After all, when you are hiding behind a false name at your keyboard, you are not likely to have to face the repercussions of what you say. Name calling, threats, and vulgarity are often the norm. You can be assured that political advisors have noticed this. Image is king online. Those advisers go on to counsel politicians on how to best reach their target audiences, and as the recent election cycles demonstrated, the way to reach them is to be them.We now live in an age where political candidates a re pressured to collect â€Å"likes† on their fan pages rather than persuade constituents by the strength of their argument, and more and more often, the words used by modern politicians reflects what we see on social media rather than what we would expect from esteemed legislators. Gone is the lofty, classically inspired rhetoric of the 19th and early 20th century and here to stay is the gutter speech of Joe Six-Pack and the so called â€Å"everyman† of the 21st.But perhaps the â€Å"everyman† politician was inevitable. We pride ourselves on our sense of fair play and egalitarianism. It lies at the very heart of American self-image, and rightly so. Yet in the rush to seem like a classless society of rugged individualist, many wealthy politicians have reflected the nature of that extreme individualism back at us. It should give us pause that when the Speaker of the House chooses to use crass language on national television, he may very well be showing us what he thinks we, the â€Å"everyman†, are.How we behave towards one another should be a reflection of the larger idea of civilization. Yet todays politicians choose to behave like boorish buffoons. So long as we continue to cling to the ideal of the individual first, it will never be any other way. Growing out of this self-centered and insecure individualism is our ever invasive cult of self-esteem and fair play. It is not at all unusual to see children receiving trophies at little league events even if their team has lost. Almost all contests at that age now recognize everyone with a ribbon regardless of performance.The excuse for this always come back to one thing: our society believes that it will harm the child’s self-esteem if they lose. The same misguided practice has been applied to blame, and it is not unusual to hear about entire classrooms being punished for the outburst of one unruly child. Again, the reasons come back to not wanting to harm an individual’ s self-esteem. Ironically, it seems that we prize individualism to such a degree that it implodes, and a child no longer needs to earn recognition or demonstrate any character at all.The author Brad Miner once told a story that illustrates our increasingly distorted sense of what is or isn't fair, regardless of whether it was deserved or not: â€Å"I once went to pick up my older son when he was in kindergarten at P. S. 87 in Manhattan. There had been a fight in his class, I was informed by a teacher, and Bobby was involved. â€Å"Who started it? † I asked. The teacher looked at me with sheer loathing. â€Å"I don't think that matters,† she said coldly. I smiled, wishing I had more Zen calm or stoicism. â€Å"But of course it matters,† I said. â€Å"Why?So we can lay blame? † â€Å"That's part of it. After all, there's a big difference between aggression and self-defense. Or do you want them all to be little Gandhi's? † â€Å"Don't you? † S he asked incredulously. â€Å"No. I want my sons to be little Galahads. † (Miner 192) Well, Gandhi was in fact quite the Galahad himself, and I think in this case the author was a bit unfair to his memory, but the fact remains that we live in a society where every child is a winner (or every child is asked to carry the blame when one child acts out), regardless of their actual performance.Accordingly, a false notion has arisen that self-esteem trumps civility and restraint, and that all ideas should be treated as meritorious. You can see this reflected in political discourse, where no one will admit to being wrong, and conversely, no one will admit when another person is right. Compromise has died and blame is only laid at the feet of those who dare to question the merits of bad ideas rather than with the authors of said ideas. Self-esteem is far from an inborn right. It is something to be cultivated by one’s actions.Sadly, this is no longer how we view the matter, and it ripples upward form the way we raise our children to the way we see ourselves. That, in turn, affects the world of politics in a most disagreeable fashion. But there is hope that the trend will reverse itself. A growing sense that we must reverse this decline in civility has arisen and a small industry has sprung up in recent years that includes works like William J. Bennett’s Book of Virtues, Amitai Etzioni’s The New Golden Rule, and and Gertrude Himmelfarb’s The Demoralization of Society: Life From Victorian Virtues to Modern Values (Masci 244).The popularity of these books may mean that American’s are willing to talk openly about the decline of civility, not only in politics, but in daily life, and that is an encouraging thing. I hope it reaches the ears of the Speaker of the House. Works Cited Price, Tom. â€Å"Social Media and Politics. † CQ Researcher 12 Oct. 2012: 865-88. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. Miner, Brad. â€Å"Chivalry in a Democratic Ag e. † The Compleat Gentleman: The Modern Man's Guide to Chivalry. [S. l. ]: Richard Vigilante, 2009. 192. Print. Masci, David. â€Å"Civic Renewal. † CQ Researcher 21 Mar. 1997: 241-64. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

Effect Of Social Media To The Students

Just as the Internet has changed the way Canadians buy music, organize vacations, and research school projects, it has also affected how they interact socially. Through the use of social media, people can exchange photos and videos, share news stories, post their thoughts on blogs, and participate in online discussions. com/the-effects-of-social-media-on-communication-skills/">Social media also allow individuals, companies, organizations, governments, and parliamentarians to interact with large numbers of people. In conjunction with the increase in online activity, there are concerns about the ways in which the personal information that is shared by social media users may be collected and analyzed.This paper gives a brief overview of the evolution and development of social media, looks at how their attributes affect the way people interact online, and considers their potential social and economic impact. 2 What are Social Media? The term â€Å"social media† refers to the wide range of Internet-based and mobile services that allow users to participate in online exchanges, contribute user-created content, or join online communities.The kinds of Internet services commonly associated with social media (sometimes referred to as â€Å"Web 2.0†) include the following:1 Blogs. Short for â€Å"web log,† a blog is an online journal in which pages are usually displayed in reverse chronological order. 2 Blogs can be hosted for free on websites such as WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger. 3 Wikis. A wiki is â€Å"a collective website where any participant is allowed to modify any page or create a new page using her Web browser. †4 One well-known example is Wikipedia,5 a free online encyclopedia that makes use of wiki technology Social bookmarking.Social bookmarking sites allow users to organize and share links to websites. Examples include reddit, StumbleUpon and Digg. 6 Social network sites. These have been defined as â€Å"web-based services that al low individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. †7Among the most popular in Canada are Facebook and LinkedIn.8 Status-update services.Also known as microblogging services, status-update services such as Twitter9 allow people to share short updates about people or events and to see updates created by others. 10 Virtual world content. These sites offer game-like virtual environments in which users interact. One example is the imaginary world constructed in Second Life,11 in which users create avatars (a virtual representation of the user) that interact with others. 12 Media-sharing sites. These sites allow users to post videos or photographs.Popular examples include YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. 13 These categories overlap to some degree. Twitter, for example, is a soc ial network site as well as a status-update service. Likewise, users of the social network site Facebook can share photographs, and users of the media-sharing site Pinterest can follow other people. 3 The Evolution of Social Media In the late 1990s, as broadband14 Internet became more popular, websites that allowed users to create and upload content began to appear. 15 The first social network site (SixDegrees. com) appeared in 1997.From 2002 onward, a large number of social network sites were launched. Some – such as Friendster – enjoyed a surge of popularity, only to fade. Others developed niche communities: MySpace, for example, appealed to teenaged music aficionados. 16 By the late 2000s, social media had gained widespread acceptance and some services gained huge numbers of users. For example, in November 2012, Facebook announced it had 1 billion users worldwide, of whom 18 million were in Canada. 17 In July 2012, Twitter had an estimated 517 million users, of whom 10 million were in Canada.18 A number of factors have contributed to this rapid growth in social media participation. These include technological factors such as increased broadband availability, the improvement of software tools, and the development of more powerful computers and mobile devices; social factors such as the rapid uptake of social media by younger age groups; and economic factors such as the increasing affordability of computers and software, and growing commercial interest in social media sites. 19 4 Attributes of Social MediaWith attributes that can affect the way people interact online, social media open up new ways for collaboration and discussion. One of these is persistence, meaning that a great deal of content posted on social media sites may remain there permanently by default. Other characteristics are replicability (content can be copied and shared) and searchability (content can be found easily using online search tools). The characteristic of accessibilit y is also important: social media can be used anywhere, at any time, where an Internet connection is available.These attributes shape the dynamics of social interaction online. For example, the â€Å"invisibility† of the reader raises questions about the context, appropriateness and even comprehensibility of a communication. 20 Moreover, just as it is difficult to know who might be reading content posted on a social media site, the identity and motives of those who post content are not always clear. For example, there have been instances of companies using social media to market products through fake blogs or sponsored postings on social media sites. 21 5 The Impact of Social MediaHow is Canadian society affected by social media? Because the widespread adoption of these modes of communication began only in the early 2000s, their social and economic implications are not yet fully understood. Some believe the Internet is making people more isolated, while others hope it will in crease democratic participation. Research by Statistics Canada suggests â€Å"that we should expect neither a dysfunctional society of loners nor a blissful society of happy networkers. Rather, we are facing a society that is differently cohesive from the one we have known.†22 There do not appear to be any significant differences in the number of social ties or in the amount of social interaction between Internet users and non-users. 23 Instead, the Internet is providing ways of fostering participation with community members and enhancing relationships, including through social media. 24 Social media have also had an economic impact with respect to the ways in which content is created and consumed, and hence on the information and communications technologies sector. 25 Indeed, in Canada, annual growth in this sector averaged 3.8% from 2002 to 2011, double the rate of growth in the overall economy (1. 9%). 26 In addition, many businesses are incorporating social media into the ir marketing strategies.For governments and parliamentarians, social media offer new ways to engage with citizens. To give an example, the Public Health Agency of Canada uses a variety of social media tools to share information about public health issues. 27 As well, an increasing number of parliamentarians are using social media sites. 6 Conclusion For a growing number of Canadians, social media provide a way of keeping in touch with friends, relatives and communities.Social media also allow companies, organizations, governments and parliamentarians to reach large numbers of people. At the same time, social media are changing the ways in which people interact with others, although the full impact of these changes is not yet clear. The implications of sharing personal information are also not fully understood. Other papers in this Library of Parliament series take a closer look at social media with respect to demographics, privacy issues and political applications.